Bear in mind MagSafe? The energy wire that magnetically caught itself to the charging port on previous MacBooks to forestall it from flying off the desk when somebody tripped over the wire? Apple introduced the progressive connector again on its high-end MacBook Professional fashions final yr, however the characteristic is now making its means right down to essentially the most inexpensive laptop computer in its lineup: the MacBook Air. At WWDC 2022, Apple introduced this new laptop computer alongside a brand new 13-inch MacBook Professional, each of that are powered by the additionally newly introduced second-gen M2 processor.
Each the brand new MacBook Air 2022 and MacBook Professional 2022 will go on sale in July. The Air prices $1,199, and the brand new Professional begins at $1,299. Apple has discontinued the older M1-powered MacBook Professional, however you will nonetheless have the ability to purchase the 2020 M1 MacBook Air for $999. Here is every little thing it is advisable to know in regards to the pair.
Air Beats Professional
Fairly bizarrely, the brand new (and cheaper) MacBook Air is the fancier of the 2 new laptops. For instance, it picks up a few of the design modifications launched with the pricier MacBook Professional fashions from 2021, together with thinner borders across the display and a notch for the webcam, making for a barely bigger 13.6-inch show versus the brand new MacBook Professional’s 13.3-inch display.
Regardless of the bigger display, the Air shaves down some weight over its predecessor. It is 2.7 kilos and merely 0.44 inches thick when totally closed, placing the “air” again in MacBook Air as certainly one of Apple’s lightest laptops but. For comparability, the Professional is 3 kilos and 0.61 inches thick.
That additionally means the brand new MacBook Air can benefit from an upgraded 1080p webcam for higher high quality throughout video calls, whereas the brand new MacBook Professional is caught with the identical previous 720p digital camera. The Air additionally has a quad-speaker setup for higher audio versus the MacBook Professional’s stereo audio system, although Apple suggests the microphones are studio high quality on the Professional whereas the Air makes use of lesser, commonplace mics.
Each nonetheless have the identical LCD IPS 2K-resolution display, and the MacBook Air can get a smidge brighter than its predecessor, matching the MacBook Professional’s display brightness of 500 nits. Talking of shows, the MacBook Professional stays the one Mac in Apple’s lineup with the Contact Bar show above the Magic Keyboard, a characteristic that by no means fairly caught on. The MacBook Air has bodily operate keys, although each have Contact ID baked in. (No, there’s nonetheless no Face ID on a Mac.)