everything is new, but not everything is better

The new MacBook Air 2022 brings the biggest changes to the model since 2010. But is it really worth the $390 extra over its predecessor? You can read it in our MacBook Air 2022 review.

MacBook Air 2022 review

In 2020, a breath of fresh air blew through the MacBook Air. Thanks to the M1 chip, Apple’s entry-level laptop suddenly became a real powerhouse, which in terms of performance was not inferior to the MacBook Pro. At the same time, battery life was significantly extended, the loud fan was finally banned, and the Apple Silicon chip brought useful new features such as support for iPhone and iPad apps.

But while the interior was beautiful, the exterior lingered in the glorified doorstop shape we’ve known since 2010. So it was high time for a new design. Behold: the MacBook Air 2022.

From door stoppers to round shapes

The old design is – just like designer Jony Ive – completely exit. The doorstop, wedge and/or cheese shape makes way for rounded corners, and a chassis that is only 1.13 centimeters thick at each point. The Air is also now 50 grams lighter, which funnily enough you really notice when you are used to the old model. However, we are not completely convinced of the new ‘legs’ at the bottom: they only make the MacBook appear thicker than it is.

When you open the Air, you are greeted by a brand new 13.6-inch screen with thinner bezels than before. And, yes, a notch for the webcam – more on that later. The keyboard still has the excellent scissor mechanism that came to the MacBook Air in early 2020, but now has larger function keys in the top row and a round Touch ID sensor.

You will no longer find a dust-attracting speaker grille to the left and right of the keyboard: the speakers are now incorporated into the hinge of the screen. There are many small improvements that make the design objectively better.

MagSafe: back with a vengeance

On the side of the MacBook Air you will find a brand new connection. Although, actually it’s an old connection that has made a comeback: MagSafe. This magnetic charging port prevents someone from dragging your MacBook to the floor if they trip over the charging cable.

Also handy: the charging plug contains a light to indicate whether your MacBook is already full. And unlike the old version of MagSafe, you can simply disconnect the cable from the plug, so you don’t have to replace everything if the cable breaks – although that chance is now a lot smaller because it’s made of fabric.

Furthermore, the new MacBook Air has the same connections as the previous model: two USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 (up to 40 Gbit/s), and a mini-jack connection that now supports high-impedance studio headphones. Unfortunately, the limitations in terms of external screens are still the same: one screen up to a resolution of 6K. The question is whether this is really a technical limitation, or a way to steer potential buyers towards the more expensive 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

New display: no mini LED, but good

Where we fell back with the amazing mini-LED screen with the MacBook Pro 2021, the MacBook Air still has to make do with a ‘normal’ LCD. Still, enough has been improved: 0.3 inch has been added at the top (that’s about an extra macOS menu bar), giving you just a little more space to work with. The screen is also 100 nits brighter (500 nits) than with the predecessor. The latter in particular makes a difference, because the screen is now also easy to read outside – provided the sun does not shine on it.

At the top you will now find a notch, which is almost identical to the ‘notch’ of the iPhone X and newer. Of course you will also find the webcam there. In general, the notch doesn’t get in the way: to the left and right of it is always the menu bar, so you don’t feel like there’s a bite out of your workspace. And once you run an app in full screen, it becomes virtually invisible.

You also get a lot in return: the new 1080p webcam is much better than its predecessor, especially when the light is not optimal. As a result, you finally no longer have the worst view of all your colleagues during a Teams conversation.

Your colleagues also sound better: the new speakers have a slightly fuller sound than before, although the speakers in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro are still much more impressive. We would just not trade in our external speakers for it, but it is a nice step forward.

M to the power of 2

The MacBook Air 2022 is powered by the M2, the second-generation Mac processor designed entirely by Apple. The same benefits of the M1 remain: low power consumption, no delay in waking from sleep, and built-in support for iPhone and iPad apps. As with the previous MacBook Air, there is no fan: working with the MacBook Air means working in silence.

The M2 takes the performance of the M1 to a slightly higher level: it is up to 18% faster, has up to 35% faster graphics performance (in the model with the 10-core GPU), and the memory has been given twice the bandwidth .

What do you notice about that? In everyday use – and that includes browsing, typing and streaming – nothing really. Only if you ask more of the chip, for example when gaming or with heavy programs for video, music production or 3D work, you will notice that the M2 is really faster than its predecessor.

Hotter and slower?

If you make optimal use of the improvements of the M2, you also run into a disadvantage: the M2 becomes significantly warmer than before during heavy programs. It even gets so hot that after about 5 minutes of really hard work – think of rendering complex video projects or other calculations that require 100% of the chip – it slows itself down to cool down.

Now the vast majority of the Air public will never be bothered by this, but for many semi-professionals it is important. They must carefully check how taxing their tasks are before they bring an Air into their home. As a gauge you can look at how long the taxing work you do is.

Are they short calculations that are always completed within five minutes? Think of photo editing, designing or compiling code? Then you’re in the right place with the Air. However, are you editing videos, rendering 3D worlds or gaming? Then you run into the limits of the fanless design.

There is also some hassle around the MacBook Air’s built-in SSD. Where the previous entry-level model had two chips of 128 GB, the new model has one of 256 GB. As a result, the storage is on average about 40% slower than with the previous MacBook Air. Only if you go for 512GB storage or more, you get two storage chips again.

Here too the following applies: most people do not notice it, and do not have to pass up the MacBook Air for this. But we’re not used to Apple’s slowing down of a new product in any way, so this choice is disappointing.

Air in the name, Pro in the price

Where the MacBook Air with M1 chip with a starting price of € 1129 was an insanely good deal, this is a different story with the new MacBook Air. The starting price is now € 1519: a whopping € 390 more expensive than the original price of its predecessor. Well, the M1 model now also costs € 1219 due to inflation, but then we are still talking about a price difference of € 300.

Now there is certainly something to be said for getting a much better laptop for that money. It has a better screen, a new design, a better webcam, fuller-sounding speakers, and a much faster chip: largely things that you really notice in daily use. But at the same time, you also get a slower SSD, and a processor that gets a lot hotter when running heavy programs. The Air aims to be a pro laptop and a budget model at the same time, but ultimately doesn’t fit into either category at all.

Of course, the price of the MacBook Air 2022 will drop, but until then it is a relatively expensive model for ‘everyday use’. This applies all the more if you go for a more extensive model: the price then creeps towards that of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which is a much better laptop in almost all areas.

Conclusion MacBook Air 2022 review

The MacBook Air 2022 is a joy to use. It is solidly built, fast, has a nice screen, sharp webcam, and good speakers. In fact, it has everything you could wish for from an everyday laptop. In terms of performance, he crawls a bit more against the Pro – but that is also what makes a buy recommendation difficult.

The Air can now do more than most people want it to, and comes at a price to match. At the same time, it does not meet the high requirements of all professionals. Photo editing and coding are fine, complex video editing and 3D renders are too much.

For everyday use – consisting of typing, surfing and streaming – you are better off with the M1 variant for now, and € 300 surplus in your wallet. Pros, on the other hand, need to look closely at what they want from their MacBook. For demanding tasks that take a long time, a MacBook Pro is no superfluous luxury. However, do your pro tasks consist of shorter calculations? Then the MacBook Air 2022 will give you your perfect laptop.

Buy MacBook Air 2022

After reading our MacBook Air 2022 review, are you completely convinced that this is the MacBook for you? In the MacBook Air price comparison below you can see the current prices and all (web) stores where the laptop is available.

The MacBook Air 2022 with M2 chip has a suggested retail price of € 1519. For that you get 256 GB of storage space and 8 GB of RAM. If you choose the variant with 512GB storage (and a faster gpu), you pay €1869.