Hands on with the new 15-inch MacBook Air [Gallery]

Apple just announced the brand new 15-inch MacBook Air, a larger sibling to the 13-inch model. The 15-inch Air is priced at $1299 and up, and is available to order today from the Apple Store.

We went hands-on with the 15-inch MacBook Air at the demo area at Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park. You can see the laptop in all its glory below with our photo gallery …

The 15-inch MacBook Air is very similar to the 13-inch in design and style, except with a larger display. Specifically, the laptop features a 15.3-inch screen with up to 500 nits of brightness. Apple says the new MacBook Air is the world’s thinnest 15-inch laptop, coming in at just 11.5mm.

It is also powered by the same M2 Apple Silicon chip as the 13-inch, which Apple says is 12x faster than the last-generation Intel MacBook Air. This means it also sports two Thunderbolt ports for IO, and a separate headphone jack. It is available in four finishes: midnight, starlight, space gray and silver.

The $1299 base configuration includes the M2 chip with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. You can build-to-order options including up to 24 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD. First 15-inch MacBook Air orders will be delivered starting Tuesday, June 13.

With the 15-inch Air coming in surprisingly cheap at just $1299, or $1199 for education, Apple also dropped the price on the 13-inch today. The 13-inch MacBook Air now starts at $1099, or $999 for education buyers. The M1 MacBook Air is still on sale at $999, or $899 for education.

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