Apple's new M2 MacBook Air has a launch date, report says

When Apple launched its new MacBook Air with the M2 chip at WWDC in June, it never gave us an exact launch date, besides saying it's coming in July.

Now, MacRumors says it has confirmed with a retail source that the new MacBook Air will get an official launch on July 15, with pre-orders starting a week before, on July 8.

This is comforting given earlier rumors that the new MacBook Air might be late due to COVID-related factory shutdowns in China. Of course, even if the launch date above is accurate, the new laptop could still be in short supply with delivery dates quickly moving to the future as supplies dwindle, but we'll know more about that after the launch.

The new MacBook Air is a pretty big change from the previous version, with a new design (similar to the design of the 14-inch and the 16-inch MacBook Pro), and a 13.6-inch display with thinner bezels.

Besides the new M2 chip, which offers 18 percent more CPU performance, 35 percent more GPU performance, and up to 50 percent more memory bandwidth compared to the M1 chip, the new Air will have a new, 1080p camera, a four-speaker sound system, and the new MagSafe power connector.

The new MacBook Air starts at $1,199, but you'll be able to beef it up with more storage and memory, bringing the price all the way up to $2,499 for the top configuration.