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Apple’s fully redesigned MacBook Air is finally up for order, with the first deliveries slated to begin next Friday, July 15th, 2022. And along with a new look that comes in four fresh finishes, it’s also powered by the tech giants’ brand-new M2 chip.
In fact, the “MacBook Air with M2” will only be the second device released by Apple featuring the new chip. The first was the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2, which performed very well in my testing and stretched the battery life to well over 20 hours.
And while that kept a classic design, the M2 MacBook Air sports a new, modern look, brings back a MagSafe charging port, and stretches the screen to the edges. It’s also $100 cheaper, with the starting configuration costing just $1,199. So let’s break down how to lock in an order and what you need to know about Apple’s latest laptop.
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How to order the MacBook Air with M2Apple’s all-new MacBook Air is up for order from the Cupertino-based giant directly and from retailers like Amazon. And there are two base configurations to pick from — one with an 8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine M2 chip, and one with an 8-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine M2 chip. The difference? That would be an extra two GPU cores, which will likely prove beneficial for those completing creative tasks.
There’s also a cost difference: $1,199 vs $1,499. Both feature just 8GB of RAM, but the $1,199 offers 256GB of solid-state-storage, while the $1,499 provides 512GB of solid-state-storage. You’ll also get the brand-new 35-watt dual USB-C wall plug with the $1,499 model instead of the standard single USB-C 30-Watt plug with the $1,199 model. Luckily either configuration is available in all four colors — Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver — and you can scale the MacBook Air up to 24GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.
MacBook Air with M2 (8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine), 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of Storage ($1,199; amazon.com or adorama.com)MacBook Air with M2 (8-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine), 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of Storage ($1,499; amazon.com or adorama.com)What’s new with the MacBook Air with M2?Everything about the MacBook Air with M2 is all-new. It’s a new modern design that mirrors the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. It has more rounded corners and feels sturdier all around, but the real kicker is that it’s half an inch thick and weighs just 2.7-pounds. I’m also pretty stoked for the color lineup, with Midnight and Silver being the most exciting as they’re the new additions.
Fans of the long-stand MacBook Air design might miss that the wedged design is gone here. For those folks, though, you can still get the M1 MacBook Air with a starting price of $999 — and that’s still a great value.
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The M2 MacBook Air marks the return of MagSafe. Apple’s magnetic charging cable is back and might save your MacBook Air from falling off a table. It sits on the left-hand side next to two USB-C ports, while a headphone jack lives on the right side. It’s pretty clean all around, from my initial hands-on at WWDC 2022. You can read that here.
And plugging the included MagSafe charging cable (braided) into a 67-Watt power plug (which you’ll need to supply) can fast-charge the MacBook Air to 50% in just 30 minutes.
Apple also enlarged the screen by stretching it to the edges, evident from when you first open the laptop. It’s now a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that is 25% brighter at 500 nits and can showcase over 1 billion colors. And like the 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pros, a notch at the top holds the upgraded 1080p FaceTime HD camera. It also sports a four-speaker system for immersive audio that supports Spatial Audio. There’s also a three-microphone setup for calls and recording sessions alike.
And as the name suggests, it’s powered by the brand-new M2 chip. It’s a fully fan-less setup here, and it should deliver quite a boost over those coming from older Intel macs or even someone with a base M1 device. In our benchmarking of the M2 with a fan in the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2022, I scored the highest single-core score in GeekBench 5 that I have ever seen. It also stretched the battery life and gave plenty of bandwidth for any task. I expect that to be much of the same here and that the fan or active cooling system won’t be missed except for truly power-hungry tasks that last for a long time.
Related: Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro Review: The Super Speedy M2 Chip in a Classic BuildApple is saying that in tests with M2 in the MacBook Air, it’s nearly 40% faster than the M1 chip with Final Cut Pro tasks. And those same tests against an intel Mac are up to 15 times faster. Yes, they’re big claims, but we’ve already seen that the M2 is a big leap in the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple also promises all-day battery life and up to 18 hours of video playback.
Let’s Recap the M2 MacBook AirI’m eager to go hands-on and will circle back soon with a full review, but it seems that MacBook Air with M2 will likely be the new recommendation when folks ask for an Apple laptop. Especially those who don’t need more performance from a fan or a larger screen with an M1 Pro or M1 Mac chip.
Of course, if you want to spend a little less or yearn for the classic MacBook Air design, the M1 MacBook Air is still a beast. It’s faster than most similarly priced laptops, especially those running Windows, and will likely provide an equally fast experience to the M2 counterparts. It’s also frequently discounted below the $999 MSRP for the base M1 (8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine), 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD model. Apple made a really good laptop with the M1 MacBook Air in 2020.
And if you want the new look with a larger, sharper display, a MagSafe port, and a faster chip, the MacBook Air with M2 is up for order now. It starts at $1,199 and will begin arriving to those who order on July 15, 2022.
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.