Apple’s new MacBook Air is a sign of confidence. but there is a problem

Apple’s March launch event brought some real surprises, as Apple was able to reveal a major new product – Mac studio – Without any spoilers leaking to the internet beforehand. Keynote of the year for Apple Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC may not have produced any similar surprises, but it still manages to truly satisfy the audience by giving the audience exactly what they want.

The rumor mill has long predicted that WWDC will unveil a major MacBook Air redesign Apple’s most expensive laptop and, according to Apple Senior Vice President John Ternus, “the best-selling laptop in the world.” The MacBook Air was, after all, one of Apple’s standout products, an ultra-thin, ultra-portable laptop that effectively created the “ultrabook” category years before Intel’s marketing department invented that name.

The design of the MacBook Air has been so successful that – with the exception of a few improvements along the way – it has remained largely unchanged since its launch in 2008. Even when the MacBook Air introduced Apple’s native M1 processor in the 2020Apple has resisted calls for a redesign — perhaps preferring to stick with a familiar design that emphasizes continuity at a time when the transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon is raising questions about the future of the entire Mac.

This transition is now almost complete, except for Intel-based Mac ProIt was surprisingly smooth and successful. So, the new MacBook Air is a sign of Apple’s confidence as it redesigns one of its flagship products and moves forward with the introduction of the second generation. M2 System on a Chip (South Oil Company).

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As widely expected, the new MacBook Air (M2, 2022) It has a sharper, angular design, with a rectangular profile rather than the much copied wedge shape that tapers to a narrower point on the keyboard’s leading edge.

The M2 MacBook Air’s screen is actually a bit larger – it’s increased from 13.3 to 13.6 inches – but Apple still managed to reduce the size and weight of the laptop. The M2 is now 11.3mm thick, compared to 16.1mm thick for its M1 predecessor – which is still on sale for $999 – while it drops slightly from 1.29kg to 1.24kg. However, Apple also adds that the overall size of the M2 MacBook Air is 20% smaller than the M1 model.

Another sign of Apple’s confidence – less welcome this time – is that the M2’s starting price rises from $999 to $1,199 (albeit with an additional GPU core to improve the deal).

Below are the specifications of the M2 MacBook Air compared to the previous M1 model.

This announcement was followed by a barrage of graphics and diagrams, aiming to prove the M2 outperforms both the competing M1 and Intel processors: 20% faster at applying Photoshop filters, 38% faster for video editing in Final Cut Pro, and more. However, we’ll have to wait until the new models go on sale in July in order to judge the performance of the M2 processor for ourselves.

After all that announcing a file M2 Upgrade for 13-inch MacBook Pro It seemed like an afterthought, and since this shares the same M2 processor as the MacBook Air, it’s not entirely clear what now distinguishes these two laptops.

For the record, here are the specs of the new MacBook Pro 13 compared to its predecessor M1, which is now no longer available on Apple’s website.

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There was one interesting addition to the launch of the new M2 MacBooks, as Apple boasted about the performance and update of the M2 Metal 3 graphics frame Finally turns your Mac into a file Serious gaming platform. At this point, the internet has collectively caught its eye, having heard this from Apple on about 75 different occasions over the years. But if the M2 processor is able to turn your humble MacBook Air into a gaming machine capable of playing No Man’s Sky or Resident Evil: Village, that truly marks a new era for the Mac.