Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference used to be pretty much all about software, with perhaps the odd hardware announcement filtered into the mix of what new features would be coming to your iPhone, iPad, Watch and Mac in the coming months.
That’s all changed for 2023 though after Apple not only announced the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which marked its entrance into a new market, like Apple Watch did back in 2015, but it also revealed a larger model of the MacBook Air that launched at WWDC 2022. The conference in 2023 has therefore most definitely not just been about software. I adored – and continue to adore – the MacBook Air (M2, 2022), so what do I think of its bigger brother? Here are my first impressions of the MacBook Air 15-inch. I’ll give you a hint…I’ve got a new favourite.
Solid and premium design
- Dimensions: 237.6 x 340.4 x 115mm, 1.51kg
- Ports: 2x USB-C (USB 4) / Thunderbolt 3, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Finish options: Starlight, Midnight, Silver, Space Grey
The MacBook Air 15-inch takes on an identical design to the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) but that is no bad thing in my opinion. Not at all in fact. The 2022 model saw quite a big departure from the MacBook Air as many of us knew it. The original MacBook Air was pulled out of a manila envelope in 2008 and its wedge-like design remained a signature trait right up until the 2022 model arrived.
Some might mourn the old design – and don’t get me wrong, I was a huge fans of it – but the 2022 model was refreshing, modern and an excellent evolution of a brilliant design, which this larger model continues to offer. Like the 2022 model, which has a 13.6-inch screen, the larger model has a flat lid rather than rounded, that places it much more in line with the MacBook Pro models.
The base is flat, solid and premium and the edges are flat too, delivering a slim and slender device that has a lovely uniformed look. It’s an aluminium body, as we have now come to expect from MacBook models – its been the material of choice since 2008 – and there are four colours available for the 15-inch model, comprising Starlight, Midnight, Silver and Space Grey. My favourites are Starlight and Midnight, though the Silver and Space Grey are more traditional so it depends on what you’re looking for as to which is the best colour for you.
In terms of weight, the 15-inch model weighs just 1.53kg (3.3lbs) and it is so light in the hand for its size. I was genuinely pleasantly surprised when I picked it up. Unsurprisingly, it’s not quite as light as the 13.6-inch model, which comes in at 1.24kg, but it’s still a great weight for its size. By comparison, the 14-inch MacBook Pro weighs 1.6kg, and the 16-inch weighs 2.13kg, so it’s quite a bit lighter than both of these.
Open up the lovely flat lid and you’ll be greeted with a Magic Keyboard like the 13.6-inch model. Given it’s the same keyboard as the smaller 2022 model, I am expecting a great typing experience. Being slightly larger, there is some extra space either end of the keys, though you won’t find speakers like you get on the MacBook Pro models. Instead, the speakers are positioned at the back of the MacBook Air 15-inch’s base, where the hinge is. This is the same as the 13.6-inch model and decent sound output an area the 2022 model struggled with slightly so it’s possible this larger model won’t perform brilliantly in the speaker department either. We will have to wait until we have reviewed it in full to make that determination though, and there are two extra speakers on the MacBook Air 15-inch compared to the smaller MacBook Air so it’s possible it will be better.
At the bottom of the keyboard, there’s the a trackpad, which was very responsive – something else we have now come to expect from MacBooks. There’s also a Touch ID fingerprint scanner at the end of the keyboard’s function keys in the top right corner. That means that there is no Face ID on the larger MacBook Air, though given the MacBook Pro models don’t offer this feature either, that won’t come as a surprise to most.
Larger display
- 15.3-inch Liquid Retina, 2880 x 1864 resolution, 224ppi
- 500nits brightness
- True Tone support
- P3 wide colour
Despite not offering Face ID, the MacBook Air 15-inch does have a notch at the top of its display. You might find it a little distracting at first, but it’s something you get used to within a matter of hours if my experience with the smaller MacBook Air is anything to go by. The rest of the display has slim uniformed bezels – only 5mm – and it looks great overall.
I really love the larger display – it gives you that little bit of extra space and it makes excellent use of the available footprint. The bezels could be a little slimmer, sure, and I’d love to see the notch disappear eventually, but you’re still getting a huge screen in a manageable format, which will be the answer to many people’s dreams – mine included.
The 15.3-inch model has a Liquid Retina display, just like the 13.6-inch model, with a resolution of 2880 x 1864, which delivers a pixel density of 224ppi. That’s almost the same as the 13.6-inch model – a little less if you’re being pedantic, though the human eye wouldn’t notice it. It means you get the same amount of detail and crispness, and it looks stunning. All the usual technologies are on board too, including True Tone, and a P3 wide colour gamut and there’s a 500nits brightness too, which is decent.
Hardware and battery
- Apple M2 processor (8-core – 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores)
- 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 256GB/512GB storage (up to 1TB, 2TB)
- 8GB RAM (upgradable up to 24GB)
- Up to 18 hours battery
So what’s under the hood? Well, just like the design, the MacBook Air 15.3-inch follows a similar path to the 13.6-inch model that launched in 2022 when it comes to the specifications under the hood too. Some rumours had initially claimed this model would run on the M3 chip, but instead Apple has stuck with the M2 chip. Essentially, the MacBook Air 15-inch is pretty much just a larger version of the MacBook Air 13.6-inch (M2, 2022).
It wasn’t a bad thing in terms of the design though, and the same applies for hardware. The M2 chip is very powerful in my experience and while it might not offer the same capabilities delivered by the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips that you’ll find in the latest MacBook Pro models, it still offers more than what the majority of people will require. The MacBook Air is designed for the everyday user and the M2 chip more than meets this requirement.
Getting geeky for just a second, the M2 chip in the MacBook Air 15-inch has an 8-core CPU made up of 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores and there’s a 10-core GPU as standard (there’s no 8-core option like there is in the 13.-inch model. There’s also a 16-core Neural Engine on board, along with 100GB/s memory bandwidth and a Media Engine on board with a video encode and decode engine and a ProRes encode and decode engine. The base model of the 15-inch model has 8GB of unified memory, configurable up to 24GB, and there’s 256GB SSD, configurable to 2TB.
When it comes to battery, the MacBook Air 15-inch model claims to offer up to 18-hours of surfing the web. This is the same as the smaller 13.6-inch model despite the larger display, and while I couldn’t test the battery in my brief amount of time with it, I have exceptionally high expectations here. The smaller MacBook Air has an astonishing battery life – beyond that of the MacBook Pro – so I’m hoping for the same from the 15-inch model. I will need to test it properly before I can say for sure, but battery life is an area I expect this 15-inch model to excel in, so fingers crossed.
In terms of charging, this takes place through MagSafe 3, which is positioned on the left edge of the device. You can also charge through one of the two Thunderbolt 3 (USB 4) ports though if you happen to forget your MagSafe cable. These two ports are located on the left edge too, alongside the MagSafe port. On the right edge, you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack but that’s it in terms of ports so no HDMI like the MacBook Pro models. Still though, better than the one Thunderbolt 3 port the MacBook offered, resulting in dongles galore.
Software
- macOS Ventura
When it comes to software, the MacBook Air 15-inch runs on macOS, as you would expect. The current build of this is macOS 13, or macOS Ventura, though it will also be compatible with macOS 14 – or macOS Somana – that was also announced at WWDC and will launch later this year.
A number of new features were announced, which you can read all about in our separate macOS 14 feature, but the MacBook Air 15-inch will also offer everything the smaller MacBook Air offers, including Stage Manager, which is great for multitasking. There’s a macOS Ventura feature that details everything possible on Mac now prior to the new software launching so you can get an idea of all the features you can expect.
I’ve also written a Mac tips and tricks feature that is well worth a read as you will probably find a couple of handy tips you may not have known were possible.
First impressions
The Apple MacBook Air 15-inch is pretty much the answer to our prayers. I am an avid MacBook Air user and the 13.6-inch model is the MacBook I find myself recommending most, especially to everyday users. Previously, there was only one screen size to choose from, which meant that if you wanted a larger display, you would need to look at the MacBook Pro line, which is significantly more money and comes with more power than most people would ever be able to fully utilise.
Now though, there’s the option of a larger screen size, whilst still retaining a slim and lightweight build, plenty of power and what I hope will be a superb battery life like the smaller model. I of course need to test the MacBook Air 15-inch out in the real world to make sure those extra two inches don’t completely ruin everything the Air stands for, but based on my first impressions, this will be my new go to laptop and I can’t wait.