This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s full coverage of and about Apple’s annual developer conference.
The new Apple M2-powered MacBook Air adds a lot of new features, but it also brings me my least favorite: a starting price over $ 999. For much of its life, the MacBook Air has been sitting comfortably at $ 999, but in 2018 a redesign raised the price by $ 200. By 2020, the starting price was $ 999 again and I felt like things were the way they should be. Guess what? It’s now 2022, and with another redesign, the MacBook Air is now starting at $ 1,199 … again.
I insist on this only because this significant leap for a very conventional laptop will put it out of the reach of many of the students and artists who could get the most out of it. But aside from the new price, I like almost the rest of the new version. It’s also worth noting that the late 2020 MacBook Air M1 is still available, for now, for $ 999.
Now playing: look at this: Practice with Apple’s new MacBook Air M2
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After the presentation of WWDC 2022, I had the opportunity to get limited practice time with the new MacBook Air. But it wasn’t long, so I focused mainly on the new physical design and how the system looked and felt.
The M1 MacBook Air, one of the first Mac sets to go from Intel to Apple Silicon, is not a bad-looking machine, but it is based on a design that was launched in 2018, which is about an eternity in computer terms. . The new version goes from the traditional sleek, tapered design to the more boxy, blocky-looking 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops of late 2021. It’s a more modern, constructivist design (in that it largely rejects decorative styling).
Dan Ackerman / CNET
But the new MacBook Air goes beyond the Pro models it copies in one important aspect: it adds a new color to the usual gray and silver (and the gold of the M1 Air): a new Midnight color, which appears as a black finish mat. It’s arguably the most amazing new MacBook look in a long time, and it reminds me of the old matte black polycarbonate MacBooks of the mid-2000s.
Its footprint is a hair smaller than before, as is the weight, at 2.7 pounds compared to 2.8 pounds for the MacBook Air M1. But the new model felt even smaller and more portable than that when I picked it up, mostly because it’s thinner, at 11.3mm. The M1 version is reduced, but measures 16 mm on the rear hinge.
The new MacBook Air M2 won’t go on sale until July, so it may be some time before I can give you a more detailed hands-on test. I’m especially looking forward to seeing how your 1080 resolution webcam works, which is probably the most important update for many people who are tired of the ever larger 720 resolution webcam of previous MacBook Air laptops, up and all including the M1 version.
Dan Ackerman / CNET
I’m also very interested in spending more time with the new 13.6-inch screen a little bigger (compared to 13.3 inches), which according to Apple is 25% brighter, with 500 nights. It also adds MagSafe, which returned to the new MacBook Pro systems last year, and its touchpad is, according to Apple, a little bigger, but would not put a number or a percentage.
Interestingly, almost none of these enhancements are available on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, also announced at WWDC 2022. It lacks the larger screen, better camera, MagSafe connection, and new colors. It’s at least on paper, exactly the same as the late 13-inch MacBook Pro in late 2020, only with the new M2 chip replacing the M1. However, it is still the only way to put your hands (or fingers) on the almost extinct touch bar.