Skip to content
MacIQ

MacBook Air (M2, 2022) vs MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)

MacBook Air (M2, 2022)1MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air M2 against MacBook Air
FigureMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Price£1,2493launch price£9494launch price
ChipM2chipCore i51.8GHz dual-core Intel
CPU8-coreCPU2-coreCPU
GPU8-coreGPUNot available5GPU
Memory8GB6unified memory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base128GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to12 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released15 July 20223ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 8 July 2022.7 June 20177ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2017.
Security updatesNot available8Security updates16 September 20249Security updates ended
Price
The MacBook Air M2 is £1,249 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air is £949 at launch, per Apple UK Store (archived 27 June 2017).

True to scale

MacBook Air (M2, 2022) · 304.1 × 215 mm footprintMacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) · 325 × 227 mm footprint

Footprints from above, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. 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 MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Dimensions11.3 x 304.1 x 215 mm3–17 x 325 x 227 mm
Weight1.24 kg1.35 kg
ColoursSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, MidnightSilver
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jackTwo USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), Thunderbolt 2 port (up to 20 Gbps), MagSafe 2 power port, SDXC card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports1021
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 2
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.112
HDMINo HDMI port.12No HDMI port.13
SD card slotNo SD card slot.12Yes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDFull-size backlit keyboard
Touch IDYesNo Touch ID.13

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Display size13.6 in13.3 in
Resolution2560 x 16641440 x 900
Pixel density224 ppiNot available5
Display typeLiquid Retina displayLED-backlit glossy widescreen display
Brightness500 nitsNot available5
Wide colour (P3)YesNot available5
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.12Not available5

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
ChipApple M2 chip1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Apple siliconYesIntel processor, not Apple silicon.14
CPU cores82
Performance cores4Not available15
Efficiency cores4Not available15
GPU cores8Not available5
Graphics8-core GPU16Intel HD Graphics 6000
Neural Engine cores16Not available17
Chip optionsM2 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)8GB68GB
Memory (maximum)24GB68GB
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 24GB68GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents18No, as Apple documents18
Memory bandwidth100 GB/sNot available19
Storage (base)256GB128GB
Storage (maximum)2TB512GB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB128GB, 256GB or 512GB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineNot available17

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Battery capacity52.6 Wh54 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles201,000 cycles20
Video playback (claimed)2118 h12 h
Wireless web (claimed)15 h12 h
Included power adapter30 W45 W
Fast chargingYesNo fast charging.13

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth5.34.0
EthernetNo Ethernet port.12No Ethernet port.13
External displays (base)11

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersFour-speaker sound systemStereo speakers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingDual microphones

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate22macOS Monterey23
Model identifierMac14,224MacBookAir7,223
Model year20222017

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Air2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)2,3422581325
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)9,651251,54225

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M2 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — All-new MacBook Air with M2 available to order starting Friday, July 8 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  4. Apple UK Store (archived 27 June 2017) — MacBook Air 13-inch, 1.8GHz dual-core Core i5, 8GB, 128GB, £949.00 · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

    ↩

  5. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays. Read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  6. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

    ↩

  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

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

    ↩

  9. endoflife.date — Apple macOS · third-party figure · read 2 Oct 2026

    ↩

  10. Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Air M2: Thunderbolt 3. MacBook Air: Thunderbolt 2.

    ↩

  11. MacBook Air (M2, 2022): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  12. MacBook Air (M2, 2022): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  13. MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017): No HDMI port. No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  14. MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

  15. Doesn’t apply: this is an Intel processor, and Apple lists a total core count only

    ↩

  16. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  17. Doesn’t apply: Apple silicon feature; this Mac has an Intel processor

    ↩

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

    ↩

  19. Doesn’t apply: Apple publishes it only for Apple silicon

    ↩

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

    ↩

  21. Two different Apple tests. MacBook Air M2: Apple TV app movie playback. MacBook Air: iTunes movie playback.

    ↩

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

    ↩

  23. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

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

    ↩

  25. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

    ↩

Not published by Apple

MacBook Air M2. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — All-new MacBook Air with M2 available to order starting Friday, July 8, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays, 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 MacBook Air M2 (2022)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)?

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