M1 vs M2 Macbook Air – Everything You Need to Know
M1 vs M2 MacBook Air explained! From benchmarks to battery life, see how each model performs and which one is worth your investment. There are more options in the MacBook Air 13 lineup than before. While the MacBook Air 13 M3 is nearly identical to the previous model, it does offer significant speed development over the MacBook Air 13 M2. As an older laptop, the MacBook Air M1 is still profitable, even though its display isn’t nearly as good as the M2 model. It’s still better than the display found on many laptops under $1,000. The 2022 MacBook Air M2 offers an improved display, camera, appearance, and battery life compared to the previous model. Though it costs more than the MacBook Air M1 (2020), it’s a significant upgrade, and if you have the money, it’s worth it. Let’s explore it: M1 vs M2 MacBook Air Performance Difference The Apple silicon chip is one of the most important differences between the MacBook Airs of the current and previous versions. Apple’s A14 Bionic chip serves as the foundation for the M1 chip, which will be revealed in November 2020. On the other hand, the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 serves as the foundation for the M2. The M2’s cores provide up to two extra GPU cores in addition to minor speed and efficiency gains. Both processors include an eight-core CPU with four performance and four efficiency cores. The M2 chip, according to Apple, is almost 40 percent faster than the previous generation for intensive workloads like editing complex timelines in Final Cut Pro. Up to 20% faster filter and effect application is now possible in apps like Adobe Photoshop. Moreover, m1 vs m2 MacBook air weights are different. The M2 has a media engine for hardware-accelerated ProRes and ProRes RAW video encoding and decoding, just like the M1 Pro. However, only H.264 and HEVC video can be accelerated by the specific media engine of the M1 processor. According to Apple, this significantly accelerates video operations on the most recent MacBook Air, enabling users to convert video projects to ProRes much more quickly and playback more 4K and 8K streams of video. Features M1 Macbook Air M2 Macbook Air Processor 8-core M1 Chip 8-core M2 Chip CPU cores 8 cores 8/10 cores RAM 8GB and 16GB 8GB, 16GB, and 24GB Screen Brightness 400 nits 500 nits Camera 720p HD quality Quality 1080p Full HD Speakers 7Two speakers Four speakers Display While the display of the M1 MacBook Air is stunning, there are some enhancements on the M2. The 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel Liquid Retina display, which supports millions of colors on the P3 color gamut and has a maximum brightness of 400 nits, is used in the M1. The MacBook Air M2 features a 13.6-inch, 2560 x 1664 pixel Super Retina display with a maximum brightness of 500 nits and compatibility for billions of colors on the P3 color gamut. There won’t be much of a difference between the two displays in daily use. Both models have the same pixel density the M1 model is technically 1% denser, supports the entire sRGB and P3 color gamuts, and is sufficiently bright to be used in an office with good lighting. The MacBook Air M2 has a small advantage. It’s also a part of m1 vs m2 MacBook air difference. If you frequently engage with HDR content or gradients in your daily life. The additional pixels provide a somewhat bigger work surface, in many apps, the horizontal strip of display that aligns with the MacBook Air M2’s webcam notch is blacked out. Overall, the MacBook Air M2 wins because of its improved color gradients and increased brightness. Features M1 MacBook Air M2 MacBook Air Brightness (nits) 389 486 sRGB gamut 100% 100% Contrast ratio 1,130:1 1,310:1 Accuracy (DeltaE, lower is better) 1.39 1.08 AdobeRGB gamut 79% 90% Camera and Ports The top of the lid of the M1 MacBook Air is equipped with a 720p FaceTime HD camera. However, Apple switched the M2 MacBook Air to a 1080p FaceTime HD camera. It is hidden within the notch of the display. In addition, Apple claims that it provides twice as good low-light performance as the M1 camera. Computational video and an advanced image signal processor are supported by both MacBooks. When it comes to physical connectivity, the M1 offers fewer possibilities than the M2 Air. Just two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports and a headphone jack are included. Because the M1 has so few ports, you have to use one for charging all the time. This suggests that unless you use a docking station, you only have one port available for additional devices. The M2 MacBook Air still has the same pair of Thunderbolt/USB 4 connections, thus not much has changed. You can recharge your MacBook Air with MagSafe 3 charging without giving up a port. It’s the visible m1 vs m2 MacBook air performance difference. Processor Performance Apple’s M1 chip has been upgraded with the Silicon M2 CPU. The cores of the more recent processor have a little more power and are noticeably more effective than those of the M1. The MacBook Air’s M1 and M2 processors each have eight cores, four of which are performance cores and four of which are efficient. Single-core speed is more important for simple tasks than multicore performance, such as writing a paper or visiting a webpage. One core can handle the task, so your computer won’t have to divide the workload among several. Multiple cores will be used for tasks with many moving parts, such as editing a Photoshop file or playing a video game. These tasks will also use up your battery more quickly because they require more power. When comparing multicore performance to single-core performance, the M2’s advantages over the M1 are easier to see. For example, the M1 can already open twenty tabs in Google Chrome before it begins to drag. It is just 11% faster in single-core operations. As a result, the
