Apple's new rainbow MacBook Air lineup might not be after all

M2 Macbook Air Concept Screencap (Image credit: Devam Jengra)

What you need to know

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman doesn't expect Apple's next MacBook Air to come in multiple iMac-like colors.
A new MacBook Air is expected to be announced during Monday's WWDC22 opening keynote.
We might get a new blue color, however.

Current rumors point to Apple potentially announcing a refreshed MacBook Air during Monday's WWDC22 event, but hopes of the machine coming in eye-popping colors look set to be dashed.

Reports over the last few months have had Apple readying a new MacBook Pro complete with iMac-like colors including red, orange, and more. Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has poured cold water on that belief, saying that we might get a couple of colors — but not the rainbow that we were led to expect.

Gurman wrote about his expectations on Twitter, dashing hopes as he tapped away at his keyboard.

The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of "several colors" is probably exaggerated. Right now it comes in space gray, silver and gold. I wouldn't expect more than those colors (though the new gold will be more champagne like) plus my favorite iMac color.

Gurman included an image of the blue iMac, suggesting that we might see that added to the mix. If that's accurate, we can expect Space Gray, Silver, Gold, and Blue MacBook Airs to go on sale within the next couple of weeks — although we'll just need to wait until WWDC22 to be sure what colors the best Mac for most people will come in.

Besides the new look, an updated MacBook Air could well see the inclusion of new, second-generation Apple silicon in the shape of an M2. Colors aside, the machine's chassis is also set to change to make it look more like the latest MacBook Pro lineup.

Apple's WWDC event will kick off on Monday, June 6 with a streamed opening keynote that will also see the announcement of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16, and watchOS 9 if past events are any indication.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.