Apple brings redesigned MacBook Air and updated MacBook Pro to market

Apple has introduced a redesigned MacBook Air and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, both powered by the new M2 chip.

The new Macbook Air features a larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, four-speaker sound system, and up to 18 hours of battery life with MagSafe charging. The new Pro comes with 24GB of fast unified memory, ProRes acceleration and up to 20 hours of battery life.

Apple says the M2 starts the second generation of its M-series chips and extends the highly regarded features of M1. They say the new chip brings even more performance and capabilities to the most popular Mac notebooks, the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

M2 features a next-generation 8-core CPU with advancements in both performance and efficiency cores. There is also Apple's next-generation GPU, which now has up to 10 cores which is two more than M1. M2 also delivers 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth and supports up to 24GB of fast unified memory. They say the ProRes video engine for hardware-accelerated encode and decode allows for better 4K and 8K video as well.

The new Air measures just 11.3 mm thin and is only 1.24 kilograms. In addition, Apple says that the fanless design and power efficiency of the M2 makes for a quiet and effective run.

A 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display and the 1080p FaceTime HD Camera on the Air also aim to help provide better working solutions for a variety of different situations. The model also includes a 35W power adapter with two USB-C ports so that users can charge two devices at once.

Thanks to M2, the 13-inch MacBook Pro supports up to 24GB of unified memory along with 50% more memory bandwidth, which the company says will make multitasking and working with large assets more fluid. The Pro also contains the ultra-efficient 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, along with an active cooling system and support for ProRes encode and decode as well.

macOS Monterey and Apple silicon also add to the enhancements for both models. macOS Ventura, coming later this year, will also take full advantage of M2. Both the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro also look to minimise their impact on the environment, using 100% recycled rare earth elements in the enclosure magnets. Both also use wood fibre in the packaging that comes from responsibly managed forests.

"We're so excited to bring our new M2 chip to the world's two most popular laptops the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro," says Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak.

"Completely redesigned around M2, MacBook Air is thinner, lighter and faster with a bigger display, better camera and all-day battery life, in four beautiful finishes. Only with Apple silicon can you build such a thin and light notebook with a fanless design, and this combination of performance and capabilities.

"M2 also comes to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, featuring incredible performance, ProRes acceleration, up to 24GB of memory and up to 20 hours of battery life making our most portable pro notebook even better."

The MacBook Air with M2 will start at NZD$2,149 RRP inc. GST, and be available in silver, space grey, midnight and starlight. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 will start at NZ$2,299 RRP inc. GST.