Supply chain news: Apple MacBook Air 15 inches will carry M2 chip

CTOnews.com, February 15, DigiTimes supply chain reports that Apple's rumored 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with a M2 chip. The laptop will be released in the second quarter of 2023, from April to June, the report said.

Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip in July 2022. The chip is based on TSMC's second-generation 5nm process and is considered by some industry observers to be a stopgap measure before the 3nm-based M3 chip is ready. TSMC began mass production of 3nm chips in December last year.

According to the DigiTimes report, Apple's MacBook shipments are expected to be low in the first quarter of 2023, but a new MacBook Air series will be released in the second quarter, according to industry insiders.

Recently, display industry analyst Ross Young said Apple's supply chain began producing 15-inch display panels for the larger MacBook Air this month. Young estimates that the new MacBook Air will be launched "in early April this year", also in the second quarter.

That means Apple will offer MacBook Air in two different screen sizes, 13.6in and 15.5in. Apple used to offer two different screen sizes of the MacBook Air, 11-inch and 13-inch, but eventually simplified the product line and no longer released the 11-inch version.

CTOnews.com learned that Guo Mingyi had previously reported the rumored 15-inch MacBook Air, but instead of writing it as "MacBook Air", he used the general "MacBook". The analyst also said that the 15-inch MacBook will be available in M2 and M2 Pro configurations. The 13-inch MacBook Air offers only M2 chips.