2 weeks of daily use, Base Midnight M2 MBA

[aajeevlin]

For those of you having owned the 14" Pro. Is it noticeably heavier of thicker than the Air M2? (I hope so). I haven't got to try the new Pro, but changed my 13" Pro for an MBA M2, 8 GHz CPU/10 GHZ GPU, 16GB/512GB. And I love it. The most important thing for me is that it's light and portable.

Although I started wondering if I was doing something stupid when I didn't order the Pro 14" yesterday when it was a 15% discount. I have to return the Air I have now and wait for another one that won't be coming before the end of September. The reason? The one I'm getting was on a 20% discount.
So I panicked yesterday and ordered a base model MBA M1 to keep in the mean time. Hope I did the right thing and that I won't regret not buying the Pro. Suspected that it was too big and heavy.
Ah... Life of a digital nomad 🙄

Yea the thickness is pretty obvious when you put them side by side on the table. You can also feel it when you pick it up and try to hold it like a book. For me the M2 air is just right (not to say that the 14 is that much worst). As for weight, it’s 400g. You can also feel it a bit for sure.

But the built quality of the pro is level above the M2 I’ll say that, just felt more put together. I went with the M2 in the end to save money also this isn’t my primary machine. However if this was my one and only laptop I’d go with the pro. But that’s just me.

 

[lambertjohn]

I have the base m2 Air in midnight and it's a great little computer. However, I went head and sent it back to Apple and turned around and bought the 16gb/512gb version. My reasoning was, if I'm going to spend $1200 on this wonderful little computer, I'm going to spend a few hundred more and get something that I won't have to upgrade for at least 4 more years. That's probably what Apple wants you do to anyway, right? I'm always astonished at how much money they make off of us sheep. Baaaaa!

 

[torbjornhb]

Yea the thickness is pretty obvious when you put them side by side on the table. You can also feel it when you pick it up and try to hold it like a book. For me the M2 air is just right (not to say that the 14 is that much worst). As for weight, it’s 400g. You can also feel it a bit for sure.

But the built quality of the pro is level above the M2 I’ll say that, just felt more put together. I went with the M2 in the end to save money also this isn’t my primary machine. However if this was my one and only laptop I’d go with the pro. But that’s just me.

Thanks so much for your kind reply 🙂
I think the Air is right for me... The price was almost the same, but I really prefer the portability. The crazy thing is that I have gotten two ultra light laptops from Samsung and Huawei, but I find it so much harder to work on, and therefore I might go with the base M1 Air until the M2 Air arrives.

 

[aajeevlin]

I have the base m2 Air in midnight and it's a great little computer. However, I went head and sent it back to Apple and turned around and bought the 16gb/512gb version. My reasoning was, if I'm going to spend $1200 on this wonderful little computer, I'm going to spend a few hundred more and get something that I won't have to upgrade for at least 4 more years. That's probably what Apple wants you do to anyway, right? I'm always astonished at how much money they make off of us sheep. Baaaaa!

I too reached this conclusion last night after having the base for the last three days. It just grows on you after you start to use it.

 

[Mcdevidr]

How does one get the 8ghz model? That thing must be blazing fast not to mention blazing hot.

 

[DHagan4755]

How does one get the 8ghz model? That thing must be blazing fast not to mention blazing hot.

I was watching a setup video of the cooling system for it.

 

[Tagbert]

For those of you having owned the 14" Pro. Is it noticeably heavier of thicker than the Air M2? (I hope so). I haven't got to try the new Pro, but changed my 13" Pro for an MBA M2, 8 GHz CPU/10 GHZ GPU, 16GB/512GB. And I love it. The most important thing for me is that it's light and portable.

Although I started wondering if I was doing something stupid when I didn't order the Pro 14" yesterday when it was a 15% discount. I have to return the Air I have now and wait for another one that won't be coming before the end of September. The reason? The one I'm getting was on a 20% discount.
So I panicked yesterday and ordered a base model MBA M1 to keep in the mean time. Hope I did the right thing and that I won't regret not buying the Pro. Suspected that it was too big and heavy.
Ah... Life of a digital nomad 🙄

I don’t own either but I have tried them both out at the Apple store and there is a lot of difference between how they feel in the hand.

The MBA is noticeably lighter and thinner. The MBA is about the thickness of the main bottom case of the MBP without the lid. The weight is more noticeable. It feels perfectly natural to pickup the MBA with one hand while it is open. If you do that with the MBP you will quickly bring your other hand around to avoid dropping it.

 

[Zest28]

Really? The 14” MBP and the M2 MBA feel the same weight to me.

I had both in my hands at the same time and really couldn’t tell the difference. I even tried to hold it for a couple minutes too see if the 14” would perhaps wear me down, but nope. Felt the same as the M2 MBA.

 

[fisherking]

Really? The 14” MBP and the M2 MBA feel the same weight to me.

I had both in my hands at the same time and really couldn’t tell the difference. I even tried to hold it for a couple minutes too see if the 14” would perhaps wear me down, but nope. Felt the same as the M2 MBA.

Those extra 400 grams is so little, it literally had no impact on the stress put on my muscles.

huh, there's almost a pound difference...

my friend dwayne (johnson) also says picking up either one feels the same

 

[Zest28]

huh, there's almost a pound difference...

my friend dwayne (johnson) also says picking up either one feels the same

I’m not 250 pound steriod abuser like Dwayne Johnson, and I can’t tell the difference.

And I don’t consider myself super strong like other guys in the gym. I’m just a regular healthy fit adult.

 

[jdb8167]

I’m not 250 pound steriod abuser like Dwayne Johnson, and I can’t tell the difference.

And I don’t consider myself super strong like other guys in the gym. I’m just a regular healthy fit adult.

I stopped carrying my iPad mini to work in my bag because I wasn’t using it and it weighed 297 grams (0.66 pounds).

Lighter is better. If the extra weight serves no purpose then why carry it?

 

[Tagbert]

Really? The 14” MBP and the M2 MBA feel the same weight to me.

I had both in my hands at the same time and really couldn’t tell the difference. I even tried to hold it for a couple minutes too see if the 14” would perhaps wear me down, but nope. Felt the same as the M2 MBA.

It's not that one is light and one is hard to hold. It is a matter of degree. The MBP is heavy enough that you feel you need to be deliberate about picking it up securely. The MBA feels like you can pick it up more causally.

 

[fisherking]

I’m not 250 pound steriod abuser like Dwayne Johnson, and I can’t tell the difference.

And I don’t consider myself super strong like other guys in the gym. I’m just a regular healthy fit adult.

you can't feel an almost 1-lb difference? that's... unusual...

 

[Zest28]

It's not that one is light and one is hard to hold. It is a matter of degree. The MBP is heavy enough that you feel you need to be deliberate about picking it up securely. The MBA feels like you can pick it up more causally.

Not me, I really couldn’t tell any difference in weight, both feel the same to me.

If you find the weight of that the 14” MBP heavy enough that you need to pick it up securely, then yeah …

 

[Zest28]

you can't feel an almost 1-lb difference? that's... unusual...

Not at these weights. All feels the same to me. MacRumors are all scrawny people or something?

I’m really surprised reading all this stuff.

 

[fisherking]

Not at these weights. All feels the same to me. MacRumors are all scrawny people or something?

I’m really surprised reading all this stuff.

pick up something that weighs a pound. can you feel that? that's the difference between the M2 air and the 14" macbook pro. it's not an astonishing difference, but it is discernable...

 

[Zest28]

pick up something that weighs a pound. can you feel that? that's the difference between the M2 air and the 14" macbook pro. it's not an astonishing difference, but it is discernable...

But holding 2kg and 2.5kg feels the same to me for example. Both feels like nothing. I can’t tell the difference.

If you have to actually put in significantly more effort for 2.5kg than 2kg, then I’m just surprised.

 

[Tagbert]

Not at these weights. All feels the same to me. MacRumors are all scrawny people or something?

I’m really surprised reading all this stuff.

This is not about having strength or not. This is about your body's priopercetion system and how it gauges weights and adjusts the effort needed to lift things. Yours seem to be working in that you are not dropping or tossing the laptops when you pick them up, but there should be a corresponding awareness of a difference in effort that you seem to be ignoring. The MBP is 0.75 pound heavier than the MBA that is 25% of the weight of the Air. That much difference should be noticeable even if you have no problem lifting it.

 

[Zest28]

This is not about having strength or not. This is about your body's priopercetion system and how it gauges weights and adjusts the effort needed to lift things. Yours seem to be working in that you are not dropping or tossing the laptops when you pick them up, but there should be a corresponding awareness of a difference in effort that you seem to be ignoring. The MBP is 0.75 pound heavier than the MBA that is 25% of the weight of the Air. That much difference should be noticeable even if you have no problem lifting it.

I checked the smallest weight I could find here, which is 3 pound plate. And we are talking about 1/3rd of this weight?

Yeah, no wonder I couldn’t tell a difference as this weighs almost like nothing.

 

[fisherking]

I checked the smallest weight I could find here, which is 3 pound plate. And we are talking about 1/3rd of this weight?

Yeah, no wonder I couldn’t tell a difference as this weighs almost like nothing.

that's not the point (see tagbert's excellent post above).

 

[Zest28]

that's not the point (see tagbert's excellent post above).

It’s simply people here being weaker than average it seems.

 

[Chateaunole-du-Pape]

It’s simply people here being weaker than average it seems.

No, it's a question of people who have below-average perception abilities.

 

[Tagbert]

It’s simply people here being weaker than average it seems.

I’m 65 and can bench press 225 pounds / 102 kg. Is that weaker than average?

It’s not about strength, it’s about perception and control. There is a discernible difference between the M2 Air and the 14” MBP.

 

[teh_hunterer]

haha great. except... not everyone will agree with that (i don't).

i like the M2 design better. the screen, the speed. the return of the magsafe adapter (and having 2 open ports). the keyboard. the speakers.

either way, i returned an M1 air for it, despite the difference in cost. and have NO regrets.

not everyone bases the 'value' of something based on a lower cost (ironically, we tend to think of the more expensive things as having greater value).

sometimes people just buy... what they want. i see no 'missteps'. but i respect your right to your opinion.

I don't think anyone has a problem with your position that value is subjective to you, so you'll just buy what you want the most, without really caring about what could be considered to be the best value for money for the average buyer. but, you seem to have a big problem when people are trying to figure out a less subjective way of looking at it.

If someone is trying to point out that the M2 MBA has a tough time in the lineup against the M1 Air and 14" Pro, perhaps extend them the same courtesy that everyone has extended to your viewpoint.

 

[fisherking]

I don't think anyone has a problem with your position that value is subjective to you, so you'll just buy what you want the most, without really caring about what could be considered to be the best value for money for the average buyer. but, you seem to have a big problem when people are trying to figure out a less subjective way of looking at it.

If someone is trying to point out that the M2 MBA has a tough time in the lineup against the M1 Air and 14" Pro, perhaps extend them the same courtesy that everyone has extended to your viewpoint.

wait; so, your perspective is 'less subjective'? how does that work..? what courtesy are you extending me? i 100% disagree that the M2 air 'has a tough time in the lineup...". but that is just my opinion. like your opinion in just yours.