Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) vs Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
You can select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Case
Design, materials, durability and usability
NanoReview Score
Key Differences
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
- Thinner bezels and 3% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Can run popular games at about 8-11% higher FPS
- Better webcam recording quality
- Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
We may earn commissions from Amazon for purchases made via the links below. This does not affect our assessment methodology.
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
Weight | 1.24 kg (2.73 lbs) | 1.29 kg (2.84 lbs) |
Dimensions | 304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches |
304.1 x 212.4 x 16.1 mm 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches |
Area | 654 cm2 (101.3 inches2) | 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio | ~82% | ~79.4% |
Side bezels | 5.6 mm | 8.8 mm |
Colors | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue | Silver, Gold, Gray |
Transformer | No | No |
Opening angle | 130° | 130° |
Size comparison
Cooling system | Passive | Passive |
Vapor chamber | - | Yes |
Display
Size | 13.6 inches | 13.3 inches |
Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
PPI | 225 ppi | 227 ppi |
Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
Resolution | 2560 x 1664 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
Touchscreen | No | No |
Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
Contrast | 1384:1 | 1069:1 |
sRGB color space | 99.9% | 99.8% |
Adobe RGB profile | 87.6% | 85.9% |
DCI-P3 color gamut | 98.4% | 98.6% |
Response time | 29 ms | 35 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
Voltage | - | 11.4 V |
Full charging time | 2:30 hr | 2:23 hr |
Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
Replaceable | No | No |
Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
USB Power Delivery | Yes | Yes |
Charging port position | Left | Left |
Charge power | 30 / 35 / 67 W | 30 W |
Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
Weigh of AC adapter | 174 / 189 / 250 grams | 172 grams |
CPU
CPU name
Base frequency | 3.5 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
Cores | 8 (4P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
Threads | 8 | 8 |
Integrated GPU | Apple M2 GPU | Apple M1 GPU |
Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
TGP | 15 W | 15 W |
Type | Integrated | Integrated |
Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
GPU base clock | 500 MHz | 450 MHz |
GPU boost clock | 1456 MHz | 1278 MHz |
FLOPS | 3 TFLOPS | 2.6 TFLOPS |
Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
Memory bus | 128 bit | 128 bit |
Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | 4.27 Gbps |
Shading units (cores) | 1024 | 1024 |
Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 64 | 64 |
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 32 | 32 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
Channels | - | 2x4 GB |
Clock | 6400 MHz | 4266 MHz |
Type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
Bus | Custom | Custom |
Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x256 GB |
Upgradable | No | No |
NVMe | - | Yes |
Sound
Speakers | 2.2 | 2.0 |
Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Loudness | 82.7 dB | 79.6 dB |
Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
Wi-Fi standard | v6 | v6 |
Bluetooth | v5 | v5 |
Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
Optical drive | No | No |
Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1280 x 720 |
USB-A | No | No |
USB Type-C | 2x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 3.1 |
Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
HDMI | No | No |
DisplayPort | No | No |
VGA | No | No |
Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
SD card reader | No | No |
Proprietary charging port | Yes | No |
Input
Keyboard type | Island | Island |
Numpad | No | No |
Backlight | Yes | Yes |
Key travel | 1 mm | 1 mm |
Size | - | 12.1 x 8.1 cm |
Surface | Glass | Glass |
Windows Precision | No | No |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 666