M2 MacBook Air vs. MacBook Air 13” 2018: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively compared the specifications for the M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Air 13” 2018 models. The report includes detailed information regarding both models' CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

M2 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M2 MacBook Air is better than MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Significantly newer manufacturing

2022 vs. 2018

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M2 (8C, 10G) inside M2 MacBook Air has a 506% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i5-8210Y inside MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M2 MacBook Air - Apple M2 (8C, 10G)
8,819
M2 MacBook Air - Apple M2 (8C, 8G)
8,819
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - Intel Core i5-8210Y
1,455
Supports larger memory

M2 MacBook Air supports a larger memory capacity than the MacBook Air 13” 2018. It supports up to 24GB versus 16GB of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Max system memory size
M2 MacBook Air
24 GB
MacBook Air 13” 2018
16 GB

MacBook Air 13” 2018 Pros

We couldn't find any advantages of MacBook Air 13” 2018 over M2 MacBook Air.

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

M2 MacBook Air Price
Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Silver
Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Silver
By Apple
$849.00
$999.00 15% OFF
Apple 2022 MacBook Air M2 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Midnight (Renewed Premium)
Apple 2022 MacBook Air M2 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Midnight (Renewed Premium)
By Apple
$825.00
$869.15 5% OFF
Apple 2023 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Midnight
Apple 2023 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Midnight
By Apple
$1,159.93
$1,299.00 11% OFF
MacBook Air 13” 2018 Price
Late 2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Dual-Core (13 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
Late 2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Dual-Core (13 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$399.00
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$378.34
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
By Apple
$244.99

Availability

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Released20222018
Release DateAnnounced on June 6, 2022 (WWDC 2022)
  • Available on October 30, 2018
Pricing
  • $1,199
    M2 (8C, 8G) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,499
    M2 (8C, 10G) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,399
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Applicable Models
  • MacBook Air (2022)
  • 2022 MacBook Air
  • MacBook Air with M2 chip
-
Generations

Exterior

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Dimensions11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 in (304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm)11.97” x 8.36” x 0.16 - 0.61” (304.1 mm x  212.4 mm x 4.1 – 15.6 mm)
WeightStarting at 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)Starting at 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg)
Colors
Midnight Starlight Space Gray Silver
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
  • Touch ID
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) individual LED-backlit keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Size13.6 Inches13.3 Inches
InfoLiquid Retina display
  • 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology.
  • 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with support for 1 billion colors
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology
Retina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio

Ports

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
M2 MacBook Air Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (3)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Charging, DisplayPort
  • 1 x MagSafe 3
    Magnetic charging port
Right (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
  • Charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Processor
  1. Apple M2 (8C, 8G)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz,
  2. Apple M2 (8C, 10G)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz,
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 7W
Integrated Graphics
  1. Apple M2 (8C, 8G)
    Apple M2 iGPU
    8 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
  2. Apple M2 (8C, 10G)
    Apple M2 iGPU
    10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 617
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 24GB
unified memory.
8GB
Configurable to 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Discrete Graphics-Support for Thunderbolt 3–enabled external graphics processors (eGPUs)
Storage
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB or 1TB SSD
Fans Number--
Cooling InfoPassive-

Connectivity

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0 wireless technologyBluetooth 4.2 wireless technology

Battery

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Size52.6 Wh lithium‑polymer battery50.3 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
  • Up to 15 hours of wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
  • Up to 12 hours wireless web
  • Up to 13 hours Apple TV app video playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
    (included with M2 with 8-core GPU.
  • 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter
    included with M2 with 10-core GPU and 512GB storage, configurable with M2 with 8-core GPU.
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
OSShipped with macOS MontereyShipped with macOS Mojave
Built-in Apps
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera.
Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Four-speaker sound system
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers
  • Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
Sensors
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W or 35W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
WarrantyOne-year limited warranty.Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
MoreVideo Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:
    • One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz
    • Up to two external displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at up to 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

M2 MacBook AirMacBook Air 13” 2018
At Glance
Released in Mid
2022
16:10 QHD
13.6”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
2.7 lb
1.22 kg
Up to
Apple M2 (8C, 10G)
8C/8T, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,933
Single Core
Geekbench 5
8,819
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M2 iGPU
10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores
Configurable up to
24GB
Unified Memory
M2 MacBook Air Ports
Starting at
$1,199
M2 (8 GPU), 8GB, 256GB SSD
New
MagSafe 3
Charging port
Supports
Fast Charging
50% in 30 mins with 65W charger
New
1080p Webcam
New
Four Speakers
Sound System
Up to
18 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
Touch ID
Dual
USB-C
USB4 & Thunderbolt 3
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
Released in Late
2018
16:10 WQXGA
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.75 lb
1.25 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-8210Y
2C/4T, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
728
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,455
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 617
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Up to
16GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3

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