The MacBook Air M2 is an impressive laptop computer, incomes 4.5 out of 5 stars and our coveted Editor’s Alternative designation, however I can not assist however be upset by the battery life outcomes.
Do not get me mistaken. It is going to land on our record of laptops with one of the best battery life, and at simply over 14 hours, it additionally simply surpasses the class common of 10 hours and quarter-hour. It is a matter of expectations, and in that regard, the MacBook Air M2 falls brief — and I am left a bit confused as to why.
Nice expectations
Once I wrote concerning the unimaginable MacBook Professional M2 battery life outcomes final month, I famous that if the MacBook Air M2 noticed an analogous enhance, it ought to ship about 16 hours and 16 minutes of battery life. That was primarily based on the MacBook Professional M2‘s roughly 11% leap to 18 hours and 20 minutes in our testing, up from 16 hours and 32 minutes within the M1 mannequin. Now you possibly can in all probability perceive why I used to be shocked to see the MacBook Air M2 battery life check outcomes come again at 14 hours and 6 minutes, a 4% lower from its M1-powered predecessor (14:41).
The MacBook Professional 2022 appeared to assist Apple’s claims of improved efficiency and effectivity for the M2. In any case, the {hardware} is nearly an identical to the MacBook Professional 2020, apart from swapping the M1 for the M2 processor. These outcomes with the MacBook Air M2 put that into query, which, in flip, has us questioning concerning the doable influence on the longer term M2 Professional and M2 Max processors which might be destined to reach within the up to date MacBook Professional 14 and 16.
A story of two designs
The plain problem for this comparability is that the Air M2 had a considerable design change from the Air M1, whereas the Professional M2 is merely the 2020 mannequin with a brand new chip inside. That leads me to consider that the Professional is the extra correct reflection of the efficiency and effectivity good points from the chip itself, however it opens up plenty of questions on what piece of the Air M2 design is inflicting such a considerable added drain on the battery.
The transfer to a 13.6-inch show up from 13.3 inches cannot probably account for the roughly 15% shortfall from the anticipated battery life for the Air M2. May the thinner design be the offender? The brand new Air is roughly 20% smaller than the outdated mannequin, however our warmth assessments confirmed that it stayed properly beneath our 95-degree threshold and it remained inside 1-2 levels of the outcomes on the M1 Air on the underside, touchpad and keyboard.
Essentially the most confounding piece of the puzzle is that whereas the MacBook Professional M2 has an an identical battery to the Professional M1 (58.2WHr), the Air M2 has a 52.6WHr battery that’s barely bigger than the 49.9WHr battery within the M1 mannequin.
Outlook
In the intervening time, I am afraid there are not any definitive solutions relating to why the MacBook Air M2 does not have higher battery life. The optimist in me wonders if we’ll see software program updates enhance the battery life as from a {hardware} standpoint it appears clear it ought to outlast the M1 Air. My pessimistic aspect can solely speculate about some flaw within the new design that’s inflicting the issue.
The excellent news for these of you, like myself, which might be considering buying the brand new MacBook Air M2 is that the battery life continues to be glorious at over 14 hours. As I mentioned on the outset, it is a monster of Apple’s personal creation that we had been led to anticipate much more from this featherlight powerhouse. Whether or not it lasts for 16 hours or 14, the MacBook Air M2 is without doubt one of the greatest laptops out there at the moment and the greatest MacBook for most individuals.
