Kuo: Mini-LED MacBook Air Coming in Mid-2022

Apple will release a new version of the MacBook Air around the middle of 2022, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in note to investors seen by MacRumors.

m1 macbook air
The upcoming ‌MacBook Air‌ will feature a 13.3-inch mini-LED display, which would make it the second Mac to gain mini-LED technology after the 2021 MacBook Pro, which is rumored to include a mini-LED display and is expected to launch later this year. Mini-LED display technology will bring a signifiant improvement in MacBook display quality, allowing for a thinner, lighter design while offering benefits like improved wide color gamut, high contrast and dynamic range, and truer blacks.

Kuo has said that the ‌MacBook Air‌ will include a mini-LED display in the past, and the rumor has also been echoed by DigiTimes.

Prior rumors have suggested the 2022 ‌MacBook Air‌ will have thinner bezels than the current model, and that it will adopt the same MagSafe charging technology rumored for the ‌MacBook Pro‌.

It's also expected to include a pair of Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, and there's also a chance that it could come in multiple colors, similar to the M1 iMacs that Apple released this year.

The 2022 ‌MacBook Air‌ will use an upgraded version of the ‌M1‌ Apple silicon chip that's faster and more efficient. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that it will feature the same number of computing cores as the ‌M1‌ (eight), but that will offer nine or 10 GPU cores instead of seven or eight like the current model for better GPU performance.

Kuo says that if component shortages improve in late 2021 and across 2022, MacBook shipments could grow to approximately 20 to 22 million units in 2022.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

ccchr Avatar
56 months ago
Now that the M1X 14 and 16" MBPs are released, time to shift focus on to the Air. I'm loving my 14" btw ? -- it's the best thing ever!
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
56 months ago
I think Apple should upgrade the MBA Air to 14" with Mini-LED. Raise the starting price to $1,100.

Then release a $750 Macbook SE based on the current MBA 13.3" with a regular LCD screen.

Own the PC market just like they own the phone/tablet/watch market. Sell more services. Sell more subscriptions. As it stands now, more people use iPhone + Windows than iPhone + MacOS because of the starting price of Macs. Apple can recapture its own customers by releasing a more well-rounded Mac lineup with a lower starting price.

Steve Job said they didn't know how to make a cheap computer that isn't junk. Well, they know how now: with Apple Silicon. A $750 Macbook SE based on the current MBA 13.3" with an M2/M3 SoC would wipe the floor with any AMD/Intel-based laptops in speed, efficiency, and portability.

AAPL to the moon.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
56 months ago

Unless Apple decides to stop limiting their hardware capabilities through software, we will only continue to get overkilled hardware.
What the hell? How does Apple limit the MBA hardware? I'm pushing my M1 MBA to the limits.

This isn't news about the iPad Pro. You're in the wrong comment section.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tagbert Avatar
56 months ago

I think Apple should upgrade the MBA Air to 14" with Mini-LED. Raise the starting price to $1,100.

Then release a $750 Macbook SE based on the current MBA 13.3" with a regular LCD screen.

Own the PC market just like they own the phone market. Sell more services. Sell more subscriptions. As it stands now, more people use iPhone + Windows than iPhone + MacOS because of the starting price of Macs. Apple can recapture its own customers by releasing a more well-rounded Mac lineup with a lower starting price.

AAPL to the moon.
No. keep the Air portable at 13", maybe shrink the case. Then add a 15" version for this who want a bigger screen but don't need the full "Pro" experience (and price).
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
threee Avatar
56 months ago
Hmmm, yet another year… This may be my next notebook. I have a 2017 12” MacBook that’s still doing fine for the most part, but getting slow by today’s standards. I will truly miss this form factor when i finally upgrade. Would be cool if someone would figure out how to retrofit one of these with Apple Silicon.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
56 months ago

Nope. I’m in the right comment section.
It’s true that macOS can use professional software to perform heavy workload, but I still wish it can run Windows and more iOS apps (yeah, some iOS games I play don’t work on M1 MacBook Air cause developer decides not to, which is sad).
What does being able to run Windows/iOS Apps have to do with Apple limiting the hardware through software?

It's up to Microsoft on whether they decide to license out ARM Windows, not Apple. And more iOS Apps? We're only 8 months into the Apple Silicon transition. Many iOS Apps already work fine on MacOS. I'm using some right now. It's not because Apple is blocking them from working on MacOS. It's up to the developers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)