Check out five major hardware upgrades you’ll love if you buy an Apple M2 MacBook Air laptop and why you should avoid the $1,199 base model.
1. Much better display
Compared to the M1 version, the M2 Air has a twenty percent brighter display (500 nits). If you’re working on the beach this summer or plan on using your laptop a lot outside in direct sunlight, boosting the brightness to 500 nits will make all the difference.
If you’re working in Photoshop with a lot of gradients, or just picking up a new HDR wallpaper for your Mac, you’ll also notice that colors appear a lot more on this screen than before. This is because the MacBook Air M2’s display is capable of displaying one billion colors, compared to 16.7 million colors on the previous Air. And thanks to this notch, you actually get more usable vertical screen real estate because the menu bar is now in the notch area.
2. More modern design
The wedge-shaped, pointed-edge design of the MacBook Air is gone, which is a good thing. The MacBook Air M2 is the same thickness no matter where you measure, resulting in a more modern look (rectangular profile with the same thickness front to back). It feels smooth when you hold it in your hand instead of being sharp like the previous design. To give you an idea of just how thin it is, Apple managed to shrink the volume of the previous model by 20 percent.
3. MagSafe is back!
Apple’s patented magnetic power connector is back on the MacBook Air M2. Great news for those who complained a lot about the lack of MagSafe on the M1 Air, and for good reason. If you trip over the cord, MagSafe will turn off and keep your precious laptop from falling to the floor. It is very comfortable. When you charge your laptop via MagSafe (fast charging supported), you have another USB-C port that can be used for peripherals. It’s more functional than the previous Air! You can also charge your Air via the USB-C ports if you like. Finally, MagSafe has an LED status indicator to show charging status without having to open the lid. Convenience!
4. Bright new colors
In addition to the usual space gray and silver colors, the new MacBook Air M2 is now in its eighth year of release in two vibrant new colors dubbed Midnight and Starlight. You may have read that the Midnight version attracts fingerprints. We can confirm that this is true. And some people complain about scuffs and dents that mostly show up around the USB-C ports, that’s all. But once you see Midnight in person, chances are you’ll fall in love with this navy blue and stop worrying about dirty fingerprints.
5. Mac durability
By ditching Intel chips for Macs, Apple has proven that you don’t have to sacrifice speed for battery life, and vice versa. With the latest M2 processors, this is even more true. Now you can edit multiple 8K videos on this thing like a pro, something Intel-based models could only dream of. Thanks to Apple software updates, you can expect your MacBook Air M2 to last at least five years before your laptop starts showing its age. Read: How to find out the age of your Mac
A few reasons to avoid the base model
The base model M2 MacBook Air costs $1,199, which gives you a configuration with eight graphics cores, eight gigabytes of combined memory, and 256 gigabytes of flash storage. We generally do not recommend buying the base model if possible. Our advice has nothing to do with slower flash memory in base models, we just don’t think eight gigabytes of memory will be enough to run multiple applications efficiently, not today, and certainly not in the future. And when it comes to storage, it’s pretty easy to fill a 256GB flash drive with photos, videos, backups, personal documents, apps, media, and more from your iPhone.
And since you can’t upgrade RAM or flash, it’s important to think carefully about your needs before buying the base model. If we were you, we would at least consider spending an extra $200 to double the amount of RAM (16 gigabytes). Your smartest bet would be to go for the $1,499 model – for an extra $300, you get ten graphics cores and double the storage (512GB), as well as a new 35W Apple power adapter needed for fast charging. You’d still be stuck with just eight gigabytes of RAM, but hey – an extra $200 will take care of that.
What are your reasons to buy an M2 MacBook Air?
Do you have a MacBook Air? If yes, what model? One of the Intel based models or one of the M1 and M2 models? Why did you even buy this computer? What is your ownership experience? And if you’re the proud owner of a MacBook Air M2, we’d love to hear your reasons for buying it. Click us in the comments!