WWDCkicked off 2022 today and one highly - anticipated mathematical product bring out during Apple ’s tonic was theM2 - poweredMacBook Air M2 . Here ’s how it compares to the previousMacBook Air M1 .
When the MacBook Air M1 launched in 2020 , it strike off a monumental update for Apple ’s lightweight notebook ancestry – at least internally . TheM1brought with it satisfying improvements in both operation and battery lifetime , though the intent stay evocative of the Airs that came before it .
Here ’s how the new MacBook Air M2 measure up to the MacBook Air M1 ( 2020 ) …
Pricing and availability
The MacBook Air M1 establish in November 2020 with prices starting at $ 999/£999 .
The MacBook Air M2 was announced at WWDC on June 6 . The laptop is priced at $ 1199 and will be available to bribe from next calendar month ( July ) . That puts it at $ 100 more than its predecessor .
Design
While the MacBook Air M1 made large strides internally , its exterior did n’t differ much at all from the Intel - power MacBook Air before it .
The laptop came in three color – amber , Silver and Space Grey – and featured a large glass trackpad and Apple ’s Magic Keyboard . The keyboard strike out a long - awaited upgrade when theMacBook Air 2020(and subsequently the MacBook Air M1 ) launched , offering more travel than the controversial Butterfly switches had .
However , the ports still had their outlet on the M1 Air . There were just two Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4 ports that were positioned on the same side of the laptop . This is something we found to be annoying if you wanted to secure multiple dongle or adapter into the gimmick . There was also a 3.5 millimeter earphone jack .
With the MacBook Air M2 , Apple has replaced the wedge design with an all - aluminium envelopment that is consistently slim along its edge . In fact , the laptop computer is 11.3 mm lean and 2.7 lb in weight , offering a 20 % reduction in volume equate to the shape of the M1 - power Air .
There are two Thunderbolt ports and an audio diddley . One of the Thunderbolt inputs has been swapped out for aMagSafeport that can be used to charge the laptop while using a secure magnetic connection .
Like the Air M1 , the Air M2 include Apple ’s Magic Keyboard . The laptop is uncommitted in four colour – Silver , Space Grey , Starlight and Midnight .
Display
As far as displays go , the MacBook Air M1 take a 13 - inch LED information processing filmdom with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 .
The M1 was the first MacBook Air to support the P3 wide colour gamut , making its display more colorful than its predecessors . We in the main get hold it to be acute and bright enough for most use cases , though we would have liked to have find a littler bezel bordering the screen .
The MacBook Air M2 amount sporting a new 13.6 - inch Liquid Retina display . The display has in reality been expanded with a novel nick figure , leaving a thinner bezel around the boundary of the screen as we had skip .
The display on the 2022 Air is now capable of hitting 500 nit of brightness , making it 25 % lustrous than the M1 Air , as well , and the sieve supports one billion colours for more vibrant images and movies .
Specs
The MacBook Air M1 was the first atmosphere to be power by an Apple Silicon chip shot instead of an Intel one . It tamp down the M1 , an Apple - work up chip free-base on the ARM computer architecture that include 8 CPU cores , 7 - 8 GPU cores and a gruelling stress on the neuronal locomotive engine .
Not only were we hugely impressed by the public presentation of the MacBook Air M1 , but the chip also yield the battery life a nice boost . We find the barrage to be around 9 to 11 hour when the MacBook is used as a chief work figurer and Apple claimed it could last 18 hours with video playback .
The microphones in the laptop computer were decent , but the 720p camera impressed us less with its washed out and muzzy range of a function calibre and poor performance in low light conditions .
The MacBook Air M2 is powered by Apple ’s next coevals M2 chip , which have an 8 - core CPU , a 10 - core GPU ( giving it more GPU cores than the M1 ) , up to 24 GB of RAM and up to 2 TB SSD .
According to Apple , that mean 20 % faster Photoshop filters and issue and 40 % faster video editing than that accomplish by its already - impressive predecessor .
The MacBook Air M2 defend the same claim 18 hours of picture playback as the MacBook Air M1 , but it also hire advantage of Modern MagSafe charging financial support and assistance from 67W fast charge . This means you may get 50 % battery from just 30 minutes of charge .
Apple has integrated four speakers and three mics between the keyboard and display . The webcam has also seen a good update , doubling its solvent to 1080p and improving the low - light performance as well .
Early verdict
The MacBook Air M2 bring an all - round of drinks update to Apple ’s gentle wind line , with percipient highlighting being the M2 chipset , the Liquid Retina show and MagSafe charging .
However , it ’s also slightly more expensive so the M1 - powered Air may still be the good choice for those on a tight budget .
