Apple Shows off New M2 Silicon in MacBook Air

Apple's new MacBook Air will out-perform previous models by a significant amount, thanks to the upcoming M2 Silicon chip.

To showcase the power of its new M2 chip, Apple decided to kick things off with a look at the next MacBook Air. While it's more powerful than its M1-using predecessors, it also includes a couple of unexpected improvements and callbacks.

The new MacBook Air sports a thinner (but still durable) design and has been specifically built with the M2 chip in mind. It offers a 13.6-inch liquid retina display that stretches up and around the built-in 1080p camera, while the camera itself offers up to double the performance in regular and low-light. Its four-speaker sound system supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, while the battery supports up to 18 hours of continuous video playback.

That battery, by the way, can be charged using the returning MagSafe charging port, which removes the need to charge via Thunderbolt cables but keeps two Thunderbolt ports along the side for other devices. Or, with the right adapter, you can even fast-charge the new MacBook Air, reaching up to 50-percent in about 30 minutes.

As for the M2 chip itself, it continues to build and expand upon what's been done with the M1 series before it. More of just about everything (transistors, CPU and GPU cores, etc.) gives the M2 chip an almost 20-percent performance boost over previous Silicon chips, and Apple says the new chip can even support multiple video streams in both 4K and 8K without any performance dips.

The new MacBook Air with Apple's new M2 Silicon chip will release in July, starting at $1,200. An M2-powered version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro will also be available, starting at $1,300.