15-inch MacBook Air set for WWDC alongside Apple mixed-reality headset (report)

M2 MacBook Air
(Image credit: Future)

The 15-inch MacBook Air is one of those rumored products that felt like it may never arrive, but it seems that we may finally have our mythical quarry cornered.

According to the latest Power On Newsletter from the oft-accurate Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple's super-sized MacBook Air is firmly set for its debut at WWDC in June with one other major hardware announcement in tow (via MacRumors).

Like a MacBook Air, but bigger

While there were rumors suggesting that the 15-inch Air could serve as the debut of Apple's M3 chip, those have been thoroughly quashed by both Gurman and the ever-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Expect two M2 core options, but neither expects M2 Pro to be available for the 15-inch Air, which remains MacBook Pro territory.

Otherwise, features beyond the 15-inch display, size, and weight, should all remain the same as the MacBook Air M2. That includes the new design with the notch, a pair of Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, MagSafe 3 charging, and a 1080p webcam.

While the lack of any notable upgrades to take advantage of the larger size may seem disappointing, the fact that you'll finally be able to get a large-screen MacBook for under $2,500 is worth celebrating anyway, Here's hoping Apple keeps the price below $1,400.

Screencap of Craig Federighi from WWDC 2022 overlayed with Apple mixed reality headset concept by Antonia De Rosa

(Image credit: Apple/Antonia De Rosa)

Mixed-reality is still in the mix

The other major hardware announcement that Gurman reaffirmed is Apple's mixed-reality headset, which could be called Apple Reality Pro or Apple Reality One if previous trademark filings are accurate.

No new revelations regarding the headset beyond the planned launch. While there's no question it will grab a lot of attention, it remains an extremely contentious device with Apple employees allegedly convinced it will fail, despite some truly wild rumored features to set it apart from the rest of the market like the flagging Meta Quest Pro.

Given the rumored $3,000 pricing it seems unlikely that this will be the device that fixes the current state of VR, but Apple's reputation for arriving late and defining a product category is well-earned. 

WWDC 2023 is just over a month away now so all of our questions will be answered soon enough.

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.