New MacBook Air Could Lead Apple's Long-Awaited Apology To Power Users

A lot of rumors have been swirling about incoming MacBook updates lately, and today we have a particularly juicy report to sink our teeth into. Just as Apple is rumored to be updating the MacBook Pro significantly, so too is it apparently looking to make some big changes to the MacBook Air. The first big change is rumored to be a switch back to MagSafe chargers.

That's according to a new report from Bloomberg, which is based on information from anonymous sources with knowledge of Apple's plans. Last week, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that MagSafe will return in 2021's MacBook Pro, and now we're hearing the same is true for Apple's next MacBook Air, which could be released either later this year or at some point in 2022.

Bloomberg's report also states that this new MacBook Air will use next-generation versions of Apple's in-house processors, which makes sense as Apple debuted its M1 chip in the MacBook Air last year. This new MacBook Air may shrink screen bezels to make for a footprint that's smaller overall, but we can expect the screen to stay at 13-inches – we're told that Apple has entertained the idea of making a MacBook Air with a 15-inch display, but that's on hold for this upcoming model.

This report doesn't just stop at the next MacBook Air, though. Bloomberg also reports that the next MacBook Pros will feature SD card slots, which is something we haven't seen on a MacBook since 2016. We also hear that the Touch Bar is being dropped, which is something that Kuo predicted last week as well. Further off in the future, we could even see Macs that support both cellular connectivity and Face ID, but Bloomberg says that neither feature is coming soon.

So, regardless of whether you're a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro person, it sounds like you've got some changes heading your way in newer models – assuming, of course, that Bloomberg's report and Kuo's predictions pan out and are actually accurate. We should find out soon enough, as Apple could start unveiling these new laptops in the second half of this year.