Tim Cook teases that there's something in the air

It looks like we have more new devices coming from Apple and they’re going to be with us this week.

[Update: Well, we got that wrong, as did most everyone else. Find out more about the newly announced iPad Air with M3 here.]

In a post on X yesterday, Tim Cook posted a short five second video animating the text “There's something in the air,” coupled with a simple two word comment “This week.” 

Given the lack of invites to the press that have popped through in peoples emails over recent days, this means that we're in for one of Apple’s tier 2 launches; a press release, some product photography, perhaps a new video, but not the all-singing and all-dancing Cupertino-produced event.

While there is no indication of precisely what the company is launching, the smart money is on a new MacBook Air. Noted Mac guru Mark Gurman has reported the Apple is getting ready to launch both 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models onto the market featuring the latest M4 chip. This would also sync with the company’s established release schedule, M3 MacBook Airs finding their way into Apple stores at this time last year.

The new chip will likely trigger a cascade of new features into the range, including greater RAM (probably up to 32GB), a faster architecture, a 12 megapixel Centre Stage camera, beefed up multidisplay support, and more.

There could also be other devices announced as well and the possibility of a combo launch has not been wholly discounted. A new iPad Air is on the way, partly indicated by the usual tell-tale of inventory of the current model declining with no restocks coming. But that might be a big enough deal to get its own mini-party.

We will know soon enough. And, as 9to5Mac points out, if all this is kindling a sense of déjà vu it's because this is exactly the same tagline that Apple used in 2008 when it introduced the first ever MacBook Air. Given that it's starting to recycle its own scripts, watch out in the future for ‘The plot thins’ (PowerBook, 1999), and ‘The most affordable Mac ever’ (Mac mini, 2005) to make reentrances. 

Judging by the list of its corporate slogans, it already snuck one by us last year, Apple Intelligence’s ‘AI for the rest of us’ being a direct copy (sorry, tribute) to one of the original Macintosh slogans from 40 years ago: ‘The Computer for the rest of us’.

tl;dr

• Tim Cook teased new Apple devices with a video featuring the phrase “There's something in the air,” indicating a product announcement this week without a large press event.
• Speculation suggests the launch could include new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models featuring the latest M4 chip, aligning with Apple's typical release schedule.
• Expected new features for the MacBook Air include up to 32GB of RAM, improved architecture, a 12-megapixel Centre Stage camera, and enhanced multidisplay support.
• There’s also the possibility of additional announcements, such as a new iPad Air, as inventory of the current model is declining, which could warrant its own launch event.