Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023)
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GENERAL USE: Very Good—8.4/10
GAMING/AI: Fair—6.6/10
ENG/DESIGN: Good—7.6/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Very Good—8.4/10
CONTENT CREATION: Very Good—8.3/10
PORTABILITY: Very Good—8.9/10
BATTERY: Excellent—9.3/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Very Good—8.0/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Good—7.6/10
SIZE: 15.3"
Evaluation
Pros
- Lightweight and thin design
- Fanless, runs silently
- Excellent keyboard and build quality
- Superb webcam and speakers
- Good screen color accuracy
Cons
- No touchscreen functionality
- Limited port selection
- Moderate 3D performance
- Higher price point
Ratings by Category
Build Quality:5.0
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability. Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify. Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
Operating Noise:5.0
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
Keyboard Quality:5.0
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Battery Life:4.8
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
Portability:4.7
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
General Use:4.5
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
The most important factors in this score include CPU performance, amount of RAM, screen quality, storage, and battery life.
Keyboard quality, speaker quality, low fan noise, heat management, and to a lesser extent webcam quality are all moderately important factors for this score.
Software Development:4.5
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Content Creation:4.5
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, and video editing work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
General Use Screen Quality:4.5
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Engineering & Design:4.3
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) excels in engineering and design use due to its powerful Apple M2 processor and integrated 10-core GPU, which together provide robust performance for computationally intensive tasks. Its high-quality IPS screen displays sharp images with excellent color accuracy, and at 3.3 pounds with a silent, fanless design, it offers a combination of portability and a distraction-free working environment that is ideal for professionals.
Gaming & AI:3.7
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is rated fair for 3D tasks primarily due to its integrated Apple M2 GPU which, although capable, isn’t as powerful as dedicated gaming or professional graphics cards, and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz which is standard but not ideal for high-frame-rate 3D applications.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $1,599 | ||
Release Date | June 1, 2023 | ||
Overall Dimensions | 13.4'' x 9.4'' x 0.45'' | ||
Weight | 3.3 lbs | ||
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | Apple M2 | ||
Graphics | M2 (8C) | ||
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus | No | ||
RAM | 16 GB | ||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | ||
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | 15 Hours | ||
Battery Capacity | 66.6 Wh | ||
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | 15.3" | ||
Display Technology | IPS | ||
Resolution | 2880 x 1864 | ||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | ||
Display Brightness | 501 nits | ||
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score  | 10/10 | ||
Portability Score | 9/10 | ||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | ||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | ||
Keyboard Lighting Color | White | ||
Warranty Period | 1 year | ||
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | 10/10 | ||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | ||
Webcam | 1080p | ||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | ||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | ||
Number Pad | No | ||
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | 0 | ||
USB-C ports | 2 | ||
USB-C Charging | Yes | ||
Display Outputs | 1 | ||
Thunderbolt Version | 3 | ||
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Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | June 2023
"The Apple MacBook Air 15 is boringly good. The new MacBook Air 15 is a very good, but also boring device, because apart from the larger screen and the higher price, there are no differences compared to the smaller MacBook Air M2 from last year. No new processor, no additional ports, just the usual basic hardware - but the overall package is extremely good and it simply works. Above all, the lack of fans is an aspect that should not be underestimated in everyday use. In our opinion, the Air could be a lot better, but Apple goes easy on itself here."
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
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Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
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Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.
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