It will be long overdue, the 15-inch MacBook Air! No, he did not hibernate and we finally know the reason for this delay. The design of Intel chips has been the main obstacle to the smooth running of its production. The solution was all found and bears the name of Apple Silicon.
As usual, the announcement of a new Macbook was greeted with undisguised enthusiasm by the public. This model is identical to the 13.6-inch version but still brings its share of small improvements. However, the release was postponed for quite a long time, which necessarily raised questions from the community. As we know today, this delay was due to Intel chips and their limitations.
Intel Chipset Limitations
It was Apple’s product marketing managers who confirmed this information during an interview with Inc.com. The 15-inch MacBook Air is right at the transition between the traditional use of Intel chips and the use of chips made in Apple.
According to Laura Metz, Apple’s international product manager, the company had considered developing the 15-inch MacBook Air with Intel chips. These did not allow Apple to design a device that matched the standards of the MacBook Air. In detail, the exact reasons for the limitations are not known and have yet to be determined.
Apple Silicon to the rescue
Apple Silicon are the processors developed by Apple. Known for being powerful, silent and very energy efficient, it is thanks to these chips that MacBooks are so thin today. The M1 chip, developed in 2020, was the first to equip Macbooks.
It is by turning to this architecture that the new MacBook Air came out of production. It is equipped with the M2 chip, released in 2022, which has the advantage of not requiring a fan to maintain the correct temperature. This was not the case with Intel chips, which posed concerns about size and noise, incompatible with the philosophy of the MacBook Air.
With its in-house chip, Apple has solved the design problems of the new MacBook. It is available in two versions: a model with a 256 GB SSD at 1,599 euros and one with 512 GB for 1,829 euros. In the future, Apple also plans to equip MacBook Air with M3 chips, certainly the best in terms of energy efficiency and raw power.
Sources: WCCFTech, Inc.
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