The M2 Processor and New MacBook Airs

There’s a new Apple Silicon system-on-a-chip processor in town, and it powers some great new MacBook Air models. But what’s so special about the Apple M2 CPU, and what can it do for the newly refreshed MacBook Air?

The New M2 Processor

As you might already know, Apple’s Mac lineup is being transitioned to new Apple Silicon processors instead of the Intel models used by older Macs. We’ve already seen several iterations of the Apple Silicon M1 processor, namely the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra, all designed to maximise performance while using as little power as possible. With most of the Mac range already using M1 series processors, it’s time to lift the lid on the next generation of Apple Silicon – the M2.

Many processors increase power to gain performance, but the Apple Silicon chips, including M2, do things differently. Power efficiency is focussed throughout, maximising performance while minimising consumption. It’s built using an enhanced second-generation five-nanometre process, which makes it very thin. This improves power efficiency, as a signal has less distance to travel. It has over 20 billion transistors (25% more than M1), which are used to enhance every feature of the chip.

The memory controller delivers 100GB per second of unified memory bandwidth (50% more than M1), and the chip can support up to 24GB of unified memory, enough for even the most demanding tasks. It also features Apple's next-generation eight-core CPU, with four high-performance cores for when a lot of processing power is needed, and four high-efficiency cores to save battery life when you're doing things that don't require a lot of computing power.

The M2 also features Apple's next-generation GPU, with up to ten cores (two more than M1). Combined with the increased memory bandwidth, this delivers a big boost in graphics performance.