11Pro here also, glad I got 256gb, still plenty for me, and a new battery around 2 years was worth it. Maybe I'll get a 16.

well the 2020 M1 Pro (13" Touchbar) was even longer. Apple marketed the Air as 18 and Pro as 20, and some tests found longer times, but the Pro still longer.

You are thinking of the 2020 M1 13" Macbook Pro which Apple has marketed as "up to 20 hour" battery life, the very similar M1 Air has a smaller battery and "up to 18 hour" battery life.

It's unlikely a dock would have spyware, but Anker has lost a lot of trust with the recent revelations of their privacy lies with their Eufy cameras.

I'll join you in hoping, but I wouldn't consider it a design change (focused on aesthetics and construction).

Actually, now that I think of it, a change to more exotic materials for weight savings (titanium, composites) would be a possible next step that would be notable but still the basic candy-bar shape.

They'll almost certainly keep flat sides, it won't fold... what can they really change that would be considered more different than 13 to 14 changes (colors and camera module size/layout)? Design is pretty stagnant, and that's fine.