The new Apple MacBook Air M2 has arrived - Initial impressions and benchmark results of the entry-level SKU
We ordered the entry-level model of the new Apple MacBook Air M2 right at launch. For $1199, you get a completely redesigned chassis, the M2 processor with the slower 8-core GPU, 8 GB RAM and the 256 GB SSD. We decided to get the Air M2 in the new color Midnight and want to share our initial impressions and benchmark results before the full review will be published in a couple of days.
Case - The new Air M2 is larger than the competition
The new chassis design of the MacBook Air M2 does not use a tapered base unit anymore, so it appears to be a bit bulkier than its predecessor and also direct rivals like the Asus Zenbook S 13 or the Dell XPS 13 Plus, which also feature a smaller footprint. However, we did not have any problems with the front edge during typing so far since the base unit is not that high.
The new color Midnight is a very dark blue and it sometimes even looks like black depending on the light. We like the color a lot, but the next couple of days will show how quickly we will see fingerprints and dirt. We had no problems to use the new MacBook Air with a USB-C monitor from LG in a first test.
Performance Apple M2
The performance is pretty much identical to the MacBook Pro 13 M2 and the passive cooling solution of the MacBook Air M2 leaves a good impression. During the Cinebench R23 Multi benchmark, the Air only had to reduce the power consumption slightly from ~20 to 18.5W towards the end of the run (which takes about 90 seconds) and the final score is just below the MacBook Pro 13 M2 with the active cooling solution. The value obviously drops further under sustained workloads and eventually levels off at 9.5 Watts after 30 minutes. However, the Air is designed for daily workloads and the passive cooling handles short peak load scenarios very well.
The new 8-core GPU of the Apple M2 runs at 1398 MHz and consumes around 10 Watts. It is right between the old 8-core GPU of the Apple M1 and the new 10-core GPU of the Apple M2 in terms of performance.
| 3DMark / Wild Life Extreme Unlimited | |
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| Apple MacBook Pro 13 2022 M2 | |
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| 3DMark / Wild Life Unlimited Score | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 13 2022 M2 | |
| Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry | |
| Apple MacBook Air Late 2020 (M1, 8 Core GPU, 8 GB RAM) | |
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry | |
SSD Performance
After our review of the MacBook Pro 13 M2 with the 1 TB SSD, there were multiple reports about slow SSDs of the base model with 256 GB storage capacity. Our MacBook Air M2 is equipped with the 256 GB drive (AP0256Z) as well and the performance is much lower compared to the 1 TB SSD we reviewed in the MacBook Pro 13 M2, but also slower than the old MacBook Air M1 with the 256 GB SSD. This is annoying, especially considering the price raise, but most users of the entry-level MBA probably won't care and you will not notice a difference in daily workloads, either.
Initial Impression - The performance is good
We only had a couple of hours with the new MacBook Air M2 so far, but the performance seems to be okay after our initial benchmarks and the passive cooling solution can operate the new Apple M2 at full speed for quite a while. This is easily sufficient for everyday workload and there is no disturbing fan noise. The SSD performance, however, is disappointing, especially considering the higher price.
The chassis leaves mixed impressions, and the competition offers more compact devices. A closer look reveals that the bezels of the new MacBook Air M2 are pretty wide for modern standards, especially underneath the panel.
We will perform our standard benchmark and test program during the next couple of days and the full review will be published after the weekend. Please leave a comment if you have specific questions or benchmark requests.
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