Apple's long-awaited 15-inch MacBook Air finally made it to the headlines yesterday at the WWDC 2023 keynote along with the updated versions of Mac Studio and Mac Pro. Just like its smaller-sized sibling, the 15-inch MacBook Air is powered by the Apple M2 chip and starts at $1,299 for the 8GB/256GB variant.
However, Apple has started shipping a new 70W USB-C power adapter for the MacBook Air lineup, replacing the older 67W adapter. When buying the 15-inch MacBook Air, users can choose between the 35W Dual USB charger and the newer 70W adapter. However, the new power adapter invites an additional charge of $20 when picked alongside the base variant of the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air.
Apple says M2 MacBook Air can go from zero to 50 percent battery level in around 30 minutes using the new adapter that's "compatible with numerous USB-C devices and charging cables." The company did its testing in April and May 2023 on pre-production 15-inch MacBook Air machines fitted with Apple M2, 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD. It paired the 70W power adapter with a USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable to test the fast charging capabilities.
The new 70W USB charger is also recommended for the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2016 and later) and the 14-inch MacBook Pro, according to its product page. When bought separately, Apple's 70W USB-C power adapter comes with a price tag of $59 and ships without the charging cable. It is compatible with older Macs as well, including the 12-inch MacBook and M1 MacBook Air that ships with a 30W adapter out-of-the-box.
At WWDC 2023, Apple also talked about the new features and changes coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, etc. However, the limelight of the show is the new Vision Pro AR headset that's set to release in early 2024.
