Category: 📔 Note Tech

Apple's "Surprise and shine" tagline for September event also sounds like "Rise and shine", if I'm easter egg hunting. I think of their other new device like a Smart Clock, which replaces an Alarm/Clock/Radio, goes on a table or wall, and provides more functions than old clocks.

Imagine if Apple releases a newly redesigned thin and light MacBook Air with a twisting hinge like the Lenovo ThinkBook Twist, a touchscreen display possibly with 120Hz, and the first 2nm M6 chip in 2026, and saves the MacBook Pro touchscreen redesign for the M7 Pro in 2027.

I think Google and search engines may have lost their way when they started using people's location and providing localized results. I want to search the world for the best information when I search for something. If I want local results I'd include location in the search.

- 2026 Nov/Oct - M6 MacBook Air (New Design)
- 2026 Nov/Oct - M6 MacBook Pro (Old Design)
- 2027 Mar/Jun - M6 Pro MacBook Pro (New Design)
- 2028 Mar/Apr - A20 Pro MacBook Neo 2 (Old Design)
* Note - M2 debuted new Air, M4 debuted new iPad Pro

I wonder if one reason rumored M6 MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen might be redesigned like iPad Pro with camera inside bezels and no hole punch is because touching very edge of large displays in front of you may not work well, unlike a small iPhone you hold steady in your hand.

Since MacBook Neo got A18 Pro, iPad Air and Pro have M1 and later, and touch is likely coming to MacBooks, I wonder if Apple might merge iPadOS into macOS, allow all iPad apps on all Macs, and have macOS install on iPads other than mini that have 128GB and M2, A18 Pro, or better.

• 2026 Jan - 12.9" MacBook Air M5
• 2026 Jan - 14.2" MacBook Pro M5 Pro (+16.2")
• 2026 Mar - 3X" Display + Mac Studio M5 Pro
• 2026 Jun - 13.3" MacBook A19 Pro
• 2026 Jun - 13.6" M3/M2/M1 Discontinued
• 2026 Oct - 3X" iMac M6 (2027 Mar?)

I wonder if the rumor about a MacBook with a new 12.9" screen size might actually be a new M-Series or M5 MacBook Air size and design, with the rumored budget A-Series MacBook being a separate device coming another time in either the current 13.6" design or former 13.3" design.

Budget A-Series MacBook Design

I would guess that the most likely scenario is the M-Series MacBook gets a redesign first, possibly as a 12.X" device with M5, and then the budget A-Series MacBook gets the "old" 13.6" design. Second most likely is just a budget 13.3", but that design is quite old and colorless.

• M5 will be built on 2nm GAAFET
• M5 uses hybrid bonding chiplets so CPU is 2nm
• M5 MacBooks come out in late 2025
• M5 MacBook Air is Mini-LED, maybe new size/design
• iMac and Mac Mini skip M5, wait for M6?
• Next iPad Pro uses 2nm A-Series Pro?

I wonder if Apple might release a redesigned MacBook Air in two new 12" and 14" sizes that are even thinner, lighter, and smaller, and which may not have a tandem OLED screen like the iPad Pro.

What

• M4? - Redesigned - 12" and 14" - $1199/$1399?
• M2? - Discounted - 13" and 15" - $799/$999?
• M3? - Discontinued

Why

• Make next MacBook Air thin, light, and small
• Offer cheaper old MacBook Air for education
• Keep MacBook Air somewhat lower priced
• Leave tandem OLED for MacBook Pro first

Guesses

• Mac Ultra, nee Pro, with M3 Ultra
• 30" or 32" iMac Pro with M3 Pro
• 14" and 16" MacBook Pro updates
• M3 Pro and M2 options for iMac

Notes

• N3B on 3nm was ready long ago - A17/M3 Pro
• M3 Pro vs M2 may encourage iMac Pro sales
• No M3 or A17, straight to M4 and A18

• 15.3" - M3 - Notch Design - Upgraded - MacBook Air
• 12.5" - M3 - Notch Design - Added - MacBook mini
• 13.6" - M2 - Notch Design - Discounted - MacBook Air
• 13.3" - M1 - Older Design - Removed - Discounted?

I wonder if the rumored 5.7 inch iPhone SE could actually be a potential new size and design for the regular iPhone, possibly for fall 2023. The next iPhone SE could be based off that new design with USB-C, possibly for spring 2025 or 2026.

Notes

If there is an earlier iPhone SE in the spring of 2024, I wonder if it would be based off of the 5.4 inch iPhone 13 mini, or the 6 inch iPhone 13. However, they would need to at least slightly redesign the exterior of the device, to add USB-C, and possibly also Touch ID in the power button for cost reasons. Previously, the iPhone SE was not updated for 4 years from 2016 to 2020. Waiting three or four years after 2022 until the next iteration could make sense, to allow it to be based off of a newer design with USB-C, instead of ever having an iPhone SE based on an iPhone from the Face ID and notch era of devices.

I wonder if the new highest end Mac mini will simply get the new M2 chip, instead of having a Mac mini with an M2 Pro chip. The previous M1 chip could stick around as a lower tier Mac mini, and the M-Series Pro chips would be saved for the Mac Studio.

I wonder if Apple will have a higher tier brand called Ultra in more products, similar to Apple Watch and Apple Silicon. Maybe they would therefore have a Mac Ultra as their highest end desktop for instance.

I wonder if the 2023 iPhone release may even be around June instead of September, because ARM unconventionally missed its tick-tock cycle with 3 iterations of 5nm chips. The first 3nm chips for iPhone, based on ARMv9, may be ready to release earlier than normal.