WWDC 2022: Apple unveils new MacBook Air with M2 chip
Apple unveiled yesterday its new M2 in-house chip, designed specifically for Macs. This chip starts the second generation of Apple Silicon.
Introduced at WWDC 2022, the M2 chip features an 18 percent faster processor, a 35 percent faster GPU, a faster neural engine and 50 percent more memory bandwidth than the previous generation.
It will be available on the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Improved graphics performance
The M2 also features Apple‘s next-generation GPU, which now has up to 10 cores. Combined with a larger cache and increased memory bandwidth, the M2 GPU delivers dramatically improved graphics performance. Performance is up to 25 percent higher at the same power level as the M1, and up to 35 percent higher at its peak. Compared to the graphics cards built into the latest laptop chip, the M2’s GPU delivers 2.3 times faster performance at the same power level. In addition, the M2 enables the maximum performance of the PC chip using only one-fifth of the power.
More power for less energy
The M2’s system-on-chip (SoC) is designed using second-generation 5-nanometer technology. It consists of 20 billion transistors, a 25 percent increase over the M1. Compared to its ancestor, the M1 chip, the new M2 chip offers 18 percent better multicore CPU performance. According to Apple, its processor even offers nearly twice the performance of the last laptop chip, given the same power. Pointing to the energy efficiency of its own silicon, Apple says the M2 chip offers nearly 90 percent of the peak performance of the latest 12-core laptop chip while consuming only a quarter of its power.
MacBook Air M2 Design
The most visible change, namely the chassis. The latter retains a similar footprint to that of the MacBook Air M1 but loses the rounded side of the latter. A more square design, halfway between the MacBook Pro 14/16 and the previous generation of MBA. The MacBook Air M2 2022 gains a borderless screen, offering a diagonal of 13.6 inches. Brighter (500 nits vs. 400 nits), the latter takes the principle of the “notch”, the notch so decried on the MacBook Pro 2021. Apple obviously did not manage to integrate the webcam (now in 1080P) and its sensors more discreetly.
The connectivity does not progress (two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports) but is also inspired by its elders with the presence of the MagSafe port, compatible with fast charging and more secure since it disengages as soon as a traction is exercised. This will prevent you from falling when you get your feet caught in the cable!