From the moment Steve Jobs pulled the original MacBook Air from a manila envelope in 2008, the line has been used by Apple to showcase the next steps in the evolution of the Mac.
It’s been an unpredictable ride for the MacBook Air since then. Some iterations have been overshadowed by the MacBook Pro, while others – like the M1 MacBook Air released in 2021 – have performed as the best, most rounded laptop on the market.
So, does the M2-packing version of the Air become the new go-to for most people hunting a laptop all-rounder, or is this one model that’s worth skipping over?
Here’s our verdict.
Slim and solid design
304.1 x 113 x 21.5mm; 1.24kg2 x USB-C (USB 4) / Thunderbolt 3, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm headphone jackStarlight, Midnight, Silver, Space Grey finish options
The 2022 MacBook Air represents a huge design departure for the line. Gone is the iconic wedge shape from the previous 12 iterations, replaced here by a boxier look in line with the MacBook Pro from 2021.
It no longer has that razor-thin look on the edges, then, which is somewhat of a shame, but the new design is still beautiful. Yes, we did just call a laptop beautiful, and we’re going to stand by the statement.
This squared-off look is undeniably satisfying. The lid is now completely flat, rather than offering a curved finish and the same goes for the bottom, and this symmetry and flatness help provide a very solid feel in the hand.
Naturally, despite now sharing the same design language as the top-tier MacBook Pro models, a number of things have been stripped out in order to ensure the design retains its thin and light signature. Most notably, there’s no SD card slot or HDMI port.
We suspect that most average users probably won’t miss these, but it is potentially a dealbreaker for those who don’t want to connect a peripheral in order to get around this.
The speakers are also in a different place. Rather than flanking the still-excellent Magic Keyboard with speaker grilles on either side, like the M1 MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro do, they are now hidden between the top of the keyboard and the screen, taking advantage of the hinge space. We’ll offer details on how they actually sound further down.
In terms of ports, there are two USB-C (USB-4) / Thunderbolt 3 slots and a MagSafe fast charge connector down the left side, while the right side features a 3.5mm headphone jack. To give you an idea about how slim the Air still is, that jack only just fits into the space available.
We should also mention the colour options. For the M2 MacBook Air, the standard Space grey and Silver are joined by a dark blue Midnight and the pale gold Starlight, which is our review unit.
Each has its own charm, and we loved using the Starlight model, but choosing a non-classic colour colourway is a little riskier with a MacBook than the typical purchase. While you may refresh your iPhone every few years, say, you’ll likely have to stick with one of these four colours for much longer.
Go for whatever you love, of course – but, as ever, we’d advise seeing them in person (if possible) to get a proper idea of which finish you think will suit your eye in the long term.
Stunning display
13.6-inch Liquid Retina; 2650 x 1664 resolution; 224ppi500 nits brightnessTrue Tone supportP3 wide colour
The Air might be 20 per cent smaller than its predecessor, but that’s not affected the display size. In fact, the 2022 model squeezes an extra 0.3-inches into its footprint, offering a 13.6-inch screen with hugely reduced bezels.
This change, as you would expect, makes a big difference visually compared to the M1 MacBook Air, delivering a much fresher look overall. Since Apple unveiled this design with MacBook Pro in 2021, models with the larger bezels have looked incredibly dated – similar to how the entry-level iPad compares to the more premium models.
There’s a notch at the top of the display housing an improved 1080p camera – the same as the more expensive MacBook Pro models – and, while that small bar might divide opinion, we think it’s significantly nicer than the thicker bezel alternative. It means the menu bar isn’t as squashed, too.
The M2 MacBook Air also upgrades the Retina display found on the predecessor to a Liquid Retina Display, offering a 25 per cent jump in brightness to 500 nits – and it’s stunning. Colours are noticeably more vibrant, with more depth and richness than the M1 MacBook Air.
Don’t get us wrong, the M1 MacBook Air still offers a brilliant display, it’s just that the M2 MacBook Air is punchier, which is great for the viewing experience overall.
It also has the same technology as the M1 MacBook Air, too, with features like True Tone seeing the screen adapt to your environment.
The only other thing to note here is the fact the MacBook Air branding has been removed from under the display, which is also surprisingly refreshing.
M2 performance gains
Apple M2 processor (8-core – 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores)8 or 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural EngineMedia Engine (H.264, HEVC, ProRES, ProRES RAW)256GB/512GB storage (up to 1TB, 2TB)8GB RAM (upgradable up to 24GB)
While the new design of the MacBook Air is likely to be the main reason for new sales and upgrades, it’s not all about looks. And, luckily, the MacBook Air has a personality to match, offering an upgrade to Apple’s 5-nanometer technology M2 silicon processor with Media Engine.
There are two base models of the M2 MacBook Air available: one with eight-core graphics and 256GB SSD, and another with 10-core graphics and 512GB SSD.
Naturally, both can have their storage upgraded to a maximum of 2TB and also boost the RAM to 16GB or 24GB (although anybody needing to max out to 24GB should arguably be looking at the higher-end Pro models).
Both models house identical CPUs – the eight-core Apple M2 – which promises to be 18 per cent faster than the M1 MacBook Air with 35 per cent faster graphics – and they both come with the Media Engine.
This puts the M2 MacBook Air on track to be an absolute powerhouse, and a great alternative for those that consider the Pro’s capabilities as overkill.
For reference, we had the 16GB memory M2 MacBook Air model with 1TB of storage in for review. And though this particular RAM and SSD setup is available in the M1 MacBook Air, we’d say that it’s certainly worth the jump in price to go with the M2.
We noticed a good difference in raw performance between the two laptops in general day-to-day tasks, as well as gaming and image editing. We should also say that the silent operation of the M2, due to the exclusion of a fan, is just as refreshing as it was on the M1 model.
Overall, then, the M2 MacBook Air is an absolute delight to use, with a lovely fluidity in its performance. Everything is fast and responsive to open – especially the apps optimised for Apple Silicon – and switching between tasks is a breeze.
This is something we anticipate will become even easier with MacOS Ventura and Stage Manager, too, but the M2 MacBook Air currently has no real issues in handling the slightly more demanding elements.
When it comes to typing – which, of course, we do a lot of at Pocket-lint – the Magic Keyboard continues to be fantastic.
Big improvements were made to the error-prone butterfly keyboard a few years ago, and, thankfully, this has returned to being a strong point of the laptop since Apple moved to a tweaked version of its old scissor mechanism.
So, the M2 MacBook Air keyboard is essentially the same as the M1 MacBook Air in function, but the look has changed slightly. The function keys on the top row are now the same size as the rest, allowing for a larger Touch ID button in the top right corner and adding a bit more symmetry to the look, so we’d say this is an improvement.
You might have noticed we didn’t mention Face ID – that’s because this MacBook Air still only offers Touch ID. It’s definitely a disappointing omission, but, given the responsiveness of the Touch ID button, we won’t complain too much here.
How long does the M2 MacBook Air’s battery last?
Battery cited at 18 hours Actual battery use: 12/13 hours
The MacBook Air M2 promises 18 hours of battery life for video playback, or 15 hours using the web. Naturally, battery life is based on what each user does with the laptop, so it can vary drastically.
For us, we have multiple tabs open in Safari, are often editing multiple images in Photoshop, and have various apps running in the background, including Slack, Mail and WhatsApp, whilst also taking video calls throughout the day. We got around 12 hours from the M2 MacBook Air before we hit the 10 per cent mark, which is roughly about what we would expect. Charging is quick, too, thanks to the return of MagSafe 3.
Our MacBook Air unit also came with the 35W Dual USB‑C Port Power Adapter (included with 10-core and 512GB models, or available to upgrade to individually for a little more cash) that allows you to charge your MacBook Air and iPad or iPhone at the same time – very handy. Power is split equally between the two devices until one is fully charged.
What are the M2 MacBook Air’s speakers like?
Four-speaker sound systemSupport for Spatial Audio from built-in speakersSupport for Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking using AirPodsThree-mic array
We briefly mentioned at the beginning of this review that part of the redesign has left the speakers slotting in between the screen and the base.
This is perhaps the only area this laptop doesn’t excel, though the performance is still more than good enough for casual use.
We tested the four-speaker sound system with a number of films, including Bohemian Rhapsody on Apple TV, and the sound stage wasn’t as wide or as complete as the M1 MacBook Air, which offers sound from its speaker grilles either side of the keyboard. The M2 MacBook Air, instead, is more tinny and muffled.
As we say, though, the built-in speakers are more than capable of enabling you to watch a movie in comfort – and they do support Apple’s Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos, as well, which the M1 MacBook Air doesn’t.
Dynamic head tracking is also supported when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro and AirPods Maxa, and this worked as brilliantly as it does on the MacBook Pro models.
When listening to music, the M2 MacBook Air’s speakers performed better than video in our experience, as well, with The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun and Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You both sounding great – though, again, not quite as good as the M1 MacBook Air.