It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 15 years since Steve Jobs pulled a MacBook Air from a yellow manilla envelope like a rabbit out of a hat on stage at Macworld in San Francisco.
The world's thinnest notebook has seen 13 iterations since then, and I'd argue the latest model Apple unveiled is the most significant overhaul yet.
The new MacBook Air's laundry list of improvements includes a larger screen, a higher resolution webcam, and a MagSafe charging port, which I'll touch more on a little later. It's all tucked into a redesigned body that does away with the tapered design from years past. As you'd expect, it's still extremely thin and light — just 2.7 pounds and is brimming with cutting-edge components.
Apple MacBook Air Laptop with M2 Chip
Pros
- One of the fastest, most powerful laptops you can buy
- Has a bigger display with slimmer bezels in a sleek aluminum body that’s smaller in volume and lighter
- Crystal clear 1080p webcam on board
Cons
- Dual USB-C port power adapter is only included with 10-core GPU and 512GB storage models
- $200 more expensive than the previous MacBook Air M1 model
Key Specs
• Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 13.6-inch Retina display with True Tone Technology, P3 color gamut
• 8/16/24GB of RAM; up to 2TB SSD
• Backlit Magic Keyboard with 12 full-height function keys and Touch ID fingerprint sensor
• Two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 compatibility, MagSafe 3 charging port
• 1080p FaceTime HD camera
I spent the last week putting the new MacBook Air through the paces and used it as my daily computer to write reviews like this one, conduct research, attend virtual meetings, and do basic video, audio, and image editing. Speaking as someone who has held off on upgrading my notebook, I can’t sing enough praises about Apple’s latest laptop. Here’s why I think it’s worth its premium price.
The M2 Chip is a Total Powerhouse
Small size, huge performance
- M2 has 50% more memory bandwidth than M1
- GPU has up to 10 graphics cores and delivers 35% faster graphics performance than M1
- Improved Neural Engine can process 15.8 trillion operations per second or 40% more than M1
Not going to lie, I was totally blown away by the performance and power efficiency of the M1 chip that came before the processor that powers the latest MacBook Air. Having said that, I didn't expect the new M2 chip to be as impressive — but trust me, it's groundbreaking.
The 8-core M2 chip that powers the new Air is 40% faster than the M1 processor and sports 20 billion transistors, which is about 25% more than the original M1. If you're coming from a laptop that was released in 2019 or earlier, I can promise you that you'll immediately notice a difference in performance.
I'm the type of person who has multiple web browser windows with 15 tabs minimum open on each one (IYKYK). The browser to the right of this window currently has 28 tabs open (I know, I'm a monster) — but I never once experienced any hiccups or slowdowns during my time web browsing on the Air.
The M2 Chip put into perspective how far computers have come just in the last five years. It's absolutely wild that I can export a Dolby Vision-enhanced 4K clip at 60 frames per second in just a single minute with the MacBook Air. When I was in college in 2014, I would have to pause and wait for my laptop to render the video as I edited, and exporting projects would take hours. This one can juggle multiple 4K streams simultaneously and exports crisp high-resolution footage in a couple of minutes.
It's also been exciting to see how far the Air has come for gaming. During my tests, Full HD games ran at around 29 frames per second, which isn't as high as the best gaming laptops, but I'm confident most casual gamers will be pleased with the performance.
It Has a Brighter and Bigger Display
Bye-bye bezels!
- P3 wide color and support for 1 billion colors
- 500 nits of brightness
- Lower minimum brightness of 2 nits
The latest Air has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with super thin bezels. Compared to its predecessor, it's 25% brighter, so I had an easier time working outside on my back patio.
Speaking as someone who has always opted for a laptop with a larger 15-inch screen instead of selecting something more portable that hovers around the 13- or 14-inch mark, I was a little nervous that I would find the MacBook Air's display to feel cramped. It turns out I was wrong — because the display never left me feeling tight on space to operate, even when I was multitasking. I don't mind the notch that houses the webcam, either.
With a resolution of 2,560 by 1,664 pixels, and a pixel density of 224 pixels per inch, the MacBook Air’s screen is roomy, vivid, and reproduces highly detailed visuals. If you frequently edit photos, you’ll be impressed at how true-to-life and colorful its images are.
Battery Delivers Epic Endurance
No outlet? No problem!
- Best-in-class battery life with up to approximately 15 hours of wireless web browsing or 18 hours of video playback
- MagSafe charging adds a dose of convenience by freeing up both Thunderbolt ports and lessening the likelihood of dropping your Mac
Apple's MacBooks continue to dominate the laptop space when it comes to battery life. According to Apple, the new MacBook Air can last up to 18 hours between battery charges. Last year, I was using a MacBook Pro from 2018 that would die in less than 5 hours, so I was almost always tethered to an outlet.
With the Air, I consistently got twice the amount of battery life I was used to and never experienced battery anxiety, even on days that I was on long Zoom calls and was glued to my laptop screen. Yes, battery life varies from user to user, but I’m confident you can stretch the Air’s battery past the 12-hour mark if you don’t have too intense of a workflow or keep your brightness settings peaked.
As for me, I'm constantly being bombarded with Slack messages, I always have a Spotify playlist fired up, and I hop between YouTube, my inbox, Chrome, Photoshop, Outlook, documents, and spreadsheets. But even despite my endless multitasking, the battery (and the MacBook Air's RAM) always kept up well past my workday with juice to spare for a Better Call Saul binge after work.
Lastly, it's worth a brief mention that if you want to fast charge your MacBook Air you'll need to invest in a 67-watt USB-C power adapter, as only a single port 30-watt power adapter is included in the box with the base model.
Other Noteworthy Bits
- 1080p camera offers twice the resolution and improved low-light performance
- Four-speaker surround system provides a louder and cleaner sound
- The backlit keyboard has a full-height function row, Touch ID for unlocking your Mac with your fingerprint
I work remotely and spend a lot of my workweek on video calls, so I was thrilled that the MacBook Air finally packs a 1080p FaceTime HD camera. It offers twice the resolution of the previous MacBook Air, delivers better low-light performance, and is so much less blurry than the camera I'm used to. And by the way, even the more expensive M2 MacBook Pro doesn't feature a 1080p webcam!
I also have to give Apple credit for how impressive the Air's speakers sound. The four-speaker sound system supports Spatial Audio and offers a wide soundscape that's great for music or video consumption and gaming. During my tests, audio was clear, immersive, and surprisingly loud — just not quite as loud as the 16-inch MacBook Pro's speakers. Regardless, the speakers sounded better than any other 13- or 14-inch laptop I've used.
When it comes to connectivity options, the MacBook Air is equipped with dual Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports that support charging, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe power connector. The latter is a game-changer. In case you’re unfamiliar, it’s a magnetic charging cable that will instantly disconnect if you, a pet, or a child accidentally trips over or tugs on the cable, which would otherwise cause the machine to tumble and fall to the ground.
When it comes to aesthetics, I was excited to see that the MacBook Air comes in two new colors. There are the typical silver and space gray variants, but also new starlight and midnight color configurations. The midnight color instantly reminded me of the sleek and cool polycarbonate MacBooks from 2007, but was actually inspired by the volcanic rock Basalt.
A Quick Comparison and Wrap-Up
How the Air Stacks Up Against the 13-inch Pro
If you're in the market for a new laptop, chances are you're also considering the $100 more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2, that my colleague reviewed. If you're someone who does graphic-intensive tasks like 3D modeling, requires the utmost performance, and needs to stretch the battery the furthest, I recommend splurging for the Pro, which packs a 10-core GPU by default along with an active cooling system to deliver better-sustained performance.
For most consumers though, the MacBook Air is the better buy. The Pro doesn't offer as much screen real estate (13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution), it has a lesser 720p webcam, and lacks MagSafe charging. The 13-inch Pro's keyboard also uses the Touch Bar, while the Air (and the 14-inch and 16-inch Pro models) has physical function keys. Both models have best-in-class keyboards and trackpads that are satisfying to use.
The new MacBook Air starts at $1,199 for a 13.6-inch notebook with an M2 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD storage drive. Given its redesign, larger and brighter display, improved webcam, snappy performance, and outstanding battery life, it's a worthy investment, even despite its slightly higher price point. Not to mention, the MacBook Air is an excellent-looking and premium-feeling laptop that comes in several striking colors, which make the machine feel that much more personal.
Shop Apple MacBook Air with M2 Chip
Brandon Carte has been covering technology at BestProducts.com since 2017, where he's been writing about the latest gadgets, appliances, and scouring the internet for the products that make life easier. His reporting has been featured on TopTenReviews.com, Good Housekeeping and USA Today. When he's not researching washing machines or testing robot vacuums, you can find him at concerts, swimming laps, or at the movies. He thinks smartphones are too big, prefers MP3s to Spotify, and misses his iPhone’s headphone jack.
