The new MacBook Air comes with faster processing speeds and a longer battery life.
Screenshot by CNET
This story is part of Apple Event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.
Gone are the days when a laptop charge would only last a few hours. Apple on Tuesday said that its new MacBook Air will have 15 hours of battery life for wireless web browsing. For video playback, the battery will last 18 hours. And the battery life on video calls will be twice the rate on current MacBook Air computers.
The tech giant made the announcement during a virtual event centered on its computers. The focus was on the new M1 chips integrated into Apple’s new Mac lineup. The big difference with these M1 chips is that they’re designed by Apple, rather than Intel, the company’s previous supplier. Apple says its M1 chips are more power efficient, allow for slimmer designs and longer battery life.
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New M1 Macs are a huge shift for Apple
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“M1 delivers significantly higher performance at every possible level,” Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said during Apple’s event. “This is a big deal.”
Apple has been working on these chips for more than a decade. They’re already in iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch products, but this is the first time the company has added its own chips to its Mac lineup. By combining all its devices under the same chips and common code, Apple aims to offer the same experience across all of its products.
Along with the MacBook Air getting a longer battery life, Apple said Tuesday that its new Mac Mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro will also come with the M1 chip and see many more hours of battery. For instance, the 13-inch MacBook Pro will have wireless web browsing for 17 hours or video playback for 20 hours, that’s 10 hours longer than its predecessor.
