New MacBook Air laptops could appear as early as next week

With upgraded keyboards

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While the coronavirus might beshutting Apple Storesfor the time being, the hardware product cycle goes on – and it seems we might be in line for a MacBook Air refresh as early as next week.

The tip comes courtesy of a source speaking toMacRumors– a source who has been accurate in the past – so take this as a possibility rather than a certainty for the time being.

Appleanalysts have been busypredicting MacBook refreshesfor some point during 2020, which are being tipped to switch over to Apple-made processors rather than relying on Intel chipsets.

There has also been speculation that the smaller MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air would get a minor update before then, with the new keyboard seen on the latest16-inch MacBook Pro. That refresh has been predicted for Q2 2020, which starts in April.

Mark your calendars

If the MacRumors source is accurate, Apple could announce the MacBook Air refresh at some point next week and then start shipping the laptops in April. Whether the ongoing coronavirus outbreak would affect productionremains to be seen.

The most recentMacBook Airdesign and spec was launched near the end of 2018, with a minor refresh in July 2019. Another update now would be on the early side, but it’s not completely beyond the bounds of reason.

Unfortunately the anonymous tipster behind this new rumor doesn’t tell us what we can expect from the updated MacBook Air line, beyonda better keyboard.

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If the rumors are to be believed, Apple had been planning a March event to launch a follow-up to the iPhone SE and somenew iPad Pros, before coronavirus came along. It may be that the new and updated MacBook Air was due to be shown off then too.

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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