WWDC 2023 | First ever 15-inch Apple MacBook Air powered by M2 launched, configurations start from US$1,299
We've been expecting it for some time now, and here it is. Today, at WWDC, Apple unveiled the 15-inch Macbook Air powered by the M2 SoC. The new MacBook Air 15 measures 11.5 mm thin and weighs just shy of 1.5 kg.
The MacBook Air 15's M2 chip features 8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores together with a 16-core neural engine and a 100 GB/s memory bandwidth. The default configuration gets you 8 GB unified RAM, but this can be configured up to 16 GB or 24 GB. SSD options start from 256 GB and go all the way up to 2 TB.
Apple has endowed the MacBook Air 15 with a 2880 x 1864 500-nit IPS display. Connectivity options include two Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack along with a MagSafe 3 connector for charging. Apple still does not offer Wi-Fi 6E but Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 are in the offing.
In true Apple style, the company also put out relative performance numbers for the M2-based MacBook Air 15. According to Apple, the new 15-inch MacBook Air is about 2x as fast as a Core i7 15-inch laptop with Intel Xe graphics, delivers 50% more battery life, and is 12x faster than a 1.2 GHz quad-core Intel-based MacBook Air. The fine print does not mention which exact Windows laptop is being compared to, however.
The new 15-inch MacBook Air also sports a 1080p FaceTime HD camera and a six-speaker sound system with support for Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio together with a three-mic directional beamforming array. A 66.6 WHr Li-Pol battery powers the innards.
Apple rates this battery for 18 hours of Apple TV movie playback and 15 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. A 35 W dual USB-C power adapter and a 2 m USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable come in the box.
The MacBook Air 15 will be available in Silver, Starlight, Space Gray, and Midnight color options at prices starting from US$1,299. Pre-orders are live today with slated delivery beginning June 13. The laptop will also be getting an update to the latest macOS Sonoma this Fall.
Apple is also offering the 15-inch MacBook Air at a discounted US$1,199 for education. The 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 also gets a price cut to US$1,099 (US$999 for education).
Source(s)
Apple WWDC23 Keynote
