Apple launched the new M3 MacBook Air last month, offering more powerful performance, a more durable Midnight finish, and other upgrades. In a new interview this week, Apple product marketing exec Evan Buyze offered an interesting look at how Apple optimizes the MacBook Air for travel – specifically on a plane.

Speaking to The Points Guy, Buyze explained that Apple puts new products through multiple rounds of testing in what’s called the “reliability testing lab.”

“[It] simulates a lot of different customer experiences,” he said. “[In the lab,] they do a lot of different things to be able to make sure that whatever situation you are in, whether it’s in your backpack or you’re carrying it, it meets our standards for reliability.

Buyze also emphasized connectivity upgrades with the new MacBook Air, including Wi-Fi 6E support, as well as how the M3 chip and Apple Silicon enable the MacBook Air to be as thin and light as possible.

“How do we get that thin-and-light design that fits on the tray table?” Buzye asked. He answered by explaining that the “transition to Apple silicon [processor chips] … was really the game changer where we could actually make these new designs that we had only imagined making before.”

The laptops now support Wi-Fi 6E, which “has twice-as-fast speeds” with “increased wireless spectrum,” according to Buyze. This means that when you’re on a train or in an airport or hotel with a congested network, the new antennas can still connect to the internet without any hiccups.

Read the full interview over on The Points Guy webpage.

Apple launched the new M3 MacBook Air last month, offering more powerful performance, a more durable Midnight finish, and other upgrades. In a new interview this week, Apple product marketing exec Evan Buyze offered an interesting look at how Apple optimizes the MacBook Air for travel – specifically on a plane.

Speaking to The Points Guy, Buyze explained that Apple puts new products through multiple rounds of testing in what’s called the “reliability testing lab.”

“[It] simulates a lot of different customer experiences,” he said. “[In the lab,] they do a lot of different things to be able to make sure that whatever situation you are in, whether it’s in your backpack or you’re carrying it, it meets our standards for reliability.

Buyze also emphasized connectivity upgrades with the new MacBook Air, including Wi-Fi 6E support, as well as how the M3 chip and Apple Silicon enable the MacBook Air to be as thin and light as possible.

“How do we get that thin-and-light design that fits on the tray table?” Buzye asked. He answered by explaining that the “transition to Apple silicon [processor chips] … was really the game changer where we could actually make these new designs that we had only imagined making before.”

The laptops now support Wi-Fi 6E, which “has twice-as-fast speeds” with “increased wireless spectrum,” according to Buyze. This means that when you’re on a train or in an airport or hotel with a congested network, the new antennas can still connect to the internet without any hiccups.

Read the full interview over on The Points Guy webpage.