The new MacBook Air M2 was just announced on June 6 at WWDC 2022. It comes with a new chip, new design, and new cost price. And here’s everything new about it.
Performance
As mentioned in the name, the new MacBook Air comes with the new M2 chip. Apple claims the MacBook Air M2 will outperform the M1 MacBook Air As follows:
- Video editing: 1.4 times faster.
- Image filters and effects: 1.2 times faster.
- Gaming: 1.3 times faster.
- Scene edit detection: 1.6 times faster.
- Photo stitching: 1.4 times faster.
- ProRes video transcode: 3 times faster.
- Image upscaling: 1.2 times faster.
The default base MacBook Air (256GB configurable at apple.com) M2 chip has 8 CPU cores with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. It also has 8 GPU cores, 16 Neural Engine cores, and a 100 GB/s memory bandwidth.
If you go with the default 512GB model here’s what you get. 8 CPU cores with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 10 GPU cores, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s memory bandwidth. Of course, you can further configure it at apple.com to suit your needs.
Design
Let’s start with the design. Apple has completely redesigned the Macbook Air 2022, putting it in a different class from its predecessor, the Macbook Air M1.
Size and Weight
The M2 MacBook Air’s chassis is made mostly of recycled aluminum. It weighs in at 1.24 Kg (2.7 pounds). That makes it 0.05 Kg lighter than the 2020 Macbook Air M1. Overall, the Air M2 has a little more thickness and depth than its predecessor.
MacBook Air M2 Dimensions
The MacBook Air M2 has the following dimensions
- Thickness: 1.13 cm (0.44 inch),
- Width: 30.41 cm (11.97 inches),
- Depth: 21.5 cm (8.46 inches),
- Weight: 1.24 kg (2.7 pounds).
It’s important to note that Apple has moved away from the wedged shape design used in previous Macbook Air models and has now opted for the same boxy slab shape seen in the Macbook Pro M1 Max models.
Finish & Colors
The new MacBook Air comes in 4 colors Space Gray, Silver, and two new colors Starlight and Midnight. The Midnight color looks soo good I’m sure that’s the one most people will want to get. It’s a mixture of black and dark blue which makes it look like a very dark space gray that reflects a dark blue color at certain angles. Absolutely beautiful!
Charging and Ports
The Macbook Air M2 comes with the MagSafe 3 charging port. A very likable and welcomed addition because it frees up the two USB 4 Thunderbold ports for you to connect your peripherals.
People love Apple’s MagSafe charging port because of how easy it is to connect and safely disconnect in case sudden tension is applied to the charging cord. That means your laptop is less likely to fall from the table if you trip on your charging cable.
Each Thunderbolt 4 port on the MacBook air M2 has a maximum threshold of 40Gb/s on Thunderbolt, 40Gb/s on USB 4, and 10GB/s on USB Gen2 can be used for
On the right side, there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack which Apple says can now support high impedance headphones.
Keyboard & Trackpad
The MacBook Air M2 comes with a backlit magic keyboard with an ambient light sensor, 78US or 79 ISO keys, 12 full-height function keys, and 4 arrow keys in an inverted T arrangement. It has a force touch trackpad, which Apple says has pressure-sensing capabilities, enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and multi-touch gestures.
Display
Speaking of the M1 Max Macbook Models, Apple has also brought over the notch from the Pro models to the Macbook Air. That’s because the M2 Macbook Air comes with the same 1080p Facetime HD camera found in the M1 Max Macbook Pros. So we expect its webcam video quality to be better than that in the Macbook Air M1 which maxes out at 720p.
The bezels on the Macbook Air M2 are now slimmer, resulting in a 13.6-inch display instead of 13.3 inches as in the 2020 Macbook Air.
The new Macbook Air joins the pro models by getting a Liquid Retina display instead of the LED-backlit display with iPS technology that we find in its predecessor. The new display boasts 2560 by 1664 pixels, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology, and up to 500 nits of brightness.
Sound
MacBook Air M2 has four Spatial Audio capable speakers that support DlbyAmots. Spatial audio is simply a 360-degree sound format developed by Apple.
It recreates a surround sound effect by improving stereo separation and vocal clarity between the tweeters and woofers of the Macbook Air M2.
The Air M2 also has a 3 microphone array and Apple says they use an advanced beamforming algorithm to capture clean audio.
Battery Life
There’s a 52.6 watt-hour lithium-polymer battery in the Macbook Air M2. According to Apple, it will have up to 18 hours of online video streaming and 15 hours of wireless web browsing.
The base model M2 with the 8-core GPU and 256 GB storage will pack a 30W USB C Power adapter in the box. Meanwhile, the Air M2 with the 10-core GPU and 512 GB storage will have a 35W Dual USB-C Port compact Power adapter included. The Dual USB C charger will charge at 35W when connected to a single device or 17.5W each when connected to two devices.
Pricing
Though the Macbook Air has already been announced, it will only be available for purchase from next month (July 2022). However, Apple has already made known its prices as follows:
- Base Model: 8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 30W USB-C Power Adapter $1,199.00 in the USA or AED 4999 in the UAE.
- 8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage, 35W Dual USB-C Power Adapter $1,499.00 in the USA or AED AED 6,299.00 in the UAE.
What’s in the box?
- MacBook Air.
- A 30W USB-C Power Adapter for the Macbook Air M2 with an 8-core GPU and 256 storage.
- Or a 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter if you buy the Macbook Air M2 with 10-core GPU and 512GB storage.
- A 2m USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable.
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