The MacBook is a brand of Macintosh notebook computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and has used Apple’s macOS operating system since 2006. It replaced the PowerBook and iBook brands during the Mac’s transition to Intel processors, announced in 2005. The Apple MacBook Air M2 really feels worthy of the Air name. That’s not to say the previous MacBook Air M1 wasn’t good, as it helped introduce the world to the power of Apple silicon.
It just didn’t feel like a leap forward to us, packing revolutionary performance into the same old chassis. The new MacBook Air is a breath of fresh air, and that’s because Apple has combined an even faster M2 chip with a much thinner and lighter design. When we hold and use this 2.7-pound notebook, it reminds us of the iconic original Air that Steve Jobs pulled out of an envelope 14 years ago. There are products, and then there are products that are somehow always in the conversation.
Many Apple products are always part of the conversation. The new Apple MacBook Air M2 is out now, and it’s quite different from its predecessor. Well, almost. The experience provided by the macOS offers continuity. But in other areas, there are many changes. The design of the new MacBook Air M2 is different. The screen is larger. And there are major improvements in display technology, speakers, chipset, webcam, and keyboard.
Design
One of the most radical design revisions Apple has ever made to an iconic product has breathed new life into the new MacBook Air. While you may mourn the loss of the Air’s iconic wedge, it looks much more modern and elegant than previous models. As the name suggests, the MacBook Air is the thinnest and lightest MacBook Apple makes, and with the new MacBook Air 2022 model, Apple has made further improvements, reducing the overall size and weight of the unibody design while actually increasing the screen size.
One of the ways the company’s engineers have accomplished this is by slimming the edges surrounding the screen by up to 30% at the top and bottom, and 20% at the sides. The chunky edges of previous MacBook Air screens were starting to look pretty dated, especially compared to high-end Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 13, so the thin edges of the new model make this MacBook Air look much more modern.
Keyboard and Touch Pad
The Magic Keyboard of the MacBook Air M2 proved to be fast and responsive in our test. The key action is nimble enough, and the travel is also sufficient as we had no problems writing and editing documents during our long bus ride. In the 10-finger typing test, we achieved 69 words per minute with 96% accuracy, which is within our usual range.
As usual, the Air’s large touchpad is accurate and makes it easy to perform a variety of gestures, from swiping to zooming to viewing all open apps. We like the Touch ID button embedded in the keyboard, which makes logging in easier, but we wish Apple supported Face ID to unlock the system even faster.
Display
The second area where the improvements are most noticeable. The M2 MacBook Air gets a “new” 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, which Apple says is bigger, brighter and better. In plain English, that means you get an IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1664 pixels and a peak brightness of up to 500 nits. Compared to the M1 MacBook Air, you’ll love this display. The notch frees up more space so you can fit more content inside. We were able to use our CMS website in Chrome, displaying all elements with enough space without switching to full-screen mode.
This is not possible on the M1 models due to the cramped space. This year’s model has been refreshed with a new screen. Inspired by last year’s MacBook Pro, Apple has included a similar screen in this model with the notch. The screen has grown to 13.6 inches compared to last year’s model. The resolution remains the same at 2560 x 1664. The display is now 25% brighter and can reach 500 nits. The display also houses the new 100p webcam, a long-overdue upgrade.
Audio
Apple has redesigned the Air’s speakers, opting for a quad arrangement between the keyboard and display. And despite their small size, the speakers are loud and fill our small bedroom with sound. As with most ultraportables, however, the low frequencies are not as strong as we would have liked, as we found out while listening to TeaMarrr and Sir’s “Tick.
Still, the sensual vocals of the two artists blended with the synthesized instruments without detracting from the percussion. Similar to other Apple products, the M2 Air’s speakers are capable of spatial audio, creating the illusion of a 3D audio experience. This brings an immersive factor that can enhance music and movies.
Graphics
Apple continues to struggle to convince consumers that MacBooks can also be a solid gaming system. I’m not convinced, but hopefully optimistic after watching the Resident Evil VIII demo during WWDC 2022. In the meantime, the Air M2’s 10-core GPU has shown it can keep up. During the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI benchmark, the notebook reached 40 frames per second. This is below the category average of 53 frames per second, but it can undercut the Intel Iris Xe-powered XPS 13 and Spectre x360’s scores of 15 and 23 frames per second, respectively. The AMD Radeon graphics of the Slim 7 Carbon is also below average at 37 fps.
So there were a lot of thoughts and feelings about Apple’s M2 chip. Is it as powerful as the M1 Pro or M1 Max? No. But it’s definitely better than the original M1 processor, and it does the job it was designed to do, to freshen up the Air and Pro models, with some panache. So what exactly are you getting with M2? The ARM-based 5-nanometer chip has 20 billion transistors, much more than the M1’s 16. The SoC features an eight-core processor with integrated graphics, a faster unified memory architecture, Apple’s Neural Engine, an improved image signal processor, and Apple’s Secure Enclave.
Performance
The new MacBook Air (M2, 2022) features the M2 System on Chip (SoC), Apple’s second-generation 5-nanometer chip that the company claims offers an 18% faster CPU, a 35% faster GPU (now 10 cores), and a 40% faster neural engine than its predecessor. It’s worth noting that the base MacBook Air comes with an 8-core GPU, but you can upgrade to a 10-core GPU.
The base 13-inch MacBook Pro, on the other hand, comes standard with an M2 chip and a 10-core GPU and doesn’t cost much more. During our time with the MacBook Air, the notebook performed incredibly well. The pre-installed macOS Monterey boots quickly and runs well, and it looks fantastic on the new screen as well. As usual, we used the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) for everyday use.
Web browsing was fast and responsive in both Safari and Chrome, even with multiple tabs open (the model we tested comes with 16 GB of RAM, which certainly helps here), and typing documents on the slightly redesigned keyboard (which is a bit narrower due to the new design, but retains the same Magic Keyboard switches) feels pleasant and comfortable.
Battery Life and Heat
The unibody case of the MacBook Air M2 houses a larger battery than the MacBook Air M1 (52.6Wh instead of 49.9Wh). The MacBook Air M1 was already a monster in terms of battery life, and the MacBook Air M2 continues this legacy, albeit without noticeable improvements. Apple promises up to 18 hours of battery life while watching Apple TV movies or 15 hours while surfing the web, which is also the case for the MacBook Air M1.
The MacBook Air M2 ships with a 30W USB-C charger, but to get the fastest charging times, you’ll need at least a 67W plug with support for the Power Delivery standard, which Apple is happy to sell you for an extra $20. We opted for the 67W plug and would recommend anyone buying the MacBook Air M2 to do the same, or at least buy a Power Delivery-compatible adapter that has enough power to charge a laptop.
There is another option at the same price for a 35W dual-port USB-C charger, but plugging it into a second device to charge it will drastically reduce power consumption over the MacBook Air. The biggest difference between the M2 Air and the Pro is that the latter has fans, while the former does not. Despite the lack of fans, however, the Air remained cool, with a reading of 80 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad after running a 15-minute full-screen video. The center of the keyboard reached 82 degrees, while the bottom reached 84 degrees. All results were well below our 95-degree comfort threshold.
Configuration Options
The new MacBook Air was announced at Apple’s developer conference WWDC 2022. While the MacBook Pro 13″ (M2, 2022) was the first M2-powered Mac to hit the market, we had to wait until July to get a firm launch date for the new MacBook Air, possibly due to Apple’s uncertainty about component and material availability. However, we expect it to be a very popular product, and given the current inventory issues, shipping dates could be delayed, though hopefully not too much.
Prices for this MacBook Air start at US$1,199 (£1,249/AU$1,899). The M1-based Air will still be available for $999, although education users can get it slightly cheaper at $899. This price jump is understandable, but it means it feels inferior to the older MacBook Air. That’s a shame, because one of the best features of the 2020 MacBook Air was its low price and excellent performance. The base model MacBook Air M2 comes with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.
The new M2 MacBook Pro 13-inch starts at $1,299, which puts Apple in an odd position, as it now means that the prices for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13-inch are not that different. While both base models come with the new M2 chip, the cheapest MacBook Air has an 8-core GPU, while the base MacBook Pro 13-inch has an M2 chip with a 10-core GPU, meaning the more expensive MacBook has the edge when it comes to graphics performance, but the MacBook Air isn’t that far off, as we’ll discuss later.
Conclusion
We hope you like this article on MacBook Air M2 Review. The MacBook Air M2 is simply the best notebook for the money, according to our tests. It offers outstanding performance, a brilliant display, and excellent battery life, all in a design that’s great for carrying around. Yes, $1,119 is a hefty price tag, but we’d easily choose this over the $999 MacBook Air M1 for its better performance and screen, as well as a sharper webcam and MagSafe charging capability.
The MacBook Air has been modernized from the ground up and looks better than ever on the outside. As the founder of the thin and light notebook category in 2008, the Air has always been the quintessential portable device. The larger 13.6-inch screen makes a significant difference at work, while the thinner and lighter chassis makes it easier than ever to fit in a pocket.
