Apple MacBook Air M2 13-inch

Apple MacBook Air M2

Let’s start with the chip. The new MacBook Air (2022) is the first laptop with the second-gen Apple Silicon M2 chip. Like the M1 chip, the new chip is based on unified memory architecture and focuses on power efficiency. Built on a second-gen 5nm node, Apple M2 has 20 billion transistors.

• Read our review of the Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022)

Apple M2 chip now features eight CPU cores, including new and improved efficiency and performance cores. It is paired with the next-gen GPU, which now has up to 10 cores. In terms of memory, the chip is configurable with up to 24GB of unified memory, with a total bandwidth of 100GB/s. Likewise, SSD storage is configurable with up to 2TB. Compared to the M1, the M2 chip is 18% faster CPU-wise and 35% faster in GPU. Apple says that the chip can handle 4K and 8K videos better than the original M1 chip because of the new media and ProRes video engines.

• Meanwhile, check out all the prices and specs of MacBooks here

New Design

In addition to the internals, Apple has also overhauled the design of the MacBook Air M2. The 2022 model moves away from the traditional wedge design in favor of the MacBook Pro-like look. It has a metal unibody made out of recycled aluminum. It measures 11.3mm in thickness and about 1.25 kg in weight. Apple is offering more color options, too. You can now get the MacBook Air M2 in Midnight and Starlight shades in addition to the usual Space Grey and Silver options.

Larger Display

Moving on, Apple MacBook Air M2 now features a larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with thinner bezels. The screen can produce over 1 billion colors and can get bright up to 500 nits. Apple has cleaned up the space at the top to make room for a menu bar. It results in a bar-shaped notch for the 1080p FaceTime camera. It offers twice the resolution and low-light performance of the last-gen solution as a result of a larger image sensor and efficient pixel technology.

Audio Setup

Apple MacBook Air (M2) features a quad-speaker setup and a three-mic array. The latter is backed by Apple’s beamforming algorithm. The speakers support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. To include all of it in a small chassis, Apple has placed the speaker and audio setup in the space between the display and keyboard

MagSafe Charging

The new MacBook Air also marks the return of MagSafe charging to Apple’s affordable MacBook lineup. A dedicated charging port means users can use the two Thunderbolt Ports for other accessories.