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Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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I had the M1 MacBook Air - it is actually pretty surprising how much the bigger and brighter screen, better camera, and the bigger keys on the keyboard (particularly the function keys) just make this thing seem awesome. It has run buttery smooth since I bought it. Happiest I have been with an Apple laptop in several years.
 
I currently own a 13" MacBook Pro 2018 with Touch Bar, I'm trying to hold out for the rumoured 15" MacBook Air. Apple silicone seems to be a lot better than the intel chips and I think even day to day usage I will notice the difference.
 
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2012 - Bought my 13" Air and I LOVED it until the battery gave out in 2018.
2018 - Bought the Touch Bar MBP, but was fairly disappointed.
2020 - Bought 13" M1 MBP and liked it.
2021 - Bought the 16" MBP M1 Max and love the performance!

I still miss the portability and lightness of the Air. You can take it anywhere and the battery life is phenomenal!

I will definitely be purchasing the next release of the MacBook Air to surf the web and light photo editing in bed or on the sofa. I love the midnight color, it reminds me of the BlackBook we had back in college (2006).
 
I have to say I am very happy with mine. A lot of people on here are lamenting the change in form factor from the M1 MBA, however I never owned one of those; ignorance is bliss. The device is light and absolutely silent of course.
 
It's been the best laptop I've ever used. And I came from a 14" MacBook Pro.
What do you prefer about the M2 Air vs the 14" Pro? I have the Pro and love it, although the battery doesn't seem to be as good as my spouse's M1 Air.
 
What do you prefer about the M2 Air vs the 14" Pro? I have the Pro and love it, although the battery doesn't seem to be as good as my spouse's M1 Air.

1. Better battery life. Went from 7-8 to 10-12. Makes a huge piece of mind difference because the Air is beyond the threshold of maybe needing to charge for a day of work.

2. Size and weight. This one I am amazed by, because you look at the spec sheet and yeah, it's only .8lbs, a few mm thickness here, and a little extra footprint here and there, but it all adds up. Whenever I check out the 14" at a Best Buy or Apple Store, it just makes me realize how I could never go back.

3. Money. ~$1500 with tax for a BTO Air is a much easier pill to swallow than ~$2100 with tax for the 14", and I believe the Airs will hold their value better... when you think about it, performance users are more inclined to go for the latest & greatest. In an ultraportable machine, people care less about performance, as it may be a supplementary device to an iMac or Mac Studio.

4. Aside from the screen, I don't miss any of the added features of the Pro. And the screen on the Air is still great. Never used any other ports aside from USB-C. The webcam quality between the two is a wash. Performance differences for me (a full-time UX Designer) are a wash.
 
Very happy M2 owner here as well. Very happy i didnt listen to all the naysayers and everyone pushing the 14" pro agenda. I have a work windows laptop and im lucky to get 4-5 hours of battery life for office use, my air i charge once or twice a week and spend hours on it!
 
I love my midnight M2 MacBook Air. It’s very powerful and sleek. I do wish the midnight color was a bit less fingerprint attractive, and that it came with 16GB of RAM. That would have been the best.
 
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1. Better battery life. Went from 7-8 to 10-12. Makes a huge piece of mind difference because the Air is beyond the threshold of maybe needing to charge for a day of work.


3. Money. ~$1500 with tax for a BTO Air is a much easier pill to swallow than ~$2100 with tax for the 14", and I believe the Airs will hold their value better... when you think about it, performance users are more inclined to go for the latest & greatest. In an ultraportable machine, people care less about performance, as it may be a supplementary device to an iMac or Mac Studio.
the m2 pro can be had for 1900,


and BTO same spec mba m2 is round 1600 from adorama. therefore price difference is $300, not $600 as your post suggest.
 
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as much as i loved my 2016 12" macbook... the air is great. it's not that much bigger, heavier. it's thin, light, bright, fast, stable. i live on it (i wish that were just a figure of speech 🙄) and am getting my work (& play) done.

i'll get rid of it in a hearbeat tho if apple gives us a silicon 12" 🤣
 
After using Macbook 12 inch 2017, I had to sell it because i wanted full day battery life and moved to m2 Air. I have now a good balance of battery life, perfomance and a little sacrifice for slightly increased weight, but much larger display.
 
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I adore my M2 air. I have an M1 Pro from work but always find myself on my air. It's just a fantastic machine and combining it with the iPad as a second screen (when needed) makes it a great, lightweight travel computer.
 
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A refurb air m2 with 16gb/512gb which is all I would buy, is $80AUD here more than a referb 14" M1 16/512.
This is the problem how can anyone justify that in their mind?

Air 2:
Screen bleed likely
Not as good speakers
No promotion
Screen not as good quality and smaller
Less ports

v

14 pro:
Heavier a bit
shorter battery

Not wanting to start a war but bit of a dilemma for someone in the market to supplement my 24" iMac.
 
A refurb air m2 with 16gb/512gb which is all I would buy, is $80AUD here more than a referb 14" M1 16/512.
This is the problem how can anyone justify that in their mind?

Air 2:
Screen bleed likely
Not as good speakers
No promotion
Screen not as good quality and smaller
Less ports

v

14 pro:
Heavier a bit
shorter battery

Not wanting to start a war but bit of a dilemma for someone in the market to supplement my 24" iMac.
re: the air:

no screen bleed here. made the audio a little better with the EQ function in 'boom 3D". screen is bright, clear... no issues using it all day (every day, lol). and easy to add a hub if needed.
 
re: the air:

no screen bleed here. made the audio a little better with the EQ function in 'boom 3D". screen is bright, clear... no issues using it all day (every day, lol). and easy to add a hub if needed.
ok, but the price? you would spend $80 more for a Air? same refurb for both and 16/512.

Have you checked in a dark room with brightness up? blacks are grey too?
Hubs are a pain just went through this with one I have not working with a usb hard drive.
 
ok, but the price? you would spend $80 more for a Air? same refurb for both and 16/512.

Have you checked in a dark room with brightness up? blacks are grey too?
Hubs are a pain just went through this with one I have not working with a usb hard drive.
you have 2 ports. if you need more than 2 ports... you need a hub.

it's not an issue for me, i've used a flash drive... once with my air. i back up over the network & online. i move files between my macs with universal control. print wirelessly. nothing else to connect.

have i checked my screen? am using it all the time, it looks great; movies look great. but all of this is just me, and you have to sort out what works for you (& what doesn't) 👍
 
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Some people l
I had the M1 MacBook Air - it is actually pretty surprising how much the bigger and brighter screen, better camera, and the bigger keys on the keyboard (particularly the function keys) just make this thing seem awesome. It has run buttery smooth since I bought it. Happiest I have been with an Apple laptop in several years.

I completely agree with you. It is an amazing laptop perfectly balanced. The lack of fans really makes a huge difference.

The performance is perfect and so is the battery life.

Besides having an OLED screen and maybe a slightly more bass I don't see anything to improve on. Of course as faster chips are released that will tempt me to a future air but the overall design is just about perfect.

I agree that the screen seems a lot bigger than it is. I don't know why, but I like it.
 
you have 2 ports. if you need more than 2 ports... you need a hub.

it's not an issue for me, i've used a flash drive... once with my air. i back up over the network & online. i move files between my macs with universal control. print wirelessly. nothing else to connect.

have i checked my screen? am using it all the time, it looks great; movies look great. but all of this is just me, and you have to sort out what works for you (& what doesn't) 👍
Ok, what about the price if buying now, would you pay $80 more for the Air 2 same config?
 
Ok, what about the price if buying now, would you pay $80 more for the Air 2 same config?
sure... but that's just me. i prefer small, light (i do my heavy lifting on my m2 pro mini).

but what difference does it make? we have choices, and (hopefully) make the right one. and we all have different needs.
 
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A refurb air m2 with 16gb/512gb which is all I would buy, is $80AUD here more than a referb 14" M1 16/512.
This is the problem how can anyone justify that in their mind?

Air 2:
Screen bleed likely
Not as good speakers
No promotion
Screen not as good quality and smaller
Less ports

v

14 pro:
Heavier a bit
shorter battery

Not wanting to start a war but bit of a dilemma for someone in the market to supplement my 24" iMac.
you're gonna have to really justify the .8lb of lightness of the air to pay equal or more as the 14. the mba is a tier lower in apple's hierarchy, screen uniformity is a guaranteed issue on the mba, despite "some" claim they have a perfect screen on here, no one has come forth to back it up with actual evidence.

 
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