Will the MacBook Air M2 2022 beat the previous generation? There’s a lot going for it, an interesting new design that increases the size of the screen, being smaller and lighter. The webcam resolution has also been raised to 1080p, along with a number of other features.
The new MacBook Air M2 2022 also has the latest M2 chip. This is the latest generation of the impressive M1 chip featured in the previous MacBook Air M1. After getting rid of Intel, Apple has now created its own processor and graphics to power Macs and MacBooks, the results are spectacular, with excellent performance and battery life.
As we’ve seen with the new MacBook Pro 13-inch, the performance boost via the M2 chip means long battery life. The good news for the MacBook Air is that it has the same M2 chip as the budget-priced 13-inch MacBook Pro, allowing it to deliver nearly identical performance.
A new design a bigger and brighter screen than the MacBook Pro 13-inch and a lower price point could give the MacBook Air M2 2022 an edge over the MacBook Pro 13-inch.
However, it’s not all good news as the MacBook Air compared to the MacBook Air M1 2020 is much more expensive. This makes it worth the money the MacBook Air M1 gives you. It seems that Apple is aware of that, so the M1 Air model will be discontinued after the new version is released.
MacBook Air M2 2022: Pricing and Availability
The new MacBook Air was announced at Apple’s WWDC 2022 developer conference. While the MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 2022 is the first M2-capable Mac to launch in July 2022 the new MacBook Air. The new MacBook Air M2 2022 finally goes on sale on July 8 to order.
However, we expect it to be a very popular product and with current inventory levels. The price hike over the previous-generation Air M2 is understandable, but it’s meant to be less valuable than the older MacBook Air.
The base model MacBook Air M2 2022 comes with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage.
Meanwhile, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 starts not that much higher than the MacBook Air M2, which means the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro prices aren’t that different.
Both base models come with the new M2 chip, the cheapest MacBook Air comes with an 8-core GPU, while the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with an M2 chip with a 10-core GPU. It has an advantage in terms of graphics performance, but the difference is not huge, which we will discuss in more detail later.
MacBook Air M2 2022 Review: Design
One of the most radical design shakeups we’ve seen Apple go through to create the new MacBook Air, and while you may regret the loss of some of the Air’s iconic features, it looks a lot more modern and elegant than the previous model.
As the name suggests, the MacBook Air is Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook, and with the new MacBook Air 2022 model, Apple has made even more improvements, shrinking the size and weight of the overall design.
The company’s engineers partially solved this problem by reducing the bezels around the screen by 30% on the top and 20% thinner on the sides.
The thickness of the previous MacBook Air’s screen was starting to look quite dated, especially when compared to high-end Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 13, so the thin bezels on the new model make the new MacBook Air look modern and much larger.
Apple MacBook Air M2 2022 Webcam
The MacBook Air M2 2022 webcam has been upgraded to 1080p, similar to that of the MacBook Pro from late 2021, and this increased resolution (improved image and better low-light handling of the new M2 chip) will be welcome to anyone who regularly meet friends and family online or video call in this era of online work, most of us will love this new innovation.
However, the combination of the larger webcam and thinner bezels means there’s a visible “notch” around the webcam and the drop-down menu bar. This is the same notch found on the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) and MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021).
We don’t mind the notch on other systems, as Apple has extended the display upwards, actually giving you more screen real estate, which makes the trade-off seem worth it.
MacBook Air M2 2022 Resolution
The same goes for the MacBook Air M2 2022, which comes with a 13.6-inch display compared to the previous 13.3-inch model. The resolution has also been increased from 2560 x 1600 to 2560 x 1664. This means a bigger screen without sacrificing sharpness and we think swapping the notch for a bigger screen is the way to go and you won’t notice it there, while still benefiting from the extra screen area and a better webcam.
MacBook Air M2 2022 Liquid Retina Display
The new Liquid Retina display is also 100nits brighter, so it’s now 500nits and supports one billion colors. However, it lacks ProMotion support. It’s worth noting that the cheaper MacBook Air M2 2022 comes with a bigger and brighter screen than the new MacBook Pro 13-inch. For those who demand image quality, especially photographers, the MacBook Air M2 2022 will have a much better edge.
Another big design change is that the MacBook Air no longer has a slimmer front and a thicker back. Instead, it’s identical, similar to almost every other phone design Apple produces today. It also avoids the dilemma where the previous MacBook Air was actually slightly thicker than the MacBook Pro at one end.
It also has a new hue that prefers bright colors, like pastels on the 24-inch iMac, will be disappointed by the relatively muted colors of Space Grey, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight Blue.
MacBook Air M2 2022 Port and Connectivity
Beyond the available colors, the laptop features MagSafe charging as well as two Thunderbolt ports and even a 3.5mm headphone jack, which would be welcome for those using non-Bluetooth headphones and headsets. MacBook Air M2 is also thin and light with a thickness of only 11mm and weighs 1.2 kg.
The base model MacBook Air comes with a 30W charger, but you can choose to upgrade to the $59 67W fast charger, which can get you 80% charged in just 20 minutes and comes with two ports, so you can charge your iPhone too, iPad, or other devices at the same time, although this does affect the charging time a bit, as the 67W is shared between the devices.
Overall, this redesign makes the MacBook Air feel more modern, improves the size and quality of the screen, and makes it thinner and lighter. That’s what you want from a visual overhaul, and while the new color options aren’t quite as vibrant, they’re still stylish and eye-catching.
Apple MacBook Air M2 2022 Review: Performance
The new MacBook Air M2 2022 comes with the M2 chip (SoC), Apple’s second-generation 5-nanometer chip that the company claims will deliver 18% faster CPU speeds, 35% faster GPU speeds (currently 3. has 10 cores) and an engine AI that is 40% faster than the previous generation. It’s worth noting that the base version of the MacBook Air comes with an 8-core GPU, but you can upgrade to a 10-core GPU.
Meanwhile, the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with an M2 chip and a standard 10-core GPU. As long as we use the MacBook Air, the laptop’s performance is very good. The pre-installed MacOS Monterey boots up and runs fine and looks great on the new screen. As usual, we use the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) for everyday use.
Browsing in Safari and Chrome is fast and responsive, even with lots of tabs open (the model we tested came with 16GB of RAM, which certainly helped here), and the keyboard has been slightly redesigned (it’s a bit narrower due to the redesign, but keeps the Magic Keyboard switches ) for a comfortable and pleasant feel.
Since the launch of the M1 chip and more and more applications that are compatible with the M1, will also work with the M2, and that means your favorite applications will run well and take advantage of the capabilities of the M2. Not only Apple’s apps, but apps from Adobe and Microsoft both have versions for the M1 and M2 chips.
For software that doesn’t have a compatible version, Apple’s Rosetta 2 tool helps here, letting you run apps built for Intel-based Macs almost as if they were designed for the M2, with minimal loss in performance.
We also tested with Garage Band (Apple’s pre-installed music creation software) and edited a 4K home movie in iMovie, and the M2 chip’s improved performance kept things working very well. We didn’t even notice a noticeable difference when compared to the M2 MacBook Pro for similar tasks.
One difference Apple wanted to point out is that the MacBook Air has a fanless design, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro uses fans to keep internal components cool. This means the 13-inch MacBook Pro with better consistent performance can run at full power longer without overheating.
In fact, the finless design of the MacBook Air M2 2022 also has the advantage of being thin and light and completely quiet when in use. However, we found that the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s cooling fan rarely activated during everyday tasks, indicating that it will only make a difference with heavy workloads in the long run. buy a 13-inch MacBook Air or MacBook Pro for such a task. You’re better off buying the more powerful 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Our benchmark tests show how similar the MacBook Air 13-inch and the new MacBook Pro are in terms of performance. Single-core performance on Cinebench and Geekbench is nearly identical for the two devices, both using the same 8-core M2 processor.
Multi-core performance is fairly similar on Geekbench, but on Cinebench the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a slight edge. So you might get slightly better performance multitasking with the Pro, especially if some of those tasks require using graphics, but otherwise the performance is pretty much the same, it’s hard to recommend the Pro over the MacBook Air, because the Air has a new design, a bigger screen. big, and cheaper.
So, we came across a very strange situation. It looks like the 13-inch MacBook Pro isn’t being killed by competitors like Dell or HP, but by Apple’s MacBook Air.
MacBook Air M2 2022 Review: Battery life
• Lasts more than 16 hours
• Very fast charging
We have high hopes for the MacBook Air’s battery life, as the M1 chip is a very efficient chip that offers high performance and long battery life, and Apple promises the same with the M2 chip.
Our hopes were not dashed, with our battery life test benchmark, which ran a 1080p video on loop until the battery ran out, lasting an impressive 16 hours and well ahead of similarly priced laptops running Windows.
It actually lasted 30 minutes longer than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is surprising, since the Pro has a bigger battery. The Pro’s Touch Bar and screen consume more power, which could explain the Pro’s faster battery drain.
It’s also a significant improvement over the M1 MacBook Air from two years ago, with 11 hours on the same test.
This means you can easily use your MacBook Air M2 2022 for a full workday or on a long flight with battery life remaining, which is pretty impressive. We found we could work easily without having to think about where to plug in the MacBook Air to get a full battery, which gives you more freedom when using the laptop.
We have more powerful chargers and they really charge quickly when we need them. The MagSafe port is great too, allowing you to quickly plug in your charger thanks to the magnetic connection, and if it’s accidentally pulled (which actually happened to us when we reviewed it), it disconnects. Connect easily without the risk of damaging the charging port.
You can also charge your MacBook Air M2 2022 via the USB-C port, which is handy if you need to borrow a charger while traveling.
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