As of June 2023, Apple has a 15-inch MacBook Air for the first time — and that's a pretty big deal, pun fully intended. The MacBook Air is one of the most popular laptops in the world and has been the easy choice for anybody who wants an affordable Mac laptop for everyday use —browsing the web, answering emails and watching YouTube videos. But it's only been available in the brand's smaller laptop sizes.
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15-inch M2 MacBook Air (2023) Read More -
13-inch M2 MacBook Air (2022) Read More
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15-inch M2 MacBook Air (2023) Read More
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13-inch M2 MacBook Air (2022) Read More
The fact that Apple now offers a 15-inch MacBook Air means that, if you want a bigger-screen laptop, you no longer have to spend big on a 16-inch MacBook Pro or go for a Windows PC (of which there are many big-screen laptops to choose from). You've got a pretty affordable option in the 15-inch MacBook Air — which is available now — as it starts at $1,299.
The new 15-inch model joins Apple's two existing 13-inch MacBook Air offerings: there's the 2020-released M1 MacBook Air, which has an older design; and there's the 2022-released M2 MacBook Air that has a newer one, which includes a more edge-to-edge display and MagSafe charging). In looks, the new 15-inch M2 MacBook Air is very similar to the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air that Apple released exactly a year ago.
But do those extra two inches (and a few other tweaks) make the 15-inch version the superior machine? We put the two sibling Airs to the test against each other to find out.
M2 MacBook Airs (13- and 15-inch): What We Think
The 13-inch M2 MacBook Air that Apple released last summer is a fantastic lightweight laptop. Thanks to Apple's M2 chip, it's way faster and more powerful than it probably has any right to be. It's got a beautiful display, a very click-y keyboard and some welcome new features, like a Touch ID button and MagSafe charging. And the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air is basically the exact same laptop — just bigger.
There are some differences, like a better speaker system and a larger trackpad, but it really comes down to whether you want a laptop with a bigger screen — and if you're willing to spend the extra $200 to get it. If you don't mind spending the extra scratch, the 15-inch model's added screen space, superior sound system and a faster, more useful power brick make it the ideal choice, but either way, both are phenomenal lightweight laptops.
M2 MacBook Airs (13- and 15-inch): What's Similar?
Almost everything. As somebody who just recently purchased the newer 13-inch M2 MacBook Air and has been testing the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air for the last week, I can tell you that they are essentially the same laptop. In fact, aside from the obvious size difference, they are almost identical.
The 13-inch and 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs have the same gorgeous Retina display, 1080p webcam, keyboard (with click-ier scissor switches, hallelujah) and are powered by the same M2 chip. They have the same two USB-C ports and MagSafe charging. And they are available in the exact same four colors, including the super-snazzy "midnight" (as seen in photos).
M2 MacBook Airs (13- and 15-inch): 4 Key Differences
Despite being pretty much identical in most ways, the 13- and 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs are slightly different. Let's break it down.
The obvious difference: size and weight
Obviously, the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air is a larger laptop than the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air. It has a bigger screen (15.3- versus 13.6-inch), a bigger body, a bigger trackpad (although the keyboard is the exact same size) and it also weighs more. The 15-inch model weighs 3.3 pounds, while the 13-inch model weighs 2.7 pounds. I've been using the larger model for the last few days and I'm definitely digging the extra real estate.
The 15-inch Air has a superior sound system
The bigger body of the 15-inch MacBook Air has allowed Apple to upgrade it in one key way — it has a noticeably better sound system. The 15-inch model has a six-speaker sound system (as opposed to the 13-inch model's four) that includes two force-canceling woofers. Both support spatial audio and sound relatively good for their size, but there's no doubt that music and movies sound better on the 15-inch model. They have more bass thanks to the extra woofers, which also allows the tweeters to focus solely on the mids and highs. The end sound is just fuller and cleaner on the larger laptop. It sounds like it get slightly louder, too.
The 13-inch Air is cheaper than it used to be
When Apple announced the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air, it also lowered the price of the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air by $100 — it now starts at $1,099. This makes the price difference between the two laptops an even $200. Both start with same amounts of memory (8GB) and storage (256GB), and can be configured with the same amounts of each, too.
The 15-inch Air comes with the better, more powerful adapter
The 13-inch and 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs have the exact same battery life, but the larger laptop does have a larger battery and thus needs a larger power adapter to charge it. (The bigger battery is needed to power its bigger display.) It comes with a 35-watt dual USB-C power adapter compared to the 30-watt single USB-C power adapter, meaning you can actually use the former to charge two devices at once. It's admittedly small — but a really helpful difference.
