New MacBook Air 2022 promises biggest revamp in 'over a decade'

MacBook Air 2022 render front and back
(Image credit: Darvik Patel)

If the MacBook Air 2022 appears at WWDC 2022 later today as rumored, then we can apparently expect "the biggest revamp to the device in over a decade."

That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has been writing about features tipped for Apple's new entry-level laptop. He claims that we'll see Apple give the MacBook Air a new design that will follow the flatter-sided MacBook Pro (2021), and come in not just silver, space gray and gold like the current MacBook Air, but also a new dark blue. 

The Air's display will remain 13 inches, but may have a notch to house the webcam instead of a thick top bezel, something else borrowed from the latest MacBook Pro. There will still only be two USB-C ports for connectivity, but charging will be taken care of by a MagSafe connector, again like the MacBook Pro.

In less positive news, the MacBook Air could be tricky to get a hold of. Gurman says he expects "shortages or a non-immediate release date" for the laptop if it does indeed get announced later today. Continued lockdowns in China have been disrupting Apple's Mac availability for months now, although Apple's been making efforts to overcome the shortfall in production.

Although today's WWDC event is primarily focused on software, and will most likely show off Apple's new macOS 13, iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and others, there have been persistent rumors of hardware announcements. 

The MacBook Air seems to be the strongest possibility. But we're also wondering if Apple could reveal other Macs powered by its next-gen Apple M2 chip, like a new Mac mini or MacBook Pro 2022, the other two Mac machines that introduced us to the Apple M1 chip in 2020.

If you want to stay up to date with everything Apple announces today, make sure you follow our WWDC live blog for the news as it happens.

Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.