Skip to main content

M2 MacBook Air internals shown just ahead of release

Unveiled last month at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the highly anticipated M2 MacBook Air became available for purchase last Friday and will start landing in customers’ hands tomorrow.

While we’ve already been able to check out the machine’s all-new design, we know little about how Apple decided to construct the first M2 MacBook Air. Until now.

The folks over at 9to5Mac have managed to obtain a set of images (below) showing how the internals of the M2 MacBook Air have been laid out.

Several of the photos clearly show the hinge, headphone jack, USB C ports, and speakers. Among these, the speaker placement is notable as they’re located between the hinge and the keyboard rather than on either side of the keyboard as seen with the M1 MacBook Air and current MacBook Pro. 9to5Mac suggests the audio quality on the new laptop “will likely take a hit because of this speaker placement,” though agrees that real-world testing will be required to see if that’s actually the case.

Just as with the M1 MacBook Air, Apple’s highly efficient M-series chip means that the new M2 Air also contains no fan, allowing owners to work on their laptop without having to listen to the noisy component suddenly crank up. On the same point, the Mac news site says the M2 model seems to have been built with a large heat sink that includes graphite tape for thermal conductivity, which should serve to further ease the pressure on the laptop’s internals during prolonged use or if particularly demanding tasks are being performed.

The images also reveal Apple’s standard three-part battery design as well as Apple’s penchant for making stuff look appealing on the inside as well as the outside. This even extends to the color, with the model in the photos sporting the Air’s new and rather striking Midnight color that many believe will prove popular with buyers.

This is believed to be the first look at the internals of the new M2 Air. With the computer’s release on Friday, those interested will soon be able to peruse plenty of teardown articles and videos offering even more detailed views of what’s happening under the hood. Some may even spot design adjustments that offer clues as to where Apple is heading with its popular laptop lineup.

To find out more about the new M2 MacBook Air, this Digital Trends article offers a useful overview.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The new iPad Pro would be perfect, if only it were a Mac
A person gaming on the M4 iPad Pro and playing Diablo Immortal.

It’s no secret that I’ve been cheering on Apple’s gaming advances over the last year or so. Long-suffering Mac gamers have gone from being the forgotten also-rans of Apple’s ecosystem to feeling on top of the world, all in a very short period of time. But there’s one vital piece missing from the puzzle, and Apple’s new M4 iPad Pros have made it incredibly obvious.

I’ll admit, Mac gamers have been treated well in recent times. Not only have we had phenomenal hardware advancements in the form of the M3 Max chip -- which is a genuine gaming chip so cool and quiet that you’d be fooled into thinking it’s not -- but there’s also been a slate of top-tier games arriving on Apple’s platform, including my beloved Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a good time to be a Mac gamer.

Read more
Here’s why M4 MacBooks were a no-show — and when they’re coming
A person holds a MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in 2023.

Apple has just released a new iPad Pro with a shocking surprise -- it includes the M4 chip rather than making the more standard upgrade to the M3. It's the first time we've seen an iPad debut the latest M-series Apple Silicon rather than a Mac, which may leave us Mac fans wondering what's going on.

So, what's the deal? Don't worry -- M4 Macs are surely on the way, but these new iPad Pros have thrown in a wrench into the conventional timeline.
The missing M4 Macs

Read more