When the M2 MacBook Air was first introduced in July 2022, there were two major plot points: Its $200 price increase from the M1 model and the new midnight black coating, which attracted fingerprints. The greater story was not covered by those two items.
After using the M2 MacBook Air on a daily basis for more than two months, I can attest that the midnight black finish does indeed attract fingerprints, though they are simple to remove. For those who require it, I'm also delighted to say that the additional $200 is definitely worth the performance improvement. One of the most remarkable laptops ever produced, the M2 MacBook Air also has a variety of other improvements.
We have no qualms in choosing the M2 MacBook Air our Product of the Year for 2022 because is mostly composed of professionals, technology enthusiasts, and fans of innovation.
Why it's the top product of 2022
One of the other frequent criticisms of this product when it was first released was that it is now somewhat of a tweezer in the Mac product line, with the very capable M1 MacBook Air still on sale and serving as the entry-level, sub-$1,000 Mac laptop and the robust MacBook Pro line being the go-to option for professionals and creators who need more oomph.
But after spending more time with the M2 MacBook Air, I was able to load it up with several power-hungry chores and wait for it to break. I opened up my three favorite Adobe Creative Cloud tools, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom, and transferred monstrously enormous files, created multimedia-rich PowerPoint presentations, generated and compressed video files, and all of the above.
I was shocked to discover that the gadget never made a blinking noise.
I use a 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) with an M1 Pro processor for business. That device is a true beast that offers desktop-class performance that is astounding. What surprised me about the M2 MacBook Air's performance on most tasks was how closely it matched my MacBook Pro.
In my opinion, the M2 MacBook Air can now accomplish around 75% of the tasks that a MacBook Pro was before required for.
You might be able to save $500–$1,000 by doing that. The $1,700 M2 MacBook Air that I examined included a 10-core GPU and 16 GB of RAM. However, a similar MacBook Pro will cost you between $2,000 and $2,500.
The M2 MacBook Air has another advantage in that it is gentler on your back. My 16-inch MacBook Pro is 14 inches long and 9.77 inches broad, and it weighs 4.7 pounds. It significantly slows down a bag. The M2 MacBook Air is 11.97 inches by 8.46 inches and weighs 2.7 pounds. By comparison, it is a featherweight.
Professionals and artists will still need a MacBook Pro with its full processing capability to perform intricate video and picture editing, animation, drawings, and rendering large files. And the 16.2-inch XDR display on my MacBook Pro, which is roomy and responsive, is what I miss the most when using the M2 MacBook Air.
However, a lot of people will be shocked by how much and how well the M2 MacBook Air can do it.
Beyond its raw power, the M2 MacBook Air is the MacBook Air product line's first overhaul in better than ten years, and Apple has created hardware that is impressive in both form and performance. The improvements include:
upgraded webcam that is now 1080p
greater useable space and less screen bezels
20% brighter display on a 13.6-inch screen
Touch ID fingerprint scanner in full size
large-format function keys
clearer and louder speakers
Cables for the MagSafe power connection match the laptop's color scheme.
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