Apple MacBook Air M2 Laptop Specifications
It's expensive, but the Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) is a great machine that looks great, works exceptionally well and lasts a long time for charging.
Key features
The latest Apple Silicon chip 2022 MacBook Air is powered by the M2 chip and is very capable
MagSafe Return Magnetic Charging Connector Achieves Welcomed Return
Great display 13.6-inch panel with strong colors and 500 brightness nits
Introduction
Apple has been in the production business of its own Mac since it began switching away from Intel chips to its M-series alternatives. One of the most affordable models in the transition, the MacBook Air M2 (2022) is a great device.
The Air series has been the most popular line of Apple computers for years. It's an iconic machine, but it's often left without major upgrades in the past.
This is far from the case now. After the big shift in 2020 to the M1 chip, now it's time for the MacBook Air to have a major redesign while inheriting some of the tricks of the MacBook Pro 14 .
Originally launched in 2021, there are still no concrete rumors about when a new model will arrive and it could be in early 2023 when the M3 update is revealed. This means that this will probably be one of Apple's most attractive devices for the coming year.
design
Upgraded look makes this a smaller version of the new MacBook Pro blueprint
Great keyboard and large, responsive trackpad
Four colors, including new additions Midnight and Starlight (pictured)
The MacBook Air M2 (2022) emulates the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 siblings when it comes to overall design.
It has a more box-like look than before, with the iconic wedge design (which has been a hallmark of the Air series since Steve Jobs initially took it out of an envelope on stage). The design is stylish and tasteful, which is more portable than thicker versions compared to 14 and 16-inch versions.
This may not be the thinnest laptop out there, but it's generally thinner than the previous model and is incredibly portable as a result. Before that, I would carry a MacBook Pro in my bag and it instead reminds me of what makes the Air collection so special. It weighs 1.24 kg (compared to the 1.6 kg MacBook Pro 14 inches) and is only 1.13 cm high. This makes it thinner than the iPad Pro with the included Magic Keyboard, making it Apple's most portable workstation.
If you're hoping for the MacBook Air to be available in all the colors of the rainbow, I'm here to disappoint. Space Gray and Silver remain, with the addition of new Starlight and Midnight options. I have been testing the Starlight option, the best way to describe it will be very accurate gold. It does a better job of hiding fingerprints than the matte Midnight option which is very dark blue.
On one side you'll find two Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, as well as a MagSafe magnetic charging port. There is also a 3.5mm headphone port on the other side. It was nice for Apple to partition the USB-C ports and get one port on each side, as I often run out of space when I connect several items. There's also no SD or HDMI card reader, so you'll probably want to invest in a good USB-C hub to go along with this laptop.
The MagSafe extension basically gives you an additional port, where you no longer need to use one of the USB ports for charging. You can still charge with a fast USB-C cable and charger, but that doesn't come in the case with the color-matching MagSafe cable replacement.
The reintroduction of MagSafe – a pre-2016 MacBook staple – is very welcome. The magnetic cable breaks off if you accidentally tripped it, which does not happen with a standard USB-C cable. The LED on the cable also lets you know when it's fully charged, which I find a really cool touch.
The keyboard and trackpad are both great. The Magic Keyboard has enough navigation distance for comfortable typing, plus it has a full row of function keys and a TouchID sensor to unlock with biometrics. If you're updating from one of the MacBook Air with Apple's famous "Butterfly" keyboards, the improvements here will make this upgrade worthwhile on its own, especially for those who spend most of the day typing.
Below the keyboard, there is a huge trackpad that uses haptic response to simulate physical stress. The trackpad itself doesn't actually move anywhere, but I doubt you know a lot.
screen
13.6 inches larger than the previous MacBook Air
The note is a little annoying but easy to ignore
The MacBook Air M2 (2022) screen is the largest you'll find in the Apple Air series – although there are some grumbles the 15-inch model could arrive in 2023. It's a great painting – even if it lacks some skills you might find it elsewhere.
Apple has retained most of the same screen technology from the previous model, including the use of an IPS LCD panel. You'll still need to use your MacBook Pro 14 or 16 to get the deeper black and proper HDR performance that comes with the Mini LED. Another feature missing here is ProMotion's 120Hz variable refresh rate technology, with this standard 60Hz display only.
Switching to the thinner bezels allowed Apple to extend the screen, moving it from 13.3 to 13.6 inches. This comes with a downside though – there's a large notch being drilled into the screen from above. This score doesn't necessarily bother me and it eventually merges, but the lack of real webcam upgrades (see the performance section for more information) makes it hard to swallow.
The resolution has been raised from 2560 × 1600 to 2560 × 1664 to compensate for the larger screen and the panel is brighter than its predecessor. In my lab tests, the screen reached the maximum brightness of 500 nits claimed by Apple. This is noticeably brighter than the average 300nits laptop screen.
In my daily use, I tended to maintain brightness at around 50%, which I felt comfortable for my eyes in a well-lit room. The availability of a few hundred extra lice makes it usable outdoors, something that dimmed screens cannot use.
performance
M2 chip is not a big leap over M1
8 GB RAM and 256 GB in the base model
Upgraded webcam is still a bit nonsense
After Apple's huge leap with the M1 chip, the transition to the M2 was always the least. While I'll start performing soon, let's go through the available models.
You can choose this laptop in two main configurations: the base model ($1999 / £1249) has an octa-core GPU, an 8-core CPU, a 16-core neural engine, and 8GB memory. I've reviewed the higher-priced version, which will set you back to £1499/£1549, and comes with the same 8-core CPU, 8GB memory, and a 16-core neural engine, but doubles the 256GB core storage to 512GB and has a top 10-Core GPU.
256GB storage, for me and for most of the people with whom I discussed this laptop, it is not enough. Apps, photos, movies, games, etc. are all big these days and have exceeded 400GB just by transferring a small amount of content from my old device. There have also been reports that the 256GB SSD is slow, but I haven't been able to test it myself. If you are looking to invest in this machine in the long term, I suggest using the higher-priced model.
You can also pay $200/£200 for 16GB memory or $400/£400 for 24GB, and up to $800/£800 for a 2TB hard drive. As with all Apple devices, the price will go up when you start customizing the interiors. If you select up to 16GB of MacBook Air memory, you'll spend $1699 / £1749 – that's just under the 16GB and 512GB of the 14-inch MacBook Pro which comes with a super HD display, more ports, and faster interiors.
The MacBook Air M2 (2022) is sold alongside the M1 version from 2020, meaning a jump in prices for new models. This laptop is no longer £999/$999, making it less achievable for many.
However, this is still one of the most capable laptops in its size range due to the great performance of Apple's M-series chipset. This may not be a laptop with the title of "Professional", but it can easily cope with professional tasks.
4K video editing in both Apple's Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple's Final Cut Pro is easily achievable, with smooth scrolling through timelines. The only way I was able to slow down the device while editing 4K footage transferred via iPhone was to connect it to the Apple Studio Display in 5K.
One of my favorite ways to spend time (well, waste) is Football Manager 2022, a game that is famous for its CPU intensity. My partner owns a 13-inch Intel MacBook Air and the game struggles on this device, restricting graphical performance. This is not a problem at all on the M2 MacBook Air, as the game allows to increase all settings without slowing down. Extended gaming sessions made the laptop hot though.
Unlike the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 (2022), the MacBook Air M2 (2022) does not have a fan. This means that this machine is silent all the time, but it can fall when it comes to constant activities. I don't have a MacBook Pro M2 here for comparison, so I can't make any judgments on that yet. However, if your business relies on sustainable activities like long displays, you'll get better performance from a device with a fan, like a MacBook Pro M2 or a 14-inch MacBook Pro.
A lot of the questions I have been asked about this device have to do with her memory. As I mentioned above, increasing RAM from 8 to 16GB comes at a cost of $200/£200, and seeking this option makes this more expensive than it starts with. I've been using the 8GB version and I think it's perfectly fine for most people. I've noticed a few episodes of memory slowdowns, but this usually happens when I have large apps like Lightroom or Photoshop open, along with the Chrome browser open and full of tabs.
It's still worth remembering that you'll get the best performance here by running apps natively designed for Apple Silicon. Intel-designed apps mostly work (I haven't found an app I've been using and it hasn't been working for over a year) but they run through a translation layer called Rosetta 2 so performance will be affected.
I've been impressed by the performance elsewhere as well. Enhanced headphones look great considering the size of the device and microphones clearly capture my voice in Zoom calls. The 1080p webcam is better than previous MacBook Air laptops, but it's a far cry from the best I've seen. The images it produces are often grainy and somewhat lifeless.
Battery life
Various charger options, including fast charging and multi-port charger
Excellent endurance all day long
Can be charged either via MagSafe or USB-C
Apple's M1 machines have produced superior endurance, and the M2 versions reflect that even if they don't push things much further.
Over the course of two weeks of using the MacBook Air M2 (2022) every day as the main working machine, I did not have to reach the charger at all in 9 to 5.30 days. This day will include a few hours of Zoom call, endless Slack messages, typing in Google Docs, and occasional bouts from Photoshop and Lightroom.
At the end of the day, I usually have about 20% left - enough for the beginning of the next day. This was on par with the results I got when I reviewed the MacBook Air M1. I played a 1080p video with brightness set to 50%, and the MacBook Air M2 (2022) lasted for about 14 hours, which is more than 12 hours from my M1.
Oddly enough, the charging mode is a bit confusing here. The base model comes with a 30W base charger with one USB-C port, while the more expensive option comes with a 35W charger with two ports – so you can change both your phone and MacBook Air M2 (2022) at the same time.
But, if you go for the $1499/£1549 model, you can swap this dual-port charger for a faster version of a single 67W port that will charge the device faster. You can also pay more for this if you want the base model. Fast charging is always a big boost for me, so I will always choose this option even at the convenience of the two ports.