We've all heard the rumors but at WWDC Apple finally put them all to rest. The M2 chip is real and the first Mac that uses it is "the world's best selling laptop," the MacBook Air. And all told it's shaping up to be a bit of a beast.
On the outside, it has been completely redesigned, following the design language first seen on the newest MacBook Pro. And yes, that includes the display notch. Prices start at $1,199 and the new MacBook Air will be on sale from July.
Here's a breakdown of what we know about it so far.
- 11mm thin
- Four new colors - Silver, Space Gray, Starlight, and Midnight.
- Unibody enclosure with no more wedge shape.
- 2.7lbs in weight.
- Two Thunderbolt ports along with Magsafe charging and a 3.5mm headset jack.
- 13.6-inch display with a notch - 500nits brightness and 1 billion colors.
- Apple M2 - 8 core CPU, 10-core GPU
- Up to 24GB memory.
- Up to 2TB SSD storage.
- 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
- Three microphone array, four-speaker setup for Spatial Audio.
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID.
- Force Touch trackpad.
The hardware looks and sounds awesome but what does it actually translate to in the real world? Well, according to Apple, Final Cut Pro performance is 38% better on the new MacBook Air compared to the old model with the Apple M1. Not too shabby for a fanless laptop with up to 18 hours of battery life. Oh, and it'll charge up to 50% in just 30 minutes with a 67W charger.
The previous model MacBook Air isn't going away, either. The M1 version is hanging around as a 'budget' offering, starting at $999. It hasn't got any cheaper, though, the new model is just more expensive. Apple also used WWDC to announce a refresh to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, again utilizing the M2 chip. It, too, should be available from July.