APPLE SILICON
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air Will Finally Out-Ultra Intel’s Ultrabook
There’s something in the Air again
When Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air as “the world’s thinnest notebook” back in January 2008, he claimed that its competitors were 3 pound notebooks that were thick, with compromised displays, compromised keyboards, and lowered performance due to limited thermal envelopes. Speaking of envelopes, when Jobs famously slid a MacBook Air out of the manila variety, it set a new standard for thin and light laptops.
The Rise of the Ultrabook
In response to the MacBook Air, Intel announced the Ultrabook concept at Computex in 2011. Ultrabooks were required to be thin, emphasizing portability and long battery life. With Intel providing a $300 Million Ultrabook Fund and reduced power consumption via Ivy Bridge chips, sales were forecast to be 22 million laptops shipped in 2012, and 61 million shipped in 2013. But with high prices and an evolving specification, manufacturers fell 29 million units short of those projections.
