Apple unveils M2 processor and new MacBook Air

Apple unveiled its new M2 processor and MacBook Air today with faster 18% faster CPU performance and 35% faster GPU performance.

The new Arm-based processor has 20 billion transistors, or 20% more than the previous M1 processor. It has a memory controller with 100 GB/S, or 50% more than the M1.

It comes with four high-performance cores and four efficiency cores. It has 18% better performance than the M1. It also has 1.9 times the performance of the 10-core “PC laptop chip” using a quarter of the power.

Versus a 12-core PC laptop chip, it has 87% of the performance while using a quarter of the power. It also has a new GPU with 35% more performance than the M1, and a neural engine that is 40% better at operations per second than the M1. It ha a new media engine for 8K H.264 video and it can process multiple 8K and 4K video streams.

MacBook Air

The new MacBook Air is 11.3 millimeters, or less than half an inch thick. It has MagSafe charging and has a couple of Thunderbolt ports. It has a liquid retina display that is 13.6 inches diagonal. It has 500 NITS, or 25% brighter than before.

The camera has a 1080p camera with twice the resolution and low-light capture than the previous model. Speakers and mics are integrated within the keyboard and display. It has a four-speaker sound system and support for Dolby Atmos spatial audio.

And it has a force touch trackpad. Photoshop runs 20% faster than before on running image filters. Final Cut Pro can run 38% faster. It’s a silent and fanless design and has 18 hours of video playback battery life.

M2 is also coming to the 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop for $1,300.

Apple announced the news at its online Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event today.