At its WWDC 2023 event, Apple saw fit to announce the new 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip alongside the Vision Pro headset. The company also announced a plethora of software updates which will ma made public later this year in September. It has been a little less than two weeks since the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air made its debut and the tech community is pretty pleased with the bigger display and chassis. In a new teardown, it is noted that the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air features a 25 percent bigger battery than the 13-inch model, but it will not last as long.
15-Inch and 13-Inch models of the MacBook Air feature different battery capacities but share the same battery life
In a new teardown video, it is detailed that the new 15-inch MacBook Air is very hard to repair. In fact, the machine was given a repairability score of just 3 out of 10. The device is pretty similar to the 13-inch MacBook Air but it comes with various changes on the inside. For instance, the bigger chassis houses an enhanced six-speaker setup compared to four on the 13-inch model. The bigger chassis on the 15-inch MacBook Air also made room for a 25 percent bigger battery but the battery life is not directly proportional to the increase in capacity.
Despite an increase in battery size, Apple promises similar usage compared to the 13-inch model. There are several reasons why the battery life is similar on both models with varying capacities. Both devices are powered by the M2 chip but with slightly different configurations. For instance, the base model of the 15-inch MacBook Air comes with an 8-core CPU, similar to the 13-inch model, but it features two additional GPU cores for enhanced graphical performance.
The reason why both models share the same battery life is that the 15-inch model has to power a bigger display. Furthermore, the improved speaker system also consumes more battery compared to the 13.6-inch version. With all of these factors part of the mix, both variants of the MacBook Air feature the same battery life.
The teardown also shows that the hinges of the new model seem to be reinforced to bare the weight of the bigger display. if you are looking to get your hands on the machine, check out why you should buy the 14-inch MacBook Pro instead of the MacBook Air. Apple will update both models of the MacBook Air with an M3 chip either later this year or early next year which will further bring battery enhancements to the table.
source https://wccftech.com/15-inch-macbook-air-battery-life-compared-to-13-inch-model/