Macintosh Said to Plan Thinner MacBook Air With MagSafe Charger in Mac Lineup Reboot

Apple is working on a thinner and lighter version of the MacBook Air, the company's mass-market laptop, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The new computer is planned to be released during the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022. It will include Apple's MagSafe charging technology and a next-generation version of the company's in-house Mac processors. Apple has discussed making the laptop smaller by shrinking the border around the screen, which will remain 13-inches. The current model weighs 2.8 pounds and is just over half an inch at its thickest point.

The company considered building a larger version of the MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen, but Apple isn't moving forward with this for the next generation, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

MagSafe, which was removed from the MacBook Air with its 2018 redesign, is a magnetic charging system. That means any accidental yanking of the power cable would simply detach it from the laptop rather than pull down the entire computer. The new model will have a pair of USB 4 ports for connecting external devices.