Apple adds a new member to its range of portable computers with the 15-inch MacBook Air: a particularly well-balanced model, powerful, durable and silent, which seems destined for great success.
The oracles were right: Apple presented a new portable Mac during the very long opening conference of WWDC 2023, its major conference for developers (see our article). In addition to new versions of its Mac Studio and Mac Pro, which inherit high-performance M2 chips, the Apple firm has actually unveiled the 15-inch MacBook Air, the big brother of the 13-inch MacBook Air M1 and M2. A long-awaited model that fills a gap in the Apple range, and which immediately promises to be a future bestseller as it combines many advantages.
Certainly, on paper, the 15-inch MacBook Air does not present anything revolutionary. It is a nomadic Mac equipped, as its name suggests, with a 15-inch screen, and which, in fact, is positioned as a direct competitor to the countless portable PCs in this format found on the market. Better – or “worse” still – it is, to simplify to the extreme, a larger 13-inch MacBook Air. And this is indeed its first quality. Because since the first version released in 2008, the MacBook Air has been the most emblematic and undoubtedly the most popular ultraportable in the world, to the point of serving as a master standard in its market. Compact, thin, light, durable and powerful – especially in its latest versions –, but above all very pleasant to use and relatively affordable – less than 1000 euros on sale in its basic version – it is clearly an exemplary computer, which makes dream of many users, and not only young people and students. Its only “flaw” is to be limited by its 13-inch screen, sufficient for many uses, but too tight for others. And this is precisely what the 15-inch model corrects, which, without sacrificing the strengths of its little brother, fills a gap in the Apple range.
15-inch MacBook Air: a proven design
As we do not change a recipe that pleases, Apple has therefore taken the same ingredients as on the MacBook Air 13-inch M2, adapting them to the new format and improving those that could be. The 15-inch MacBook Air thus takes up the – very successful – design of the M2 model released in June 2022, with its superb and solid metal chassis with rounded corners, now typical of the MacBook family, with slightly increased dimensions and weight. : 34.04 cm wide, 23.76 cm deep and 1.15 cm thick against respectively 30.41 cm, 21.5 cm and 1.13 cm for the small model. A surface larger than an A4 sheet – the standard for ultraportables – therefore, but within the standard of 15-inch laptops. And with a thickness much lower than the average! ditto for the weight, only 1.5 kg, which remains quite reasonable and compatible with nomadic use, when carried in a bag. All while retaining that “premium” touch that is the pride of Apple and its users.
15-inch MacBook Air: a symmetrical keyboard without a numeric keypad
As expected, Apple did not take advantage of this extra space to integrate a keyboard with numeric keypad. And for good reason: this element would have broken the beautiful symmetry that characterizes simple keyboards, with the touchpad perfectly centered under the space bar. An aesthetic choice, therefore, which does not seem to bother the brand’s fans too much, probably reluctant to spend their days entering numbers in a table… In fact, we find exactly the same keyboard as on the 13-inch model, from Magic type, comfortable and responsive with its clean and short keystrokes. There is even a Touch ID button with fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication, which is very practical to avoid entering a password. And, of course, there is also a huge touchpad, also of excellent quality, as Apple knows how to do them. A widely tested and approved recipe.
The space that is freed up on the sides of the keyboard is not simply decorative: it has allowed Apple to improve the sound score by integrating two additional speakers. As a result, the 15-inch MacBook Air r has a total of six carefully concealed transducers when the small 13-inch has only four. With, as a key “an even more immersive audio experience” as marketers and many language-starved commentators now like to say when it comes to simply talking about sound reproduction. What do the quarrels about the excesses of language matter: Apple has already proven on many occasions that it knows how to offer good quality sound on its products and the 15-inch MacBook Air should logically not escape the rule by blithely surpassing what offer most laptops, with sound performance that is mediocre to say the least…
The sides of the device are also in line with Apple tradition, with, unfortunately, connectivity reduced to the bare minimum: namely, a MagSafe magnetic contact port for charging, two Thunderbolt sockets (in USB-C therefore) compatible USB 4, allowing you to connect all sorts of peripherals and accessories, but also an external screen (up to a definition of 6K), an analog audio output in 3.5 mm stereo minijack for wired headphones or an amp (thanks !). It’s not much, but we can easily get around this poverty by connecting a USB-C hub as we find dozens of them today for a few euros. Especially since it is obviously possible to connect other wireless devices thanks to the Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3 modules.
15-inch MacBook Air: a very comfortable high-definition screen
The main asset of the 15-inch MacBook Air is of course its large screen. With a diagonal of exactly 15.3 inches (with 5 mm borders), it benefits from an IPS type panel displaying a definition of a definition of 2,880 x 1,864 pixels (compared to 2,560 x 1,664 pixels for the 13-inch model). A hybrid mode, higher than QHD and lower than 4K, but comfortable, which makes it possible to obtain an excellent resolution (density of points), worthy of the name Liquid Retina dear to Apple. Even better, if it is capable of displaying 1 billion colors (probably with good fidelity, Apple being famous in this field), it claims a maximum brightness of 500 nits, much higher than what most screens offer. laptops, generally limited to 250 nits. Enough to, a prioriexcellent reading comfort, even outdoors.
It should also be noted that this beautiful screen is, as on the other models, amputated at the top by a small notch used in particular to accommodate the webcam, a Full HD (1080p) model which, on paper, promises good quality video calls.
15-inch MacBook Air: a fanless M2 chip
Inside, nothing new: like the last 13-inch MacBook Air, the 15-inch MacBook Air features an M2 chip (8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores and 16 Neural Engine cores) engraved in 5 nm technology. An engine that is both powerful and sober, which has already proven itself in other Macs, offering overall performance 20% higher than that of the original M1. Like all Apple Silicon chips, the M2 works with unified memory, a model that significantly streamlines data transfers. Not insignificant detail in practice, the chip is cooled entirely passively, without the need for a fan: result, total silence in operation, even at full load! Above all, the M2 is very energy efficient. A feature that has a direct impact on autonomy since, according to Apple, the battery lasts up to 18 hours in video playback. A huge advantage over equivalent laptop PCs which generally remain under the 10 hour mark… Clearly, Apple has a good length over the competition in this area!
MacBook Air 15 inches: an Apple price
There remains the often thorny question of price. The 15-inch MacBook Air is offered at 1599 euros in its version with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB SSD storage. And at 1829 euros with a 512 GB SSD. It’s less worse than we might have feared , Apple having significantly increased its prices in recent months. But it’s still more expensive than even high-end 15-inch laptops. But this price is consistent with the rest of the Apple catalog, and many will find it justified given the quality of manufacture and the durability of the products struck by the apple, which generally resist time well. However, two details tarnish this beautiful picture. First, only the version with 8 GB of Ram is currently offered, with no option to add more. But if this quantity is now more than enough for conventional use – especially since unified memory is much better used by macOS than classic Ram by Windows… – nothing says that this will still be the case in a few years. And since it is impossible to extend it by adding bars, this could pose a problem in the medium term… Then, and as always, Apple abuses the price of its SSDs: paying 230 euros to go from 256 GB to 512 GB is really exaggerated when you know that you can find 1 TB NVMe models at 50 euros on the market today.
Note, however, that to make room for its new model, Apple has lowered the price of the 13-inch MacBook Air M2 to 1299 euros, or 200 euros less than when it was launched last year. Proof that the Cupertino giant sometimes knows how to make an effort. Finally, note that the 15-inch MacBook Air can be ordered now, that it is available in four colors and that it will be available from Tuesday, June 13. We bet that it will be a new bestseller from the apple firm!