This story is part of WWDC 2022, the full coverage of CNET by and for Apple’s annual developer conference.
Apple’s new MacBook Air, powered by Apple’s M2, adds a lot of new features, but also brings back my least favorite: a starting price of over $ 999. For most of its life, the MacBook Air stood at a comfortable $ 999, but in 2018 the redesign raised the price by $ 200. By 2020, the starting price returned to $ 999 and I felt that things were as they should be. Guess what? It’s now 2022 and with another redesign the MacBook Air is already starting at $ 1199 … again.
I only bet on this because this significant leap for a very popular laptop will put it out of the reach of many students and artists who could get the most out of it. But leaving aside the new price, I like almost everything else in the new version. It is also worth noting that the M1 MacBook Air from the end of 2020 remains available for now at a price of $ 999.
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After the main note of WWDC 2022, I had a chance to get limited practical time with the new MacBook Air. But it wasn’t long, so I focused mostly on the new physical design and how the system looked and felt.
The M1 MacBook Air, one of the first Mac kits to move from Intel to Apple Silicon, is not a bad-looking machine, but is based on a design that launched in 2018, which is almost forever gone from the computer’s point of view. The new version shifts from the traditional soft, sharper design to the more boxy, blocky look of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops from the end of 2021. It’s a more modern, more constructive design (with a lot of degree rejects decorative stylization).
Dan Ackerman / CNET
But the new MacBook Air goes beyond the Pro models it copies in one important way: it adds a new color to the usual gray and silver (and M1 Air’s gold) – a new Midnight color that looks like a matte black finish. This is the most impressive new look of the MacBook in a long time and reminds me of the old matte black polycarbonate MacBook from the mid-2000s.
Its footprint is a hair smaller than before, as well as the weight, 2.7 pounds against 2.8 pounds for the M1 MacBook Air. But the new model felt even smaller and more portable than when I picked it up – mostly because it’s thinner, 11.3mm. The M1 version narrows down, but measures 16 mm in the rear hinge.
The new M2 MacBook Air doesn’t go on sale before July, so it may be a while before I can give it a more in-depth, hands-on test. I’m especially looking forward to seeing how its 1080 webcam works, which is probably the most important upgrade for many people who are tired of the never great 720 webcam in previous MacBook Air laptops, up to and including the version M1.
Dan Ackerman / CNET
I’m also very interested in spending more time with the new, slightly larger 13.6-inch screen (compared to the 13.3-inch), which Apple says is 25% brighter at 500 nits. It also adds MagSafe, which is back in last year’s new MacBook Pro systems, and its touchpad, according to Apple, is slightly larger, but would not put a number or percentage on it.
Interestingly, almost none of these improvements are available in the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, also announced at WWDC 2022. It lacks a larger screen, better camera, MagSafe connection and new colors. At least on paper, it’s exactly the same as the 13-inch MacBook Pro from the end of 2020, only with the new M2 chip, which replaces the M1. However, this remains the only way to place your hands (or fingers) on the almost missing sensor bar.
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