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Actually - how much better is the M2MBA than the M1MBA?

A

Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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Looking at this - it should I really spend another $2k to upgrade to the MB2? Especially if I can use my iPhone as a webcam?

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Adelphos33 said:
Looking at this - it should I really spend another $2k to upgrade to the MB2? Especially if I can use my iPhone as a webcam?

www.apple.com

Mac - Compare Models

See what makes each Mac laptop and desktop different. And find the one that’s perfect for your life, your work, and your budget.
www.apple.com
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Like - I’m not sure if I need to spend $2k to update this machine when I still can’t connect two monitors. I will just buy a display.

AF56DA6D-6DD6-45E4-AF21-3F34064E098B.jpeg
 
Adelphos33 said:
Looking at this - it should I really spend another $2k to upgrade to the MB2? Especially if I can use my iPhone as a webcam?

www.apple.com

Mac - Compare Models

See what makes each Mac laptop and desktop different. And find the one that’s perfect for your life, your work, and your budget.
www.apple.com
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Are you talking performance wise? We have no idea but the graphs Apple provided. We will need to wait and see what the real life performance comes out to.
 
Adelphos33 said:
Like - I’m not sure if I need to spend $2k to update this machine when I still can’t connect two monitors. I will just buy a display.

View attachment 2014869
Click to expand...
There are some work arounds though:

www.macworld.com

How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac

Get around Apple's annoying M1/M2/M3 Mac single-display limitation via software and adapters
www.macworld.com www.macworld.com

Also this product from Anker:
us.anker.com

Anker 563 USB-C Docking Station (10-in-1)

Expand Your Port Options: Turn just one of your laptop's USB-C ports into 2 HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, a 100W Power Delivery port (connects to host), a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, 2 USB-A 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and an AUX in/out port. Unlock Triple Display: Thanks to the...
us.anker.com

They might not be a 100% ideal/perfect solution, but M1 (and M2) Macs can actually handle multiple monitors
 
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The fact is that most people won't notice the performance benefits for general computing. It's kind of like how the M1 is basically as fast as and M1 Ultra for email, surfing, light photo editing etc. Most things don't come close to pushing these chips.

If, you find that M1 is slowing you down then may be an M2 would make you happy, but if you can tax an M1, then may be you really need to be thinking about a machine with M1Pro/Max/Ultra instead of an M2.
 
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One word: MAGSAFE.

The number of mild or major panic attacks I've had w/my MBA M1 as I kicked the USB cord getting off the couch are too numerous to count since purchase in 2020. Getting that plug back will be a fantastic thing - I'm kind of surprised more ppl aren't talking about that. I'm also looking forward to the improved camera for when I'm doing media hits. So I'm fairly ok with the new MBA announced this week.
 
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jav6454 said:
The M1 is still a good machine and will be for another year. I don't understand this, Macs aren't devices like iPhones that can be upgraded every year.
Click to expand...
Ha-ha! M1 MBA will be good for way longer than 12 months from now. I just bought a refurb M1 MBA last month knowing full well about the M2 coming out. I didn't *need* to replace my 2017 MBP 13", but that machine runs hot in comparison and my battery life decreased because of it. M1 MBA is incredibly fast and runs cool. M2 MBA would have cost me twice as much for hardly any performance improvement (I paid $849 for a 16GB/512GB/8-core M1 MBA). M2 MBA is mostly a visual upgrade if you want a slight form factor change and a different color. And a NOTCH, lol. Man, I really dislike the notch on the MacBooks ... it looks terrible. I'd much rather have 720p webcam (which I don't use much) and no notch than full HD webcam and the notch.
 
ImAlwaysRight said:
Ha-ha! M1 MBA will be good for way longer than 12 months from now. I just bought a refurb M1 MBA last month knowing full well about the M2 coming out. I didn't *need* to replace my 2017 MBP 13", but that machine runs hot in comparison and my battery life decreased because of it. M1 MBA is incredibly fast and runs cool. M2 MBA would have cost me twice as much for hardly any performance improvement (I paid $849 for a 16GB/512GB/8-core M1 MBA). M2 MBA is mostly a visual upgrade if you want a slight form factor change and a different color. And a NOTCH, lol. Man, I really dislike the notch on the MacBooks ... it looks terrible. I'd much rather have 720p webcam (which I don't use much) and no notch than full HD webcam and the notch.
Click to expand...
I used a year as a thrown in number, but you get the gist of it. Laptops are meant to last, Macs more so.
 
realpras said:
There are some work arounds though:

www.macworld.com

How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac

Get around Apple's annoying M1/M2/M3 Mac single-display limitation via software and adapters
www.macworld.com www.macworld.com

Also this product from Anker:
us.anker.com

Anker 563 USB-C Docking Station (10-in-1)

Expand Your Port Options: Turn just one of your laptop's USB-C ports into 2 HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, a 100W Power Delivery port (connects to host), a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, 2 USB-A 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and an AUX in/out port. Unlock Triple Display: Thanks to the...
us.anker.com

They might not be a 100% ideal/perfect solution, but M1 (and M2) Macs can actually handle multiple monitors
Click to expand...
Just before we shut down for Covid, our company had replaced all of the old smaller dual monitor setups with single widescreen monitors with thunderbolt connectors. When we came back to the office it was nice to have a lot more space to work with. We haven't been issued any M1 related machines yet, but even on my older MBP I've only ever used one external display. I keep the internal display for email, slack etc. Sharper than almost any external display.
 
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I just bought the M1. The M2 was around 25% better performance for around 25% more money, and the Midnight Blue and MagSafe are tempting, but I just don't really need the extra performance.

I know the processor is 18% faster from Apple's graph, but the memory bus on the M2 is upgraded too. It's not a trivial upgrade IMO, although some will of course say that it is. But with the price bump as well, the M1 will do perfectly for me.

I do like the look of the M2 though. I like the redesign, I like the colours. I just don't like the price increase.
 
jav6454 said:
The M1 is still a good machine and will be for another year. I don't understand this, Macs aren't devices like iPhones that can be upgraded every year.
Click to expand...
Agree. People hang on to their Macs for a long time and always have. They're built to last, and have never needed yearly replacing. I saw one on a work trip the other day that was missing all four feet on the bottom and looked like it had been through a war. The guy was still happily using it, no problem.

I plan on keeping my M1 Pro 14" for at least 4 years if not longer. I know it will be considered "slow" by then, but I doubt I'll notice.
 
spiderman0616 said:
Agree. People hang on to their Macs for a long time and always have. They're built to last, and have never needed yearly replacing. I saw one on a work trip the other day that was missing all four feet on the bottom and looked like it had been through a war. The guy was still happily using it, no problem.

I plan on keeping my M1 Pro 14" for at least 4 years if not longer. I know it will be considered "slow" by then, but I doubt I'll notice.
Click to expand...
Agree. My mid-2009 MBP just suffered its third lost foot the other day but otherwise looks great. Indeed, from 3 feet away it looks practically new, which might be an argument for silver when I pick up the M2 MBA next month. The old machine itself is really not very usable at this point, but it was plenty usable for about 10 years and is still in top physical condition. I'll aim to get 10 years out of the M2 MBA.
 
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The m2 is better in just about every way but probably not enough to go from m1 to m2 unless you have lots of spending cash.

better webcam, better speakers, better keyboard, better screen, better design, better charging, better specs for cpu and much more for gpu, etc.

design might be subjective but the rest is there, but again are all of those wayyy better than m1? No. Unless you can sell your m1 for what you paid or close to it doesn’t make sense. Even then iffy.
 
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