Is a Cellular MacBook Air With M4 Chip On the Horizon?

Chalk this one up to idle speculation, but the current rumor is that the iPhone SE releasing next spring will have an Apple cellular modem in it. Apple’s been working on building its own modem for years now and it seems like the project is finally going to bear fruit.

But there’s another rumor about the spring. Specifically, we’re supposed to receive the M4 MacBook Air about that same time. If Apple can put their modem in an iPhone SE, why not a MacBook Air as well?

I have no sources or basis for this speculation except for the probable overlap in time. Over the years, I’ve heard from so many MacBook road warriors who desperately want a cellular-enabled MacBook. Wouldn’t it be nice to finally see Apple make one?

The Hypothetical Cellular Mac

Ryan Christoffel, over at 9to5Mac, wrote an excellent article about how we are at an interesting crossroads over Macs with cellular chips. Specifically, Apple seems closer to releasing their own cellular chip and a lot of folks, myself included, have used that event as the hypothetical tipping point where Apple starts putting cellular chips in Macs.

If they don’t have to pay a fee to some other manufacturer, why not? Right?

If Apple doesn’t start putting cellular chips in Macs after they start shipping their own cellular chip, I have to wonder if they’ll ever do it.

A Cellular MacBook

I don’t usually comment on Apple patents because there are so many of them, and they typically don’t mean what you think they mean.

However, this one about improved cellular technologies in MacBooks has me taking the bait. The case for a cellular MacBook in the Intel days was good. The case for a cellular MacBook in the age of Apple silicon is infinitely better. Apple already makes devices with Apple chips that have cellular radios. Indeed, quite a lot of them. In my opinion, at this point, every MacBook purchase should have a “Would you like a cellular radio with this?” checkbox on it, just like the iPads do.

If I had to guess, Apple is waiting to release its own long-awaited cellular radio chip before taking the plunge. However, if Apple still doesn’t have a cellular radio option for the MacBook when that day arrives, I’ll be out of ideas as to why not.