Home » compare

M2 MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the M2 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 10:15 am

M2 MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air

The 2022 M2 MacBook Air features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M2 (8C, 8G) up to 8-core Apple M2 (8C, 10G) with the boost speed up to 3.48 GHz. While the 2020 M1 MacBook Air features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 7G) up to 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.6″ M2 MacBook Air (2022) and the 13.3″ M1 MacBook Air (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

M2 MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M2 MacBook Air	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 MacBook Air
Key Features
What's new		Better Performance. With the new Apple M1 Chip, it is now 3x times faster in exporting a project in iMovie, 5x times faster applying 3D effects in Final Cut Pro, editing multiple streams 4K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro with no frame drop, 2x times faster in exporting photos in Lightroom, and more. Better battery life of up to 18 hours. The new M1 MacBook Air has the most extended battery life ever, with up to 18 hours of watching movies and 15 hours of web browsing. Better FaceTime HD camera. With the latest Apple Image Single Processor (ISP) in the M1 chip, image quality is better in noise reduction, has a better dynamic range, and has an improved auto white balance. Better display. It now supports a P3 wide color with 400 nits of display brightness. Improvements It supports the latest USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6. It has better security with the new Secure Enclave in the M1 chip.
What's missing		Natively supports only one external display. The new M1 chip supports only one extended 6K@60Hz display, while the older Intel version supports up to two 4K@60Hz.

Availability	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Released	2022	2020
Release Info	Announced on June 6, 2022 (WWDC 2022)	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$1,199 M2 (8C, 8G) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,499 M2 (8C, 10G) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$999 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Size	13.6 Inches	13.3 Inches
Info	Liquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology. 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with support for 1 billion colors 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology	Retina display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 1680 by 1050 1440 by 900 1024 by 640 16:10 aspect ratio 400 nits brightness Supports wide color (P3) True Tone technology

Exterior	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Size Comparison
Dimensions	11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 in (304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm)	Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
Weight	Starting at 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors	Midnight Starlight Space Gray Silver	GoldSpace GraySilver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Touch ID Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Ports		Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 (USB‑C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Processor	Apple M2 (8C, 8G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz, Apple M2 (8C, 10G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz,	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics	Apple M2 (8C, 8G) Apple M2 iGPU 8 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M2 (8C, 10G) Apple M2 iGPU 10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory	8GB 16GB 24GB unified memory.	8GB unified memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Wi-Fi	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Battery	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Size	52.6 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 15 hours of wireless web Up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback	Up to 15 hours wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter (included with M2 with 8-core GPU. 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter included with M2 with 10-core GPU and 512GB storage, configurable with M2 with 8-core GPU.	30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
OS	Shipped with macOS Monterey	Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera. Advanced image signal processor with computational video.	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Four-speaker sound system Wide stereo sound Support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	M2 MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Sensors	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	MacBook Air 30W or 35W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty	One-year limited warranty.	Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)