Of course the display will be worse than the iPad and the 14", its no diff than M1 just a bit brighter which most won't even know/use unless in the sun.
Actually it's no different than the 7 year old 13" 2015 mbpr we have lol.
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14-inch MacBook Pro to M2 MacBook Air?
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Actually it's no different than the 7 year old 13" 2015 mbpr we have lol.
"As an iPad Pro replacement the MBA will be great." Ouch.
I had overlooked the lower PPI of the M2 MacBook Air and the scaling issue. According to Daniel Rotar, who hosts the ZONEofTECH YouTube channel, if the ideal Retina 2X scaling is used, the M2 MacBook Air would have less effective screen space when compared with the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
M2 MacBook Air - 1280 x 832
14-inch MacBook Pro - 1512 x 982
If you fully understand the impact of scaling (I do not), please expand.
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Display on M2 MBA is 8+2bit (8bit + frc). Display M1 MBA is 8 bit.
And of course it is not same panel. Maybe similar difference as iMac 27” vs Studio display.
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It's overkill for now. Part of my calculus (M1 Pro here) was that I think it'll age better. I plan to keep my computer for a good 7+ years, if not longer. The last Mac I bought new was a 2011 13" MBP and while it was a chunky old boi, it worked fine. M1 Pro is absolutely more than I need today, but with how apps become more demanding to make full use of more powerful chips down the road, I think my 14" MBP will age quite nicely—and probably better than the M2 Air.
In fact, the M2 MacBook Air has a slightly lower PPI than its predecesor.
M2 MacBook Air - 224 PPI
M1 MacBook Air - 227 PPI
14" MacBook Pro - 254 PPI
It will be great because it runs macOS. The display will be much worse than the iPad’s.
The MacBook Air will use an effective resolution that doesn’t use 2x scaling, but something like 1,75x. This will make Text and graphics a bit blurry, and definitely not as sharp as on an iPad or a 14” MacBook Pro.
You can change that of course so that effective resolution does use 2x but that would reduce the available space.
I get it having Mac Lust over this machine (I certainly feel it), but I don't think the 14 for this is a good trade....
Depends on your needs - you need the extra power of the M1 Pro over the M2, or the extra memory/storage? do you need or care about the bigger/better screen, dual external monitors and extra connections or prefer thin and lighter laptop with longer battery life...?
The new M2 MBA is what i was looking for mobile machine - powerful, light, good battery life and 24GB is a nice bonus.
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I guess if you are concerned at all about resale value, I think MBA with all other extras will be a bag of hurt compared to MBP 14" base model. No one is going to pay for MBA anyway near the similar prices they do for MBP even if those were equal priced in new.
If you planing to resale it after 1-2 years, sure you should consider this… but most of the people holding their Macs for 5-10 years, so they care about their needs for the long run…
That's what I'm doing every time I get a new Mac. But then I get "upgraditis", and now I want to get rid of my year old Mac Mini M1 and 1.5 year old MBA M1...
I think you are going to have a rude awakening. The next 14 and 16 MBPs will be identical as well with M2 etc. This is how it will go for a while. They aren’t gonna redo the entire machine every year or 2.
I ordered an M2 MacBook Air but so far I am inclined to keep using the thicker and heavier 14-inch MacBook Pro I currently own. At least on paper, the disadvantages of the M2 MacBook Air display may be too many. I will list them below in no particular order.
In the end, I will place them side by side and make a decision.
- Older backlight technology (LED compared with mini-LED). Lower LED black levels may result in the notch being more noticeable.
- Less attractive thicker bezels
- Less dynamic range and brightness (500-nit SDR compared with peak 1600-nit HDR)
- Slower refresh rate (60Hz compared with 120Hz ProMotion)
- Lower pixel density (224 PPI compared with 254 PPI)
- Less resolution with the ideal 2X Retina scaling (1280 x 832 compared with 1512 x 982). This means a smaller effective screen size or less visible information on the screen.
- Smaller display (13.6” compared with 14.2”)
In the end, I will place them side by side and make a decision.
And all those things have nothing to do if someone is a power user or not lol, same as 12.9" M1, the thing you stare at all the time is the screen.
Unless you are buying base air 2, 14" is a much better deal with all the discounts going now.
Speakers will probably not be as good either. Also 14" although heavier is solid, wait for the flimsy complaints with the air 2.
Also if you like promotion you will be shocked with the air, going from a 14" to my 24" iMac when had it was VERY noticable, almost better to have 2 with no promotion if going cheap.
Don't forget the inferior speaker system and loss of the HDMI port / SD card slot / third Thunderbolt port.
Edit: oh, you were only talking about the display.
Both things are what I'm worried about with the Air M2. Speakers are not upward "firing" anymore but routed from somewhere around the hinges, also looking at the size of the machine they cannot be very large speakers. Also flimsiness is what I'm worried, just think about the size of the chassis in your head, bottom unit thickness is around 7-8 millimeters. So if there is even 5 mm room planned inside the machine for all the parts, then aluminium sheet thickness cannot be much more than 1 millimeters. Could be pretty flimsy and easily bending considering new shape where is has even sheets of metal on the top and bottom, unlike curves in M1 series where they reinforce structure and probably due to larger size those have thicker aluminium used.
Also interesting to see how well cooling works. Since this is the a design, I'm sure it has been designed also supporting upcoming new type of CPU's like M3 (3nm) which probably needs much less cooling. So I would not be surprised if M2 is running hot in this design. Due to size, I don't think there is room for much different heatsink than in Air M1, could be even hard to fit that inside the thinner chassis.
You get a ton more with a MBP, unless portability is paramount for you. Likely a financial hit also. How am I wrong?
I have cancelled my order for the MBA M2/16GB/1TB.
I am still using an Intel i5 MBA from 2020, and wanted to get on to Apple silicon. but i think the 'upgrade' is too minimal , and the proper 'upgrade' path is to a 14" MBP, with 'quality' components. I may wait to see what the new 14" MBP will look like before deciding.
do not underestimate thermals and display technology - these 2 alone are what will be the longevity/usefulness of a pc, no matter whether you're a light/pro/heavy user.. if your computer starts overheating/throttling, etc the life span starts to degrade ..
I am still using an Intel i5 MBA from 2020, and wanted to get on to Apple silicon. but i think the 'upgrade' is too minimal , and the proper 'upgrade' path is to a 14" MBP, with 'quality' components. I may wait to see what the new 14" MBP will look like before deciding.
do not underestimate thermals and display technology - these 2 alone are what will be the longevity/usefulness of a pc, no matter whether you're a light/pro/heavy user.. if your computer starts overheating/throttling, etc the life span starts to degrade ..
For me I cannot use a laptop or iPad without promotion so it’s a no brainer for me to get the MBP.
Also I’d need 16GB and minimum of 512GB so the price difference is so small. I’m not too worried about the extra 0.8 pounds.
Also I’d need 16GB and minimum of 512GB so the price difference is so small. I’m not too worried about the extra 0.8 pounds.
For what it's worth.. I went into the Apple store to check out the m2 MBA and kept looking at the M1Pro 14" MBP... Since it's avaiable in the refurb store.. I personally find that much more compelling than the m2 MBA.
The speakers on the 14-inch MacBook Pro are excellent. But to me the speakers are not a determining factor in purchasing a laptop. My daily driver before the 14-inch MacBook Pro was a ThinkPad X1 Carbon --which also has a 14-inch display, but weighs 2.5 pounds rather than 3.5 pounds. I miss the portability of the X1 Carbon.