The MacBook Air is Apple’s most popular laptop, and for good reason. It’s thin and light, performs very well, and is the most affordable laptop Apple sells.
At the end of 2020, it got its first major revision in a long time as one of the first Mac models to be powered by Apple Silicon. The M1 MacBook Air is a fantastic laptop—but there’s a much better one on the way. In June 2022 at WWDC, Apple announced an all-new MacBook Air with a better M2 processor, a new design, and several welcome new features and improvements.
The M1 MacBook Air remains available at $999, and unless that is the upper limit you can spend, you should definitely hold out for the new model.
Update 06/17/22: Apple has announced an all-new MacBook Air with M2 processor, a new design, and several other changes. It won’t be available until July, but you shouldn’t buy a MacBook Air now unless you can’t spend more than $999.
MacBook Air: Pricing and specs
Released: July 2022
We love the M1 MacBook Air and think the performance and battery life are phenomenal, but the new M2 MacBook Air is a whole new design with lots of welcome improvements.
To being with, the wedge shape is gone in favor of a flat shape more like the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, only slimmer–even thinner than the old Air design, in fact. The bezels around the display have shrunk, expanding the viewing area to 13.6 inches. It still has only two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, but with the addition of the MagSafe connector for charging (including fast charging), they’ll both be free more often. The webcam got a bump to 1080p with much better overall quality, and the speakers and microphones are improved.
The price went up a little, but you’re getting a lot more computer for the dollar. The older M1 MacBook Air remains available at $999.
MacBook Air: Why you should buy
You shouldn’t buy a MacBook Air until the new M2 models hit the market in July. Yes, the price went up a little, but you get more performance and better features for the price. The only reason you should buy a MacBook Air right now is if you absolutely cannot spend more than $999. If that’s the case, the existing M1 MacBook Air remains available at that price.
MacBook Air: Why you should wait
It’s only going to be a few more weeks until the M2 MacBook Air is available. It starts at $1,199, which is a $200 price hike from the M1 model. But it’s better in every way. It looks better, it’s available in more color tones, the display is bigger and brighter, the webcam is better, the processor is significantly faster, and it has MagSafe charging, including fast-charging if you use a 67W or higher power adapter.
Macworld recommends: WAIT
Now that the M2 MacBook Air has been announced with an all-new design and a much of improvements, you’d be crazy to buy the M1 model. The one exception is if you absolutely cannot buy anything more expensive than $999–the M2 models will start at $1,199, and the M1 model (with the old design) is staying in the lineup at that price.