Apple Announces M2 MacBook Air with Thinner New Design, up to 18% Better Performance than M1

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is usually focused on software changes and the latest versions of iOS, macOS, and watchOS. This year, the iPhone maker announced the new M2-chip-powered MacBook Air at the conference.

Today, Apple’s online store went down ahead of WWDC, suggesting some hardware releases were likely at the event. Suspicions were proven right, since the company’s latest thin and light notebook, the MacBook Air, was launched.

M2 Chip

The notebook’s announcement was accompanied by the launch of the new M2 chip. The new chip is based on the second-generation 5nm process, allowing for 50 percent more bandwidth than the M1 chip, pegged at 100GB/s. Packing 20 billion transistors, the chip is comprised of an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU with support for 24GB of LPDDR5 RAM. The CPU is made up of four performance cores and four performance cores. Moreover, the GPU is also a step up from the M1 chip’s eight-core GPU. The company claims the M2 chip delivers 87 percent of a 12-core chip’s performance while drawing just a quarter of the power.  

These improvements in the silicon also translate into significantly better performance. Apple claims the chip’s CPU is 18 percent better than the M1 chip at the same wattage and the GPU performance has been improved by 25 percent. The chip also packs support for 6K external displays and a next-generation media engine with support for 8K video. 

New MacBook Air

Apple’s latest MacBook Air is a big step up from the outgoing version. On the hardware front, the notebook sports a notched display surrounded by thick black bezels and a keyboard. It sports a MagSafe connector, two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack. A 1080p webcam has been integrated as well. Meanwhile, the four speakers and three mics have been neatly concealed. The laptop is just 11.3mm thick while shut. It also weighs just 2.7 pounds. The MacBook Air packs a 13.6-inch display capable of 500 nits peak brightness. 

Color Options

The M2 MacBook Air comes in four different color options which are similar to the options on existing models. Classic Apple colors such as Silver and Space Gray are accompanied by a shade of Gold that resembles the color of champagne. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman correctly predicted that the 24-inch iMac’s Blue color would be available on the refreshed MacBook Air, although Apple didn’t draw the comparison. 

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