15" M2 MacBook Air is too heavy

[Fozziebear71]

Welcome to the future:

LG Gram SuperSlim review: LG’s thinnest laptop with great battery life

How can you get the MacBook Air 15 when the SuperSlim exists?!

www.laptopmag.com

Windows laptop with an Intel chip. 🤣. No thanks.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

“Just two”?! 🙈

Here are, at least, three other major ones.

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1. No PWM — a HUGE difference for those who are sensitive to it.​

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2. For the 15”, a substantially bigger display.​

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3. Much better battery life.​

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Those add up to a big difference for many people!

1. Seriously? How many people are offended by MBP PWM? Three?
2. The larger MBA is only a bigger display if compared against the smaller MBP, which is an unfair comparison.
3. Battery life in MBPs is superb. My M2 MBP battery does not run down in an entire day. "Much better battery life" means little IMO.

Suggesting those three are major and add up to some big positive difference, compared against MBP's far more power, far more RAM, better displays, better speakers, more ports, more i/o throughput, more memory bandwidth and far more external display capability is just silly. In reality MBAs save weight and cost at huge loss of competence.

Which is all fine. MBAs are beautiful boxes and are perfect for many folks. I frequently recommend them. But they are not comparable to MBPs.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

You got to be kidding me, too heavy? 🤣

 

[Allen_Wentz]

In tried out the MBA 15” yesterday and it felt fine. The MBP 14” feels heavier than I’d like. I use a MBP 13” and the weight is good. In looking up some details, I was surprised to see that the MBP 13 is actually lighter than the MBA 15”.

The weight of the old 13 MBP and current 13 MBA is perfect

I’d like Apple to design lighter laptops.

My guess (and a little weight change is to me irrelevant) is that Apple will use the higher transistor density of their M3 SoC to do exactly that, design lighter laptops. But personally I do not expect it to happen quickly because the current MBA/MBP offerings are already spectacular.

 

[h.gilbert]

1. Seriously? How many people are offended by MBP PWM? Three?
2. The larger MBA is only a bigger display if compared against the smaller MBP, which is an unfair comparison.
3. Battery life in MBPs is superb. My M2 MBP battery does not run down in an entire day. "Much better battery life" means little IMO.

Suggesting those three are major and add up to some big positive difference, compared against MBP's far more power, far more RAM, better displays, better speakers, more ports, more i/o throughput, more memory bandwidth and far more external display capability is just silly. In reality MBAs save weight and cost at huge loss of competence.

Which is all fine. MBAs are beautiful boxes and are perfect for many folks. I frequently recommend them. But they are not comparable to MBPs.

Yeah sorry I have to agree with the Saturn guy.

MBA 15 is a bigger screen for less weight than the 14 Pro. Battery is around 25% better.

MBP has better hardware but at the cost of size and weight. You don't decide which one is more suitable for someone.

 

[Shirasaki]

1. Seriously? How many people are offended by MBP PWM? Three?

Just because you are not affected by it or you don’t know people around you being affected by it doesn’t mean this negative effect doesn’t exist.
There are several threads in this forum alone discussing PWM on iPhone. By virtue of how PWM works to control brightness, the stress to eyes can be comparable to someone with epilepsy.
Go figure.

 

[deevey]

You should read pretty much all reviews for LG Gram. They said LG Gram looks stunning, weights stunningly light, but feels like cheap plastic and sometimes feels a bit flimsy. That's magnesium alloy material behaviour for lightness you want.
.
You want a solid, sturdy laptop, I think this is the maximum weight threshold for aluminium unibody construction + dense battery. You can hollow it more, lessening the battery a bit more, but you'll ended up with a somewhat flimsy feeling laptop which you'll complain again.
.
Titanium? Well...don't you even dare to ask. 100% titanium unibody laptop will have an astronomical price tag. The only titanium laptop on the market today is Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga, and it's only the lid that's titanium. The rest is still magnesium alloy.

I always think, magnesium and lithium batteries. What could go wrong ?

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Yeah sorry I have to agree with the Saturn guy.

MBA 15 is a bigger screen for less weight than the 14 Pro. Battery is around 25% better.

MBP has better hardware but at the cost of size and weight. You don't decide which one is more suitable for someone.

Like I said, I often recommend MBAs for cheaper and lighter, lower end. But the 16" MBP has the largest display size, not the 15" MBA. And IMO the MBA's additional battery competence provides negligible value add when all the 2023 Mac laptops provide more than adequate battery life.

 

[PowerButton]

I actually agree with OP.

I just sold my 13” M2 Air based on all the reviews of the 15“ version. I then went to the Apple Store with every intention of getting the 15” to bring home, only to find that I didn’t really love it. I left empty handed.

The larger screen is every bit as good as I’d hoped, but the form factor has an unexpected density to it. Whilst the 13” is thin and light, the 15” feels thin and not light. I say “not light” vs. heavy because it’s really not heavy, but it feels well engineered and there’s a surprising heft to it.

I’m deliberating whether I should get the 15” over another 13”. Fortunately I can take my time thinking about it as it’s really just a second machine for my den and around the house.

Complaining about weight for a machine that’s a “second machine for my den and around the house”, is a little redundant. I’m sure you also don’t own a pair of Goodyear welt shoes for the same reason, lol. 🤣

 

[transpo1]

I think this actually speaks to the fact that the MBP Pro 14" is a light weighing computer. it's almost as light as an MBA. That's pretty cool.

It’s still 1.5 pounds heavier than the MacBook 12” (2017). That is the Mac against which we should evaluate lightness.

 

[arcite]

LG has
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EU ==== 1.7 TFLOPS

Macbook air has
Apple M2 GPU 8-Core ===== 2.9 TFLOPS

Which is better?

 

[throAU]

What's the point of calling it an Air if it weighs the same as a MacBook Pro.

Its cheaper.

 

[throAU]

It’s still 1.5 pounds heavier than the MacBook 12” (2017). That is the Mac against which we should evaluate lightness.

Not for 15" class machines.

 

[arcite]

Aging people will simply go for the larger screen for readability (even though resolution is the same); Apple knows their market.

Also, regarding ports; there are many dongles on the market made just for the air, adding USB/HDMI/ect...

 

[jlnr]

LG has
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EU ==== 1.7 TFLOPS

Macbook air has
Apple M2 GPU 8-Core ===== 2.9 TFLOPS

If you need GPU power at all, then you should go for the M1 Pro or anything with an AMD/NVIDIA chip. But the GPU doesn't really matter for Office use or software development, and that's where the Air shines (in my opinion).

 

[NewUsername]

There is only a 90 gram difference in weight between the 15" M2 MacBook Air and the 14" MacBook Pro. What's the point of calling it an Air if it weighs the same as a MacBook Pro.

Apple needs to add more high quality materials such as carbon and magnesium to get the weight down more.

I do agree to some extent. When the MacBook Air was introduced in 2008, I thought: “Imagine how much it will weigh in 10-15 years”.

In reality, though, the weight of the 13" models have remained very similar.
2008: 1.36 kg
2010: 1.32 kg
2018: 1.25 kg
2022: 1.24 kg

On the other hand, though, I think an even lighter product wouldn’t feel very “premium” anymore.

 

[jagolden]

I bought an M1 Pro 16” as needed a bigger screen. Holy porker. Compared to its Intel 16” replacement it’s ridiculous. I would have loved the Air 15” but it wasn’t available back then. I remember my Dell XPS had white carbon fibre wrapped around the frame and weight wise it was superior to anything Apple builds.

Really? The 16” is not heavy, period. What Intel 16” did you replace it with?

 

[salamanderjuice]

Really? The 16” is not heavy, period. What Intel 16” did you replace it with?

I think they replaced an Intel 16" MBP with a 16" M series MBP. The 16" Intel MBP weighs 4.3 lbs while the M series weighs 4.7lbs.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Apple's TiBooks worked fine. I doubt if any commercial product is pure titanium; Ti is invariably alloyed.

The 2001 Ti PBG4 was my first Apple product (and username origin story). That laptop felt flimsy and delicate compared to the 2003 Aluminium PBG4, which is why I upgraded to the 2003 model. Unless Apple has better Titanium molding processes now, I would not want to go back to the flimsiness of the Ti model.

 

[brofkand]

I bought an M1 Pro 16” as needed a bigger screen. Holy porker. Compared to its Intel 16” replacement it’s ridiculous. I would have loved the Air 15” but it wasn’t available back then. I remember my Dell XPS had white carbon fibre wrapped around the frame and weight wise it was superior to anything Apple builds.

The Pro machines are really purpose-built for Pro workflows right now. That means they're heavy and fat. A refreshing about-face from the touch bar era. The lineup is actually fairly clear right now. If you need a Pro machine, you generally know why you need it. Everybody else buys a MacBook Air.

 

[ttyRazor]

Wider laptops can feel heavier, especially if picked up by one hand, because of leverage. More weight is distributed further away so more force is applied to your hand than a narrower but thicker laptop of the same weight.

 

[MrMojo1]

MB Air 13" Weight 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)

MB Air 15" Weight 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)

Difference: .6 lbs (edit, not oz)

The complain about the weight is ridiculous.
Similarly like the old complaints about hikers who complain about the slightest weight of clothing.
For example... need lightweight windbreaker to block out wind or what not...
One brand weighs 8 oz while another similar brand weighs 5 oz.
Some hikers complain that the 8 oz. windbreaker is SO Bulky and Heavy! 🤦‍♂️

I used to have an old Toshiba laptop that weighed 10 lbs that I lugged around for Years and that's not including the cord/charger and mouse.
My current laptop weighs ~4 lbs which is considered lightweight.
Carrying a 3.3 lb MB Air is nothing to complain about.
Maybe go work out and exercise if 3.3 lbs is heavy for some.
Everything is relative.

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

MB Air 13" Weight 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)

MB Air 15" Weight 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)

Difference: .6 oz ~ 0.037 lbs

The complain about the weight is ridiculous.
Similarly like the old complaints about hikers who complain about the slightest weight of clothing.
For example... need lightweight windbreaker to block out wind or what not...
One brand weighs 8 oz while another similar brand weighs 5 oz.
Some hikers complain that the 8 oz. windbreaker is SO Bulky and Heavy! 🤦‍♂️

I used to have an old Toshiba laptop that weighed 10 lbs that I lugged around for Years and that's not including the cord/charger and mouse.
My current laptop weighs ~4 lbs which is considered lightweight.
Carrying a 3.3 lb MB Air is nothing to complain about.
Maybe go work out and exercise if 3.3 lbs is heavy for some.
Everything is relative.

I think you need to check your calculations. 3.3 - 2.7 = 0.6 lbs (not oz) difference or 0.27 kgs.
That bring said, if you want a bigger screen it's going to weigh more. Nothing new there.

 

[ThomasJL]

👶

"I want it to be thin, light, durable, fast, powerful, well cooled, not thermal throttle, look and feel premium and be cheap."

What’s wrong with that? Steve Jobs strove to make prices lower over time. It’s only Tim Cook who wants to maximize profits by charging as much as he can.

 

[CalMin]

As masotime said, you're basically blaming Apple for your perception of the laws of physics (torque). Apple's marketing that you cited is factually correct. Weight is an objective measurement, not a perception.

As it turns out, if you calculate the ratio of screen area to pounds, the 15" Air beats out every other Apple laptop. That includes the 13" Air. (Screen area per pound of weight is 32.3 on the 15" Air whereas it's 31.3 on the 13" Air).

Goodness. I'm not blaming Apple for anything!

Apple never marketed this product has weighing “nothing at all”, which is impossible. Even air has weight — almost 15 pounds per square inch. So in that regard, Apple is being conservative with their use of the term “Air”, wouldn’t you say?

I never meant to imply that I thought it would weigh nothing at all.

Complaining about weight for a machine that’s a “second machine for my den and around the house”, is a little redundant. I’m sure you also don’t own a pair of Goodyear welt shoes for the same reason, lol. 🤣

I wasn't complaining about anything - I was just sharing my thoughts. As a second machine for my den, the 13" Air was a grab and go device. It felt iPad like in many ways. I (misguidedly) thought the 15" would feel similar but with a bigger screen for my aging eyesight. When I picked it up for the first time it really feels closer to the MacBook Pro 14" than the 13" MacBook Air, and I was not expecting that.

Care to explain what you mean by the Goodyear welt shoes comment? I don't follow.