Bloomberg: Apple Working on 'Thinner and Lighter' High-End MacBook Air With MagSafe, Could Launch in Second Half of 2021

Apple is working on a "thinner and lighter" version of the MacBook Air that the company plans to release during the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022, according to a new report by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.

Flat MacBook Air Feature

It will include Apple's MagSafe charging technology and a next-generation version of the company's in-house Mac processors. Apple has discussed making the laptop smaller by shrinking the border around the screen, which will remain 13-inches. The current model weighs 2.8 pounds and is just over half an inch at its thickest point.

The company considered building a larger version of the MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen, but Apple isn't moving forward with this for the next generation, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

According to the report, the new 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ model will also have a pair of USB 4 ports for connecting external devices. The current ‌MacBook Air‌, upgraded in November with Apple silicon, is expected to remain in the company's lineup as an entry-level offering.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Apple will introduce a new ‌MacBook Air‌ at some point in 2022, suggesting there may not be a refresh in 2021. According to Kuo, the ‌MacBook Air‌ coming in 2022 will feature a mini-LED display, a prediction also echoed by DigiTimes.

With the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models introduced in October 2020, Apple reinvented "MagSafe," the name once used for the breakaway magnetic charging cables designed for the MacBook. ‌MagSafe‌‌ was fully phased out of the Mac lineup, and the last machine with ‌‌MagSafe‌‌, the 2017 ‌MacBook Air‌, was discontinued by Apple in July 2019.

Kuo recently claimed the ‌MagSafe‌ charging connector design will be restored to Apple's MacBooks in future designs, though it was not quite clear what that meant since Apple has transitioned to USB-C. However, Gurman in a separate report clarified that the ‌‌MagSafe‌‌ port will be a standalone charging port used instead of USB-C, with the new port located next to the USB-C ports.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
mail categories macos

Apple's Redesigned Mail App is Expanding to the Mac — Here's When

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April. The revamped Mail app debuted on all...

Top Rated Comments

DVD9 Avatar
52 months ago
If I can't shave with the edge of it then it's too thick.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wanted797 Avatar
52 months ago
Wait so we’ll have the MacBook Air, MacBook Air Pro, MacBook Pro 14”, MacBook Pro 16”...

I’m going to wait for the MacBook Pro Air Pro 16”.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
52 months ago
This is disgusting. I just bought an M1 and now Apple is going to make me upgrade again in less than a year? Apple should have sent out an email letting prospective buyers know ahead of time.

Now that I think about it, this M1 has been acting sluggish lately. If this M1 can’t handle watching cat videos on YouTube, what good is it?

This M1 isn’t even the pro model. How can I be expected to work on a standard M1? It doesn’t come with a GPU, Face ID, or a case of beer, not to mention the base model should come with no less than 16GB RAM and 512 SSD. I feel like Apple ripped me off. This M1 is worthless now.

Apple has really been letting us down on the hardware lately, especially with the M1. Every time you turn it on and or connect it to an external monitor it dies.

I see this new M Air will be thinner and lighter. The memory of Ives lives on. Apple is showing so much courage with this new Air. There is no innovation with Apple anymore. If Steve was still alive....

I just saw a video on YouTube saying how bad this new upcoming model is not worth it and the new Forbes article agrees.

Where is the best place to sell my M1? It looks like I will be upgrading to the new Air when it is released.


* These typical statements were picked at random from data submitted to Apple. No MacRumors members were outed in this data although the usual suspects are easily identified.

MacRumors has already received complaints about the cat comment and cat owners have vowed to boycott MacRumors.

I am looking forward to the new and improved M MacBook Air. :D
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
meboy Avatar
52 months ago

introducing the new macbook air bend.
i doubt they can produce something lighter AND thinner, yet remain structurally stable.
MacBook 12 was just that and had no issues.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProfessionalFan Avatar
52 months ago

Lighter, yes !
Thinner, not so sure. At least for me this is not a priority.
I'm ok with them trying to go endlessly thinner on the Air. It could differentiate it better than the current Air/Pro setup. It'd be debatable to try to be super thin on the Pro though.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Game 161 Avatar
52 months ago
a 15 inch air would have been tempting for sure oh well...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)