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Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) vs MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)

Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023)1MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M2 Max against MacBook Air M2
FigureMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Price£2,0993launch price£1,3994launch price
ChipM2 MaxchipM2chip
CPU12-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU30-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory32GBunified memory, base8GB5unified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available6No batteryUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released13 June 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.13 June 20237ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M2 Max is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air M2 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The Mac Studio M2 Max is a desktop; the MacBook Air M2 is a laptop. The MacBook Air M2 has a built-in 15.3-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M2 Max has none of them.

True to scale

Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) · 197 × 95 mm frontMacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) · 340.4 × 237.6 mm footprint

A desktop and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm
Weight2.7 kg1.51 kg
ColoursSilverSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight
PortsFour Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M2 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports942
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports2No USB-A ports.10
HDMIHDMI portNo HDMI port.11
SD card slotYesNo SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available12Yes
KeyboardNot available13Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDNot available14Yes

Display

Display: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Display sizeNot available1515.3 in
ResolutionNot available152880 x 1864
Pixel densityNot available15224 ppi
Display typeNot available15Liquid Retina display
BrightnessNot available15500 nits
Wide colour (P3)Not available15Yes
Nano-texture optionNot available15No nano-texture display option.11

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
ChipApple M2 Max chipApple M2 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores128
Performance cores84
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores3010
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM2 Max with 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU, or M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU16M2 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU
Memory (base)32GB8GB5
Memory (maximum)96GB1624GB5
Memory options32GB, 64GB or 96GB (96GB with 38-core GPU)168GB, 16GB or 24GB5
Memory upgradeable by userNot available17No, as Apple documents18
Memory bandwidth400 GB/s100 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB256GB
Storage (maximum)8TB162TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB16256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Battery capacityNot available666.5 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available61,000 cycles19
Video playback (claimed)Not available618 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available615 h
Included power adapterNot available2035 W
Fast chargingNot available6Yes
Maximum continuous power370 WNot available21

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
Ethernet10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector)No Ethernet port.11
External displays (base)51

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
CameraNot available221080p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker23Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesNot available17Three-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMac Studio M2 Max1MacBook Air M22
Shipped withmacOS Ventura24Not available25
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate26macOS 27 Golden Gate26
Model identifierMac14,1327Mac14,1528
Model year20232023

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M2 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M2 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro are available today · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  9. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac Studio M2 Max: Thunderbolt 4. MacBook Air M2: Thunderbolt 3.

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  10. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

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  13. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard

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  14. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature

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  15. Doesn’t apply: no built-in display

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  17. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  20. Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box

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  21. Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power

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  22. Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera

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  23. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  24. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  25. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  26. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  27. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  28. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M2 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart lists the Mac Studio M2 Max only with a 38-core GPU, not the 30-core GPU this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air M2. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M2 Max (2023)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.