Apple plans to release a surprisingly thin MacBook Air in the same colors as the current iMacs, according to leaker Jon Prosser.
The redesign, as shown in renders produced by Ian Zelbo in collaboration with Prosser, abandons the MacBook Air’s classic tapered design. Prosser said the renders are based on images shared with him by a reliable source.
“The source gave me images of the blue version … but they had also claimed that they got to see the green one, in person,” Prosser said in video released Monday on his YouTube channel, Front Page Tech. “According to them, the colors featured on the new MacBook Air are very close, if not identical to the shades that you see on the stands for the new 24-inch iMacs.”
Apple revitalized the Mac lineup in 2020 with a trio of computers powered the company’s proprietary M1 chip, including a MacBook Air. And the company showcased a wildly colorful redesigned iMac lineup during an April virtual event. Those super-thin all-in-one computers, available in seven colors, arrive later this month.
New colorful MacBook Air renders
Image: Ian Zelbo
The renders created by Zelbo show off an extremely thin laptop with two USB-C ports. In Monday’s video, Prosser admitted the renders are based at least partly on guesswork.
“We had to put stuff together like a puzzle,” Prosser said. “Like some of this stuff, we did have to guess on. We had a pretty good look at the bottom of the unit. But the display here, we don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like. So full disclosure, that part we are guessing on to sort of put the whole puzzle together to show you.”
The resulting laptop looks impossible thin. The function keys look larger than the ones on current models, which Prosser said reduces the size of the trackpad.
“It’s completely flat,” he said. “I mean, it is so flat and so thin that I don’t even know what happens next.”
MacBook Air I/O
Prosser said to expect two USB-C ports. However, he hedged on whether the laptop will include MagSafe, the beloved magnetic charging connector Apple killed half a decade ago.
“As far as I know, two USB-C ports, one on either side, but that’s kind of it in terms of I/O from the images that we had, especially from the angles that we had,” Prosser said. “We were unable to see if MagSafe is coming back to MacBook Air, so we just didn’t include it. I’m not saying that it’s not going to be there, but I couldn’t see it from what we saw.”
Prosser said the lack of ports in the leaked images he saw led him to believe this computer will be the next-gen MacBook Air. The redesigned MacBook Pro supposedly will get come with a built-in SD card reader, an HDMI port and MagSafe charging, in addition to a fancy mini-LED display. The high-end machine likely won’t arrive until later this year at the earliest.
“The sources, as well as myself, we’re just assuming that we’re looking at the next MacBook Air, because the I/O on this machine, the images that we have, they do not match the leaked MacBook Pro schematics that are out there in the ether,” Prosser said.
White bezels
When it comes to the bezels in the redesigned laptop, Prosser said all he really knows is that they are white.
“That might be bad news for a lot of you — I know I’m not a huge fan of that — but it is what it is,” Prosser said. “The bezels are white. Also the keys on the keyboard — they’re white, as well.”
The sizes of the bezel he’s not so sure about, though. “When you get the final product, when we see the real deal, the bezels may be thinner than this,” he said. “They may also be thicker than this. My guess is, we’re pretty close.”
The bottom of the laptop will look different from current models as well, according to Prosser.
“They’ve also removed the four rubber feet that is typically on the bottom of MacBook Air, and instead there are just two vertical strips closer to the side,” he said.
He predicted the redesigned laptop would not arrive any earlier than the end of 2021.
Image: Ian Zelbo
John Prosser’s record on Apple leaks
Prosser has been producing Front Page Tech for years. But he shot to fame in 2020 after a series of remarkably accurate Apple leaks. In an appearance on Cult of Mac’s podcast, The CultCast, Prosser impressed us with his methodology. He also left us scratching our heads with one of the wildest rumors we’ve heard in a while.
He still ranks pretty high on AppleTrack list of leakers (currently 77.8% accurate, based on 167 rumors). But then he also shaved his eyebrows after a high-profile miss regarding the date of Apple’s Spring 2021 event.
As he did with AirTags, Prosser shared the leaked MacBook Air images with a concept creator to craft the renders showcased in today’s video. He said that protects his source(s) while still providing an accurate glimpse of a future Apple product.
“Everyone wins,” said Prosser.
Watch the full video, in which Prosser reveals a little more about how the Apple leaks sausage gets made, below. Prosser also posted several MacBook Air renders to Google Drive.
