Oh my horses, there's going to be an M4 MacBook Air. Great googly moogly in a bouncy castle! And it might have a better camera. Jumpin' jellyfish on a unicycle! References in the latest edition of MacOS reveal the device's forthcoming availability. If anyone did need to keep a lid on it, well, they have v15.2 to blame.
Text strings, confirmed by AppleInsider, include references to the MacBook Air in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. Both models are expected to be equipped with the M4 chip. Beyond the leak in Wednesday's macOS release, there are also regulatory documents that we have discovered. In those regulatory documents found by AppleInsider, there's a reference to a "Front Ultra Wide Camera." This is likely to mean the 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the M3 version could get an upgrade. An Ultra Wide camera could end up with the MacBook Air gaining Center Stage support, or features such as Desk View, just like the M4 MacBook Pro.
I wouldn't say the MacBooks are in a league of their own, but they are absolutely top-tier gear and it was only a matter of time before the airgap between the iPad Pro M4 and MacBook Pro M4 was filled. Those about to pull the trigger on a new M3 model might want to hold their horses, or perhaps check out the discounts on official refurbs.
You know what I want, though: an Apple Silicon update to the plain old MacBook, which at 12" was wonderfully compact. Discontinued in 2017, perhaps to give more space to the larger iPads and smaller Airs in the lineup, I miss it dearly.
