It is finally here ! After months of rumors, the new MacBook Air has come to fruition tonight at WWDC 2022. Unchanged since 2018, the machine returns this year with a brand new chassis and an even more powerful Apple M2 processor.
All indicators suggested that Apple was preparing a next-generation MacBook Air for us, with a new design and a new processor. Here we are. During the opening keynote of its WWDC 2022, the Cupertino giant announced a transformed MacBook Air. Much thinner than the 2018 model (11.3 mm against 16.1 mm), this new MacBook Air takes up certain design codes introduced last year with the MacBook Pro 14 and 16.
The MacBook Air is getting thinner… while gaining muscle
We therefore find a chassis with slightly more rounded lines, now available in four colors (Silver, Stellar Light, Space Gray and Midnight), and placed on four large pads. On the connector side, Apple installs a MagSafe socket on the left edge of its new MacBook Air. The latter, however, remains confined to two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5 mm jack.
Another novelty: the installation of four speakers at the hinge, between the keyboard and the screen, but also the switch to a new Magic Keyboard, similar to that installed on the latest MacBook Pro. Legacy of high-end models which we would have done well without, the notch adorns (if we can say so) the top of the screen. Failing to allow facial identification via FaceID, it at least offers room to integrate a 1080p webcam of better quality than in the past. Apple is also taking the opportunity to improve the occupancy rate of its new Liquid Retina Display screen, which for the occasion goes to a 13.6-inch format while gaining in brightness (500 nits here against 400 so far).
Beyond its style and its few biases, the new MacBook Air relies on a brand new M2 chip to improve performance compared to the current M1 model. This new processor includes up to 8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores coupled with a maximum of 24 GB of RAM, depending on the configuration chosen. This new processor notably offers better performance for advanced tasks, promises Apple, which also mentions up to 18 hours of autonomy for its MacBook Air 2022.
The device will arrive in France next month at a starting price of 1,499 euros.
The MacBook Pro 13 also goes under the M2 flag!
(Small) icing on the cake of Apple’s laptop announcements tonight, the installation of this new M2 chip on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The device, however, remains unchanged and retains the chassis that we know from 2016. It nevertheless gains a good dose of additional power in the shadow of its big brothers of 14 and 16 inches, while having the possibility of reaching the 20 hours of battery life, according to Apple.
© Apple
For the rest, we keep a 13.3-inch Retina screen, identical to that of the M1 models, but also the same connectors (Thunderbolt 4), the same Magic Keyboard… and the unbreakable Touch Bar. Known, therefore, but more efficient.
This new version of the MacBook Pro 13 will also arrive next month in France, from 1,599 euros. This price is justified by the slight surplus of power it benefits from compared to a MacBook Air 2022 without an active dissipation system.
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WWDC 2022: iOS 16, watchOS 9, M2, macOS Ventura, iPadOS 16… what to remember from the Apple conference
Source: Apple WWDC 2022
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