The Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) is a premium ultraportable laptop. It's Apple's entry-level laptop and the successor to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020). This 2022 model has many improvements over its predecessor, including a newer M2 SoC (System on Chip), a slightly larger display, a redesigned chassis, a 1080p webcam, and the addition of the MagSafe charging port. It's available in four colors: Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver.
Our Apple MacBook Air 2022 is the base model with an eight-core GPU M2 SoC, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage. You can also get a model with a 10-core GPU M2 SoC, 8GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. Regardless of which model you choose, you can upgrade the memory to 16GB or 24GB and up to 2TB of storage.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Air is excellent for school. It's very portable, and its battery lasts easily through a typical day of light use. It has a sharp and bright display, a comfortable keyboard, and a large and responsive touchpad. Its M2 SoC can easily handle general productivity tasks, like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. The SoC's GPU performs reasonably well but loses performance when it gets hot, so it isn't ideal for students in fields like 3D design. Unfortunately, it only has two USB-C ports, and its M2 SoC only supports one external display.
- Well-built and portable.
- Battery lasts through a typical workday of light use.
- Sharp, bright, and colorful display.
- M2 SoC can handle fairly demanding workloads.
- Spacious and tactile keyboard.
- Large haptic touchpad.
- Only two USB-C ports.
- M2 SoC can only support one external display.
The Apple MacBook Air is mediocre for gaming. Although the M2 SoC's CPU is very capable, its GPU can't handle graphically-intensive games, so you'll have to play at a lower resolution or low settings to achieve playable frame rates. Also, few games have been optimized for the ARM-based SoC, meaning performance can vary a lot from one game to another. The display has a slow response time, causing noticeable ghosting, and it doesn't support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing. The memory and storage aren't user-replaceable, meaning you can't upgrade the components later to improve performance or increase storage space.
- M2 SoC can handle fairly demanding workloads.
- Spacious and tactile keyboard.
- Silent due to fanless design.
- Few games optimized for Apple silicon.
- GPU performance drops when it gets hot.
- Display has a slow response time and no VRR support.
- Memory and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- Only two USB-C ports.
The Apple MacBook Air is good for media consumption. It's easy to carry around due to its thin and light design, and its battery lasts about seven hours of video playback, enough time to get through a couple of full-length movies. The speakers get reasonably loud and sound full and well-balanced with a good amount of bass. The display is sharp, bright, and color-accurate; however, blacks look gray in dim settings as it's an IPS panel with no local dimming.
- Well-built and portable.
- Long battery life.
- Sharp, bright, and colorful display.
- Full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage.
- Speakers sound well-balanced.
- Blacks look gray in dim settings.
- Image looks washed out from the side.
The Apple MacBook Air's M2 SoC performs well, but it isn't ideal for demanding, professional workloads because its performance drops significantly when it gets too hot. It also has a limited port selection with only two USB 4/Thunderbolt 3 ports and can only support one external display. On the upside, it has a comfortable keyboard and a color-accurate display with full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage.
- M2 SoC can handle fairly demanding workloads.
- Full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage.
- Spacious and tactile keyboard.
- Silent due to fanless design.
- GPU performance drops when it gets hot.
- Memory and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- Only two USB-C ports.
- M2 SoC can only support one external display.
The Apple MacBook Air is great for business use. It has a sturdy aluminum chassis and is very portable, thanks to its thin and light design. Its M2 SoC is powerful enough to handle most productivity tasks, like text formatting, spreadsheets, and presentations, and you can even do some occasional photo and video editing. The battery lasts a little more than 10 hours of light use, so you likely won't need to bring the charger. The display is sharp and bright, the keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is large and responsive. The webcam's video quality is excellent, and the microphone sounds loud and clear. Sadly, it only has two USB-C ports and can only output a video signal to a single external display.
- Well-built and portable.
- Battery lasts through a typical workday of light use.
- Sharp, bright, and colorful display.
- M2 SoC can handle fairly demanding workloads.
- Spacious and tactile keyboard.
- Large haptic touchpad.
- Memory and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- Only two USB-C ports.
- M2 SoC can only support one external display.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 18, 2024: Added mention of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) as an alternative with more processing power in the CPU section.
- Updated Dec 07, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.2.
- Updated Nov 03, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
- Updated Aug 16, 2023: Added mention of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) as an alternative with a higher contrast display in the Contrast section.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the base model of the Apple MacBook Air (2022) with an M2 SoC (8-core GPU), 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage. The SoC, memory, and storage are configurable; you can see the available options in the table below.
| Screen |
|
|---|---|
| SoC |
|
| Memory |
|
| Storage |
|
| Color |
|
Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Apple MacBook Air laptop that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Air is among the best ultraportables on the market. It stands out for its premium and sturdy build, outstanding performance, and long battery life.
For other options, see our recommendations for the best laptops, the best laptops for college, and the best business laptops.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022) is the successor to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020). The 2022 model is a better device overall, with a more powerful SoC, a slightly larger display, and a better 1080p webcam. The M2 MacBook Air has an additional MagSafe charging port, which frees up one of the USB-C ports, but like the M1 MacBook Air, it can only support one external display.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1, 2021) is better than the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022). The MacBook Pro 14 has a brighter Mini LED display with a higher refresh rate, a wider port selection, a better webcam, and better-sounding speakers. If you need to perform demanding tasks like video editing or 3D rendering for work, it's best to go with the MacBook Pro 14 because its M1 Pro and Max SoCs perform better and maintain higher performance over time. The MacBook Air's M2 SoC can handle some light photo and video editing, but it throttles significantly under load due to the lack of active cooling.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023) is essentially the same device as the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022) but with a larger 15.3-inch screen and better-sounding speakers. The 15-inch model's larger chassis helps with thermals, so the keyboard doesn't get as hot, and the SoC doesn't throttle as much under load. It has a larger battery to compensate for its more power-hungry 15-inch screen, but the battery life is only decent at around eight hours of light use, two hours shorter than its 13-inch sibling.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) is the direct successor to the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022). The 2024 model only has a few upgrades, including a slightly faster M3 SoC, Wi-Fi 6E, and support for two external displays, though the latter is only possible with the laptop closed. Apple's M3 SoC also brings new features, like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AV1 decoding. Battery life is better on the M3 model, especially for video playback.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
