he next-generation MacBook Air with a larger screen and M3 chips is in the works for later this year, as Apple’s way of dealing with declining sales.

A leaked developer log shows Apple have started testing their new Macs with third-party apps from the app store, which is seen as an important step on the way to launch.

Apple are in the worst Mac sales slump since the 2000 dot-com bust, and clearly see this as a way to turn that around. One report says Mac shipments dropped more than 40 per cent in the first quarter. They will release their actual results on May 4.

In the meantime, Apple have been preparing laptops with processor specs similar to existing models, with larger higher-res displays. The leaked test logs seem to indicate this new MacBook Air would be a welcome boost on this, with a 15″display.

There are eight processor cores, as there are in the current MacBook Air, and 10 graphic cores, as well as eight gigabytes of memory, like the current MacBook Air. There are also still four high-performance cores of the CPU and four efficiency cores in the CPU.

Apple are also expected to announce macOS 14 on June 5 at their Worldwide Developers Conference.