How to pre-order Apple’s M2 MacBook Air

Apple’s WWDC doesn’t typically bring new hardware into the mix, but the company decided to do things a bit differently for 2022. Apple announced an updated MacBook Air and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro alongside all of the new software features it debuted at today’s keynote. Both will be powered by Apple’s new M2 chipset, which will provide significant performance gains when compared to the previous M1 versions. Here’s everything we know about how to pre-order the latest MacBooks.

MacBook Air with M2

The M2 MacBook Air will be available for pre-order directly from Apple and authorized retailers starting in July for $1,199. It’ll be available in four colors: silver, space gray, midnight, starlight. The MacBook Air M1 will remain in the lineup and will start at $999.

Apple eschewed the wedge design of previous Airs here and opted for an all-new, more squared-off profile. However, that doesn’t mean the new Air is any less svelte than before, measuring 11.3mm thick and weighing 2.7 pounds. It remains a fanless laptop, so it will run quietly even when you’re pushing it to its limits. Apple claims the M2 chipset will provide 18 percent faster CPU performance and 35 percent faster GPU performance than the M1 processor, so you will notice the difference if you’re upgrading from a 2020 MacBook Air.

Elsewhere, Apple updated the display to a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina panel that’s 25 percent brighter than the panel on the previous notebook, plus it supports one billion colors. The company upped the webcam to a 1080p lens with better low-light performance, but alas, no Center Stage capabilities. The laptop features a four-speaker sound system and a TouchID keyboard with a full Function row. As for battery life, Apple estimates the new Air will get up to 18 hours of video playback and it’s capable of recharging 50 percent in only 30 minutes.

You’ll still find two Thunderbolt ports make up the majority of the connections (along with a headphone jack), but Apple did bring back a dedicated MagSafe charging port on this laptop. That means you won’t have to hog one of the Thunderbolt ports when you need to power up the machine.

13-inch MacBook Pro with M2

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 will be available for pre-order directly from Apple and authorized retailers starting in July for $1,299. It’ll be available in two colors: silver and space gray.

Unlike the updated MacBook Air, the M2-powered MacBook Pro didn’t get a design facelift. Instead, apple focused on the guts and overall efficiency. The Pro M2 has an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU that should provide up to 40 percent faster performance when playing graphics-intensive games and a similar boost when working in apps like Affinity Photo. The laptop will support up to 24GB of RAM and up to 2TB of onboard storage, plus a video-playback battery life of up to 20 hours.

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