Introduced last year, the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip was announced with Bluetooth 5.0 support. With the release of a 15-inch model during the WWDC 2023, the company said this Mac, which has the same specs as the smaller version, now offers a better standard with Bluetooth 5.3.
Interestingly enough, after the announcement, Apple updated the tech specs page of the 13-inch MacBook Air (via MacRumors) to acknowledge that this machine also supports the newer standard. That said, the company keeps expanding the support of this improved technology to more devices.
Bluetooth 5.3 enhances device reliability, energy efficiency, and user experience. Alone, this is responsible for making wireless experiences better. Since we are used to connecting several peripherals simultaneously to one device, offering more stability without losing the battery is always a win.
Besides that, Bluetooth 5.3 on more Apple devices could, eventually, bring the long-awaited Lossless quality over the air while streaming Apple Music songs, for example. During the rumor cycle of AirPods Pro 2, it was expected that these wireless earbuds could feature Lossless over the air, but this is nowhere near reality.
With Bluetooth 5.3 support, Apple could have added the Low Complexity Communication Codec (LC3) to stream songs, but it seems the company used this technology to improve FaceTime audio calls. In addition, combining the new standard with this codec could also let you connect several wireless earbuds to the same device. Currently, it’s possible to connect up to two AirPods from the same source, although this technology could be better applied.
It’s important to note that sometimes Apple offers better standards but doesn’t take full advantage of them. For example, the previous Apple TV 4K supported HDMI 2.1, which could have featured a 120Hz refresh rate, but Apple only brought this feature to the 2022 set-top box.
That being said, Apple could do the same if competitors start promoting improved codecs of their music streaming services with compatible earbuds. While we wait, at least we know the 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip has enhanced Bluetooth capabilities.
