The MacBook Air equipped with the M2 chip has been on sale in Taiwan for a while, with a new design in appearance, lighter weight, and more powerful performance. Compared with the M1 MacBook Air, the price is 7,000 yuan lower. However, if you want to buy a MacBook Air today, do you really need to buy the latest M2 MacBook Air? Or if you just need to use the MacBook Air for basic paperwork, is it a bit overpowered to use the M2 MacBook Air instead?This article will mainly compare the differences between M2 and M1 MacBook Air in terms of specifications, performance, and battery life. If you want to know how to choose, please read it together.
Upgrade highlights for the M2 MacBook Air
The M2 MacBook Air has a neat and square frame, which is closer to the appearance of the MacBook Pro. The body weight is 1.24 kg, which is lighter than the M1 MacBook Air. It uses a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, which can bring more Good visual effects, you can see more delicate details and color contrast, and you can see a clearer picture. With the design of bangs and narrow borders, the overall visual picture of the screen becomes wider (Extended reading:Unpacking | M2 MacBook Air Unpacking Review! Lightweight and super impressive! Is it worth buying?In fact, the experience of using hands to be honest）
The following also attaches a comparison table of key specifications for your reference.
M2 chip vs M1 chip
Next, let’s take a look at the chip. The new M2 chip is a chip made by TSMC’s second-generation 5nm process. Compared with the M1, the number of transistors on the M2 chip is 25% more, which can improve the function of the entire chip.
This time, the memory bandwidth of the M2 MacBook Air is as high as 100GB/s, which is 50% higher than that of the M1 chip, and the fast unified memory can be selected up to 24GB, making the M2 MacBook Air enough to handle larger and more complex workflows
The M2 chip is equipped with a faster 8-core CPU (4 performance cores + 4 energy-saving cores), up to 10-core GPU, and a 16-core neural network engine, which can have faster energy-saving performance, allowing the pen to use very little power. Power processing tasks given by the CPU, such as applying more complex filters to music or photos with multi-layer effects, or more complex operations such as transferring large files, editing videos, etc.
document processing
Then go to the actual measurement session. When using the M2 and M1 MacBook Air to open multiple Google Chrome tabs, when doing basic paperwork, the two models are very smooth and comfortable to use. The design of the M2 MacBook Air After it becomes flatter, it is more ergonomic when used, and I think it has improved in terms of comfort. However, both models can only be connected to one screen at a time, and cannot be connected to two screens at the same time.
In addition to drafting and checking data, everyone should have some music to listen to, right, and M2 MacBook Air also added support for spatial audio this time, but it should be noted that the current spatial audio of M2 MacBook Air is only applicable to open Safari, Apple Music to play music and Netflix to follow the show together, if you use Google Chrome to open YouTube to play songs or use Spotify to listen to Podcasts, there is no way to use it
If you often have video needs in your work or life, the video lens of the M2 MacBook Air has also been upgraded from 720p to 1080p this time, which can present a clearer picture and retain more details in low light conditions.
daily entertainment
After reading the word processing, let’s look at the application at the entertainment level! Both the M2 and M1 MacBook Air are equipped with a three-microphone array. The difference is that the speaker position of the M2 MacBook Air is moved between the screen and the keyboard, and there are four sets of speakers, so when playing music or videos, you can have a more immersive experience. Hearing experience, compared with the M1 MacBook Air, the sound will sound more surround
The actual measurement is that when the brightness is 70%, the volume is 60%, and Wi-Fi is connected, using the two models to watch Netflix for two hours, the battery power drops from 100% to 88%, and the battery life when playing movies is similar. , and according to Apple’s official website, the M2 and M1 MacBook Air can play up to 18 hours of Apple TV
game performance
Although the MacBook Air has always been positioned as a thin and light document model in Apple’s notebook product line, this time Apple has used the M2 chip, and in June’s WWDC, it is particularly interested in stepping into the game market. It is even mentioned that the game performance of M2 is 1.3 times higher than that of M1
We also actually used two models to play the design game “Absolute Force: Global Offensive” this time. The M1 MacBook Air’s game experience has been very smooth, with an average of 70-80fps and a maximum of 121fps, while the M2 MacBook Air has a very smooth gaming experience. The MacBook Air’s gaming experience is not only better, it can reach 85-95fps on average, and even up to 176fps
However, this game is not a 3A masterpiece, so the specifications of the game will not be very high, but after playing the game with two laptops for half an hour, you will still feel the body heat. The temperature of the M1 MacBook Air is up to 42 degrees, and the M2 MacBook The Air is 42 degrees, the M1 MacBook Air is slightly hotter than the M2 MacBook Air, but both models are still slightly higher, but both models are generally within the normal temperature range
The power consumption data of M2 and M1 MacBook Air in word processing, daily entertainment, and playing “Absolute Force: Global Offensive” are as follows, but it is still necessary to say that battery life will vary depending on the situation of use, the following data is also for everyone. As a simple reference for comparison
How to choose between M2 and M1 MacBook Air?
I have actually used the M2 and M1 MacBook Air for a while. In fact, if you only use the MacBook Air to deal with some basic paperwork, then the M1 MacBook Air is actually enough. Those who started the M1 before really don’t need to feel that it is a big loss. , the actual measurement results also found that the power consumption data when surfing the Internet and chasing dramas almost did not feel the difference in performance.
However, if you are new to editing and want to deal with entry-level video creation, then the performance and price of the M2 MacBook Air are suitable for practice, but the memory will suggest that you directly upgrade from 8GB to 16GB.If it is a professional editing requirement, the first consideration should be whether to upgrade to a MacBook Pro, because the M2 and M1 MacBook Air have no fans.
Finally, unless you want to change jobs, or you are currently in service with a non-M1 Apple laptop and want to trade it in for a new one, if your budget allows, you can really get the joy and productivity of buying a new laptop after purchasing an M2 MacBook Air. However, if the budget does not allow it, in general terms, the M1 MacBook Air will still be a good choice that can satisfy all at once in terms of performance, weight, and price. The above key specifications and battery life measurements are for your reference, I hope it can help those who choose between these two laptops and reduce the time for self-exploration!
