The most anticipated laptops of 2022, so far

It's only January, but I've already got a laptop wish list for 2022. Most of these picks come from news announced earlier this month at CES, while others are my own informed speculation about what I expect later this year.

I'd expect every must-have laptop of this year to have a better webcam, although realistically that's not always going to be the case. I also think we're going to see more 5G-enabled PCs, more hybrid work machines with things like privacy screen filters, and more graphics power in laptops that may not be pitched as "gaming laptops."

M1 MacBook Air

The most recent MacBook Air.

Dan Ackerman/CNET

MacBook Air 2022

Will there be a new MacBook Air in 2022? Probably. Do we know for sure? No. The previous model kept the look and feel the same, but jumped to the Apple M1 chip from an Intel CPU. Now MacBook Pro laptops have better M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, plus improved webcams, so a new Air could add more processor options, a full HD camera (at long last), or even a new, more streamlined look. My other two big unknowns are: Will it stick with just a pair of USB-C ports? And will the headphone jack survive to fight another day?

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We were impressed with the 1.1GHz MacBook Air Apple introduced in March 2020, and then Apple blew that out of the water with the M1 MacBook Air in November 2020. But November 2020 is now more than a year ago so thoughts are turning to the next MacBook Air, what we can expect and when it will arrive.

The good news is that apparently there is a new look MacBook Air in the works and Apple is planning a colorful redesign to boot. The bad news is we may still have a long wait until it launches.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (who seems to have access to some pretty good sources) Apple is developing a "thinner and lighter version of the MacBook Air". This new MacBook Air will apparently no longer have the tapered design it is famous for. In fact, it may not even be called the MacBook Air, Apple could bring back the MacBook.

Plus a leak from Jon Prosser suggests that this new Mac laptop will come in a variety of colors - just like the 24in iMac. Prosser got some images mocked up of what that might look like - and six months after these images first appeared he has had them updated to incorporate the notch and MagSafe ports seen on 2021 14in MacBook Pro. We have more on the new design for the MacBook Air below.

With the new 14in and 16in MacBook Pro models launching in October 2021, there is a lot of interest in whether or not the MacBook Air will also feature a notch. It seems likely as we discuss below.

In this article we'll investigate what's in store for the new MacBook Air, we'll evaluate when in 2022 a new MacBook Air will launch, and we'll take a look at the anticipated features and improvements.

It's worth noting that these rumors could point to a new MacBook Air or the reincarnation of the MacBook. Prosser notes that the information he has received from his source suggests that this is not a MacBook Pro. We also have a round-up of rumors about the 2022 MacBook Pro.

Release date

There had been suggestions early in 2021 that we could see a new MacBook Air in 2021. Back in January 2021, Mark Gurman wrote in Bloomberg that the new MacBook Air could arrive in the second half of 2021, but he allowed that the launch could be pushed back to 2022.

Similarly, Jon Prosser's source had indicated that the new MacBook Air could arrive at the end of 2021 at the absolute earliest.

However, with the global chip shortages that have been affecting Apple and other manufacturers, and worldwide manufacturing and shipping delays due to COVID-19, any plans Apple might have had to launch a new MacBook Air in 2021 were scuppered.

Twitter account Dylandkt wrote in July 2021 that he believed that a new MacBook Air with M2 chip will arrive in the first half of 2022.