Apple hasn’t officially announced a spring event to roll out new products, but there seems to be a good deal of momentum for one. Apple still has Macs waiting for the M3 treatment and it’s been almost four months since Apple introduced the M3 series of Mac chips in the MacBook Pro and updated the iMac. Waiting until the Worldwide Developers Conference would be a lengthy seven months since that release.
It seems likely that Apple will release new Macs this spring, probably next month. Let’s look at what Macs you shouldn’t buy before then and what kind of upgrades we should expect.
13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air
An update to the MacBook Air is about as sure of a thing as it can be without Apple actually telling us before the event. It all adds up: the M3, which would replace the M2 used in the current models, is available. M3 MacBook Pros are already available, so Apple needs to update the Air to complement those laptops in the lineup properly. And the timing is just right. Apple released the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air in July 2022 and introduced the 15-inch M2 model last June.
A spring release also gives Apple an opportunity to align the releases of the 13- and 15-inch models. Apple won’t do more than upgrade the chip, however. This design was introduced with the 2022 Air release so it’s not going to change anytime soon.
The MacBook Air is due for an M3 upgrade.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Mac mini
The low-end Mac mini was part of the initial M1 Mac introduction, and it was updated in January 2023 alongside the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro. But the Mac mini wasn’t part of the M3 release last November. So, a spring M3 Mac mini seems to be in the cards, as well as a M3 Pro Mac mini.
Reports of a Mac mini redesign have not surfaced, so this release could simply feature spec updates. The Mac mini design has been around the longest in Apple’s Mac lineup–it’ll be 14 years in June. It appears that the switch to M-series chips freed up a lot of space inside the Mac mini, so rumors have swirled for years that Apple will make it smaller. But the form works and doesn’t feel dated, so why change it?
The Mac mini design has staying
power.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
What Macs aren’t coming this spring
New MacBook Airs and Mac minis this spring seem like enough, considering that Apple will probably use the event to put the spotlight on major iPad updates, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. As for the other Macs in Apple’s lineup:
- MacBook Pro and iMac: With the M3 releases last November, it’s too early for an update, which will feature M4 chips. The M4 is rumored to become available in 2025. Rumors of a larger iMac passed through the rumor mill last fall, but Gurman reported that it may not arrive until later this year or in 2025.
- Mac Studio: Apple has yet to release the M3 Ultra chip, which would be in the Mac Studio (along with the M-series Max). The M2 Max and Ultra Mac Studio was released at WWDC last year, so it could be revealed at WWDC this June. A recent report stated that Apple is boosting the “AI computing power of M3 and A17 processors,” and reports have said that AI is going to make a big splash at WWDC, so it seems appropriate that Macs with the enhanced M3 Ultra appear at the conference.
- Mac Pro: Another Mac based on the M-series Ultra chip; it could appear alongside the Mac Studio at WWDC.
Learn more about Apple’s events calendar and what to expect from a spring Apple event.
