15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1: Why You Should Upgrade?

Apple has recently announced their latest M2 chipset laptops, and users are going crazy over the computational power these small machines are packing inside...

Rahul Verma

Last updated on July 6, 2023

Rahul Verma

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He has a massive interest in the field of Tech. He spends most of his time either writing or listening to music or traveling un-seen places. Contact him - Rahver0@gmail.com

15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1: Why You Should Upgrade?

Apple has recently released their latest 15-inch MacBook Air in their WWDC 2023 event. With the announcement, many users are interested in buying the product immediately as Apple made quite some bold provisions on the performance and effectiveness of these new M2 chipsets. However, if you are a little short on budget, then the older M1 chipsets are equally good and powerful for your day to day needs. Let’s compare 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1 and see which one is the best for your specific needs.

Design: 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1

The latest 15-inch MacBook Air comes with a new advanced design as compared to the previous generation M1 MacBook Air. However, the building materials remain the same, as both the MacBooks offer aluminum build, which is quite premium in nature. Apart from the basic build, the one point of difference is the shape, as the latest MacBook Air M2 comes with a more squared-off build as compared to the wedge shape on previous year’s MacBook Air M1 models.

Both the devices are quite portable and come with reasonably low weight. However, if you are looking for a compact and sleek design, then the 13-inch MacBook Air is more portable and weighs less than the newest model. For specifics, the latest 15-inch MacBook Air M2 is about 3.3 pounds, while the older M1 MacBook Air is just 2.8 pounds.

Apart from dimensions and weight, you get different color options for both models. The latest 15-inch MacBook Air M2 comes in Space Gray, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight. At the same time, the previous year’s MacBook Air M1 came in Space Gray, Silver, and Gold. All the colors look very premium and polished in nature.

Display: 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1

The display is one of the most important aspects of any laptop, and primarily, these devices are used for entertainment consumption, games, productivity, and other utility tasks. When it comes to the display for the latest 15-inch MacBook Ait with M2 chipset, it’s similar to what we see from Apple, and it’s a liquid retina display that supports a maximum brightness of 500 nits and supports the P3 color range. The resolution for this display is 2880 x 1864 pixels.

On the other hand, the M1 MacBook Air doesn’t feature a retina display and uses an old 2018 LCD display technology. This also added to its bezel size, which is quite bigger than the latest M2 MacBook Air. For screen specifications, the display comes with s max brightness of 400 nites and a screen resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. In a nutshell, the display is just mediocre for the price you would be paying, so if you need a better screen, then the latest M2 MacBook Air 15-inch would b the smarter choice.

Performance: 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1

Performance is one of the biggest differences in both of these devices, where you can expect the latest M2 MacBook Air 15 inch to perform slightly powerfully and efficiently. Specifically, the M2 chip in the 15-inch MacBook Air is up to 1.4x faster than the M1 MacBook Air, according to Apple’s claims.

With the latest 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 chipset, you get the option to get up to 24GB of unified memory compared to just a max of 16GB on 13-inch MacBook Air with M1 chipset.

According to feedback from a large group of people & different demographics, it’s found that the M1 chipset is more than enough for regular usage. This includes day-to-day tasks such as browsing the web, watching movies, playing games, and doing some bit of heavy computational tasks such as video editing or running machine learning models. For more power users who need the best possible computational power, the latest MacBook Air 15-inch with an M2 chip makes more sense.

Ports: 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1

Ports are also one of the most important aspects of any laptop device. The latest 15-inch MacBook Air M2 comes with MagSafe 3, two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt, and a headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones. On the other hand, the 13-inch MacBook Air M1 comes with two regular USB-C ports and a standard headphone jack. So if you are looking for additional ports, then you might have to get an adapter or a port deck.

Price: 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1

For most individuals, the M1 MacBook Air remains the top choice as an entry-level Apple laptop, primarily due to its attractive starting price of $999. In contrast, the 15-inch MacBook Air begins at $1,299. Both models provide 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of SSD storage at their base configurations which can be further extended depending on the requirements.

It is worth noting that the M1 MacBook Air frequently goes on sale through third-party retailers with some attractive discounts. While the M1 MacBook Air is undeniably an excellent value at $999, it becomes challenging to overlook the additional benefits offered by the 15-inch MacBook Air for just an extra $300. These advantages include a newer design, the latest and fastest M2 chip, an expanded display, an upgraded 1080p FaceTime camera, and a good set of I/O ports.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of this guide for 15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1: Why You Should Upgrade? We have covered all the reasons whether you should be considering upgrading to the latest M2 version of MacBook Air or sticking with the traditional M1 chipset MacBooks. Let us know what you think about the latest M2 MacBook Air offering from the Apple event in the comment section below.

15-Inch MacBook Air M2 vs. 13-Inch MacBook Air M1: Why You Should Upgrade?