Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) is the best laptop you can buy right now. For the price, it delivers great performance, a vibrant display, and great battery life, all wrapped up in a delightfully portable design.
The new Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) is a great Swiss machine in the ultrabook line. Built on top of the already popular MacBook Air M1 – which introduced the world to the tremendous power of Apple’s silicon, the new Air is much more impressive with the amazing improvements it brings to users’ best experiences. Now, rocking Apple’s second round of processing, the company has redesigned the laptop, moving from its signature wedge-shaped design to a thinner, flatter device than before.
The new MacBook Air comes with a new, much higher price tag, around $1,199 (at the time of writing this review), which is the price we’d normally expect for an Apple MacBook Pro, rather than the Apple MacBook Air M1. The low end starts at $999. However, we redesigned the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, both of which are more expensive and feature the same M2 chip.
If you’re going to spend the extra money on the latest MacBook Air M2, that gets you a new 13.6-inch display with a 1080p camera (in a notch), redesigned keyboard with taller function keys full, amazing MagSafe 3 connectors, and of course, Apple’s latest Silicon. It can be a lot of money, but for those who can afford it, you get a new and powerful machine.
As you can see from this Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) review, the new Air rises above its weight with the perfect balance of portability, performance, display quality, and overall premium design. Its 14+ hour battery life is better than most. In fact, despite a few downsides (which can be easily overlooked), I have to say, this is one of the best laptops for the money.
About MacBook Air M2 (2022)
The new MacBook Air was unveiled at Apple’s WWDC 2022 developer conference, and yeah it felt pretty clean in the usual Apple way. The 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2, 2022) is supposed to be the very first laptop with the M2 chip, to actually hit shelves , but we’ll still have to wait until July before the new MacBook Air launches . Maybe it’s tied to Apple feeling uncertain about how available the new MacBook Air parts and materials really are. In any case, the MacBook Air M2 did finally start going on sale on July 8 to order, and direct deliveries kicked off July 15.
As I mentioned before, the MacBook Air kicks off at $1,199 (at the time of writing this review). The 2020 M1 based Air though is gonna stick around at $999, but if you’re an education user, you can grab it a little more cheaply for $899.
Even so, that higher asking price kind of makes sense, but it also means it kinda looks like a weaker deal compared to the older MacBook Air. And honestly, that’s a good thing, because the standout strength of the MacBook Air M1 2020 is the low price , plus really great performance.
Meanwhile, the new Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 begins at $1,299, which is a little odd for Apple , since it basically results in a noticeable gap between the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, in both pricing and efficiency, as it is right now.
CPU: Apple M2 (8 cores)
Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU
RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 Unified
Display: 13.6-inch, 2,560 x 1,664 Liquid Retina display (LED backlit, IPS, 500 nits brightness, wide P3 color gamut)
Memory: 1TB SSD
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack, 3. MagSafe charging port
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD Webcam
Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.24kg)
Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13cm; W x D x H)
Both the base version of the Pro and the Air comes with that new M2 chip, the cheapest Air has an 8-core GPU, while the base model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 10-core M2 chip.. GPU, which means the more expensive MacBook has the upper hand when it comes to graphics performance, but the MacBook Air is still close, we’ll discuss that later.
Design
Improved, completely new design
Bigger screen, lighter body
New color selection
The MacBook Air is as thin as paper. At just 0.44 inches, it’s the thinnest laptop we’ve reviewed yet it’s still very solid.
This is also the first MacBook Air Apple built in a way that is kinda specifically for its M2 Silicon. The first MacBook Air with the M1 chip sort of keeps the overall look from the older Intel powered model, but Apple has gone into a totally different direction with the MacBook Air M2. With this new design, Apple has made a device that feels completely detached from its predecessor, it goes pretty far from that signature wedge shaped look that Steve Jobs first pulled out of a manila envelope years ago, and instead it swaps in a flat top with rounded edges, like you see on the 14 inch and 16 inch MacBook Pros, plus some of the newer iPads.
It’s a brand new design, but one that I like. That’s partly because I’ve used different MacBook Pro models and got used to the flawless design, but because while iconic, everything needs a good redesign once in a while, just like how We wait for Apple to release a new macOS version. If you’re using an older MacBook Air, this feels like you’re getting a real update.
As the name suggests, the MacBook Air is the thinnest and lightest MacBook Air produced, with the new 2022 MacBook Air model, Apple has taken things a step further by shrinking the overall dimensions and reducing the weight of the unibody design, resulting in more screen size.
How is that even possible? Well, Apple engineers have achieved that by reducing the bezel around the top and bottom screen by up to 30% and making it up to 20% thinner at the edges. Now, the thin borders of the previous MacBook Air are gone, and not only on the Air, high-end Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 13 have thin bezels, but in the new MacBook Air M2, the result is a MacBook Air slick without competitors, at least for now.
The MacBook Air’s webcam has also been upgraded to 1080p, to match what’s found in MacBook Pros from late 2021, and the increase in resolution along with improved image processing and low-light handling with The new M2 chip is very welcome for anyone who needs to do video conferencing or create videos for friends and family. In this age of mixed work, most of us are. With the larger camera, however, we get a less welcoming “notch” that surrounds the webcam and drops down to the menu bar.
The new MacBook Air also comes in a new color. Available in Space-Grey, Silver Starlight, and Midnight colors. All the shades look great in person, but my favorite is Midnight Blue, which was the color of our review unit and it looks just as stunning as the first time we saw it at the WWDC event.
In addition to the improved camera, the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) now comes with a 13.6-inch screen, which is pretty clearly larger than the 13.3-inch of the earlier MacBook Air M1 model. The resolution got a bump too, going from 2,560 x 1,600 up to 2,560 x 1,664 pixels, so the bigger display doesn’t really suffer any sharpness loss, and honestly we think it now kinda justifies the notch at the top. You get more screen space and, well, a better webcam too.
The new Liquid Retina display is also 100 nits brighter so it’s 500 nits now and it support a billion colors too. If you care quite a lot about image quality, especially if you’re a photographer or you work in that world, then the MacBook Air M2 (2022) is the safer better bet, overall. Typing up documents on the slightly redesigned keyboard feels satisfying, and it’s still comfortable. It’s slightly narrower because of the overall redesign, but it keeps the same Magic key switches, which helps.
As for connectivity, Apple keeps things to a minimum with the MacBook Air M2. You’ll find two Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 ports on the left side with the MagSafe power adapter. The second connection is back, and it makes it easy to connect the magnetic cable connector to the system, and it also prevents the laptop from dropping if someone yanks the cable. We’re glad Apple brought this back. The right side has a headphone jack for those who still use wired headphones, and it’s nice to have your wireless headphone jack running out of power.
2022 Apple MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Midnight: Buy it now
2022 Apple MacBook Pro Laptop with M2 chip: 13-inch Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage, Touch Bar, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Space Gray: Buy it now
Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M2 Chip (13-inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) – Space Gray (2022 Model) – Z16R0005S: Buy it now
Apple MacBook Pro 13.3″ with Retina Display, M2 Chip with 8-Core CPU and 10-Core GPU, 16GB Memory, 512GB Storage, Silver, 2022: Buy it now
Efficiency
Great performance on par with the 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2, 2022)
As noted above, the new MacBook Air (M2, 2022) feels like it’s stuffed with the M2 System-on-Chip (SoC), which is Apple’s second generation 5-nanometer chip. Apple claims it will deliver an 18% quicker CPU, plus a 35% uplift for the graphics side (with a 10 core setup), and a neural engine that’s apparently 40% faster than the earlier gen, the Apple M1. Just keep in mind though, the base MacBook Air (2022) ships with an 8-core GPU , and you can upgrade it up to a 10-core GPU, if you want.
Meanwhile, the base model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro arrives with an M2 chip and a 10-core GPU as the default setup, but the price difference isn’t really that dramatic.
That said, the one thing you can pretty much take as certain from both the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops with the M2 is that they work exceptionally well. The pre-installed MacOS boots in seconds and runs smoothly while still looking great on the new display. As expected, the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) can absolutely turn into your daily laptop, without much drama.
As an everyday machine, browsing in both Safari and Chrome is fast and responsive, and you’re not limited in the number of tabs you can open (the model we’re reviewing comes with unified storage 16Gb, allowing for seamless multitasking), and type documents on the refurbished keyboard for a pleasant and comfortable feel.
Since the launch of the M1 chip in 2020, more and more apps are compatible with the M1, which will easily work with the M2, which means your favorite apps will run seamlessly and play smoothly. Maximize the potential of M2. Not only Apple apps, but Adobe and Microsoft apps both have M1 and M2 native versions.
For apps that do not come with an M2 instance, there is the Apple Rosetta 2 tool, which lets you run apps made for Intel based Macs as if they were built for M2, but usually with very little performance impact.
One thing that Apple wants to nudge buyers about is that the MacBook Air uses a fanless design. Yet, on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple actually uses fans to keep the components comfortably chilled. That means the 13-inch MacBook Pro does better with sustained performance – it can work at full speed for longer without overheating.
In practice, that means the Apple MacBook Air M2 is thin and light, running completely silent when in use, but the MacBook Air will rarely work, maybe, you’ll only hear them under heavy workload serious work (think of editing an 8K Video in Premiere Pro); but you don’t buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro for those needs. If you’re into such projects, you’d be better off with a more powerful 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook.
Elsewhere, the MacBook Air M2 (10-core chip) has washed away the typical enthusiast belief that you can’t play games on a Mac. No, Apple’s laptops don’t have the dedicated GPU you get on your PC, but the MacBook Air is capable of running pre-existing phone titles or low-cost titles from Steam and Epic Games.
The M1 is capable of running games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider at acceptable frame rates, and the M2 chip is even better. However, you may need to switch to a MacBook Pro with active air cooling, if you need to play at consistent frame rates.
Long-lasting battery
MagSafe returns to MacBook Air
Apple’s move to the Arm architecture is the goose that continues to lay golden eggs, on the MacBook Air M2, shown in efficiency. This is one of the longest-lasting laptops for the money, kind of. It should go on for more than 14 hours and 8 minutes while you’re surfing the web continuously at 150nits screen brightness. It’s a bit less than its predecessor, the Air M1 (14:42) , but honestly it’s still a great run time though.
For comparison, the Dell XPS 13 OLED lasted just over 8 hours, and the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 OLED hit 11:04. The Apple MacBook Pro M2 is still the one to beat when we’re talking battery life, with that huge runtime of 18 hours and 23 minutes on a single charge.
Comment
The Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) is a great redesign of Apple’s already popular entry-level laptop and is the best laptop available today. The new design offers a sleek and slim machine (though not much lighter than previous models), and it delivers our favorite MagSafe. The 1080p camera is a much-needed upgrade we’ve all been looking for, and you also get a bright screen and long battery life. Simply put, it’s like a breath of fresh air, albeit a series of modest upgrades and tweaks.
On the other hand, there’s a feeling that the M2 version could be overshadowed by the existing M1 option, as it’s still available at the much-desired $999 price (and often sold for less). All the small upgrades are worth it in my opinion.
Then there’s the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the same M2 SoC, which seems from afar, a version that might not be worth it to many users when the MacBook Air M2 is available and works too well, for a few bucks less. On the Windows side, the competition is still stiff. The Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED with Intel Core i7-1165G7 is a strong contender in terms of performance, with only 11 hours of battery life, but it gives you an OLED display for a very good price. If you must use Windows, I’d recommend looking at the ZenBook S 13 OLED first.
If you want thin and fanless, the Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) is a masterpiece. It’s powerful, lasts long on a single charge, looks great, and is nice and thin while also feeling solid and well-built. New features (and returning features like MagSafe) are more than welcome. All you need is a willingness to spend extra money to get it.
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.