But for everyday work tasks, browsing the web, watching movies, and even playing App Store games, the M2 MacBook Air offers a bunch of great upgrades over the previous generation. Our tests found the laptop would get hot to the touch even after a minute of exporting video or batch editing photos, to levels that would make the laptop uncomfortable to use. However, this laptop isn’t ideal for people who edit photos, videos, or otherwise process large media files. Apple also added a MagSafe port, which allows a magnetic charging cable to securely stick to the MacBook Air and harmlessly detach if a passerby’s foot catches it in a coffee shop. The 2022 M2 MacBook Air has a brighter display that lets you see the screen more clearly outside on a sunny day, and a higher-resolution webcam that makes you look a little bit more clear on video calls.
If you have $200 more to spend on a laptop, the M2 MacBook Air has a few great updates over the slightly older M1 model that we think make the device feel better to use. The Air also omits the MacBook Pro’s (situationally useful but largely unnecessary) Touch Bar in favor of a row of physical function keys and a standalone Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
The Air includes only two USB-C ports (which support Thunderbolt 3) plus a headphone jack-but Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs and adapters are common enough and inexpensive enough that this isn’t as big of a problem as it used to be. Like its predecessor, the M1 version of the Air includes a much-improved keyboard with a deeper, more satisfying feel and improved reliability compared with MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models released between 20. And unlike previous MacBook Air models, the M1 version doesn’t require a cooling fan, which keeps it dead silent even when you’re maxing out the processor by exporting a video or playing a game. Apple’s new M1 processor is much faster than the low-power Intel processors in previous MacBook Airs, and its battery life is so good that you should almost never need to charge it during the day if you don’t want to. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016) - MacBookPro13.We recommend the basic $1,000 version of the MacBook Air, which has enough speed, memory, and storage for most day-to-day computer tasks. Note that no bus-powered devices were attached to the computer during these tests. In general, 27W is enough to maintain or slightly recharge the battery when the computer is not under load and 60W is enough to recharge the battery even when the computer is under moderate load.įollowing are some examples for reference.
At best, it will slow down how fast the battery is drained.įor Thunderbolt 3 products from Akitio that provide more than 15W like the Thunder3 Quad X (27W), the Thunder3 RAID Station (27W), the Node Pro (60W) and the Thunder3 Dock Pro (60W), how much and how fast you can recharge the battery depends on what you are doing with the computer. If you connect such a self-powered Thunderbolt 3 device to your computer, the MacBook Pro will accept a "trickle" charge if there is no other power source but it won't be enough to fully recharge your laptop. The minimum is 15W, which is provided by all computers and self-powered Thunderbolt 3 devices with a second Thunderbolt 3 port, in order to use bus-powered devices. According to the specifications, Thunderbolt 3 can provide up to 100W of power but in reality, it depends on the design of the hardware, so it's important to check the specifications to better understand if your Thunderbolt 3 device is able to recharge a laptop like the MacBook Pro (late 2016) for example. USB Power Delivery (PD) is part of what makes the Thunderbolt 3 interface such a great solution for external storage devices. The short answer is Yes, especially with 60W, it is enough power to recharge your laptop. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Knowledge BaseĬan I recharge my MacBook Pro with only 27W or 60W?