Apple launched the M2-based MacBook Air last night at WWDC 2022. While the laptop is brand new in more ways than one, it’s the underlying chip— M2— that’s particularly exciting. Apple claims that M2 takes “the industry-leading performance per watt of M1 even further with an 18% faster CPU, a 35% more powerful GPU, and a 40% faster Neural Engine.” With up to 24GB of fast unified memory, M2 is being billed to deliver up to 50% more memory bandwidth than M1. All this and a Mac based on the new chip, like the 2022 MacBook Air, still promises all-day battery life like before, a claim we look forward to testing in the coming days.
Coming back to the MacBook Air, which is based around the new chip, Apple has come up with a sleeker design and new finishes, larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with 1080p webcam, and MagSafe charging. The 2022 M2 MacBook Air, also, supports fast charging— which is a first for the Air. Clearly, there’s lots to unbox. So, without further ado, let’s take a quick look at everything that the new MacBook Air packs inside.
Design: M2 MacBook Air brings a new sleek and lightweight unibody metal design which measures only 11.3mm and weighs just 1.24kg. Apple says it has been able to achieve a 20% reduction in overall volume in this generation. There are two new colours, too, in addition to your more regular silver and space gray options. These are midnight and starlight.
Display: The 2022 MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch “Liquid Retina” display (2560×1664 pixels) with slim bezels and 1080p webcam up-top that’s housed inside a notch. The screen, which can now peak 500nits, is 25% brighter and supports 1 billion colours. There is True Tone.
Processor: Apple’s M2 system-on-chip powers the 2022 MacBook Air. You can get with an 8-Core CPU and up to a 10-Core GPU (8-cores also available). Apple claims up to 40% faster performance in Final Cut Pro over M1-based MacBook Air.
RAM, Storage: You can get the M2 MacBook Air with up to 24GB of Unified Memory, and up to 2TB of SSD Storage.
Software: M2 MacBook Air will be one of the first devices to get Apple’s new macOS Ventura.
Ports/connectivity: You get two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack, and MagSafe charging in the M2 MacBook Air. It supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Battery, charging: Apple is promising “all-day” battery life with up to 18 hours of video playback, same as the M1-based MacBook Air despite a bump in core performance. The new MacBook Air also supports up to 67W fast charging, in addition to MagSafe. You’ll need to get a power adapter separately for this. Apple is also launching a 35W compact power adapter with two USB-C ports alongside that will be sold for Rs 5,800.
Keyboard: The Magic Keyboard, onboard, features a full-height function row with Touch ID and Force Touch trackpad.
Speakers: M2 MacBook Air comes with a 4-speaker sound system with support for spatial audio and a 3-mic array.
Price in India: MacBook Air with M2 price in India starts at Rs 1,19,900 (Rs 1,09,900 for education). This is for M2-based version with 8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, and 256GB SSD Storage. The top-of-the-line model with 8-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 24GB Unified Memory, and 2TB SSD Storage will set you back by Rs 2,49,900.
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