Apple has opened up preorders for the new MacBook Air, which brings a new M2 chip, design, and display to Apple’s most popular laptop. As expected, just minutes after preorders went live, deliveries instantly slipped from the original July 15 date.
A day later, you buy either of the base models, you might get it in July, but only if you want Space Gray. Other colors aren’t shipping until August, with the Midnight option having the longest wait, to no one’s surprise. However, what is surprising is that if you opt for more RAM, you’ll actually get it a week quicker based on Apple’s estimates:
- Space Gray M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 8GB memory): July 27-August 3
- Silver/Starlight M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 8GB memory): August 3-10
- Midnight M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 8GB memory): August 10-17
- Silver/Starlight/Midnight M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 16GB memory): August 2-9
- Space Gray M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 8GB memory): July 27-August 3
- Silver/Starlight M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 8GB memory): August 3-10
- Midnight M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 8GB memory): August 10-17
- Midnight M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 16GB memory): August 2-9
These shipping estimates are likely to continue slipping as the day goes on, so if you want one, you should act fast. Apple has been struggling to keep up with demand for many of its products due to supply chain problems, and it looks to be affecting the MacBook Air as well.
At $1,199, the new M2 MacBook Air has a starting price that’s 20 percent higher than the M1 model, but it brings a host of upgrades, including a new design with slim bezels, a larger 13.6-inch display, and MagSafe charging. Read: M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Spending $200 has never made more sense.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.