Apple MacBook Air 15-Inch Lightning Review: Bigger View, Pleasant Sounds

The 15-inch Apple MacBook Air is the long awaited variant that a lot of Apple laptop users have been clamouring for. One thing’s for certain, it is so far the only model from the Air line-up that offers a larger display, which actually sits nicely between the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. On that note, it is also considerably more affordable than the latter two.

And while on paper it may seem that the device is just a bump in size for the existing 13-inch model, I can assure you that this is not the case. In fact, a bigger screen is only one of the many excellent features offered by the MacBook Air 15.

What Am I Looking At?

There’s no two ways around it; the 15-inch MacBook Air looks almost no different from its smaller sibling. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing, especially if you’re a fan of the sleek and clean look that’s often featured on Apple laptops or other devices that share a similar design language. Clearly, if something more aggressive or flashy is what you’re after, then you’re looking at the wrong product.

And despite its larger size, the new MacBook Air 15 is still very portable. It is a member from this particular series after all, so you can expect the same light and thin form factor that’s offered by its other family members. I have been carrying it in my smaller backpack when I’m out and about, and I have no issues with its weight or size while moving around with it on my back.

Flipping the laptop open, users are greeted with a familiar keyboard layout. Essentially, it is the same one featured on the MacBook Air 13 but with more breathing space around it. Meanwhile, the touchpad below has been enlarged accordingly to match the device’s size.

Personally, I appreciate the extra palm space for relaxing my hands when I’m not too busy typing. The layout itself is alright I suppose, and it is as typical as it can get when it comes to laptop keyboards. Typing with it is a breeze, and the keys themselves are very responsive, whereas feedback feels light and quiet. The large trackpad, on the other hand, does make it much easier for me to access numerous mouse-dependent functions, though I do wish that the ones on MacBooks would give off a stronger feedback whenever I click on something.

In case you’re wondering, there are virtually no vents or speaker grilles on the MacBook Air 15, which adds to its whole minimalist feel. As for ports, on the left side of the laptop is a MagSafe 3 port, as well as two USB-Cs that can support charging, Thunderbolt 3 access up to 40Gb/s and DisplayPort output. Meanwhile, found on the right is a lone 3.5mm headphone jack.

And yes, you can connect a port extension hub to the device, which lets you output the display through a HDMI monitor or plug in USB-based devices such as third-party keyboards or mice. In regards to the latter, I can safely say that I’ve no major problems connecting such accessories to the MacBook Air 15, though I should note that MacOS has trouble recognising Windows-based keyboards. So much so that I have to resort to jumping back and forth from my external keyboard to the laptop’s built-in one whenever I wish to use Mac-based shortcut commands.

What’s Good About It?

The primary reason why anyone would consider a MacBook Air is the fact that it houses considerable performance within a portable body, and even more so with the M2 chip that’s featured on this particular model’s core. Sure, it’s not the most powerful variant from Apple’s current silicon line-up, but it is definitely not a slouch when it comes to various use cases – primarily in terms of productivity-related tasks such as video editing and so on.

Throughout my time with the laptop, never once have I experienced any sluggish performance when switching between applications or running multiple things simultaneously. Normally I’ll have numerous tabs on my web browser with at least one of them running a YouTube video or Apple Music playing, while Photoshop and WhatsApp are also running on the side. I should also add that all of these are happening on a dual monitor setup, which consists of the laptop’s own display plus an external HD monitor. 

Benchmarks aside, actual games that I’ve tested on the laptop include No Man’s Sky, Hades, Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. All of which are from Steam and, thankfully, are compatible with the MacOS platform and the M2 chip. Performance-wise, the MacBook Air 15 did very well for the first four titles, where the frame rates averaged at around 40 to 60 fps for each. Things do get a bit more choppier when trying to run Tomb Raider on the Ultimate graphics setting, and running Deus Ex: Human Revolution at Medium gets you between 30 to over 40 fps.

Now let’s move on to the laptop’s audio capability, which – much to my surprise – is actually very good. Despite coming from hidden speakers, the output is loud, clear, and even has decent sound staging and depth. Needless to say, playing music from the MacBook Air 15 is a pleasant experience, though don’t expect rumbling bass or hall-filling levels of loudness. And I should also point out that the 13-inch variant does not feature the same sound system, so the larger sibling has an edge in this department.

As for battery life, I’m glad to report that the MacBook Air 15 is more than capable of offering you with long hours of usage. In fact, I managed to push the laptop to 10 hours of continuous use before it nagged me to plug in a power source. But here’s the kicker: I had the Low Power Mode disabled and was also running it with a secondary monitor connected throughout the whole time. In other words, you can expect the device to push over 10 hours when used typically, and even more with its battery saving features activated.

What’s The Catch?

I’ve been giving the new 15-inch MacBook Air lots of praise up until now. As all of us are aware by now, no product is perfect and the laptop does have its share of flaws.

Let’s start with its design. Sure, a clean and minimalistic design is eye catching, but expect some sacrifices to be made in order to achieve it. Again, the curveball here being the speakers, as the lack thereof made me assume that audio quality would be severely affected. But as you can already tell from my thoughts regarding the matter above, my fears were unfounded.

Instead, what is actually affected is the number of ports offered by the laptop. There’s only so much you can do with two USB-C ports out of the box, and a USB hub is necessary if you wish to connect multiple accessories or devices to the MacBook Air 15 –  especially those that still rely on USB-A connectivity. And if your monitor does not support USB-C or Apple’s wireless screen mirroring feature, then be prepared to shell out for a third-party hub that also comes with either a DisplayPort or a HDMI port. 

In terms of performance, Apple’s not wrong in assuring users that both its laptops and MacOS platform are capable of running games, but this claim is not to be taken at face value. For one thing, the MacBook Air 15 is fanless and lacks any ventilation, so be very wary when you decide to play your games for an extended amount of time. That being said, I also wouldn’t recommend you to run them at the highest settings, as that would greatly affect the laptop’s performance and the durability of its hardware in the long run.

Next up is its security features, but not in the direction that you might have thought this would go. Don’t get me wrong, Apple’s MacOS is one of the more secure platforms available, but its strictness could also lead to some inconveniences. This is especially with the company’s MacBook devices, where unlocking or even downloading apps through the App Store will require you to key in your password or utilise the onboard Touch ID function for validation. This is fine and all, but many users would agree that adding Face ID to the list will make things even more convenient.

However, this particular feature isn’t available on the MacBook Air 15, or any MacBooks for that matter. Unlike iPhones, the notch on current-generation Apple laptops does not feature any face recognition technology, and is only there to house a 1080p webcam. This is one of the sad cases where a design language is used solely for the sake of consistency but not functionality.

Should I Buy It?

At a starting price of RM6,199 for the 8GB + 256GB configuration, the new 15-inch MacBook Air is indeed a tough laptop to recommend. However, I would say that it is still a worthwhile choice for users looking to upgrade from an older Apple laptop, especially those who want something bigger than the 13-inch variant, but aren’t willing to spend on the more powerful Pro models.

The post Apple MacBook Air 15-Inch Lightning Review: Bigger View, Pleasant Sounds appeared first on Lowyat.NET.