New battery, thought to be for MacBook Air, appears in online certification databases

MacBook Air (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

A new battery has appeared in two online certification databases.
The battery is rated for 49.9Wh with a capacity of 4380mAh.
It's likely destined for a new MacBook Air.

A new battery has appeared in not one, but two online certification databases and it's too large to be part of the upcoming iPhone launch. That means it's most likely to be destined for a future MacBook Air refresh.

Rated for 49.9Wh and with a capacity of 4380mAh, the new battery has the same power rating as the battery used in the current MacBook Air, suggesting this will be a drop-in part for a refreshed model. Given the fact the battery has appeared in two databases, I'd guess a new MacBook Air will be with us sooner rather than later.

The battery was spotted in the Danish UL Demko and the China Certification Corporation databases earlier.

Possible Upcoming Apple Macbook battery model (A2389) appeared on 3C and UL Demko certifications.
4380mAh #Battery
Going by the voltage it could not be the iPhone battery.#Apple #A2389 #Macbook pic.twitter.com/5Re2oj4BpzPossible Upcoming Apple Macbook battery model (A2389) appeared on 3C and UL Demko certifications.
4380mAh #Battery
Going by the voltage it could not be the iPhone battery.#Apple #A2389 #Macbook pic.twitter.com/5Re2oj4Bpz— Venkatesh Babu.G (@smartvenkat95) July 28, 2020 July 28, 2020

We're already expecting new Macs before the end of the year, potentially with the first Apple silicon chips inside. Rumors of a MacBook Air have swirled before, despite the fact the machine was refreshed once already in 2020.

There's also the potential for this battery being designed for the 12-inch MacBook, a machine that was killed off not too long ago. It was always underpowered, but the arrival of Apple silicon could go some way to fixing that. Especially with a nice big battery accompanying it.

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.