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In 2008 Steve Jobs introduced the first ultra-thin, lightweight MacBook Air by dramatically sliding it out of an inter-office envelope. The idea of a dramatically thin, lightweight, and fully functional laptop continues on.

MacBook Air M3 15-inch deals

The MacBook Air is “the default Mac” – the one you should buy if you’re not sure which model you need.

History

The MacBook Air was launched in 2008 as a premium 13-inch model, billed as the world’s thinnest laptop. It was dramatically revealed by Steve Jobs sliding it out of an office envelope.

In 2010, it was joined by an 11-inch model. By 2011, that had become the entry-level MacBook, replacing the plain MacBook in the lineup. Its combination of affordability, portability, cuteness, and suitability for most people’s computer usage saw it become a hugely popular machine with everyone from students to senior business execs.

The 11-inch MacBook Air was discontinued in 2016, leaving only the 13-inch models.

In 2018, we saw the first major update to the then-elderly design. This gave the machine a Retina display, Touch ID, USB-C ports along with a design refresh with smaller bezels, a slimmer form factor, and lighter weight.

In 2020, the MacBook Air was one of the first three machines to make the switch from Intel processors to Apple Silicon in the form of the M1 chip. In 2022, it was joined by an M2 model.

MacBook Air Specs

The 2020 M1 MacBook Air is powered by an 8-core Apple M1 chip, comprising four performance cores and four efficiency cores. It’s available in two almost-identical versions, one with an 8-core GPU, the other with a (chip-binned) 7-core one. The machine is available with either 8GB or 16GB of unified memory. SSD storage options are 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB.

The 2022 M2 MacBook Air has a 10-core GPU option, up to 24GB of unified memory, and up to 2TB of SSD storage.

Pricing

M1 MacBook Air (2020) pricing starts at $999 for the 7-core GPU with 8GB unified memory and 256GB SSD.

M2 MacBook Air (2022) pricing starts at $1199 for the 8-core GPU with 8GB unified memory and 256GB SSD.

The machine can be specced up as far as 16GB unified memory and 2TB SSD for $2,049.

Lower prices may be available from Apple’s official Amazon store.

MacBook Air Review

In our video review of the machine, we described it as game-changing.

There is very little negative to say about these MacBooks. Apple has taken a design like the MacBook Air, which it more or less perfected with the early 2020 refresh, and made it 10 times better. This is no hyperbole. These M1-powered MacBooks are such a huge improvement in performance and battery life with virtually no negative baggage. I can’t see myself ever wanting to go back to an Intel-based laptop […]

If I was using an Intel-based MacBook Air, I wouldn’t even consider using a machine with such little memory to handle my day-to-day creative workflow, but Apple’s implementation of unified memory cannot be compared 1:1 with typical RAM configurations.

Basic day-to-day usage is relatively unaffected by the amount of RAM, or lack thereof. The MacBook Air is competent with only 8GB of RAM even when running lots of apps simultaneously, even with a dozen Safari windows, and even when swapping out to the SSD […]

I can attest to the fact that these MacBooks have incredibly long battery life, so much so that it was honestly hard to believe initially. I was able to use my MacBook Air for a full workday, writing, browsing the web, chatting on zoom, and editing video and photos, and the machine was only at 50% by the end of the day. I woke up the next day, and did several hours of zoom video calls and web browsing, and the machine finally gave me a warning to plug in when it reached 10%

MacBook design changes enable Vietnamese production for the first time; Apple Watch too

MacBook design changes | M2 MacBook Air teardown

MacBook design changes have made it practical for the machines to be assembled in Vietnam for the first time. So far, only iPads and AirPods have been made in the country.

The move marks the continuation of Apple’s gradual effort to reduce its dependance on China as a manufacturing center …

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MacBook Pro workers being paid significant bonuses after riot back in May

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After hundreds of MacBook Pro workers at a Quanta plant broke through barriers in protest of tough COVID-19 lockdown conditions, the company has indicated that it is now paying significant incentives in an attempt to retain enough staff.

All in, the disruptions saw the MacBook assembler’s profits halved in the second quarter, and the company said it took more than two months to return to full production …

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How to mod your M2 MacBook Air for better performance [Video]

M2 MacBook Air Thermal

The moment people started to get their hands on the M2 MacBook Air, overheating and thermal throttling were big topics of discussion. While the performance of the M2 Air is more than enough for most people using the laptop for general work, the existing cooling system can be augmented with a simple $13 change that will improve the MacBook’s performance during heavy and sustained workloads.

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This cheap mod can boost the sustained performance of the M2 MacBook Air

This cheap mod can boost the sustained performance of the M2 MacBook Air

The 2022 MacBook Air, which hit stores last week, not only features a brand new design but also Apple’s latest M2 chip. And although M2 is faster than M1 and also maintains efficiency, MacBook Air has no internal fan – which can make the laptop quite hot when running heavy workflows. However, there’s a cheap mod that can increase the sustained performance of the M2 MacBook Air.

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MKBHD M2 MacBook Air review: Impressive; 5-minute threshold; two downsides of Midnight color

MKBHD M2 MacBook Air review

The MKBHD M2 MacBook Air review landed today, after a flurry of earlier reviews last week. The overall tone is extremely positive, Brownlee praising the design, performance, and battery-life.

He does, however, warn that it’s really a $1,500 purchase, and that while the Midnight color is beautiful, it’s also a fingerprint magnet – and is easily scratched …

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M2 MacBook Air reviews are in: New era, all-day battery, same base storage concern as MacBook Pro

M2 MacBook Air review

The new M2 MacBook Air goes on sale tomorrow. While people wait for this machine, journalists and influencers just published their thoughts on this product. While praised overall, the new M2 MacBook Air struggles with the same concern as the M2 MacBook Pro, overheating with heavy tasks and slower SSD for the base model.

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Exclusive: M2 MacBook Air internals revealed in hands-on photos of redesigned notebook

M2 MacBook Air Internals

The new M2 MacBook Air is coming later this week. But with no reviews published yet, we really haven’t seen all that much outside (or inside!) of the original WWDC hands on.

While it’s not what most would be expecting, thanks to one of our sources, we were able to get some images of the internals of the new M2 MacBook Air.

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Apple design chief talks new MacBook Air midnight color inspiration, similarity with MacBook Pro, and more in interview

M2 MacBook Air hands on

The new M2 MacBook Air is set to go on sale this Friday. With its first redesign in years, this machine features the second generation of Apple silicon and a lot of inspiration from the 2021 MacBook Pro. In a new interview, Evans Hankey, Apple’s vice president of industrial design, talks about the new MacBook Air and its development.

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New M2 MacBook Air now available to order, first deliveries arriving July 15

The new MacBook Air with M2 chip is now available to order, with first units shipping to customers from Friday, July 15. The base model MacBook Air with M2 chip is priced at $1199, or $1099 for education buyers.

The new MacBook Air features the most significant design change to the MacBook Air line in a decade, with a uniformly flat enclosure, larger display and thinner screen bezels. Like the 2021 MacBook Pros, the front camera is now housed inside a display notch. The M2 chip powers improved CPU and GPU performance, approximately 20% faster than the already-fast M1 MacBook Air.

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Apple Store down ahead of M2 MacBook Air preorders [update: back]

Update: The store is back up and the new MacBook Air is now available to order.

The Apple Store has gone down ahead of the new 2022 MacBook Air with M2 chip going up for preorder in a few hours. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 went on sale last month.

The new Air features the latest Apple Silicon core in an all-new design, eschewing the classic MacBook Air tapered edge chassis. The new Air adopts design cues from the 2021 MacBook Pro, with a flat exterior case style, thinner screen bezels, and display notch cutout housing the front camera …

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