Apple’s New MacBook Air Soars In With Larger 15-Inch Display, M2 Chip
When the MacBook Air was first introduced, it was sold as an alternative to the Pro lineup that could handle a lighter workflow and was thin and small enough to carry with you. As Apple continues to rework and reinvent its MacBooks, the Air lineup has started to go up against the Pros while still keeping to its portable form factor.
At the WWDC 2023, Apple brought forward many innovations, from its Vision Pro headset to all-new iOS 17 features and a much anticipated 15-inch MacBook Air.
The current version is 13 inches, and while that might be enough to get anyone with a semi-heavy workflow through the day, many have still been asking for a slightly bigger yet portable one. So this puts it in a spot between the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The new laptop is just 11.5mm thin and weighs just over three pounds. It houses the same M2 chip as the previous 13-inch. When Apple introduced the M2 chip on its predecessor last year, it made the Air a viable contender against the Pro. It might not be able to handle heavy-duty editing, but it can still get through a workday easily.
Apple is also vying for 18 hours of battery on a single charge. And as with its smaller siblings, it has done away with an internal fan to stick to a quieter design and keep it as slim as it is. The Air now employs an active cooling feature that spreads out the heat when in use. Of course, Apple foresees that those who purchase these laptops aren’t pushing it to its limit, so if you’re using it for a lighter workflow and browsing, you won’t be missing the fan.
In other areas of its specs, it has an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. For starters, it has a base unified memory of 8GB, but you can bump it up to 24GB depending on your needs and budget.
The 15-inch MacBook Air is available in midnight, starlight, space grey, and silver and is up for preorders at a starting price of US$1,299. Shipments begin next week.
[via TechCrunch and GSMArena, images via Apple]
