An all-new, next-generation MacBook Air with new Apple Silicon has been rumored for well over a year. Today, Apple finally unveiled its latest MacBook Air, and it features a completely redesigned chassis. Instead of the wedge shape worn by the MacBook Air since its inception, Apple went with a more traditional, uniform thickness from front to back.
While the old MacBook Air was 16mm thick at the "fat part" of its wedge, the new model measures a consistent 11mm. Because of this, Apple says that the MacBook Air features a 20 percent overall reduction in volume. Overall weight is also down slightly from 2.8 pounds to 2.7 pounds. In addition, the MacBook Air is now available in four colors: Silver, Space Gray, Starlight (light gold), and Midnight (blue).
Like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Air features thinner display bezels all around. That allowed the company to boost the size of the Liquid Retina display (10-bit panel with maximum 500 nits brightness) from 13.3 inches to 13.6 inches diagonally. However, it also means that a notc now sits at the top-center of the display to accommodate the webcam. At least Apple upgraded the webcam from 720p to 1080p while delivering a claimed 2x uplift in low-light performance.
Perhaps the most significant addition to the MacBook Air -- besides its all-new look -- is the inclusion of Apple's new M2 SoC. The M1 kicked off the Apple Silicon era for the Mac, and the M2 pushes the envelope using a second-generation 5nm process node. The new M2 features 20 billion transistors, a 25 percent boost compared to M1. In addition, M2 supports up to 24GB of unified memory, delivering 100 Gbps of bandwidth.
Like its predecessor, the M2 features an 8-core design (4 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores). The performance cores now share 16MB of cache, while the efficiency cores share from a 4MB cache pool. Apple was able to increase core clocks all around while keeping power consumption in check. As a result, Apple promises an 18 percent boost in CPU performance and a 35 percent increase for the 10-core GPU, while maintaining a fanless design.
So how does this translate into real-world performance? According to Apple, the new M2-equipped MacBook Air is 20 percent faster at churning through image filters and effects than its M1 counterpart and up to 38 percent faster in video editing. However, despite the overall increase in CPU and GPU performance, Apple still promises the same "all-day" battery life of 18 hours.
Speaking of the battery, you can opt for a 67-watt fast charging adapter for the MacBook Air that will juice you from 0 percent to 50 percent in 30 minutes. Apple also offers a new compact power adapter that can charge two USB-C devices at once. And in case you were wondering, just like the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook Air also supports MagSafe power adapters.
According to Apple, the new M2 MacBook Airs will launch in July, priced from $1,199. This is a $200 increase over the M1 MacBook Air, which is still available at the $999 price point. If you're an education customer, you can knock $100 off those prices.
Not to be left out, Apple also revealed that the 13-inch MacBook Pro with its legacy design will also receive the new M2 processors. Customers will be able to opt for an 8-core M2 equipped with up to a 2TB SSD and 24GB of unified memory. Compared to the new MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 processor last 2 hours longer per charge (up to 20 hours).
The new M2-packin' 13-inch MacBook Pro also lands in July priced from $1,299 ($1,199 for educational customers).
