UPDATE: Jun. 8, 2023, 5:06 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air's first-ever discount on Amazon and information about its education pricing in the Apple Store. It's still full price at Best Buy.
If the strain of working on a 13-inch laptop is finally getting to you after three years of remote and hybrid work, we have some great news: Apple announced a 15-inch MacBook Air at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Monday.
This new MacBook Air's 15.3-inch display is now the largest ever of Apple's lightweight laptop series, which previously topped out at 13.6 inches, yet it still weighs only 3.3 pounds. It'll be an appealing option for someone who wants a machine that feels both portable and actually practical to work on. (Seriously, love yourself — stop using split screen on a 13-inch display.)
Apple didn't apply the "go big or go home" mentality to most of this laptop's specs, however. It has the same custom M2 chip, Liquid Retina display, 18-hour battery life, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and fanless design as last summer's 13-inch MacBook Air (an excellent machine, for the record). It also comes with two Thunderbolt ports, MagSafe charging, and a headphone jack. Besides its size, the 15-inch model's only notable upgrade is a built-in sound system with six speakers, up from four.
If you're looking to upgrade, it's not a bad idea to get ahead of the crowd and put in a preorder ahead of its official debut on Tuesday, June 13. Here's how:
Where to buy the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air
The new 15-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299, but you can reserve it for less at two retailers as of Thursday, June 8:
- Amazon has it on sale starting at $1,249.99 — a $49.01 savings.
- The Apple Store itself has it marked down to $1,199 (a $100 savings) for students, teachers, and school staff members; you'll need a .edu email address to be eligible. It comes with a bonus $150 gift card as part of Apple's annual Back to School sale (live until Oct. 2).
It's also available for preorder at Best Buy, albeit at full price.
The 15-inch MacBook Air comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage right out of the box, but you can bump that up to 16GB or 24GB of RAM and 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage. Take your pick from four finishes: midnight, starlight, silver, and Apple's classic space gray.
