Apple design chief Evans Hankey and a couple of other executives recently sat down for an interview with GQ Magazine where they talked about the new M2 MacBook Air and the major redesign that comes with it.
“It has always been a product where it’s a bit provocative,” Hankey told the publication.
Over the years, the MacBook Air has gotten plenty of upgrades and improvements. The transition to Apple Silicon with the M1 MacBook Air in 2020 was a particularly big one. However, Apple’s best-selling MacBook has never received a redesign of quite this magnitude.
“I think the Air requires a lot of courage, because it’s like, ‘What are you going to keep?'” Hankey said. Perhaps most interestingly, the new MacBook Air isn’t a wedge.
Apple’s MacBook Air lineup has so far maintained a wedge-like design to achieve the absolute epitome of thinness. The 2022 MacBook Air, however, adopts a more squared-off design. It still manages to be thinner and lighter than its 2020 predecessor, though.
“We don’t really have to play any kind of games with shape or form to make it look thin,” Hankey added. “And I think that’s one of the most lovely and remarkable things: it’s quite honest and simple.”
Under the hood of this year’s MacBook Air refresh is the M2 chip, the leadoff hitter in the next generation of Apple Silicon. The M2 MacBook Air packs unprecedented horsepower for its thin and light design while still promising 18 hours of battery life.
Thanks to the M2’s groundbreaking efficiency, the 2022 MacBook Air also gets away with a fanless design for whisper-quiet operation. It even has MagSafe, which Apple pulled from its Mac line for a few years in the middle.
“It just takes those key areas even further all with this ruthless design where above all else, we’re seeking to deliver more performance in the most power-efficient way,” said Laura Metz from Apple’s Mac product marketing team.
According to Kate Bergeron, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, the new MacBook Air is the product of a “tour de force of integration.”
The M2 MacBook Air also features the polarizing (but admittedly still new) display notch on the front, a design choice first seen in last year’s 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
You can pre-order the M2 MacBook Air on Apple.ca today. If you order one, be sure to take advantage of Apple’s Back to School promo and nab a free gift card. The M2 MacBook Air is slated to start shipping and hit store shelves this Friday, July 15.
