It’s barely been two weeks since Apple released its new budget smartphone, the iPhone 16e, but a new device is already on the way.
In a cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter), Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared to confirm the release of a new product coming in the next few days.
Cook shared a video showing the words ‘There’s something in the AIR’ alongside a caption that read: ‘This week’.
While Apple is staying tight-lipped about what this mystery device could be, fans think they already know what it is.
Many commenters are convinced that the release will be a new version of the MacBook Air featuring Apple’s more powerful M4 chips.
One excited commenter wrote: ‘M4 MacBook Air incoming!!’
However, not every Apple enthusiast is convinced that the next product is going to be a laptop.
Other excited tech fans speculated that we might soon see the long-rumoured ‘iPhone Air’.
In a cryptic post on X, formerly Twitter, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms that a new device is going to be announced this week
Tim Cook (pictured) shared a short clip showing the words ‘something is in the AIR’. However, the Apple CEO hasn’t provided any more details about what could be in store
On social media, Apple fans were convinced that the new product would either be an iPad Air or a MacBook Air
One of the most likely contenders for this new product is an updated version of the Apple MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air line received its last major update exactly a year ago on March 4, 2024, when Apple announced the 13-inch MacBook Air featuring the M3 chip.
It is widely expected that Apple is now poised to release a version of the popular laptop featuring the latest M4 chip currently available in the MacBook Pro.
On X, many commenters assumed that this was almost certain.
‘M4 MacBook Air yay’, wrote one commenter responding to Cook’s post.
Another chimed in: ‘Is this the rumoured M4 MacBook Air? Or maybe something else? Probably too early for a new iPad Air.’
And there might be a very good reason to think that they are correct.
Back in 2008 when then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first MacBook Air, he kicked off his announcement with the phrase: ‘There’s something in the air.’
Some Apple fans were certain that the ‘Air’ in Tim Cook’s post referred to the MacBook Air
Some believe that Apple will soon reveal an updated MacBook Air featuring the newer M4 chips
One social media sleuth noticed that Tim Cook’s announcement used a clip from the song featured in the original MacBook Air advert from 2024
Likewise, one sharp-eared social media sleuth spotted that the six-second music clip used in Cook’s post is from the same song from year’s MacBook Air announcement.
Additionally, Bloomberg’s veteran Apple analyst Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple is getting ready to unveil 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the upgraded M4 chip.
If that proves to be true, fans can expect to see a laptop that is significantly better suited to running Apple Intelligence, Apple’s suite of AI features.
Rumours also suggest that the M4 MacBook Air will feature improved battery life, and the new Nano-texture display which Apple currently reserves for its top-of-the-line products.
It’s also believed that this new MacBook will come with 16GB of RAM as standard, with options to extend that up to 32GB at the highest price point.
However, not everyone is convinced that the MacBook Air is on its way.
Eagle-eyed fans have broken down Tim Cook’s announcement video frame by frame to reveal what could be a hidden clue.
In the video, the word ‘AIR’ is blurred by an object moving quickly across the screen.
The MacBook Air lineup received its last update on March 4, 2024, when Apple revealed an updated version with the M3 chip (pictured)
Some commenters disagreed, arguing that the clip appears to show an iPad passing through the word ‘AIR’
A closer look reveals that this object looks a lot like a thin, new iPad seen from the side.
One commenter wrote: ‘I think you are all missing it, or it might be part of the announcement. It’s not a MacBook Air cutting across the word AIR. That looks like an iPad Air to me.’
‘Looks like an iPad Air to me. The aftermath of the video looks like a stylus tip in the word Air, too,’ added another.
Meanwhile, one commenter bluntly wrote: ‘New iPads.’
The latest generation of the iPad Air was also released about a year ago on May 15 and featured the M2 Chip and larger size options of 11 and 13 inches.
Although it is pretty soon for an update, some rumours suggest that there could be a new iPad Air featuring the M3 chip on its way.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple is already ‘beginning to wind down’ its inventory of the older iPad Air, a sign that often precedes a new product announcement.
That means we might expect the iPad Air to arrive sometime later this year.
Apple released a new iPad Pro (pictured) last year which was the thinnest iPad product to date, measuring just 5.1mm
On X, one commenter jokingly suggested that Tim Cook could be announcing an Apple air fryer and shared an AI-generated image of what that could look like
Another Apple fan joked that the post could be a reference to the Nike Air Force 1 trainers, sharing an AI-generated impression of the shoes featuring an Apple logo
On X, some commenters jokingly shared even wilder ideas for what Tim Cook could be hinting at.
One Apple fan posted an AI-generated image of an air fryer emblazoned with the Apple logo, writing: ‘Finally what we’ve been waiting for!’
Another shared an AI-generated image of a set of Nike Air Force 1 trainers featuring the Apple Logo on the side with a caption that read: ‘The day has finally come.’
The reference to ‘Air’ also excited some Apple fans who have long been waiting for the rumoured iPhone Air.
Responding to Tim Cook’s post, one commenter asked: ‘iPhone Air?’
Although there is no official information about this potential product, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the iPhone Air could be as thin as 5.5mm.
This would make it one of Apple’s thinnest products and the thinnest iPhone model by more than a millimetre.
However, it is probably far too early for any more iPhone models with the iPhone 16e having been released last month.
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.
2024: Apple makes its first steps into artificial intelligence with the release of Apple Intelligence. The features are not all released at once with many delayed until the following year.
