MacBook Air 15-inch, 2024 Review
- 1 MacBook Air 15-inch Specs
- 1.1 Design
- 1.2 Price
- 1.3 Ports
- 1.4 Display
- 1.5 Battery Life
Apple’s new MacBook Air 15 is the company’s first laptop with a 15-inch display, and it’s thin and light. It follows last year’s release of the 13-inch MacBook Air (M2, 2022) with an all-new design, an updated M2 processor, and a higher price tag. If you enjoy the thin, light, and portable MacBook Air, you may be concerned about a larger version. Even if it’s more significant, the new MacBook Air (15-inch, 2023) is still skinny, thanks to Apple’s careful design. The 13-inch MacBook Air weighs about 2.7 pounds (1.25 kg), while the 15-inch model is slightly heavier at 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg).
MacBook Air 15-inch Specs
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt / USB-4 mic |
| Weight | 3.3 pounds |
| Display | 6K external display |
| Battery | 18 hours (claimed) |
| WebCam | 1080p |
| Chipset | Apple M2 (8-core CPU/10-core GPU) |
| RAM | Up to 24GB |
| Display | 15.3-inch Liquid Retina |
| Price | $1,299 (starting) |
PROS
- Larger screen while maintaining portability
- Heavier-duty audio system
- Preserves an estimated 18 hours of battery life
- Includes a 2-in-1 Adapter
CONS
- Comparable to a 13-inch model in terms of internals
- No more runtime on a 13-inch screen
Design
Apple’s new 15-inch MacBook Pro looks just like the 13-inch MacBook Air. It is a thin, 11.5-mm piece of aluminium that has been reused. All of the MagSafe charger ports and the two USB-C ports are in the same place. Even the size of the keyboard is the same. But when I opened the new laptop, I saw a large Liquid Retina display, a lot of room around the keyboard, and a little more giant mouse. The only difference between this laptop and the smaller MacBook Air is that this one has two more speakers. The screen still has the cutout for the 1080p FaceTime camera. There may be more bass because of the extra woofers, but I couldn’t try that quickly with the laptop.
Price
The base form of the Air 15 costs $1,299 ($1,199 for education), which was presented at WWDC 2023. The 13-inch MacBook Pro costs the same as this. Apple’s 8-core M2 CPU, 8GB of unified memory, a 256GB SSD, a 10-core M2 GPU, and a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display are included in this price. There is also a version for $1,499 that has twice as much storage. The most expensive option costs $2,499, with 24GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
Ports
Here, you see a MacBook Air. So, expect a small number of ports. Instead, you have two Thunderbolt ports on the left, the MagSafe 3 charger, and a single audio jack on the right. Since you’ll need more ports, you’ll want to check out our page about the best USB Type-C hubs to connect your devices.
Display
A more extensive air means a bigger show. For the MacBook Air 15, this means a beautiful 15.3-inch screen. The Liquid Retina display on the Air 15 is as nice as those on most other MacBooks. During my test, I couldn’t help but notice how the colours were bright and the details were precise.
As past reviews of MacBooks have shown, even though the Air 15 will be plenty bright, with an expected brightness of 500 nits, it will probably fall short in the colour gamut. When compared to the Dell XPS 15, it’s even worse. But as I looked at a few high-resolution pictures, I was amazed by the colour. I could see a majestic Afghan hound’s beautiful hair, individual whiskers, or a chameleon’s bumpy, colourful skin.
Battery Life
I usually don’t believe what a laptop maker says about how long the battery will last. Too many times, our battery test has shown that this isn’t true. But when it comes to Apple products, I believe the hype because MacBooks have been some of the most durable computers in the past. So, according to the company, Air 15 will either last 18 hours or be close to that.
