Apple MacBook Air 15in

Apple does it again, with superb battery life and performance squeezed into a thin, stylish chassis

- TONY POLANCO

SCORE 5/5

PRICE As reviewed, £1,499 (£1,799 inc VAT) from apple.com/uk

It's easy to dismiss the 15in MacBook Air as a blown-up version of the M2-powered 13in MacBook Air released last year (see issue 336, p50). Indeed, that's mostly what it is. Yet it also gives Mac fans a fresh, tempting portable computing option.

One immediately interesting thing about the new Air is its price. Starting at £1,399 inc VAT, it's only £150 more than the 13in model - a modest premium for a much bigger screen. As usual, the entry-level spec has a lowly 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and there's no scope for post-purchase upgrades. Consider doubling the memory at least, as this is a laptop made for multitasking. I tested a 16GB model with a 512GB SSD, which ups the price to £1,799; a maxed-out system with 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage costs £2,599.

Balanced design

Aside from the 15in Air's size, its design is almost identical to that of the 13in model. It comes in the same Midnight, Starlight, Silver and Space Grey colour schemes, and has the same flat-edged chassis design. It remains impressively thin, measuring 11.5mm thick, and while hardly feather-light at 1.5kg it still justifies the "Air" branding. I threw it in a backpack and almost forgot it was there, which can't be said for my bulky 16in MacBook Pro.

I also had no problem carrying the 15in MacBook Air with one hand, thanks to its beautifully balanced weight distribution. Opening the lid with a single hand is easy, and the machined aluminium chassis makes everything feel sturdy and durable; the lid doesn't wobble when you move the laptop, and I never once heard the hinge creak.