M2 MacBook Air Teardown: Apple's SECRET Revealed (& SSD)

[@MaxTechOfficial]

UPDATE: There's a chance the USI chip is just a WiFi chip, or Ultrawideband is built into the main WiFi chip. Can't confirm yet. Thermal throttle testing video coming soon! Subscribe now to join the Giveaway! Best Budget Fast Charger for M2 MacBook Air! ➡ geni.us/PvFr2 iFixit Pro Toolkit ➡ geni.us/8qkP Like our wallpapers? Download them here ➡ bit.ly/2WNc6Qw Best deals on M1 Macs on Amazon ⬇ NEW M2 MacBook Air ➡ geni.us/UlLRm5 M1 MacBook Air ($850 SALE) ➡ geni.us/1mJ41T 14" MacBook Pro 2021 ➡ geni.us/qYardlV

[@marcranger7421]

I can't wait to see if thermal throttling is a concern. Love the new look for this laptop.

[@OneStepEdit]

@@marcranger7421 I worry it will suffer from thermal throttling more than the earlier versions.

[@TechIconPlus]

Superb video . 👍 . I am waiting 😎 You relieved the secrets of Mac.

[@sdfcsgb_proandrade8567]

Bro how do you now when you win

[@sdfcsgb_proandrade8567]

Bro I'm always watching your videos for updates about apple

[@JanCh1011]

No matter what the reasons for the weak SSD are. Apple would have found a way if they wanted to. Simply supplying the device with 512 GB as standard would be an option. At least for the Pro model because it is supposed to be a Pro...

[@rrp6405]

you're right its more forgivable on the air

[@macalienx]

Would make so much sense, apples line up is a huge confusion. The gap between entry level machines and pro are too close. And the upgrades prices even get the all thing worst...

[@RyanEllerbe]

@@macalienx I bet anything they want a bigger gap but with chip shortages and prices they couldn’t. The air alone went up like $200.

[@JK533]

At the price of the new air (and pro as well) they should definitely have 512gb as starter and no 256gb anymore.

[@macalienx]

@@RyanEllerbe true, that situation with the chips are going to bring all those prices up... And the delivery times too.

[@divyansh8596]

The level of engineering that goes into these machines is absolutely INSANE!

[@aleksandrtimshin6374]

There are no such cool reviews in my country at all, I watch you with the help of a translator and am happy😁 Thank you🤝

[@mitch993]

Thanks for being the first channel to speak up about the SSD issues

[@joshuazhang4237]

I’ve watched this channel for years. By far, this video has been my most anticipated this year! They killed it! Fantastic! Keep on the great work!

[@vivaansethi]

Indeed!

[@RichardHallas]

Well, they certainly looked to kill the laptop!

[@jonnguyenmedia]

The internal looks so beautiful and well engineered. Apple does pay a lot of attention to details and design.

[@kutasimusic]

...and pays attention to your wallet too. 😛

[@jonnguyenmedia]

@@kutasimusic compared to the competition (same hardware, performance, and beautiful design; maybe Surface Pro and Dell XPS), the MacBook is well priced. We need to consider a lot of free high quality software from Apple such as MacOS, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Calendar, Notes, Find My... . So the price doesnt reflect just the hardware.. it's the entire ecosystem. 😁

[@NitinKumarYash]

You channel is awesome and i guess your were the first to do such a comprehensive test on Apple m2 silicon based macbook and found out its flaw. Hope your channel crosses 5 million next year.

[@stevenprentice9553]

It’s crazy how small the main motherboard is, how little space it takes up in the body. I do love how much attention to detail Apple put into the inside where most people will never see, look or appreciate.

[@edwinsteennis]

These reviews and teardowns really help me in deciding what to do, M1 Air, M2 Air or spending more and going for a 14 inch Pro. For me it works to understand how they are build and how they perform. I am not a creator who needs huge SSD’s and multiple 120Hz 4K or over displays so all of the extreme benchmarks do not really apply in my case. A teardown like this helps.

[@joelj.v]

Isn't it just amazing that Max always brings us quality teardowns before almost a lot of creators even get to do their reviews! Superb video! love these info-filled videos!

[@ericmarcus_]

Been watching this channel for a long time and will always be my go-to tech channel

[@4ss789]

Always love the dedication of this channel, Taking the machine apart before we even see the new keyboard and screen! Sad about the SSD though, I know that majority is okay with 8/256 but the upgrade price is madness

[@AvocadoAtrocity]

I think apple made the m1 much more powerful than even they anticipated. That messed up their M2 upgrade path. This is a path correction that will make sense again with M3.

[@hishnash]

The M2 is still quite a bit faster than the M1. I don't think apple expected every chip refresh to be a massive jump since most people keep Macs for 5+ years you need to consider the perfomance increase over a 5 year time range for the real world user noticeable improvement in perf. How does the M1 compared to an M4/5 that will be the companion that 95% of the M1 users get not vs the M2.

[@landon1136]

@@hishnash i dont get how people see this as only a small jump, 20 and 35 percent for cpu and gpu is a very significant jump

[@scott-richardson]

I'd say there was the issue of TSMC not having 3nm process ready just yet, but will be ready for M2 pro/max/ultra. Which I find could be strange really. Because then you'd have M2 at 5nm, then the rest of the M2 family on 3nm with much better performance.... AND when M3 pro etc comes out on 3nm, it won't be much better than M2 pro etc etc.

[@NathanHattonOfficial]

@@hishnash THIS. Tech KZbin, especially apple channels, always focus on year over year improvements when the large majority of people are not upgrading that often. “Small improvements” are still improvements that will just add on to however large of a jump a new device will be for 99% of consumers

[@eshaankapoor6531]

bro u going on every review and saying the same thing!

[@pepehdezhdez2473]

this is great I really appreciate teardown videos, as a computer engineer seeing the internals is one of the things I enjoy the most thanks for the content

[@aadilchan5338]

The only honest guy on KZbin planet, more power to you :)

[@naamamaria4188]

Among all the redesign and upgrade details of M2 MBA I never thought about the repairability topic.. In my opinion, improved repairability does mean extra worth, and is important to mention when counting pros and cons. Thank you for this great content ! 💖

[@bibasik7]

I would be very interested in seeing how this thin heatsink performs, and how much thermal pads would help. This heatsink has quite a lot of surface area, so you could probably fit a lot of thermal pads on it.

[@hishnash]

It is worth remembering there are regulations as to how hot the bottom of a laptop is permitted to get, if you are sure your never going to use your laptop on your lap and you have a metal case a thermal bridge to the underside of the case will really help with thermals but be very careful not to use the laptop on your lap or other meltable fabrics, if you do a mod like this you need to only use your laptop on a desk (and a desk that is not going to be damaged by hot things so not a nice wooden French polish). What would be a more interesting mod but would require someone with some tooling (many LTT or someone else) would be to remove the large speakers and run a heat pipe from the cpu to that area with a small fan.

[@mohmmedaljomaie]

this little thing is going to get hot and thermal throttled a lot!

[@Kazim28]

@@hishnash Add thermal pad+external fan, that’s going to be the best combination

[@DragonsinGenesisPodcast]

@@hishnash I doubt it would be that bad. The M1 Air with thermal pad exporting 4K video still has a cooler base than the 2015 MBP that’s streaming Netflix while on the charger. An M2 with thermal pads will only heat up while running prolonged heavy tasks like video rendering and exports and it still generates less heat for the performance than Intel chips, and no one exports video with their computer on their lap. You hit the button and set the computer aside to do its thing.

[@hung002003]

Best internal design I've seen in a laptop. Great job guys, thank you for the tear down!

[@octavianstincel7624]

Despite the slower SSD speed on base model and thermal enclosure limitation in certain use cases, this laptop is still the perfect machine to get for my parents since in their use will never face the “issues”.
PS: amazing channel with great reviews on products. Keep up with the great work!

[@JoshSherrill]

Going to stay with the M1 MBA for now but looking forward to seeing what they do with this new design for future iterations.

[@thecanmanification]

I think you generally shouldn’t be upgrading your laptop every 2 years lol. Seems a little excessive

[@JoshSherrill]

@@thecanmanification I agree but for many the M1 MBA was a stop gap measure to get away from Intel while they waited for the inevitable redesigns. In the case of the MBP 14”/16” it was probably worth the jump after 2 years for many but for this new M2 MBA or MBP it would be silly.

[@thecanmanification]

@@JoshSherrill I see, if that’s the case why don’t you trade in? You pay a lot less. I have a 4th gen iPad Air and I wasn’t planning on upgrading but the M1 chip is tempting me and if I trade in I basically get 75% off.

[@Kazim28]

@@thecanmanification can I trade in my m1 MacBook Air for the m2, even though the m2 is more expensive?

[@thecanmanification]

@@Kazim28 you can trade in anything man, it just takes some money off the top

[@QuinnRusnell]

That M2 Air redesign looks amazing both inside and out! Can't wait to see the testing. Would love to see comparisons with the M1 Air and M2 with 256GB and 512GB SSDs, as well as the 10 core GPU option with the M2 Pro.

[@kaboomkazoom]

This looks like a great machine but I'm bummed by the read/write speeds on the 256 Gb model

[@TheHasanJr]

I am impresseed with the air to be honest... This channel is the best channel for apple product reviews without doubt!!!

[@rammuelsamonte5264]

As a fan of MBA M2, I found this video unique and exciting. This is something that we, viewers, did not expect as a product review. Thank you so much for this! 🥰

[@Chris-qz4iv]

Awesome dissection! Very interested to see additional information comparing base 1 NAND chip 256 & 2 chip 512 for both everyday & pro users. How big a difference & how much of a recommendation to upgrade to 512 for each type of user.

[@paulw1075]

I have to say, I'm surprised the M1 seems to out perform the M2 in a lot of scenarios. The M2 is definitely a beautiful machine and I'd still love to have one though!

[@dashko_dmytro]

That's true only for the base models. 16/512 m2 outperforms m1, but... With that price it makes more sense to go m1 pro 14 inch model

[@garylapointe]

Are you certain a recently made M1 Air isn't set up in the same way with one chip for the 256GB model?

[@rbaker7596]

Hey guys, I have been a subscriber for a couple of years now and greatly appreciate the channel. Truthfully, I am leaving a comment because I am greatly in need of a new computer both personally and professionally. Anyway, thanks for everything!

[@aswinremesan]

The internals looks so beautiful and clean just like the outside of the mac. Apple created a masterpiece. Now much more easy to repair.

[@robinlee5270]

You guys are awesome, always my first reference before buying a new Mac these days, digging out all the tiny bits yet important information before making a buy decision, like the recent SSD speed limitation on the new 13” pro, thermal throttling of these machines, thanks for making us buying the right tools, cheers!

[@patrack7]

You guys are killing it with these reviews! Keep ‘em coming! 🔥🔥🔥

[@thelifeaquatica]

Has the way they adhere the keyboard changed at all? I wonder if they could orient the speakers to help move air flow to help provide a cooling effect.

[@davidmvermillion]

That’s some impressive engineering on the inside. Looking forward to more tests on it!

[@chen-haokuo499]

It’s so beautiful, but if Apple designs the base model with 16gb ram and 512gb SSD, that will make it more attractive. Thank Max Tech for these great content and information!

[@scottwilson4078]

I think a 8GB RAM & 256GB SSD makes sense for the base model - with TWO 128GB SSDs. And the upgraded model? 16GB RAM and two 256GB SSDs. But not $400 extra. Only $200.

[@brucestarr4438]

I think they got the specs right for the base 14" M1 MBP, 16GB/512GB. Wish they did the same on the M2 MBA.

[@interest1015]

For me, the new design aesthetic of M2 air is pretty enticing. But base on price hike especially outside the USA, the m1 air is still a valid pragmatic entry level choice in MacBook realm. And as always, I enjoy this type of your detailed and informative contents.

[@youarecorrectiamwrongbecau1338]

There is an urgent need of a *COMPARISION VIDEO* between a spec matched *Macbook Air M2 VS Base Macbook Pro 14* . Please, I think there is huge crowd who is confused between - *16GB/512GB M2 Air AND 16GB/512GB 8C/14C 14 inch M1 Pro* as these two can have similar performance for close price difference but an urge to buy a newer design and sleeker laptop makes things confusing. Plus single core scores are better with M2 so your detailed comparison would make things very helpful.

[@jmf61704]

As a self proclaimed tech geek, I always find myself smiling about how excited the team gets on all of the videos. Definitely one of my favorite channels on KZbin.

[@tvthecat]

They do a little fanboyism.

[@clixnite726]

The detailed comparisons are just amazing , love this work . I would keep sticking with M1 MacBook Air . Just love it , as a student can tell it's an overall package one can get .

[@tedrodenborn8172]

Cool tear down! I love being able to see the crazy engineering Apple is doing. Wish their software team was doing as well as their hardware team.

[@MrMootube1000]

You guys are getting so close to a million!!

[@robinsutherland2413]

You guys are doing a great job with the in depth analysis and comparisons. Keep up the great work. It is invaluable when choosing a machine to fit your workload and knowing it's limitations.

[@nikkofsx]

This looks so well engineered! However, I feel like the thermals might become an issue a bit worse than on the M1 MBA.

[@canadianty]

I really wish Apple would start designing reparability into their products.

[@CatherineBrande]

As a software engineering student, I was curious what components are is this fabulous machine, I'm glad I found this informative video. Thanks

[@MiguelLira]

That was a great review! It’s nice to see this system is intended to be to repair, and also how they maximized the battery size. It sucks they only included a single ssd chip, which may affect performance in some cases. Great video!

[@raymondgong6856]

That was a great review! It’s nice to see this system is intended to be to repair, and also how they maximized the battery size.

[@Saarnash86]

I'm really interested if you can add thermal pads for better heat dissipation. Interesting to see the insides of these machines.

[@iamasimbinzahid]

Your hard work is appreciated man.

[@akshitupadhyay9749]

I love Max Tech, the way they were so excited and concerned for us potential customers that they just opened up the complete thing with so much effort without even doing the first boot ✨, only for us to know whether the new air had new ssd's... 🙌❤

[@hubert0008]

My 2013 MBA still works perfectly fine after so many years of daily uses and I have only replaced the SSD with a larger size one. I plan to keep my next apple laptop for a long time too and the improved reparability in the new M2 MBA is definitely a plus.

[@philreed1605]

I’m still on MBA 2013 too, had to replace the battery but otherwise it’s all good. I think this M2 MBA means it is finally time for me to upgrade though I’ll miss the extra ports.

[@mdwidana]

Absolutely great short-teardown vid! I think this fanless hardware will become a groundbreaking thing in tech, I had watched a video from LTT about fanless-PC, but this particular thing came from a SFF architecture, which is cool (but also hot when it need to be our companion for heavy-duty 😂). Well explained Max Tech!

[@orangegd224]

As a student it doesn’t matter if it’s slower because it’s a normal things before , that I gotta wait a bit to open the files, it’s gotten faster and I don’t need extremely fast MacBook air

[@gimax4689]

Loved to see the RAM space management! The overall design language of Apple is getting cohesive across products, now more than ever! Love these teardowns!

[@andreroberts2472]

Really interested in seeing how added thermal paste reduces the internal temperature around the M2 chip. Also curious to see if an external laptop cooling pad would additionally help as well, especially when trying to push the M2 to it's highest rated performance with limited thermal throttling. Great video though guys, definitely staying tuned for your further tests.

[@RedskinsSupporter]

Second cuz god comes first 🙏

[@bartuch426]

🥸🥸🥸🥸🥸

[@KeyStorm]

Cool teardown Vadim!! Thanks for the contest.

[@MrThangby]

Thank you guys!

[@ShivrajChhabra]

Try upgrading the ssd by installing a new nand chip on the empty slot ?

[@jasonignatius7663]

Woahhh this is soo cool, I am ready always for things like this🎊🔥

[@msbarnes40342]

Since there is an empty spot for a second NAND chip, can we install a second chip?

[@igorsova]

New air is an amazing piece of design indeed.

[@juandanielrodriguezprada3991]

Wow! The design of the Macbook air is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

[@soundw5654]

I enjoyed that you went straight for the teardown, like right away.

[@sergiocecilio5938]

Great teardown video! greetings from Portugal!

[@spartanamacher]

I have been looking to get a MacBook two pro. Be nice to experience the difference between the two

[@cawacow]

I've been dealing with computers for years, looking at older models from Apple, the new ones are like a work of electronic art.

[@jgray95903]

Thanks for all the Apple Updates!

[@robcoll334]

Hi guys at Max Tech have you produced videos on installing a new replacement battery(batteries) and upping the Ram module (modules) to 16 GB. I bought a new MacBook Air M2 about 8 weeks ago in the UK on 30 January 2023, Surprisingly I noticed the for screws on the backplate, but I did not attempt to remove it. Your video short video was great.

[@thebuddercweeper]

I love that the first thing you do before even turning it on is take it apart

[@federicovalmassoni3827]

What are the yellow parts and stripes near by the speakers and all long the upper side? Moreover in which material has made the protector of ribbon cable?

[@gabrielrogers2971]

I can’t believe how beautiful and thin the Mac Book air is! I remember our old Macintosh 🤓 I held my breathe while you did the tear down! I’m like does this void warranty ! The technology is so amazing !! Thanks man!

[@CINEMATIK]

Wow. that motherboard is very small. So do you still recommend applying other brand thermal pads? does this really help for photo editing in Capture one?

[@Valmikitournepal]

Great effort to keep people updated..... From Nepal

[@HUrbieta]

Love your videos MT! - but on your next video could you just hold it in different possess to get a sense of the look and feel? Maybe one where you hold it on your side, next to your hip, like you hold a book when you are walking to class. And maybe another one holding it up against your chest like a 50’s girl waiting near her locker talking about her crush… hopefully this made sense. Thank you in advance.

[@comeandlearnwithme8470]

Thanks for the tear down. Good luck on your 1M subs!

[@lizzyhall3591]

I’ve been waiting for all of the MacBook Air content!

[@raphaelrocha18]

You guys are huuuge, the best in KZbin 🚀

[@forgottenwisdoms]

I don't want to but the full ifixit set. what screwdriver does the Mac need???

[@alejandroramose.8768]

Hey. Lifelong Windows user here. Currently I have the 2018 Lenovo Yoga 13" (i5 8th gen, 8 ram, 256 ssd). Considering getting into Macbook's world some day. Thoughts on the M2 MBA 16/512 vs M1 MBA 16/256 vs M1 MBA 16/512? How would any of them compare to my current one? WFH and college pov.

[@Jasmijn18]

What I love about your videos is how quickly, yet thoroughly topics are explained. It makes it much easier to comprehend all the information. I'm a university student from Europe and could definitely use a new laptop for my studies. The weight and slim design of this laptop is perfect for a student like me.

[@MelvsAmores]

You're the first I've seen in showing the internals of this MBA. Well done.

[@jerryw1608]

Does this unfilled space for a memory chip mean that I can upgrade a 256gb model to a 512gb with ease, or would this be software locked.

[@懒人摄影]

Enjoyed the video! Good job Max

[@victorschnor3028]

Great videos about the M2 MacBook Air, guys! Keep up the good work!

[@piiiiiiiiiiiinak]

I love your work and i am grateful for subscribing your channel. I hope in future you will do lot of great things. ❤️

[@JevoUK]

Can I ask has anyone done an X-ray of the M2 chipset? I'm looking at getting a new Mac and just thought why would Apple make 3 different chipsets? wouldn't it be cheaper to make one 24gig chip and disable 8 or 16gig when they configure them?

[@christinavaliouli2284]

That’s one of your best videos!!!!! Continue like this 💪🏼

[@inrri665]

Thanks guys for take the time for show us the real way that this MBA works!!

[@chrispalle9877]

That's a great teardown! Almost iFixit level!

[@gillysnyter]

I love the teardown, i also love the informational videos as well.

[@Marcin-Pilat]

Now i am wondering if I should go for M2 Air basic configuration or M1 Air with 16gb ram >_< This is confusing.

[@berkaytonyali]

First of all, your reviews are very successful. M2 Air's biggest handicap is definitely the ssd speed. It is a thin, elegant and performance device. It is a complete bedside device.

[@elijahthc]

Thanks for your hard work and diligence, gents!

[@carx1975]

this is the best channel to have a look at apples components thank you for the explanation on everything

[@sinhaljoshi7497]

Dose the 512gb version also come with single nand chip????

[@piotrkuczynski3912]

Great tear down. Your videos are very helpful with making a purchase decision.

[@DarkstalkerZero]

Difficult, but super informative video. Good work!

[@cliffordhamblen5477]

I wonder why they changed the position of the speakers. Maybe to make more room for battery.

[@techactuallity388]

In 2022, having 256 GB of SSD is not enough if you want to keep it for a long time (10 years for example)

[@TheMasmaz]

Hi, sorry is it possible to upgrade the RAM?