Pros:
– Display, for both, its size and output
– M2 SoC holds up really well
– Battery life
– Phenomenal speakers
– Amazingly thin and light for its size
Cons:
– Limited ports
– Can only support one external display
– Webcam falls short compared to the rest of the package
Price: 8GB + 256GB variant for 1,34,990/-
Rating: 4.75/5
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Apple’s latest offering of the Air laptops in its MacBook lineup, the 15-inch MacBook Air, is positioned in a very curious manner. Because of its size, it is a machine that is fit for all sorts of professional work. However, the performance that it has, thanks to its M2 silicon, isn’t as jaw-dropping as its elder siblings from the MacBook Pro series. Performance-wise, as awesome as it is, it is much more comparable to the 13-inch MacBook Air. So who is the device actually meant for?
Well having spent about three weeks using the laptop, I think I have found who the latest MacBook Air is meant for. It is for people who want the size and display that Apple has thus far reserved for its top-of-the-line MacBook Pro, but who don’t necessarily need that sort of horsepower and are therefore hesitant in pulling the trigger on purchasing something like that.
Having said that, the 15-inch MacBook Air, despite its similarities with its 13-inch brethren, does manage to stand out on its own, thanks to its large display, better speakers, and a much larger battery.
So does the new MacBook Air 15-inch version deserve your hard-earned cash? We find out.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Design
People who are familiar with the current MacBook lineup will recognise that on the surface, the MacBook Air 15-inch looks a lot like the 13-inch M2 version. The new version has an identical flat screen, slim borders, a notch, an expanded row of keys, and a sleek profile. It continues to have a design that still looks and feels modern.
However, because of its larger size, it feels completely different to use. On paper, the two inches that the MacBook Air 15-inch gains may not seem much, but it makes a world of a difference in not just how people feel about the display, but the laptop in general. To give you a clue of just how big the MacBook 15-inch really feels, just look at a Word document, a spreadsheet or a website. The 16:10 aspect ratio really gets to shine in a display of this size.
Because of the larger display, you also get a larger chassis. What this means is that you get a slightly bigger battery, much better-sounding speakers, a keyboard that is laid out really well, with properly spaced-out keys, and a trackpad that’s larger than most premium smartphones. You also get TouchID right on the keyboard.
What’s really astonishing about the 15-inch MacBook Air is just how light it is and how thin it is. It really wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that this laptop defines what a thin-and-light portable device ought to be. The 15-inch MacBook Air is just 0.46 inches thick and weighs less than 1.5 kg. And, despite its slim profile, the laptop feels solidly built – it doesn’t feel flimsy or creaky. As for any deck flex around the backlit Magic Keyboard or the trackpad, that just doesn’t happen.
Even the lid housing that magnificent display doesn’t wobble. Moreover, the hinge, as with all MacBooks, is so silky smooth that it opens up easily with just a finger.
And while this particular MacBook feels incredibly large and will take up a lot of desk real estate, it easily fits into standard backpacks as well as laptop sleeves, without any issues.
As for ports, on the left, you get two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports with support for
charging as well as DisplayPort. You also get a MagSafe 3 charging port. On the right, you get a single, 3.5mm headphone jack.
You don’t get more ports or even an SD card slot, as those are reserved for Apple’s professional-grade or the Pro line of laptops.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Display
The MacBook Air 15-inch is actually using a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display with a resolution of 2880 X 1864 and maintains the same pixel density of 224PPI as the 13-inch version. This means that even though it is larger, it remains equally pixel-dense. The net result is that the display is as crisp and tack-sharp as ever. However, it’s important to note that this model features a standard LED IPS display.
One notable feature lacking in the 15-inch display is HDR. The 15-inch display has a peak brightness of 500 nits. Having said that, it supports the P3 colour gamut and comes with True Tone technology. And if you’re coming from a Windows laptop that claims to have HDR, wait until you get to see this display – the implementation of HDR on Windows is so bad, that despite lacking HDR, the MacBook Air 15-inch feels a lot better to look at – that’s Apple and macOS for you.
The net result is that the MacBook Air 15-inch has one of the best IPS displays out there, even when you compare it to some of the other laptops that cost more. It certainly is a display that I can confidently colour-grade my videos and edit my photos on, without thinking twice. If you’re planning to hook it up to an external display, do keep in mind that as with all M1/M2 MacBooks, you can only hook up one external monitor.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Speakers and Webcam
Heavenly – that’s how I would describe the speakers on the MacBook Air 15-inch. Hands down, it is better than anything that any manufacturer has to offer on the Windows side, even if they are much more expensive than the Mac.
The MacBook Air 15-inch comes with a 6-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers. Apart from a wide and robust sound stage thanks to Dolby Atmos, you also get support for Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking with supported Apple audio products.
The webcam, on the other hand, is a bit of a downer. You get a standard 1080p webcam. Don’t get me wrong, it is still better than anything that most Windows laptops offer and works really well for video calls.
The image and video output are more than good enough to get the job done. It’s just that in a device where practically everything shouts “premium,” the webcam feels very regular – it feels ordinary.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Performance
The MacBook Air 15-inch is powered by Apple’s M2 silicon. On paper, it is the same chip that powers the 13-inch version. However, the 15-inch version gets an M2 SoC with 8 CPU cores 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores along with 10 GPU cores that is slightly more powerful than the one you get from its little brother. You also get a 16-core neural engine. For wireless connectivity, you get Bluetooth 5.3 and WiFi 6.
The MacBook Air 15-inch that I tested came with 256GB SSD storage and 8GB unified RAM. Users can upgrade it up to 24GB, but we suggest you go for the 16GB version. For storage, you can choose between 512GB, 1TB and 2TB SSDs, other than the 256GB option.
Performance-wise, the M2 silicon is simply awesome, more than anything that anyone would require of a laptop. Unless you’re working with very heavy graphical work, like editing a lot of videos and rendering a lot of graphics, the M2-powered MacBook Air 15-inch is more than enough for most people. Even amateur content creators will be more than satisfied with its performance when it comes to photo and video editing.
Then, there is gaming. Apple has finally taken some massive steps to give all Macs some bite when it comes to gaming. We will publish a separate article on the gaming and productivity experience on the newest MacBook Air.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Battery
The MacBook Air 15-inch comes with a 66.5Wh battery and a 35W dual USB-C power adapter. It also supports 70W fast charging with a compatible adapter.
Apple claims that the new 15-inch MacBook Air offers the same battery life of up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing, which is the same as the smaller MacBook Air.
However, in my testing, I found that Apple may be underselling the battery performance of the 15-inch model. The Apple MacBook Air 15-inch will easily last you a full working day and then some. I was consistently getting about 40 per cent of battery life remaining after 8 or 9 hours of regular office work.
Without a doubt, this laptop offers the best battery life in its class, and certainly the best battery life among 15-inch laptops.
MacBook Air 15-inch Review: Verdict
As have stated multiple times in the review here, the MacBook Air 15-inch is all the laptop that anyone would need. It is a device that keeps on giving and giving. And even though the M2 SoC is about two years old at this point, it just sits incredibly well with the package that Apple is giving out in this laptop. Yes, a configuration like 8GB + 256GB at this price point seems a little expensive, but there are options around that.
The MacBook Air 13-inch was a great all-purpose laptop. The 15-inch version is just better and in so many ways. It has a bigger screen which allows you to do a whole lot more, and it sounds phenomenally better. And because Apple could fit a larger battery in the 15-inch version, the battery life is just phenomenal.
The MacBook Air 13-inch has been one of the most popular Macs in recent years. It gets the job done really well, no matter what you ask it to do. The 15-inch version is just better in a number of ways. I’m pretty sure that unless budget becomes an issue, people will be going for the 15-inch version rather than the 13-inch model in droves.
Needless to say, if you are planning to a buy premium laptop that has the potential to handle everything that you can throw at it, comes with a display that just oozes charm and has a battery life that will last longer than you will in a day, the MacBook Air 15-inch from Apple is the safest bet to place your money on.
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