Apple supplier Quanta Computer is likely gearing up for new MacBooks, according to research shared by investment firm Morgan Stanley.

In a research note on Friday, obtained by MacRumors, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said Quanta Computer guided for high single-digit percentage growth in the number of notebooks it assembles in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the first quarter. Woodring believes this increase is driven in part by new MacBooks.

In his newsletter last month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple would unveil the long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air at WWDC next month:

As part of watchOS 10, the company is planning to bring back widgets and make them a central part of the interface. This new strategy will debut at WWDC in June, alongside the unveiling of iOS 17, macOS 14, the 15-inch MacBook Air, and, of course, the much-anticipated mixed-reality headset.

The first-generation 15-inch MacBook Air will be powered by the M2 chip, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. No external design changes have been rumored for the laptop beyond the larger display size.

The latest 13-inch MacBook Air debuted at WWDC last year and features the M2 chip, a 1080p camera, a MagSafe 3 charging port, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and a Force Touch trackpad. Pricing starts at $1,199, and color options include Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver.

It's unclear if any other MacBooks will be unveiled next month, as new 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 chip are not expected to launch until later this year or next year, and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro were updated with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips just three months ago.

WWDC begins with Apple's keynote on June 5 and runs through June 9.

Article Link: MacBook Supplier Ramping Up Production as 15-Inch MacBook Air Rumored to Launch at WWDC

I think Apple is messing with Gurman's leaker's, I wouldn't be surprised if the 15 inch MacBook Air actually comes with M3 just like last years Air was the first debut M2. It would incentivize users to purchase it even more. Apple could then refresh the 13 inch Air with M3 when they decide to update the iMacs. The point is, this is just the introduction to M3. Its not gonna be anymore powerful than an M2 Pro or Max.

But I know what you are also thinking. So what about the Mac Pro? At this point, I don't think the Mac Pro is a major priority for Apple. We will get a preview at WWDC, but the eta is still unknown, they could actually push it to January 2024 with M3 Ultra and M3 Max.

MacRumors said:

Apple supplier Quanta Computer is likely gearing up for new MacBooks, according to research shared by investment firm Morgan Stanley.

In a research note on Friday, obtained by MacRumors, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said Quanta Computer guided for high single-digit percentage growth in the number of notebooks it assembles in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the first quarter. Woodring believes this increase is driven in part by new MacBooks.

Isn't Apple still trying to recover its laptop production still from the previous quarter? The last bit of news for this MacBook contract manufacturer was that they were busy setting up a factory in northern Vietnam.

Should have been released in April.

However, I’m so ready to place an order for MacBook Air 15” Midnight. I really hope it’s carrying a 120Hz screen display. 🙏🏻

A brand new Macbook launching with a one-year-old SoC that was already delayed by half a year. So basically, it's launching with a 1.5 year old SoC. And on top of that, M2 was a disappointment in features (such as no Ray Tracing) and performance improvements.

Still reeling from WFH era.

Apple needs layoffs to get rid of the deadweight in my opinion. Small team of A players can run circles around a large team of B players. I'm afraid Apple hired too many B players during the pandemic and the A players were "working" from home.

This with the M3 and the best battery life in a macbook would be hard to resist. 16 GB RAM in the base model would be like a cool glass of iced freshly pressed Apple juice on a hot summer day.

If it comes with M3, this will be icing on the cake.

Even with an M2 chip, there will be many who will find this hard to resist, as it will be cheaper than the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro/Max chip, has a screen larger than the 14 inch MacBook Pro M2 Pro/Max, and will come in a sleek beautiful form.

The compromises made on this machine will not be important to many users, I think.

I think they have smart strategy. At moment of shrinking sales, they give users what they were dreaming for long. No hope for M3 yet for me. It could impact MBP sale.
And one my thought. Companies usually put their new hot technology into high end and most expensive products. But Apple is doing with M chips the opposite. Probably because it needs to fine tune design in mass production before it scales it to Pro, Max... versions.

So...15" Air with M2 this summer, followed by 13" Air with M3 this fall?

This has been the rumor for months now and I still say it makes no sense.

Que the ytubers telling us why to buy it now etc and then 1 month later why they are returning it🤔. It's Like a vicious circle of same review template they all share.

KaiFiMacFan said:

So...15" Air with M2 this summer, followed by 13" Air with M3 this fall?

This has been the rumor for months now and I still say it makes no sense.

They'll update the 15" Air to M3 in the fall at the same time. This means if you buy an M2 15" Air, expect it to be "obsolete" in about 4-5 months.

That's why an M2 15" MBA is such a big disappointment.

I can't justify upgrading this soon from 2020 M1 MBP 13 inch. In fact, I'm likely to go the desktop route for my next Mac, either Mini or Studio. But, who know's!

cpnotebook80 said:

Que the ytubers telling us why to buy it now etc and then 1 month later why they are returning it🤔. It's Like a vicious circle of same review template they all share.

Yep... whenever I've noticed a Youtuber doing that I've unsubscribed and blocked their channel from my recommendations. It helps some.

How would something like this be for photoshop? After a lot of thought, I’m thinking maybe a laptop is the way to go, I want an iPad but want a pro, but for those prices I feel like I might as well get a laptop and have macOS instead of just basically a big iPhone. The 15” screen sounds about the right size, now if only they’d make one in black, with a glowing apple logo.

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ said:

Should have been released in April.

However, I’m so ready to place an order for MacBook Air 15” Midnight. I really hope it’s carrying a 120Hz screen display. 🙏🏻

I like the midnight color, do any apple laptops have a 120hz screen?

redbeard331 said:

How would something like this be for photoshop? After a lot of thought, I’m thinking maybe a laptop is the way to go, I want an iPad but want a pro, but for those prices I feel like I might as well get a laptop and have macOS instead of just basically a big iPhone. The 15” screen sounds about the right size, now if only they’d make one in black, with a glowing apple logo.

it will be like m2 or M3

Two Appleseeds said:

This with the M3 and the best battery life in a macbook would be hard to resist. 16 GB RAM in the base model would be like a cool glass of iced freshly pressed Apple juice on a hot summer day.

Don't count on it. Every time we wish for the perfect specs for these devices, we are always left wanting...

redbeard331 said:

I like the midnight color, do any apple laptops have a 120hz screen?

Yes, the M2 Pro and M2 Max 14/16-inch MacBook Pros

a casual comment besides all the discourse here—I do find myself quite envious of the color options available to Air users that aren’t available to Pro users.

by that I mean Midnight. by god, would I replace my current beloved M2 MBP with a Midnight version in a heartbeat. as someone with a Deep Purple 14PM I think it would be a wonderful complement (not literally in terms of color theory but yknow)

MacRumors said:

The first-generation 15-inch MacBook Air will be powered by the M2 chip, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. No external design changes have been rumored for the laptop beyond the larger display size.

Like many have said here, this sounds wrong. I have a M2 Air purchased last August and this means after an entire year, Apple will announce an identical laptop with slightly larger display before the M3 comes in the fall.

And at what price? $1499 for 8/256? I'm sure it will still sell but this sounds wrong.

KaiFiMacFan said:

So...15" Air with M2 this summer, followed by 13" Air with M3 this fall?

This has been the rumor for months now and I still say it makes no sense.

It makes perfect sense, for Apple of course.
Release 15 with already tested, working and available parts - majority of Air users and potential 15" buyers want the form factor, period.
No matter what YT CPU 'experts' tell you, M2 is a great SOC unless you mix power user tasks/expactations with non-power users base model specs.
And then comes the refresh phase later when M3 is ready, maybe some other minor enhancements, first 13" to give 13" users incentives (not M2 13 users mostly, stupid reviews always push the 'worth upgrade' narrative compared to previous model - most people don't upgrade every gen of course, it's the older and still M1 happy generation they need to persuade). And 15 gets refresh later depending on sales and priorities, at least one year later after gen 1.
And the different cycle for 13 and 15 may be a good thing too, it's always better for Apple to confuse and upsell buyers a bit, plus it's not a good business to give everything away at once, this way the spread form change and upgrade for a longer time and more profits.

senttoschool said:

They'll update the 15" Air to M3 in the fall at the same time. This means if you buy an M2 15" Air, expect it to be "obsolete" in about 4-5 months.

That's why an M2 15" MBA is such a big disappointment.

What exactly is it that you think justifies a new (therefore low yield therefore more expensive) M3 chip in the low end MBA? And what (at the low end) will be magically obsolete about M2 when M3 comes out?

Sure an overabundance of low end version M3 chips coming off some inefficient line could lead to Apple using them in low end boxes, but they would still be low end boxes.

Mr. Dee said:

I can't justify upgrading this soon from 2020 M1 MBP 13 inch. In fact, I'm likely to go the desktop route for my next Mac, either Mini or Studio. But, who know's!

Cant you Just buy a Thunderbolt monitor?

Best of both worlds I find

senttoschool said:

A brand new Macbook launching with a one-year-old SoC that was already delayed by half a year. So basically, it's launching with a 1.5 year old SoC. And on top of that, M2 was a disappointment in features (such as no Ray Tracing) and performance improvements.

Still reeling from WFH era.

Apple needs layoffs to get rid of the deadweight in my opinion. Small team of A players can run circles around a large team of B players. I'm afraid Apple hired too many B players during the pandemic and the A players were "working" from home.

Click to expand...

The problem is their in house chip team has been regularly losing A players for at least a couple years now.

seanoo said:

The problem is their in house chip team has been regularly losing A players for at least a couple years now.

And gaining others...