M2 MacBook Air review: a new Air-a 👀

The new MacBook Air has Apple’s latest in-house processor, the M2. It’s got a better screen, thinner and lighter design, better speakers, a much-improved webcam, an excellent keyboard and trackpad, more convenient charging, and excellent build quality. It also comes with a higher price tag — it starts at $1,199, $200 more than the model that preceded it, and a model with a decent amount of storage runs $1,499 or more. And the performance advancements over the M1 model aren’t as stark as the design and feature improvements are.

[TheVerge]

Do we miss the wedge-shape? Or is the squared off design a winner?

[julius]

The fact that Apple not only decided to stick with 256GB as the entry storage, but is in fact SLOWER storage than the previous model is absurd. It should at the very least have a note on their website specifying these details.

[thiagobnla]

I used the M1 air for a year as my main work computer, as a graphic designer. I got absolutely blown away by its performance with photoshop, illustrator and simple animations and video editing in after effects. I just recently switched to the M1 pro, which is far superior, but I still recommend the M1 base model for anyone who's in need of a good all around computer and portability, specially to those who live outside the US/EU, where prices are really an issue. These machines are extremely capable in such a small form factor. of course, the ports are still an issue, specially when you, like me, have to constantly use external hard drives, Wacom tablets etc, but nothing that a dongle won't solve (and it really is no big deal to carry one with you). if the M2 air screen is the same used in the M1 Pro, its so worth the extra price on top of the M1 air. I really don't mind the notch at all and the only program I had "issues" with was cinema 4D, but that's something you probably wouldn't use on an air model.

[notcataclysmic]

Does 8 gigs of RAM feel enough these days? I’d prefer 16, but when upgrading to 16 and a 512 GB SSD it’s such an increase that you might as well go for the 14 inch Pro with M1 Pro

[dotunmakun]

The Apple M1 MacBook Air sounded remarkably better comparatively to the M2 MacBook Air in the sound test in my opinion.

[BitTerence]

Dan: “The notch is crowding out all my menu bar apps!”
Also Dan: “I seem to get less battery life than my colleagues for some reason”
🤔🤔🤔

[RicardoDawson]

Kudos for a very professional, fast paced (but full of useful info) tech review. You did mention the throttling and slower SSD (on the base model) but without the drama and in context of the intended uses of this machine. Best review out there, Dan. Thanks!

[matsetizar]

I can only consider the base model. Seems like the faster speed of the M2 over the M1 chip is cancelled out by the slower SSD. Aside from Magsafe, I dont really need any of the new features. I want to upgrade from my 2014 air, so will go M1 air base and save a bunch.

[viggobryant-frost]

I just love the new rounded corners of the screen that match the rounded corners of the chassis, it is a much needed detail

[lilzenzay]

Just got to say that I have had the M1 Macbook Pro for about a year now and have been absolutely blown away by the performance. It has never struggled to do anything. Future of computers is Apple.

[lucasbim]

Totally disagree, the Air is perfectly capable for coding. I used the M1 8gb for more than a year. I'm a iOS developer and the codebase I work is huge and the performance is a lot better than the previous i9 32gb I had.

[indiekiduk]

4:10 M1 Air's speakers sound better to me in this comparison, slightly more bass than the M2 Air.

[ejmikk]

M1 Speakers sound better and more balanced, though not as loud as the M2 speakers, at least with your microphone configuration. I work as an audio engineer and am listening to this video on studio headphones.

[LCK]

Nice to see Dan doing mainline reviews again. Do more please!

[theheadshotstudio]

The M1 seemes to have better sounding speakers than M2? I have an M1 Air and its incredible.

[maxziebell]

One NAND… I was on the trajectory to buy the base model of all the airs… I am out. Sticking to my M1 … Apple see you at M3 …

[bread]

I have always loved The Verge and I continue to be happy with all of the reviews you guys put out. Even after Dieter's departure I am glad everything still feels the same even after a legacy member leaving, Keep up the great work guys!

[link]

Sneaking towards the 3:2 surface laptop ratio, thankfully. A little more square is wonderful for a laptop form factor.

As an aside, I appreciate the total black background on the talking head shots. Really sharp looking

[AayushKrishnan]

I'd been waiting for the M2 for nearly a year, but when it did launch the price difference between the 512Gb M2 and the 512GB M1 was nearly ₹40k to ₹50k🥲($600). Realized the upgrades aren't worth that much and just bought the M1 lol.

[catherinedesrochers]

For what you get, in term of price tag, I would definitely go with the 2020 model and add 16gb + 512gb storage (if not 1tb) directly through the official Apple Refurb Store

I can’t believe how my 2yo MBA is still so performant after all this time for my mid-heavy professional usage.