Apple MacBook Air's latest version (starting at $1199, $1899 tested) is an update to the iconic notebook. Since the original was introduced in 2008 by Steve Jobs—who pulled it out of a manila envelope, a stunt that's still pretty amazing, 14 years on—the Air has undergone only a few really big changes. This is why the 2022 revision of Air is so noteworthy.
Not only is it one of the first Macs to use Apple's M2 chip—the vanguard of the second generation of Apple Silicon—but it also splashes out with a completely new look. A thinner logic board allows for larger screens and a lighter chassis. This makes it possible to add useful features without adding weight or bulk. The Apple MacBook Air is the most recent and best-selling ultraportable Mac in years.
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MacBook Thinner than Thin Air
We'll start with the design. Apple made significant changes to this area. The exterior of the MacBook Air is at once what you expect from the Air—ultrathin, incredibly lightweight—but it's nothing like the MacBook Air models of the past. It has a thinner body with the same thickness at both front and back. The Air measures just 0.44 inches thick and weighs in at 2.7 pounds. This makes it an impressively thin laptop.
While the aluminum chassis looks just like Apple products, it is now available in two additional colors: Starlight (gold) and Midnight, which are even darker grays. All models come with color-matched cables for charging. This gives you more customization options than ever, even if the colors aren't as vibrant as those on your Apple iMac. The mirrored Apple logo is great and the smooth finish matches the look of the new iPad or 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Much of this thinner profile is made possible by a new logic board design. In addition to hosting the new Apple M2 chip, the logic board is now designed with all of the components on one side. A dual-sided logic board has long been popular as a way to fit more components onto a smaller board, but with Apple's latest System on a Chip (SoC) doing most of the heavy lifting, it looks like the board design is plenty compact. The goal now is thinness, not overall size, and the result is a significant achievement: The Air is the thinnest it's ever been.
The new laptop also avoids the bulk of the MacBook Pros by sticking to passive cooling, eliminating the need for internal cooling fans. While that does mean that performance isn't quite as impressive on the M2 MacBook Air as it is on the M2-based MacBook Pro 13-inch, it also means it's quieter. The fanless design means that even under heavy load, the MacBook Air runs silent.
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MagSafe Charging - Solid Connectivity
Although the MacBook Air has a more limited selection of ports, it is still able to select a few. Although the dual USB Type C/Thunderbolt 4 ports allow for connectivity to almost anything, an adapter (or USB-C docking station) will be required if you require a USB Type A port or HDMI output. There is a 3.5mm headset connector for speakers or headphones.
MagSafe charging is the main improvement over the old MacBook Air. This is a big win in convenience. It will save you from a disaster if you trip on a loose power cable. Your MagSafe plug matches the color of your MacBook Air and charges the Air without taking up any USB-C ports.
MacBook Air Webcam, Display and Audio: Everything Better
The Air now has a 13.6 inch display. This is a major design change. We have never seen a Liquid Retina screen on an Air so brighter and more bold than this one. It is larger than the Air and has a maximum brightness of 500 nits (that was 514 in our tests) as well as support for 99 percent of P3 colors. This is a remarkable display for the MacBook Air. It has always felt that it is a new laptop, with an outdated display. However, it faces intense competition. The ultraportables are comparable to the Dell XPS 13 OLED (9310) or the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon, which offer premium OLED displays and touch-display capabilities. This is something that the MacBook Air Pro and MacBook Pro never had.
That 13.6-inch screen is a slightly but noticeably larger panel than the 13.3-inch display on the older M1 MacBook Air (2020), but the bigger screen fits into the same overall chassis size thanks to thinner bezels. Thin bezels in turn result in less room for a camera, so Apple has finally brought "The Notch" to the MacBook Air. The concept, borrowed from the design of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, scoops out a bit of the top of the screen to make space for the built-in 1080p webcam.
The camera quality is a significant upgrade to the old 720p models that were used only a few years back. Zoom meetings will be more enjoyable on the Air than they were on the M1 model. Apple's Neural Engine has improved image processing to improve color handling and lighting.
Air received upgrades to the ears and eyes with four new speakers that support Spatial Audio.
MacBook Air Input: An Identical Keyboard and a Superior Trackpad
Apple also includes the Magic Keyboard in the 2022 MacBook Air, however it is not as large as the Pro. However, the full-size row has function keys that run along its top. It is a way of distinguishing it from its predecessor, the MacBook Pro 13 inch, which retains the Touch Bar. However, the MacBook Air has fewer function keys than the MacBook Pro 13.-inch.
Is bigger better? Probably, but it doesn't make a huge difference in our testing. Are the full-size function keys are better than a Touch Bar? That's also up for debate. Let's just note that you don't see the Touch Bar on Apple's more premium (14-inch and 16-inch) MacBook Pros, either, and I doubt that's an oversight on the part of Apple's design team.
You can also use Apple Pay to make secure purchases and sign in with your keyboard.
Air comes with a bigger Force Touch trackpad. Although it's slightly taller than the previous model, its smooth surface is just as beautiful as Apple's highest-end models.
Optional Configurations for the 2022 MacBook Air
The M2 is the only processor available for the MacBook Air. However, you can still get a cheaper Mac laptop with the M1-based Air if that is what your budget allows. You can customize the M2Air to suit your specific needs with configurable options. These include different GPU capacities, different storage capacity and memory.
M2 Air's base model comes standard with an M2 chip, eight GPU cores and 8GB memory. It also includes a 256GB SSD storage. The base model is available at a relatively low price, $1199. The stepped up model is available for $1,499. It boasts 10 GPU cores. The new Apple 35-watt charger is included with the model. It has 10 GPU cores and starts at $1,499. The review unit has also 16GB memory, which costs $200 more than the standard model and a 1TB hard drive that costs $200. This brings the price to $1,899 and puts it in premium laptop pricing.
We test the performance of the new 2022 MacBook Air
While the MacBook Air is ranked high on many laptop lists, it also faces competition from almost everyone. The top alternatives include the Dell XPS 13 OLED (9310) or the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 carbon Gen 9 (2021). 2-in-1 systems such as the HP Spectre x360 14, which offer similar ultraportable designs.
Apple is currently facing fierce competition from its MacBook Pro line. M2-powered MacBook Pro 13 inch uses the same processor. The 14- and 16" MacBook Pro models offer even greater power thanks to the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips. The 2020 MacBook Air remains available, and that M1-powered model is Apple's most affordable laptop priced at $999.
These are some specifications of Air's main internal and externe competitors that we will be using for our performance comparison tests.
In our analysis of M2's processor grunt and graphics performance we noted that it has to tread a fine line. It delivers better performance than M1's two-year old model and more power than M1 Pro. Apple sells the MacBook Pro at a higher price, but still offers a superior product. The MacBook Pro 13-inch is a good example of this, and it also works well with the MacBook Air.
These minor differences in the Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are largely due to battery life, cooling fan options and passive cooling. These small differences are evident in the test results. The MacBook Air's passively-cooled M2 chip performed better than any other M1 processor in rendering tests and was more efficient in graphics testing. However, it is not as fast as the M2-powered MacBook Pro.
The MacBook Air was able to convert a 4K video clip into a shorter 1080p version within eight minutes in our Handbrake video transcoding testing. This is a significant improvement on the M1 Air's 11-minute conversion time, however, it was beaten by the M2-based Pro which took less than seven minutes. Most importantly, these results were better than the ones we got from the HP Spectre x360 14, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 carbon Gen 9 (211).
Our other general productivity tests Cinebench R23, and Geekbench 5.5.4 didn't produce the same results. Cinebench renders complex images using Maxon Cinema 4D. The M2 Air scored slightly less than the M1 but still beat the Windows scores.
Primate Labs Geekbench Pro is another processor-intensive test. It simulates popular apps such as PDF rendering, speech recognition and machine learning. The gap between M2 machines was very narrow. Only 17 points separated the M2 Air from the MacBook Pro 13 inch. They both scored around 9,900 points. Lenovo and HP were not able to surpass the 5,000 mark.
However, graphics capability proved to be a mixed bag. Mixed results were seen in GFXBench (a cross-platform rendering testing) and graphic performance. The M2 MacBook Air was again behind the M1 Air in the 1080p Car Chase test. However, there was a larger gap between M2-based MacBook Air models and MacBook Pro models. The M2 MacBook Air came in second to the MacBook Pro 13 inch, with 29 points more than the M1 MacBook Air, while only 10 points ahead of the M2 MacBook Pro. Apple's new Macs have a consistent refrain: the most powerful Windows computers (that rely on Intel Iris Xe integrated graphic) struggle to keep pace with current Macs.
Although it isn't designed for gaming, the MacBook Air should still be capable of handling some very heavy media work. The same 10 core version of the Air can handle tasks such as running multiple 4K video streams or editing 8K content. These are all things that would have been impossible with an ultraportable laptop a few years back.
The new MacBook Air's poor battery life is the only thing that's disappointing. Perhaps the smaller design doesn't allow for enough room to store a bigger battery. Or maybe the M2 processor is more demanding than M1. Perhaps the extra 0.3 inches of brightness on the display makes it more efficient in charging our battery. The MacBook Air was able to last just 17 hours during our tests, regardless of the reasons. This is still quite impressive and will get you through an entire workday. However, it's less than the M1-powered model.
Apple rates the Air M1 and M2 at 18 hours. Our test results are rarely in line with the manufacturer's estimates. Learn more about our testing laptops.
Two years ago, we have seen consistently high MacBook battery-life readings. These were often over 20 hours. It's not surprising to see such a brief result for Apple's portable Mac. This still places it amongst the best. The Dell XPS 13 OLED (9310) or HP Spectre x36014 14 offer only 11 and 12 hours respectively, while 17 hours should be enough for most people to make it through a day at work.
Verdict: The Fresh Air Is the Best MacBook for the Money
Apple's MacBook Air 2022 M2 is an incredible upgrade on an iconic laptop. This MacBook Air is Apple's best-ever design, with all the features added and the upgraded M2 chip.
Although it isn't the most powerful Mac Apple has to offer, this Mac can be used by everyday users. There are two options for saving money: the M1 Air, which is older than the base model and the M1 Air that's close to the standard. If you are willing to spend more, the Apple MacBook Pro model is always on sale. This MacBook is for Mac users who work from home and need to take their computer to school or to work.