MacBook Air with M2 Processor: First Impressions

No wonder Apple introduced a new Macbook Air during the keynote WWDC 2022. It has a new design that is somewhat reminiscent of the 14/16-inch MacBook Pro or the latest iPad Pro M1. To the surprise of some, it comes with a new processor. M2 from Apple, which is an evolution M1with more features, more power, more speed, but with the same principles of using the least amount of energy possible.

In terms of sales, the MacBook Air is Apple’s best-selling laptop. It also represents many of the company’s values: small, light, very thin, with lots of features. The laptop, released by Steve Jobs in 2008, was supposed to offer the best of the Mac in the most discreet “package”. With rare exceptions, they succeeded.

First Macbook Air ditching the iconic wedge design and adopting another one similar to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro released in Fall 2021. I had the opportunity to attend the WWDC 2022 keynote at Apple Park in Cupertino. I had the device in my hands, and these are my first impressions of Apple’s most popular new laptop.

All MacBook Air changes inside and out

The first thing that catches your eye about the new MacBook Air design is the new colors. I’m sure the new midnight and starry white will be quite popular. Both colors go very well with this new design.

It’s funny to see such a thin Mac with such straight lines. Apple is so accustomed to the wedge-shaped design of this product that sometimes it seems that the laptop is thicker than it really is. You will also believe that it is heavier. But no. Holding it in your hand feels the familiar weight of the Air. Although this version is slightly lighter at 1.24 kg, up from 1.29 kg before.

When you open Macbook Air you discover another important change: the screen. Now it’s bigger because the border is smaller. In this new version, the screen diagonal has been increased from 13.3 to 13.6 inches. Yes, there is also excavationwhere is the front webcam.

Apple decided to completely adopt that “break” in the screen both in the iPhone and in the 14 or 16-inch MacBook Pro that comes with the MacBook Air. Since the screen is smaller, the notch is a little bigger, but rest assured that this is not a problem, the interface adapts without problems.

The MacBook Air’s screen also changes in terms of brightness and is appreciated. It’s Liquid Retina at 2560 by 1664, 224 ppi, 500 nits – 100 nits more than the previous model – and True Tone technology. More brightness will always be appreciated, but for the price of a device, don’t expect anything like a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro.

It’s a simple detail, but I think it’s important. The new MacBook Air brings back the MagSafe port, which is already back on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros released in Fall 2021.

This has the added benefit of freeing up the Thunderbolt port for other uses since it doesn’t need to be used for charging.

In terms of battery life, the new MacBook Air with M2 supports 18 hours of battery life, which is valuable as this new laptop is more powerful.

M2 processor inside MacBook Air

The big change in the MacBook Air isn’t in its design, screen, ports, or colors, but in Apple’s new M2 processor. This is the first piece of equipment to use it, retaining all the benefits of the M1 but boosting performance without sacrificing energy efficiency.

Apple claims the M2 is 1.4 times more powerful than the M1, 38% faster when editing videos, and 20% faster when applying filters and effects to images. Although they did not give information about the software that was used to obtain these figures.

There is a lot of confusion about where the M2 sits in relation to the rest of Apple’s processors. It is more powerful than the M1 but less powerful than the M1 Pro, M1 Max or M1 Ultra. We assume that in the future we will see M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra, but it will be much later in time.

Price and availability

New Macbook Air with M2 processor comes at new prices. In the US, the cheapest version costs $1,199 plus taxes. In Spain, they amount to 1.1519 euros (already including taxes). The base version includes 256 GB of space and 8 GB of RAM, which I think is not enough for many tasks.

The powerful version with 10 GPU cores and 512 GB of memory is priced at $1,499 before taxes or €1,869 with taxes. Curiously, a laptop with all the maximum capabilities, that is, with 24 GB, 2 TB of memory and a 67 W power adapter, costs $ 2,499 before taxes, or 3,019 euros (including taxes).