Apple Silicon is why 15-inch MacBook Air was possible at all

15-inch MacBook Air

Apple executives recently shared insights on the development of the 15-inch MacBook Air, which was designed to meet the needs of both consumers and enterprise users.

During WWDC 2023, Apple unveiled the much-awaited 15-inch MacBook Air. It boasts similar features to the 13-inch MacBook Air, such as the impressive M2 chip, but stands out with its noticeably larger display.

Senior Product Manager Laura Metz and Enterprise IT Marketing Manager Thomas Tan sat down with Inc. to discuss how the 15-inch MacBook Air came to be.

The Cupertino-based tech giant wasn't trying to introduce a wholly new product when making the 15-inch MacBook Air. Instead, it wanted to help fill a gap in the market it had found and — thanks to Apple Silicon — it could.

"When we set out, we wanted to make a 15-inch MacBook Air," said Metz. "But when you think of what the designs looked like previously, it just didn't work. It just did not say 'Air' to us. It was only with Apple silicon where we were able to have all the right components to bring that larger display along with the battery life and performance that users would expect from a MacBook Air."

So, with the introduction of Apple Silicon, the company could provide a powerful yet portable laptop that could meet — and even exceed — the needs of the average consumer.

"We knew there were users that wanted more screen real estate, but did not need the additional capabilities and performance of the 14 or 16-inch MacBook Pro," said Metz.

But, as it turns out, it's not just consumers who are interested in 15-inch laptops; many enterprise clients are also seeking out laptops that fit this bill.

"We also know that the 15-inch PC Laptop market is significant— that carries over into the enterprise space as well, where users are interested in having that larger display."

With the introduction of a larger screen, coupled with Apple's powerful M2 chip, many businesses have decided to opt into the Mac ecosystem.

"Apple Silicon suddenly made MacBook Air that much more capable for business use," Tan told Inc.

"So we're certainly seeing a lot of customers making that wholesale switch that otherwise we wouldn't have seen before. We're seeing customers in retail industries, adopting MacBook Air, for everyday use, we're seeing that in manufacturing, and we're seeing that in healthcare. So we think Apple Silicon has broadened the appeal to enterprise customers by a significant margin."

AppleInsider took a look at the new 15-inch MacBook Air and found it a fantastic balance of portability, power, and size.

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15 Comments

rezwits 833 comments · 17 Years

About 10 months ago

I would say the super THICK 16-inch MBP is the reason why the 15-inch MacBook Air was possible, really...

eriamjh 1648 comments · 17 Years

About 10 months ago

maltz 456 comments · 13 Years

About 10 months ago

I'd really like to hear some technical elaboration on how Apple Silicon helps to make a BIGGER laptop with less space constraint. It's going the other direction that's hard.

tht 5377 comments · 23 Years

About 10 months ago

maltz said:

I'd really like to hear some technical elaboration on how Apple Silicon helps to make a BIGGER laptop with less space constraint. It's going the other direction that's hard.

For Apple, it only means that Apple Silicon allowed them to build a 15” metal laptop that is 0.45” thick, 3.3 lb with a runtime of 18 hrs, and with good all around compute performance.

You can build an x86 laptop to some of what Apple wants, but what is missed is really important to Apple. LG has their Gram series which is thin and light, but it’s plastic, is more flexible, less runtime, etc. Some people are fine with what LG offers, so, perfectly fine.

Apple’s pricing typically means the device and service has to be better than others. It’s part of the art of product design. They think the MBA15, as an object and a device, is good enough to command its pricing. Apple silicon is part of the whole amalgam that contributes to this.

thadec 96 comments · 2 Years

About 10 months ago

tht said:

maltz said:

I'd really like to hear some technical elaboration on how Apple Silicon helps to make a BIGGER laptop with less space constraint. It's going the other direction that's hard.

For Apple, it only means that Apple Silicon allowed them to build a 15” metal laptop that is 0.45” thick, 3.3 lb with a runtime of 18 hrs, and with good all around compute performance.
You can build an x86 laptop to some of what Apple wants, but what is missed is really important to Apple. LG has their Gram series which is thin and light, but it’s plastic, is more flexible, less runtime, etc. Some people are fine with what LG offers, so, perfectly fine.

Apple’s pricing typically means the device and service has to be better than others. It’s part of the art of product design. They think the MBA15, as an object and a device, is good enough to command its pricing. Apple silicon is part of the whole amalgam that contributes to this.

Not just the LG Gram 17 (a 17" laptop) but the Samsung Galaxy Book Windows laptops also. But to clarify: it isn't Apple Silicon that makes this possible. It is the TSMC foundry. It is why Apple Silicon is on 5nm where Intel was on 14nm when Apple Silicon launched and is still on 10nm. Meteor Lake devices - which arrive in 4Q 2023 - will be 7nm, have substantially improved efficiency cores and integrated GPUs and will have an integrated NPU. Said efficiency cores perform better than the performance cores in the $999 2018 MacBook Air. The iGPUs are going to outperform the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, which means they will outperform the M1's iGPU. https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/16/m1-beats-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-and-radeon-rx-560/ Intel's plans for their integrated GPUs and NPUs are here: https://wccftech.com/intel-wants-to-bring-path-tracing-affordable-gpus-igpus-real-time-neural-rendering and are going to basically kill off the cheap discrete GPU market.

Meteor Lake is going to challenge a lot of narratives. Most of it was Apple marketing, but the tech media that repeated it as objective truth will have egg on their faces.