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Apple announced a 15-inch MacBook Air last week. It hits store shelves on Tuesday and costs $1,299 for the base model or as much as $,2499 with upgraded RAM and storage.

The MacBook Air has come in 11-inch and 13-inch versions in the past, but this is the first time it’s had a 15-inch screen, which is the most popular laptop size. It could seriously boost Mac sales, which have been falling for the past two quarters. 

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If you upgraded your laptop or PC in the past two years — like hundreds of millions of people did during the pandemic — this new model isn’t worth an upgrade. But if you held out and need a new laptop, the 15-inch MacBook Air hits the sweet spot for most people in terms of price, capability, and portability. 

It’s probably the best laptop for most people if you like the MacOS operating system and plan to use it for everyday tasks like writing documents and spreadsheets, going to school, or using the internet. 

My quick takeaways:

Like:

  • Battery life is great. 
  • The big screen is better for doing work on the road. 
  • It’s thin and light enough to barely be noticeable in a backpack, despite the larger size. 

Don’t like:

  • The midnight finish is a fingerprint and smudge magnet.
  • The speakers are mounted in the computer’s hinge near the screen, and are only OK. 
  • Many people don’t mind Apple’s notch. I always notice it on a laptop. 

Worth upgrading to 512GB hard drive

The 15-inch MacBook Air is a very capable and powerful-feeling computer with battery life so long you won’t need to think about it: It lasts an entire day and only needs overnight charging. 

It’s fast, can handle what feels like infinite windows and apps at the same time, and has nearly all of the software I need to use. Some apps, like the FactSet financial database I use at work, don’t have Mac versions. But Mac does support native Microsoft Office and Google Chrome, as well as Apple’s own built-in alternatives, iWork and Safari, which covers many people’s primary needs.

The extra screen size makes a difference versus the 13-inch MacBook Air. It’s easier to put two documents side-by-side at the same time. The physical screen is not only bigger, but it has a 2880×1864 resolution, higher than the 13-inch model, which means you can fit more on the screen. 

The 13-inch M2 MacBook Air (silver) versus the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air (dark blue.)

Kif Leswing/CNBC

There isn’t much of a portability tradeoff from the extra screen size in my experience, either, mainly because it’s so thin. The 15-inch MacBook Air fits easily into a backpack or briefcase, and I didn’t really notice the extra 3.3 pounds while I was commuting with it on public transportation. 

While $1,299 is fairly expensive for a laptop, it does represent value in Apple’s lineup, especially for people who want a bigger screen. The 15-inch screen is now the second largest display Apple offers in a laptop, behind the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $2,499 and has a lot of features most people don’t need, like a more powerful processor, fans, and ports for external camera cards. 

However, I believe that most people will want more storage and should upgrade to 512GB of hard drive space, which brings the price to $1,499. 

Even gaming, which isn’t a primary focus for Apple, is pretty good on the Mac. While new titles like Diablo 4 aren’t yet available, a huge portion of my Steam library runs on the computer, including titles like Civilization 6 and Stardew Valley. 

Kif Leswing/CNBC

On the 15-inch MacBook Air, there are only two USB-C ports, but I don’t mind — recently, I’ve found myself using USB-A accessories much less. The more expensive MacBook Pro models come with HDMI ports to directly plug into TVs and monitors.

Meanwhile, the 13-inch MacBook Air got a price cut to $1,099, which makes it a good deal for people who don’t care about the larger screen, or people who plan to primarily use it while plugged into a monitor. However, I don’t think the smaller laptop is significantly more portable — they’re both light enough to stick in your bag and forget about.

Kif Leswing/CNBC

The two MacBook Air sizes have most of the same components, including similar M2 processors, which is currently Apple’s state-of-the-art offering for low-power laptops and tablets. Apple has now transitioned from Intel processors completely.

Apple also fixed the keyboards, and now they come with deep, clicky keys that are a joy to type on. There’s no more “Touch Bar,” which has been replaced by handy physical function keys that give one-button access to brightness, volume, and play/pause. Apple’s screens and webcams look great, and are usable even in broad daylight — although many models, including the 15-inch MacBook Air, come with a notch cut out at the top, like on the iPhone, which you might find distracting.

Kif Leswing/CNBC

All in all, the 15-inch MacBook Air is one of the first laptops from Apple since the M-series transition to be priced aggressively, and represents a great option for people who want a daily use laptop. It should be particularly attractive to people who haven’t recently upgraded. 

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Trump says he talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook after China tariff rollback

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Trump says he talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook after China tariff rollback

Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, watches during the inauguration ceremonies for President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President JD Vance, left, in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.

Shawn Thew | Afp | Getty Images

President Donald Trump said Monday that he talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook after the U.S. and China agreed to suspend most tariffs for 90 days.

Wall Street and Apple investors cheered the pause on Chinese tariffs. Apple stock was up 6% in trading on Monday, versus 3% for the Nasdaq.

“I spoke to Tim Cook this morning, and he’s going to, I think, even up his numbers,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “$500 billion, he’s going to be building a lot of plants in the United States for Apple. And we look forward to that.”

Apple previously said in February it would spend $500 billion to expand many of its operations in the U.S., including assembling AI servers in Houston.

Any cooling of a U.S.-China trade war is expected to boost Apple, which does the majority of its device production in the country, and also counts the region as its third-largest by sales.

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Still, it’s not clear how much Monday’s announcement immediately helped Apple.

In April, most of Apple’s most important products, such as smartphones and computers, received exemptions on some of the highest 145% tariffs, but there are still 30% tariffs on Chinese imports even after Sunday’s deal. Apple still faces 10% tariffs in some of its secondary production locations, such as India and Vietnam.

The Trump administration wants Apple to bring device production, including iPhone manufacturing, to the United States, a move that many experts believe would be unlikely and expensive.

Earlier this month, Cook told investors about the company’s tariff strategy on an earnings call. He said that Apple is currently sourcing American-bound products from production locations in Vietnam and India, but didn’t want to speculate beyond June, calling the situation “difficult to predict.”

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.

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U.S.-China breakthrough send tech and chip stocks soaring

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U.S.-China breakthrough send tech and chip stocks soaring

HANGZHOU, CHINA – JUNE 3, 2024 – The NVIDIA logo and the Apple logo are pictured in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, China, June 6, 2024. On June 5, Eastern time, Nvidia’s stock market value exceeded $3 trillion, officially surpassing Apple’s market value and becoming the world’s second largest technology giant by market value. It is worth noting that in just over 3 months, Nvidia’s market value soared from $2 trillion to $3 trillion. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Global technology and chip stocks rallied on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to pause most tariffs on each other’s goods.

Technology stocks — such as semiconductor firms and smartphone makers — have been hit hard as trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies threatened to disrupt supply chains and hurt some of the biggest U.S. businesses.

But investors breathed a sigh of relief after talks between the U.S. and China over the weekend yielded a temporary pause in “reciprocal” tariffs.

In the U.S., Nvidia, which still faces a number of restrictions on the chips it is allowed to ship to China, was around 4% higher in premarket trade, while AMD was up 5%. Broadcom was also around 5% higher, along with Qualcomm.

Other companies in the semiconductor supply chain also jumped. Marvell, which last week postponed a previously scheduled investor day due to macroeconomic uncertainty, surged 7.5% in premarket trade.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chipmaker, saw its U.S.-listed shares jump around 4% in the premarket. TSMC’s Taiwan-listed stock closed before the tariff announcement.

In Europe, ASML, a supplier of critical machinery required to manufacture the most advanced chips, rallied 4.5% in early trade. Infineon was also sharply higher.

Semiconductors and some electronics received an exemption from President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs last month, but the U.S. signaled the reprieve was temporary and that these products could still be in line for special duties.

Investors have been concerned about the impact on major tech stocks, especially those with exposure to China such as Apple and Amazon, whose shares have been under pressure this year.

Apple, which still makes 90% of its iPhones in China, said during its earnings report this month that it expects tariffs will add $900 million to its costs for the current quarter. Apple shares were more than 7% higher.

Amazon was up more than 8% in premarket trade Monday. Many sellers on Amazon rely on Chinese products.

U.S.-listed Chinese tech stocks also surged. Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com were higher, alongside internet firm Baidu.

“With US/China clearly on an accelerated path for a broader deal we believe new highs for the market and tech stocks are now on the table in 2025 as investors will likely focus on the next steps in these trade discussions which will happen over the coming months,” Daniel Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, said in a note on Monday.

“This morning is a huge win for the bulls and a best case scenario post this weekend in our view.”

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Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4 billion data privacy settlement

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Google agrees to pay Texas .4 billion data privacy settlement

A Google corporate logo hangs above the entrance to the company’s office at St. John’s Terminal in New York City on March 11, 2025.

Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

Google agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle allegations of violating the data privacy rights of state residents, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday.

Paxton sued Google in 2022 for allegedly unlawfully tracking and collecting the private data of users.

The attorney general said the settlement, which covers allegations in two separate lawsuits against the search engine and app giant, dwarfed all past settlements by other states with Google for similar data privacy violations.

Google’s settlement comes nearly 10 months after Paxton obtained a $1.4 billion settlement for Texas from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to resolve claims of unauthorized use of biometric data by users of those popular social media platforms.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement on Friday.

“For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” said Paxton.

“This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans’ privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust.”

Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said the company did not admit any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement, which involves allegations related to the Chrome browser’s incognito setting, disclosures related to location history on the Google Maps app, and biometric claims related to Google Photo.

Castaneda said Google does not have to make any changes to products in connection with the settlement and that all of the policy changes that the company made in connection with the allegations were previously announced or implemented.

“This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” Castaneda said.

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”

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