Apple’s MacBook Air with the M2 chip comes more than a year and a half after its M1-based predecessor. The new device features a complete redesign, as well as several major improvements under the hood that could make it a major update that is worth considering for many users, though it may not be worth it for some.
The MacBook Air is often chosen by those who need a more affordable Apple laptop, with the device offering a lightweight design at a price well below the high-end MacBook Pro models. The M2 MacBook Air joins the Mac line at a price of $ 1,199, and the previous M1 model remains on sale for the same price of $ 999 with which it debuted in November 2020.
Whether you are considering upgrading your MacBook Air to Mac Mac Air or you are in the market for a new MacBook and are thinking about saving $ 200 by buying our Worker M1 model, which of the two MacBook Air models currently on sale is the best for you.
Comparing MacBook Air M1 and M2 models
Despite their different designs, there are still a large number of important parallels between the two MacBook Air models:
Similarities
- ~ 13-inch Retina display with P3 wide color and True Tone
- Ambient light sensor
- Touch ID
- Touch power touchpad
- Fanless design with passive cooling
- Apple silicon chip with 8-core CPU
- Hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding engines for H.264 and HEVC video
- 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB SSD storage configurations
- Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Support for wide stereo sound and Dolby Atmos playback
- Array of three microphones with directional beam formation
- 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0
- Up to 18 hours of battery life
- Available in silver and space gray
Beyond its designs, there are crucial differences between the M1 MacBook Air and the new M2 MacBook Air:
Differences
M1 MacBook Air
- 13.3-inch (2560 x 1600 pixels) Retina display
- 400 nights of brilliance
- Apple chip M1 with GPU of up to 8 cores
- Memory bandwidth of 68.25 GB / s
- 8 GB and 16 GB unified memory settings
- 720p FaceTime HD camera
- Stereo speakers
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- 49.9 watt-hour lithium polymer battery
- 30 W USB-C power adapter
- Available in gold
M2 MacBook Air
- 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display (2560 x 1664 pixels)
- 500 nights of brilliance
- Apple chip M2 with GPU of up to 10 cores
- ProRes encoding and decoding engine for hardware-accelerated ProRes and ProRes RAW videos
- Memory bandwidth of 100 GB / s
- 8 GB, 16 GB, and 24 GB unified memory settings
- 1080p HD Camera aceFaceTime
- Four speaker sound system
- 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high impedance headphones
- 52.6 watt-hour lithium polymer battery
- 30W USB-C power adapter (with 8-core GPU model) or compact 35W two-port USB-C power adapter (with 10-core GPU model)
- It supports fast charging with a 67 W USB-C power adapter
- Available in Starlight and Midnight
Design
The most notable difference between two MacBook Air models is their design. While the M1 MacBook Air reflects the design of previous models with a conical “wedge” design, the M2 model takes design cues from the latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with a uniform thickness and a flat top with edges lowered rounded. .
The sharp design of the BookM1 MacBook Air Ultimately, it is a matter of personal preference which design you prefer, but the M1 MacBook Air features exactly the same design that the device carries since 2018, which itself continued the conical style that Apple uses since 2010. The M2 MacBook Air uses the latest design language from Apple and looks like a much more modern device. The uniform thickness of the M2 MacBook AirAnother design difference worth noting is that the M2 MacBook Air includes a row of full-height function keys, instead of the mid-height row of the M1 model and has a d different scanner identification. Otherwise, the magic keyboards are the same. The full-height feature row is unlikely to influence any purchasing decisions, but it’s worth highlighting in the midst of larger improvements.
Dimensions and weight
The M2 MacBook Air is 0.19 inches (4.8 mm) thinner than the thickest point of the previous model. The two designs are exactly the same width, but the M2 model is a bit longer. Despite not having a conical design, the new MacBook Air offers a 25 percent volume reduction over the previous generation and should feel lighter in the hand.
True to its name, the M2 MacBook Air is also 0.1 pounds (45 grams) lighter than the previous model. M1 MacBook Air
- Height (at the thickest point): 0.63 inches (1.61 cm)
- Height (at the thinnest point): 0.16 inches (0.41 cm)
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
- Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
M2 MacBook Air
- Height: 0.44 inches (1.13 cm)
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.46 inches (21.5 cm)
- Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)
While the M2 MacBook Air doesn’t offer a massive change in terms of portability, its weight and volume reduction is likely to be welcomed by users who often need to carry their device. The M1 MacBook Air is by no means a large or too heavy device, but the M2 MacBook Air is more likely to fit easily in tight bag compartments and be a little less cumbersome. The new design may be more striking and visually appealing, but it’s generally not worth buying the latest model just for better portability.
Color options
Like many Apple devices, both models are available in silver and space gray. The M2 MacBook Air is not available in Gold, but offers Starlight and Midnight options.
If you have other Apple devices in Starlight and Midnight, such as an iPhone 13, iPad mini or iPad Air, or aluminum Apple Watch Series 7, you may prefer to get the M2 model for a matching color. Starlight’s unique champagne hue or Midnight’s navy hue may also be more appealing, but users of Silver and Space Gray have no reason to prefer the M2 model simply for color.
Show
Both models include a high-resolution Retina display with wide P3 color and True Tone, but Apple boasts that the M2 MacBook Air includes its latest “Liquid Retina display”. This allows you to have thinner edges, fit a larger screen on a similarly sized device, and the curved edges of the screen around the top corners of the lid for a more modern look.
The screen of the M2 MacBook Air offers an additional 0.3 inches of diagonal space, making it a little more space for on-screen content, and the screen can be 25 percent brighter than the M1 model, which which makes it best for use outdoors, in direct sunlight or in bright environments.
The M2 MacBook Air includes a “notch” to house the FaceTime HD camera that cuts at the top of the screen. Although the screens have different resolutions, they have the same aspect ratio of 16:10 below the notch, so it should not be an important consideration for most buyers, especially because the menu bar of macOS takes advantage of this additional vertical space in the M2 model.
The M1 MacBook Air still has a more than useful Retina LCD screen that meets the needs of most customers. There are few material differences between the screens in terms of specifications that make it worth buying one device over another or upgrading it, but the larger edges around the smaller screen of the M1 model certainly make it seem more dated, which may influence some customers towards the newer one. model.
M1 against M2
One of the most important differences between the current MacBook Airs and the previous generation is its Apple silicon chip. The M1 chip, introduced in November 2020, is based on Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. On the other hand, the M2 is based on the A15 Bionic chip of the iPhone 13.
While both chips include an eight-core CPU with four performance cores and four efficiency cores, the M2 cores offer moderate performance and efficiency improvements and up to two additional GPU cores. Apple says that with the M2 chip “intensive workloads like editing complex timelines in Final Cut Pro are almost 40% faster than the previous generation … Applying filters and effects in applications like Adobe Photoshop is up to 20% faster than before “.
Like the M1 Pro, the M2 includes a multimedia engine for hardware-accelerated ProRes and ProRes RAW video encoding and decoding. On the other hand, the dedicated multimedia engine of the M1 chip can only accelerate H.264 and HEVC video. Apple says this dramatically speeds up video workflows on the latest MacBook Air, allowing users to play more 4K and 8K video streams and convert video projects to ProRes considerably faster than before.
For casual users, the M2 chip is unlikely to make much of a difference compared to the M1 chip in day-to-day tasks, and the improvements are most noticeable in professional workflows. For more information on the specific differences between M1 and M2 chips, see our detailed guide:
Unified Memory
Both M1 and M2 can be configured with 8 GB or 16 GB of unified memory, but the M2 offers an additional 24 GB top-level memory option. As a result, multitasking and memory-hungry workflows, such as working with large assets, benefit from the higher memory option.
In addition, the M2 has a memory bandwidth of 100 GB / s, compared to 68.25 GB / s with the M1, which means that the latest MacBook Air can access more memory faster.
Camera
The M2 MacBook Air includes a new 1080p FaceTime HD camera with twice the resolution and low light performance than the previous generation, according to Apple. This is sure to substantially improve video calling …