William Gallagher
Within minutes of Apple opening preorders for the new M2 MacBook Air, shipping dates slipped back from one week to between July 18 and July 25, 2022 — and it will only get worse.
Of the two new M2-based Macs unveiled at WWDC 2022, the MacBook Air received the most attention — and appears to have now received the most preorders. Originally billed as shipping by Friday, July 15, 2022, a stock M2 MacBook Air ordered now will not arrive before Monday, July 18.
However, adding any build to order customization changes that, whether with extra SSD storage space or even having software preinstalled. A maxed-out M2 MacBook Air can still be ordered today, but Apple estimates shipping as between August 2 and August 9, 2022.
Stock configurations should be available at retail on July 15.
13-inch MacBook Air M2
The other Mac unveiled at WWDC, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, went on preorder on June 17, 2022. There were some oddities with various configurations initially listed as unavailable, but it did not seem to experience the same shipping delays as other recent Apple launches.
Base versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 are currently in stock.
The reason for the difference is that the 13-inch MacBook Pro, even with its new M2 processor, is seen as only a slight update to the previous model. The new M2 MacBook Air, though, has had a complete redesign which is expected to improve its ventilation.
That in turn means that the MacBook Air should be able to run processor-intensive tasks for longer than the previous model. This, combined with the MacBook Air's fractionally larger screen but noticeably lower price, means it's arguably the sweet spot in Apple's new range.
The new M2 MacBook Air also features more ports than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, plus MagSafe, a screen notch and a 1080p webcam. Prices start from $1,199. Be sure to bookmark our M2 MacBook Air deals roundup to find ways to save on the new notebooks.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
6 Comments
There's been a lot of coverage of the M2 Air vs the M2 MBP, but if you're customizing the M2 Air at all, the more interesting comparison quickly becomes the MBP 14". The higher spec'd stock M2 Air, plus a bump to 16GB of memory, brings the cost to $1699. For an additional $300, the base MBP 14" is a signficantly better laptop in almost every way: Faster chip, better graphics, bigger and better XDR display, better cooling system, an extra TB port, HDMI and SD ports, longer lasting battery--that's a whole lot of "better" for $300, with the only real downside being the weight.
MBA M2 for me over the MBP 14, price differences are starker in countries that aren’t the US, plus I want fan less and the lowest weight.