Ultraportable Apple MacBook Air can outshine powerful Windows laptops

New product launches aren’t entirely off the menu at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), but only very select ones get the center stage during the extensive software focus. The updated MacBook Air, however, deserves its moment in the limelight. This now, alongside the new MacBook Pro 13 (the reports of its demise were greatly exaggerated), has become even more powerful Macs, running the standard configurations. That’s because these Macs usher in the era of the new M2 chips, which succeed the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra, as Apple’s silicon portfolio for Macs.The Apple M2 chip is built using the second-generation 5-nanometer technology, a step forward from the M1. The M1, which on its own can put a whole host of Intel and AMD chips in the shade, has been truly surpassed by the M2. In terms of the claimed numbers, the M2 has an 18% faster CPU, a 35% more powerful GPU, and a 40% faster Neural Engine, compared with the M1. There is also 50% more memory bandwidth (that’s 100Gbps now) and Macs running this chip can be configured with up to 24GB RAM.Now on to the hardware that’ll showcase the potential prowess of the Apple M2. The new MacBook Air has been completely redesigned. Gone is the wedge shape, replaced with a thinner profile, straight lines, and curves very similar to the MacBook Pro 13 and MacBook Pro 14 – the thickness is 11mm. The magnetic MagSafe port for power delivery is back too, something seen in the MacBook Pro series a few years ago, but was then temporarily sacrificed in favour of the Thunderbolt ports. The course correction is welcome. The redesign, which gives the MacBook Air thinner bezels, means the display size has stretched from 13.3-inch to 13.6-inch for the Liquid Retina display.It continues to be a fanless design, which means the performance ceiling may be reached before a MacBook Pro, which will have active cooling in place. That said, Apple claims the higher performance per watt of the M2 gives it a higher ceiling than the M1, in terms of holding performance and staying cool.The MacBook Air will go on sale in India next month, with prices starting ₹1,19,900. There will be the option of the M2 chip in the 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU or the 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU with 8GB RAM as standard and optional upgrades available up to 24GB. It is likely the M1 version of the MacBook Air will remain on sale for the time being, which is priced at ₹99,900. Alongside Space Grey and Silver, the Starlight and Midnight colour options also join in.Last year, there were claims the launch of the MacBook Pro 14 meant the end of the road for the MacBook Pro 13. Not so, because the latter has been updated after a year’s pause. That means this will go on sale alongside the MacBook Pro 14 and the MacBook Pro 16. There will be two variants that’ll go on sale initially – the 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU as well as 8GB RAM in the default configurations being consistent, with the difference being the storage. It may be difficult to fathom the default 8GB RAM configuration, considering even lower-priced laptops in the Windows ecosystem offers 16GB RAM by default. Price tags are ₹1,29,900 (256GB) and ₹1,49,900 (512GB), with RAM and storage upgrades available too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vishal Mathur is Technology Editor for Hindustan Times. When not making sense of technology, he often searches for an elusive analog space in a digital world.
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