Apple MacBook Air 15-inch review: Apple’s Big Air era

The MacBook Air 15 fills a fundamentally unfilled gap in Apple’s laptop lineup: mass-priced big-screen laptops.

There’s no reason Apple should wait this long. But after months of being far behind for the company and the industry as a whole, it’s now time to release this model. Over the past two quarters, Apple has reported the steepest decline in Mac sales in five years. If ever there was a time when laptop companies needed to inject some oomph into the market, it’s today, right now.

In the Windows space, PC makers are making a big move toward services. Artificial intelligence is shoved down the consumer’s throat. The new model ships with a huge list of webcam beautifiers and tools to keep his eyes on one spot. Dell made an invisible touchpad. Lenovo he’s doing funky things with E Ink and dual screens. HP hardwired a customer service button into its flagship product and rebranded itself from his PC company to a “solutions” provider. ASUS is… well, they’re doing a lot of things over there. MSI is about to make his ChatGPT.

But Apple isn’t chasing generative AI or E Ink or dual screens. You’re releasing a product that people have been asking for at a price they’re very likely to pay. A great, functional product that people have been asking for for years. 15-inch MacBook Air.

And yes, in case you were on the edge of your seat: it’s a good thing.

The most recent MacBook I reviewed was the 16-inch MacBook Pro. It was a model with nothing new in the chassis and everything new in the chip.

In theory, this MacBook Air 15 does the opposite. This chip is a known amount. It’s the M2, the same one found in the 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. In fact, the model I have (8 core CPU, 10 core GPU, 16 GB memory, 512 GB storage, $1,699) is basically the same configuration as the 13″ model I got for review (double the memory) is. larger chassis.

Before the Air 15, if you wanted a MacBook with a significantly larger display, you had to pay a $1,000 premium for a thicker, heavier computer. But given the same specs for the 13-inch and 15-inch devices, the larger one costs about $100 more. Chips are no different. The chassis is different.

is that so? In daily use of this device, you won’t notice any difference from using the 13-inch Air. The keyboard, touchpad and trusty webcam notch are all the same. The biggest difference to report is, of course, the screen. The 15.3-inch panel is large, especially with an aspect ratio slightly higher than 16:10. Frankly, it’s able to maximize a lot more space than I ever knew. You can comfortably use two windows side by side. You may need to zoom out a notch or two on the 13″ Air. Big screen fans are sure to be thrilled.

The second big difference is weight. The 13″ Air is 2.7 pounds and the 15″ Air is 3.3 pounds. There’s just over half a pound difference, and it’s noticeable. The 15-inch Air is much lighter than the larger 16-inch M2 Pro, but considerably chunkier than the 13-inch Air.

See, you guys will make fun of me for this, but I deserve it. But the Air is an ultra-portable machine, and that’s what it’s stuck to since its launch. The 15-inch Air is similarly not an ultraportable machine. For reference, the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop weighs just a tenth of a pound more than his. It’s thinner and thinner than other Windows laptops in this size class, but it packs quite a bit into its chassis, and it’s still a big computer overall. I didn’t like carrying it around in my tote bag.

But the third big difference is the speakers. The Air 13’s speakers are excellent. Air 15 is great. Bass sounds in a way that most other computers don’t. The first time I turned on a bass-heavy tune, I was so taken aback that I thought it was coming from some other Bluetooth speaker.

But primarily, the size of the chassis doesn’t change your experience with the Air. This is not his XPS 13/XPS 15 situation where the two models have distinctly different experiences, use cases and target demographics. It’s the bigger Air, with the same keyboard as before, the same (but bigger) great trackpad, and a bigger screen.

Next, my dissatisfaction with this Air is mainly dissatisfaction with the small Air. I wish it was upgradeable, I wish it had more ports, I wish it could be notched or left out. And so is my admiration. Portable as a category. It is sturdy and well made. The screen looks great. Apple seems to know exactly what the MacBook Air needs. This is the MacBook Air.

In most of the synthetic benchmark tests I ran, the MacBook Air 15 sits firmly between the MacBook Air 13 and the MacBook Pro 13. In single-core Cinebench tests, the three devices gave nearly identical results. The 15″ Air is much closer to the 13″ Pro. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Gaming benchmarks are better than the 13″ Air.

Since these devices all have the same processor, the difference in performance is probably due to cooling. Like the smaller version, the MacBook Air 15 doesn’t have a fan. What is really there is a little bit of room for the heat pipes to do what they are supposed to do. Overall, the 15-inch big feature doesn’t seem to have as much of an impact on the M2’s performance as the MacBook Pro 13’s fan, but it’s a pretty big one.

Note: Air is still in hot. During almost all benchmark tests, the area directly above the function line was too hot to touch. The keyboard was usable but burnt. Most of the time, I didn’t feel this heat while playing with Chrome on the Air. However, if you are one of those who are buying this thinking of using it to export videos frequently, be aware of that.

In more human terms, I don’t see much difference in day-to-day work performance between the MacBook Air 15 and other MacBooks released in recent years. The M1 chip was already well above my workload demands, but the M2 chip goes further. I recently use an M1 MacBook Pro 13 as my daily driver for my journalistic job, and let me tell you, it’s all the same. However, this review is not just a recommendation to buy last year’s model cheaply because there is no last year’s model. fair enough. well done.

The last thing to comment on is battery life. It took 14 and a half hours on average. That’s also between the times I’ve typically seen on the 13″ MacBook Air (about 13 hours) and the 13″ MacBook Pro (16 to 16.5 hours). Both of these devices have smaller batteries than the Air 15, so this is a little confusing. I wish I had a sensible, scientific reason for this, but what I’m about to explain is when dealing with batteries. With such a long lifespan, these results are probably all within the margin of error (and we can also see that we’ve reached a point where the returns are slightly diminishing). The Air 15 has a larger battery, but it also powers a larger display, and all the differences are apparent after washing.

The point here is that the Air 15 can get you through a day, and then a few more days. Don’t worry. In fact, you don’t have to worry too much when using this device. It works, runs for a long time away from the wall, and has a big old screen. And it’s pretty much what we all wanted from the 15-inch MacBook Air in the first place.

Sometimes I wish I was on the beat of whizbangs, colored lights, and on-stage demos that make everyone go ‘wow’ like the smart home of the late 2010s and, apparently, VR now. . To be honest, I sometimes envy tech journalists who regularly declare that they’ve discovered gadgets that could change the world forever.

But I’m happy to be able to use my laptop beat today. Not because this his MacBook will usher in a new era for mankind, but because real normal people i.e. sitting on the couch checking emails, bookmarking recipes, whatever we do, this device because you should be satisfied with It has everything you want in a MacBook Air. And it helps you work, check your email, and watch Netflix faster and more comfortably. A good laptop makes us a better version. That’s all they should do.

There is no doubt that the recent decline in PC sales is disappointing and upsetting for the companies that make laptops. As a consumer, I think I can be more optimistic. People bought a lot in 2020 and 2021 and are still happy with them. These computers are well suited for your lifestyle and workload.

Of course, this is an unacceptable state of affairs for PC makers looking to maximize profits. And for some players, the angle of attack is to create new needs. On the same day that it announced the MacBook Pro, Apple released a $3,500 virtual reality headset. Like Lenovo’s dual-screen offerings, Dell’s touchpad-less offerings, and the multitude of AR, VR, RGB, and AI gadgets I pitch each week, Apple’s Vision Pro has a message. Your world, the consumer world, is missing something you didn’t realize. you may not have noticed. idea If you want this expensive bunch of circuits, of course No need, but give it a try. You know.

Thank god this headset was on the same floor as a $1,300 laptop that didn’t claim to move the world. But it’s a laptop that does the job, with speakers, a screen and a processor that does things right. This device does not create needs.that found You have a need and it’s being met. You don’t have to convince yourself that you want the Air 15. we were waiting for it.