With a faster chip, bigger screen, new design and better webcam, the new Apple MacBook Air M2 is the biggest change to the Air line since its launch.
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Dan Ackerman’s Full Review:
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00:00 Intro
00:29 What’s new
01:39 New but familiar design
02:05 Macbook Pro M2 2022
02:33 New colorways
03:13 M1 vs M2 Macbook Air
04:07 Return of MagSafe
04:50 Choice of power adapters
05:29 Portability
06:11 Screen size
06:34 New webcam and notch
07:30 Webcam samples vs old M1
8:00 Fingerprint magnet
8:30 M2 chip
09:53 Conclusion
Razor Red
July 14, 2022 at 3:45 pm
No mention of the fact that if you want to get the advertised performance you need to upgrade the slow 256 ssd to the 512 ssd and to really maximize benefits you need 16gb ram. This review has no mention of this which is misleading. In real world use the m2 MacBook Air will be slower than m1 MacBook Air. Hence m1 MacBook Air is better value. I wish reporters would actually do in depth analysis. Instead of this fanboy bs.
andyH_England
July 14, 2022 at 4:06 pm
For who these are aimed for the M2 difference will be moot as they are not doing 8K RAW rendering whilst flooding the RAM with Chrome tabs. Anyone buying a fan less laptop for sustained performance are wrong. Anyone doing a lot of RAM intensive work should get 16GB no matter Mac or Windows. Your point is just the usual anti-Apple rhetoric with no balance.
Ricky B
July 14, 2022 at 4:39 pm
By the time you upgrade the Air like that you are only a short distance away from a 14″ MacBook Pro, a much better computer.
Puneeth Rahul Rakam
July 14, 2022 at 3:49 pm
05:34 you forgot your bag
Obaid Mohiuddin
July 14, 2022 at 3:54 pm
Seems like you’re just apple fan
256 should not exist in 2022
200$ more for 512, it should be a crime
Still that huge notch with no face ID
And thus MBS Throttle as compared to other m2 device.
So no its not the one I would buy
andyH_England
July 14, 2022 at 4:03 pm
It is a similar price to Windows ultrabooks and has much better battery life. Nearly all other OEMs have base 8GB/256GB and I checked on a few reviews and you were not trolling them with this same comments, why?
Obaid Mohiuddin
July 14, 2022 at 4:12 pm
@andyH_England cause others did showed not just the good but also the bad stuff.
andyH_England
July 14, 2022 at 4:18 pm
@Obaid Mohiuddin He has the higher spec version so he cannot really comment on the lower spec, you have to wait for reviews for them. Otherwise he is just parroting other reviewers who may have agendas. He also used it as it was designed and it worked really well, which it will do, so he is just telling the truth. I know there are many coming to these reviews looking for Apple bashing but D2D and others are doing sensible reviews. If you want ridiculous reviews go to Max Tech for your daily dose.
Obaid Mohiuddin
July 14, 2022 at 4:23 pm
@andyH_England yeah you are right. Haven’t thought about that.
Brighten Day
July 14, 2022 at 4:24 pm
First mac and laptop in a decade. Thanks for this information. 16gb ram, 512 gb storage, 10 core starlight. Their fast charging is great. Looking forward to more testing between this and the m2pro in similar specs because maybe return and get that. Would miss the fast charging but the fan is useful..
ramin ahmadi
July 14, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Fingerprints though 😕
Ehren Sixon
July 14, 2022 at 6:14 pm
They should bring back the classic black macbook. I would prefer that than the classic silver or space gray.
Alonso Gutierrez
July 14, 2022 at 6:38 pm
This “review” feels more like a long ad…
Saulo Vilanova
July 14, 2022 at 6:40 pm
5:33 You left your bag.
Glen Cote
July 14, 2022 at 7:08 pm
It needs a fan. Any significant performance gains over the M1 seem like they’re going to be throttled into oblivion with this machine. Having it be a tad bit thicker to get better thermals would be well worth it. I bet there’s no real difference at all between 8, 16, or 24 GB of RAM for 99% of cases that people actually care about – no one is going to be editing 8K footage on this thing. And if someone does, the M2 will be throttled like crazy.
mofosoto
July 14, 2022 at 8:55 pm
I think if your work is that serious then your computer should be too. You’re missing the point of the Air.
Glen Cote
July 14, 2022 at 10:47 pm
@mofosoto I agree that if you’re looking to edit something like 8K then you should definitely not use the Air. But there’s no reason that it shouldn’t do something like 4K very well – which it does currently, but it could do significantly better if it had better thermals. There’s not much of a point in updating the processor from an M1 to an M2 if all the performance gains don’t amount to much because of throttling. They might as well keep the design of the M2 Macbook Air (magsafe, better display, 1080p webcam, etc) but keep the processor as the perfectly capable M1, which is sufficient for 99% of people.
mofosoto
July 14, 2022 at 11:03 pm
@Glen Cote Agreed about the chip. Should’ve come out with this design when they put the M1 in it in the first place. And this release’s upgrades should include Center stage and 120hz Promotion.
Jav C
July 14, 2022 at 7:50 pm
I have been waiting for this video. Great job with the review. You hit on all the important subjects. IMO, the MBA is for the casual user, average user and light user.
The Midnight color is 🔥
All the upgrades are significant. Cannot wait to get mine.
Of course we all wish the price was $999 but for $200 dollars this upgrade is worth it.
TheYankees2340
July 14, 2022 at 8:23 pm
’m interested in getting a new MacBook for some light video editing and working with PowerBI, Tableau, and some small SQL projects.
Is it better to go for the Air M2 with 24gb RAM, 512gb/1TB SSD or the base Pro 14” with 16gb RAM and 512gb SSD?
Thanks!
Ayoub Maknassi
July 14, 2022 at 8:42 pm
Neither, for light video editing get the 10 core gpu – 16gb RAM – 512gb+ SSD storage MacBook Air
lettuce
July 15, 2022 at 1:00 am
Base model 14 inch is a more powerful capable computer in basically every way, the advantage of the air is portability.
Matan Kogen
July 14, 2022 at 8:27 pm
Which GPU should I get. Light gaming and GarageBand only
Erick Xavier
July 14, 2022 at 8:39 pm
Why are you calling it BLACK when is clearly BLUE?
myRS4
July 14, 2022 at 9:36 pm
To buy the M1 or M2…. 🤔 Magsafe might be the catalyst.
myRS4
July 14, 2022 at 9:40 pm
How smudgy did the black surface get? I heard it picks up fingerprints and it’s hard to wipe off quickly. Thanks
GB
July 14, 2022 at 9:41 pm
It only has one nand chip as SSD so it is slower than the Macbook Air M1, false advertisement by Apple, not worth the upgrade, best thing get an M1 at a cheaper price!
fdsaffff
July 14, 2022 at 10:17 pm
useless review
kliudrsfhlih
July 14, 2022 at 10:37 pm
what’s a taper? (english as a second language)
nagelixin
July 14, 2022 at 10:41 pm
Good video. Sad to see the original c|net logo blurred out…
AJ Zoro
July 14, 2022 at 10:57 pm
The 1080p webcam is going to be irrelevant soon after the new MacOS update where you can use your iPhone as a webcam. Also, they made the base SSD slower in the M2 which sucks. I’m keeping my 2021 MBA until there’s a major update. Still waiting on an M2 Mac Mini though, that one needs an update badly.
Aiden
July 14, 2022 at 11:01 pm
👏 One of the best and most engaging reviews for this product I’ve seen. No idea why this doesn’t have more views.
Sean T
July 14, 2022 at 11:07 pm
Why does anyone mention fingerprints? Is it OCD gone crazy?
QuietStormX
July 14, 2022 at 11:25 pm
1080 webcam looked better flesh tones!
Nick L
July 15, 2022 at 12:15 am
Didn’t expect a nostalgia hit from the old footage of those 2008-era Macs. Ahh, the good ol’ OSX galaxy wallpaper.
dany ay lol
July 15, 2022 at 12:26 am
Everyone needs to keep in mind that the 256 Models now only use 1 SSD Chip. That means SSD speeds are up to 50% slower compared to 256 M1.
Jack R
July 15, 2022 at 7:09 am
Dude what are you on about
Thabit Pulak
July 15, 2022 at 7:26 am
@Jack R he’s not wrong lol
Mr. Nice Man
July 15, 2022 at 6:05 pm
@Jack R facts
leagueofotters
July 15, 2022 at 11:41 pm
@Jack R Stop listening to cnet and do some research.
David Vogler
July 15, 2022 at 1:44 am
Hey buddy. At 5:34. You left your damn backpack on the ground. (P.S. Great video. Enjoyed this review.)
Everything Videos
July 15, 2022 at 2:21 am
Until next year.
affraidbae
July 15, 2022 at 3:12 am
the new MBA with M2 have center stage?
ali naif
July 15, 2022 at 3:21 am
Carry a microfiber gloves instead of cloth so no fingers to wipe and clean dust . Two birds with one stone . Be smart
Jeremy DeBose
July 15, 2022 at 3:45 am
I wanna see the video for the original Air now.
Harry Hariyadi
July 15, 2022 at 4:14 am
Anybody know whether the international shipment of this machine begins at the same time with the domestic one? Can’t wait for it to be in my hand
Marcos Martinez
July 15, 2022 at 4:35 am
Has Daniel always had this way of speech?
edmondov
July 15, 2022 at 5:33 am
Still can’t compete with any windows pc
Jerico Gamolo
July 15, 2022 at 5:59 am
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Urban Nomad
July 15, 2022 at 7:20 am
Dave 2D gave the best and most scientific review. The chip throttles hard cause there is no fan and the SSD is slower.
Moriyokiri
July 15, 2022 at 3:14 pm
“most scientific review” lol
Martin Gifford
July 15, 2022 at 12:43 pm
None of the videos I’ve watched show the MBA M1 and M2 side by side – I mean touching each other. That way we could really see the if the increased screen size is much better.
Corey McMahon
July 16, 2022 at 3:19 am
he literally does in this video…they aren’t touching but its pretty clear…. 3:54
Martin Gifford
July 16, 2022 at 4:58 am
@Corey McMahon Thanks. But visual perception can be tricky, so it needs to be exactly side by side. Also, the bottom of the screens need to be at the same level.
Daydreamer
July 15, 2022 at 12:46 pm
Can’t believe apple still uses ports
Fultro Technology
July 15, 2022 at 12:50 pm
We recommend the dbrand wrap!
Burntfruits
July 15, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Im tempted to get the 500 gb version. But the 200 difference is a lots
Gurmeet Singh
July 15, 2022 at 6:07 pm
Do you recommend M2 MacBook Air or Base Model MacBook Pro 14″ because they are the similar cost and you get better display, faster SSD and slightly more cpu and gpu cores ?
ngawang sonam
July 16, 2022 at 3:41 am
Yeah. I am also stuck in that question. Because I would want 16gb ram and 525 SSD but the price would go up to 1500$ and MacBook Pro 14 is just a couple hundred buck away.
Gurmeet Singh
July 16, 2022 at 11:18 am
@ngawang sonam M1 Pro is better, there are problems with Air M2 ssd as well it is slow SSD. M1 Pro best.
Giovanni di Capo
July 15, 2022 at 7:09 pm
$1200?? I almost bought it but passed. $999 palatable
dylbertiii
July 15, 2022 at 7:12 pm
I edit 6-8 videos a year. No video games. Should i go for 10 GPU?
Matthew Howell
July 15, 2022 at 10:27 pm
I’m sure that I’m in the minority, but I think the 720p webcam looked better than the 1080p webcam. The 1080p webcam was too dark an image for me to see clearly. The 720p webcam had a brighter image that was easier for me to see the image details.
Guru Gamer
July 15, 2022 at 11:14 pm
M2 Air or M1 Pro?
leagueofotters
July 15, 2022 at 11:48 pm
Hmmm….nothing about what many others are talking about?
AK CHINA EXPLORER
July 16, 2022 at 2:06 am
very good video
Earnist Se
July 16, 2022 at 2:11 am
Best air ever? Maybe so but once you fix the slow SSD issue apple conveniently created it’s a 1400 dollar machine which is completely ABSURD. The m1 air has no such issues and is selling for 850-900 right now
Andrew French
July 16, 2022 at 2:20 am
2022 MacBook STILL no touch screen LOL.
Rex Prangnell
July 16, 2022 at 3:55 am
For the novice this video is not ideal more to do with comparison to the older version no mention of what it can do , but I’m just an ignorant kiwi fan
flipwarrior
July 16, 2022 at 4:20 am
You are the first person to discover the MacBook Air.
Jo Zh
July 16, 2022 at 5:58 am
When I saw this video title, I know this video is another freak show.
Sinus Lebastian
July 16, 2022 at 6:22 am
hopefully the next time I buy a macbook the new design is less expensive
FuryTurtle GT
July 16, 2022 at 6:59 am
I’m a student that doesn’t use any photo editing apps or stuff like that. I just web browse and watch movies on YouTube and Netflix. Which do you guys think is better for me? Is the display and screen upgrade significant to be worth the extra $200? Is m2 faster for web browsing?
ryu_da_bear
July 16, 2022 at 7:31 am
I bought the toshiba 1100 today and it’s way better than any mac !
Battle Toad
July 16, 2022 at 9:21 am
Marketing sheep
WAYNE LEE
July 16, 2022 at 11:03 am
Best Air but not the best Mac!
Erwin D
July 16, 2022 at 12:33 pm
The notch is just yuck! Im always on a meeting and the webcam quality is not really that super important. Audio quality is a must. We even often ditch the webcam, just a call without it.
revilozone
July 16, 2022 at 3:56 pm
Does this new MacBook Air come with iMovie?