2022 MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Air: Is the New Air, and Its M2 CPU, Worth the Extra Cash?
At WWDC, Apple announced its new M2 chip based on its own silicon design, as well as two new MacBook laptops that will run on this enhanced platform. The headliner is the new M2-based MacBook Air, which has received several physical and feature upgrades over the 2020 M1-based Air, in addition to the new core-processing guts.
The thing is, the 2020 Air was a very popular machine, given its attractive starting price of $999, and it will be staying on the market alongside the 2022 model, at least for now. How do the two compare, and with its higher starting price, is the new kid worthy enough to earn your extra dollars? Read on for a breakdown.
Despite the MacBook Air’s already compact frame, the M2 Air has been trimmed down even further. Somehow, Apple is touting a 20% further reduction in size compared to the M1 Air, which measures 0.63 by 11.97 by 8.36 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds.
The 2022 model is only 0.44 inch thick, and—good-bye, taper—it also ditches the signature wedge shape for a squarer, more MacBook Pro-like chassis shape in its redesign. It’s also a few feathers lighter, at 2.7 pounds.
As far as its build quality, I personally did not get hands-on time with the new Air myself, but my colleague Brian Westover attended WWDC and reported on its look and feel in his hands-on experience. In his view, despite the much trimmer height, it looks and feels surprisingly solid and, as ever, feels very well made.
The 2022 Air will also come in some new color options. The four options are Silver, Starlight, the classic Space Gray, and Midnight. Midnight is entirely new compared to the 2020 Air, while the Starlight color replaces what was simply called Gold; Starlight looks like a more traditional and less rose-gold color.
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