Apple has finally unveiled the MacBook Air 2022, with the lightweight laptop packing the new M2 chip as well as boasting a modern redesign.
The M2 chip will apparently provide the new MacBook Air with an 18% performance boost for the CPU and a whopping 35% performance increase for the GPU.
Apple also showed off a new design for the MacBook Air, with a thinner (now just 11.3mm thick) and lighter chassis. Apple has also introduced a notch to the laptop’s screen, while also adding a new dark blue colour option.
Keep reading to find out everything we know about the MacBook Air, and make sure to bookmark this page as we will be consistently updating as more news breaks.
Release date
The MacBook Air 2022 will launch in July 2022, although we don’t have a specific launch date for it just yet.
Price
Apple has confirmed that the new MacBook Air will have a $1199/£1249 starting price. This makes it slightly more expensive than the preceding model, which launched with a $999 price.
However, the M1-powered MacBook Air is still available to purchase if you can’t stomach the price hike.
Specs
The MacBook Air 2022 is confirmed to feature the new M2 chip. The second-gen processor is built upon a similar 5nm architecture as the M1 processor, but Apple has been able to squeeze an extra 4 billion transistors onto the chip to give it a serious performance bump on its predecessor, resulting in 20 billion transistors.
| Architecture | CPU cores | GPU Cores | |
| Apple M2 | 5nm | 8 | Up to 10 |
| Apple M1 | 5nm | 8 | Up to 8 |
Apple revealed that the M2 chip will have the exact same number of CPU cores as the M1, yet it’s still benefited from an 18% CPU performance boost.
But what about the GPU? Apple has announced that the M2 will feature up to a 10-core GPU, which two extra cores compared to the M1. This, paired with the architecture improvements, has apparently resulted in an impressive 35% graphics performance boost.
Design
Apple has given the MacBook Air 2022 a major redesign. Apple has chiselled down the laptop to 11.3mm, which is significantly slimmer than the previous 16.1mm MacBook Air.
The new MacBook Air will also be noticeably lighter thanks to the fan-less design, hitting the scales at just 1.2kg. In comparison, the previous MacBook weighed 1.29kg.
Apple is also introducing new colour options, with Silver, Space Grey, and Starlight Gold and Midnight Blue all available at checkout.
Apple also announced that the MacBook Air 2022 will have MagSafe charging ports, which keep your charging cables plugged in securely. Apple ID is also confirmed to feature.
The 720p webcam has also been upgraded, now capable of a 1080p resolution for sharper photo and video capture.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
