The MacBook Air is Apple’s most popular laptop, and for good reason. It’s thin and light, offers great performance, and is the cheapest laptop Apple sells.
At the end of 2020, it had one of its biggest updates in a long time as it was one of the first Macs with Apple Silicon. The MacBook Air with M1 is a fantastic laptop, but the company just introduced a better one: the MacBook Air with M2.
Is it a good time to buy one of the two models or should you wait a little longer? This is our purchase recommendation.
MacBook Air price and specifications
- Next update: July 2022
In late 2020, Apple updated the MacBook Air, among other laptops, with its new M1 processor. We love the MacBook Air with M1 and think its performance and battery life are fantastic, but it’s been outclassed by its successor, the MacBook Air with M2.
In 2020, the only thing Apple did was replace the Intel processor with its own Apple Silicon. Now, the company has gone a step further and, in addition to including its new chip, the M2, it has also used the new design of its laptops, which it introduced with the Pros of 2021.
That means the new MacBook Air has narrower bezels, a slightly larger screen (13.6″), a notch for a more powerful camera (HD 1080p) and straighter edges. In addition, it recovers the load with MagSafe and has four speakers.
Why buy the MacBook Air now?
The MacBook Air with M2 is a big upgrade from the previous model with M1 and even more so with the discontinued Intel models. Many parts of the laptop have changed (screen size, shape, keyboard, camera…) and on top of that the performance and battery life offered by Apple’s M2 chip is better.
Apple just updated the MacBook Air with a new design and other improvements, so we don’t expect a new model to arrive for at least a year and a half (that would be late 2023).
Why wait to buy the MacBook Air?
It’s hard to find a compelling reason to convince you to wait to buy the MacBook Air, beyond waiting for it to go on sale, of course (it doesn’t come out until next July). The MacBook Air with M2 is one of Apple’s best value laptops right now.
Perhaps the most compelling reason would be if you want the M2 chip but in an even more powerful laptop, the next 14″ MacBook Pro. This shouldn’t arrive until 2023, so you may have a long wait. And, in any case, if you have arrived here it is probably because you want the Air and not the Pro.
Verdict: BUY
The new MacBook Air has just been announced and it’s well worth it. The next model won’t arrive for quite some time, late 2023 at the earliest. The same goes for the upcoming 14-inch MacBook Pro, which could also be a temptation (albeit somewhat more expensive).
So there’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy the 2022 MacBook Air once it goes on sale.
