MacBook Air initial review: All-new design with Pro power

From the very first moment when the MacBook Air was pulled from a manilla envelope by Steve Jobs the laptop has been preferred by Apple as the device to showcase the Next steps in the evolution of the Mac.

So, can the MacBook Air 2022 pull off the feat once again and create a laptop that pushes what we’ve come to expect from the company?

Following the reveal at the company’s WWDC keynote, Pocket-lint was on site at Apple Park in Cupertino to check out the new model to see for ourselves.

Design

13.6-inch display with 500 nitsTwo USB-C ports, MagSafe, 3.5mm headphone jack

As far as the MacBook Air goes, the biggest visual change is a completely new design.

Now more akin to the MacBook Pro that was released in 2021, the new model strips out a number of “pro” features to create a device that is both thin and light but still manages to be robust and feel strong in the hand.

Up close and personal that previous wedged design that has been with us for near on a decade has been ditched in favour of a flat design that is more akin to the iPad Pro, and of course the MacBook Pro that came before it. That means you get four protruding circular feet. No fans. Fewer ports, and for the Liquid Retina display a notch to house the new 1080p camera.

There are two USB-C ports and a MagSafe fast charge connector down the left side and a 3.5mm jack on the right. It’s the sheer fact that the 3.5mm jack only just fits in the space available that gives you a notion of just how thin this device is.

That “thinness” does mean sacrifices have to be made though, there’s no SD Card slot for example, or a HDMI port as found on the MacBook Pro, but we suspect that for many, especially your average MacBook Air user, these are unlikely to be missed. While it also means it also loses the speaker grilles on the sides of the keyboard in favour of two hidden speakers between the top of the keyboard and the screen taking advantage of the hinge space.

We couldn’t fully test the capability of the speakers at the noisy event, but Apple says that it should be good enough to enjoy a movie for example, especially considering the device supports the company’s Spatial Audio technology.

The compact form factor hasn’t affected the screen size though, mainly thanks to a design change that reduces the bezels on all sides of the display in favour of opting for a notch that houses the 1080p camera for video calls.

It will be available in four colours including a new Midnight which has a slight blue hint to it. That’s the colour to get if you are looking for something beyond the usual Space Grey, Silver, or Starlight. Rose Gold fans will be disappointed that colour option has been left to the history books.

M2 and Performance

M2 and M1 processor options

While the new design is likely to be the driving factor in new sales and upgrades, it’s not the only thing that the new MacBook Air has going for it. It’s the first Mac to get the company’s new M2 processor.

Promising to be 18 per cent faster than the M1 powered MacBook Air, and offer 35 per cent faster graphics, this should be a proper powerhouse for MacBook Air users looking to do most things without the need to go for all those Pro features.

At the preview event we were able to fire up a couple of games, see some video editing in progress, and check out some image editing in action.

We couldn’t fully test the new machine and the new M2 processor, but having used the 2020 M1 version, which will also come as a processor option for the 2022 model, we don’t expect users to have to worry that it can’t deliver it’s promised performance or live up to the claimed 18-hour battery life. We look forward to giving the new model a run for its money in our full review and will update our findings when we can