M2 MacBook Air Nearly Launched With the Same Rumored Budget MacBook Colors
M2 MacBook Air Nearly Launched With the Same Rumored Budget MacBook Colors
Publish Date: 2026-02-20 12:36:00
Source Domain: www.macobserver.com
Apple explored bright color finishes for its upcoming low-cost MacBook during the design phase of the 2022 MacBook Air. New leaks say the company first considered playful shades for the M2 MacBook Air but later chose safer tones for release. Now those brighter colors may finally appear on a cheaper model aimed at students and schools.
A Chinese leaker on Weibo, known as Instant Digital, says Apple planned a light and colorful palette for the 2022 MacBook Air redesign. The company eventually launched that laptop in silver, starlight, space gray, and midnight in July 2022.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple has tested light yellow, light green, blue, pink, silver, and dark gray for the budget MacBook. He also notes the company will not ship every tested color.
If Apple keeps these shades, the device would become the company’s most colorful laptop since the late 1990s iBook G3 lineup, which came in Tangerine, Blueberry, Indigo, Graphite, and Key Lime.
Specs and pricing
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the low-cost device will sell well under $1,000. The laptop will run an iPhone chip, likely the A18 Pro, instead of an M-series processor. Reports also point to a slightly under-13-inch display and an aluminum body built using a faster manufacturing process to reduce cost.
Apple aims the device at students and enterprise buyers. The company wants to compete directly with Chromebooks in schools and offices where price matters more than high performance.
Apple scheduled a special “Apple Experience” media briefing in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The invitation graphic already shows bright colors, which strengthens expectations for a colorful low-cost MacBook reveal.
