joanbcn91
macrumors member
Congratulations! When you have it at home and in your hands, you will understand what we say 😊. PS: I'm envious of your MBP 16" Max. That's another league that doesn't compete with any other 😄.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone excited about getting a Macbook Air M2?
- Thread starter Technerd108
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ifti
macrumors 601
Ive kinda been in two minds. The 16" M1 Max I have is well spec'd with 64GB RAM etc, and it lives on my desk and has all my editing drives etc connected - I just wanted something a little more portable I can leave in my bag, or use downstairs in the living room, or in front of the TV etc for general stuff.
Actually, I don't need it, but decided to treat myself.......again...... lol 😉
Upgraded from a 2018 MBP, i7, 16GB, 512 this is my 1st MBA. I purchased my wife a MBA M1 last year and was amazed at how much better it was than my MBP. I purchased the 10c, 24, 1TB model as I do VMWare, Photo Editing, pen testing work. The MBA M2 is a rocket ship, lightweight, and the small things like the keyboard and lack of touch bar makes it all worthwhile for me.
mrmister
Suspended
It is the best laptop anyone has ever made, and you can buy it now.
Why did you get the 10 core gpu when you have the M1 Max MBP with 64gb ram?
Just curious?
dustin_
macrumors 6502
I upgraded from a 2015 MacBook to a base M2 Air 8/8/256. I've had it for about a month & it's far and away the best Mac I've ever owned. I love this thing. It's fast, beautiful screen, great speakers, still thin & light, and has incredible battery life - lasts for days. I do very basic work on my computer, mostly web browsing & Canva, but my god the difference in usability vs my 2015 MacBook. I frequently have 20+ tabs open with multiple other apps running in the background without issue. Towards the end I would completely avoid using my MacBook, but often find myself reaching for my M2 vs my iPhone even for quick things.
Ifti
macrumors 601
For times when I may want to edit via FCPX and I'm not at my desk.
That, and because I'm stupid and always fall into the 'future proof' trap. lol
fisherking
macrumors G5
suspended! but am now back, in a 'kinder, gentler' form. or not... 🤪
Last edited:
No you are not stupid for getting what you want.
Of course when a 3nm chip is released you might be itching for a ditching to get the latest and greatest but that may be a while.
When is the delivery estimate?
Now the wait begins…
1BadManVan
macrumors 68040
1BadManVan
macrumors 68040
I just close the lid and let it sleep, loses 1% overnight. These have fantastic standby times
I am old so I am used to shutting computers down and having had so many windows laptops it was a habit that is hard to break. When my ex wife had a Mac she never shut it down. Like literally she would use it for weeks/months and never shut it down.
Ifti
macrumors 601
fisherking
macrumors G5
am not the least bit excited about getting a macbook air M2... as i already have one, and it's doing everything i need it to do 👍
I can't say that I am excited but I just picked up a midnight base model at Micro Center. It was an open box and ran me $950. I decided for that price I'd give it a try. Typing this on it right now.
First thing I did was compare it to my 2017 MacBook at least for weight and size. Obviously the MacBook is physically smaller length and width wise. However it thickness depends on how you measure it. According to the specs the MBA is thinner but sitting the two of them back to back on a smooth surface the MacBook sits slightly lower. IMO the thickness between the two is essentially irrelevant except when discussing specs. The MacBook weighs less but, as with thickness, they are essentially tied in the real world. One thing I thought interesting is the MBA is heavier in the front than the rear. Given all this I think we all know the MBA is the clear winner on technical merits. I just thought I would throw this out there for anyone who has experience with the later MacBooks and was wondering how they stack up.
I won't go over everything else as it's been done a zillion times with a corresponding number of opinions. The only thing I will add is it is a great color and I like the contrast of the black keyboard on the midnight frame. It does show fingerprints more than my space gray MacBook but I did notice, once I was looking for them, I could see some fingerprints on the MacBook. But they were not as noticeable as the midnight. As fingerprints are subjective only the individual can decided if the amount is acceptable or not. Most of them did wipe away with my sunglasses cloth but there were some remnants.
EDIT: One thing I just realized but "missed" in the above comments is the notch. I thought I would hate it but I completely overlooked it. I guess that means it's not as intrusive as I thought it would be. Another subjective point but from someone who thought they wouldn't like it the fact I didn't even notice it shows it's not a big issue for me.
First thing I did was compare it to my 2017 MacBook at least for weight and size. Obviously the MacBook is physically smaller length and width wise. However it thickness depends on how you measure it. According to the specs the MBA is thinner but sitting the two of them back to back on a smooth surface the MacBook sits slightly lower. IMO the thickness between the two is essentially irrelevant except when discussing specs. The MacBook weighs less but, as with thickness, they are essentially tied in the real world. One thing I thought interesting is the MBA is heavier in the front than the rear. Given all this I think we all know the MBA is the clear winner on technical merits. I just thought I would throw this out there for anyone who has experience with the later MacBooks and was wondering how they stack up.
I won't go over everything else as it's been done a zillion times with a corresponding number of opinions. The only thing I will add is it is a great color and I like the contrast of the black keyboard on the midnight frame. It does show fingerprints more than my space gray MacBook but I did notice, once I was looking for them, I could see some fingerprints on the MacBook. But they were not as noticeable as the midnight. As fingerprints are subjective only the individual can decided if the amount is acceptable or not. Most of them did wipe away with my sunglasses cloth but there were some remnants.
EDIT: One thing I just realized but "missed" in the above comments is the notch. I thought I would hate it but I completely overlooked it. I guess that means it's not as intrusive as I thought it would be. Another subjective point but from someone who thought they wouldn't like it the fact I didn't even notice it shows it's not a big issue for me.
Last edited:
lax28
macrumors 6502
Unless I am not going to be using may mac for an extended period of time I never shut down. Always just close the lid and let it sleep. Been doing this for years dating back to my 12" powerbook.
lax28
macrumors 6502
I have never owned a MBA before, my wife has had a couple over the years, during covid and online meetings and stuff she had lots of issues with her MBA (was an intel model). She upgraded this past winter to the 14" base model MBP, I thing (know) she would have been fine with the M1 MBA at that time, but wanted to be certain she would not have issues so went for the Pro. Great machine, screen is amazing. I have always had MBP models, but decided that I was going to get one of these M2 MBA to replace my 2017 13" MBP (3.3 GHz i5, 16GB 1 TB). Having used that for the last 5 years I have already purchased any kind of adaptor/dongle that I thought I needed when I moved from a 15 MBP to the 2017 MBP. Turns out I rarely need any of them, but I have them in case, so lack of ports was not an issue, and I never used more than 2 of the 4 thunderbolt ports on my MBP, so having only 2 not an issue, although I wish it was one per side (or a 3rd on on the right).
Super quiet (no fans), great battery life, keyboard that is so much better than the 2017 MBP keyboard, light (I take my laptop back and forth daily to work) It is my only computer. I also use iPad pro at work. Even coming from the 2017 MBP everything about the M2 MBA is either an upgrade or at least the same.
I think the M2 MBA is meant as an upgrade path for anyone looking for this size machine coming from either a i5/i7 MBA of an i5/i7 13" MBP. I have not had it very long, and I debated getting the MBP with similar specs 16GB 1TB, but at the end of the day it was just that much more expensive that I decided to give the MBA a try for the first time, and if I factor in the fact apple was giving back $150 for back to school promo, I paid less than $1400 for this machine, so if the color doesn't hold up well or I get bored or decide I really should have gotten a pro in a few years after my apple care has expired It will not seem so bad (like I got my moneys worth) if I want to upgrade earlier than my normal 5-7 year window I tend to fall into with my laptops.
Use it, enjoy it, try not to get to crazy over fingerprints or scratches or marks. After all it is a laptop and most likely will be replaced for something newer and better before you know it.
Super quiet (no fans), great battery life, keyboard that is so much better than the 2017 MBP keyboard, light (I take my laptop back and forth daily to work) It is my only computer. I also use iPad pro at work. Even coming from the 2017 MBP everything about the M2 MBA is either an upgrade or at least the same.
I think the M2 MBA is meant as an upgrade path for anyone looking for this size machine coming from either a i5/i7 MBA of an i5/i7 13" MBP. I have not had it very long, and I debated getting the MBP with similar specs 16GB 1TB, but at the end of the day it was just that much more expensive that I decided to give the MBA a try for the first time, and if I factor in the fact apple was giving back $150 for back to school promo, I paid less than $1400 for this machine, so if the color doesn't hold up well or I get bored or decide I really should have gotten a pro in a few years after my apple care has expired It will not seem so bad (like I got my moneys worth) if I want to upgrade earlier than my normal 5-7 year window I tend to fall into with my laptops.
Use it, enjoy it, try not to get to crazy over fingerprints or scratches or marks. After all it is a laptop and most likely will be replaced for something newer and better before you know it.
MajorFubar
macrumors 68020
I'm glad it's not just me who thinks this. I thought I was just being paranoid.
Upgraded from a 2020 Intel MBP i5/16/512 to a Midnight M2 Air 10 core / 16 / 1TB. A few observations:
- Wakes up instantly. Didn’t realize how nice it would be to grab it at any time to do something quick and it’s up and running.
- I host lots of Zoom calls, often while editing PowerPoint on a 4K monitor. The fans on the Intel MBP would spin up & the system would become frustratingly slow. The M2 is always fast & responsive with almost no heat. A 1-hour call could use 20%+ battery. Much less on the M2 Air.
- Once I quit looking for fingerprints, midnight is nice, no complaints.
- I use a dark background & never see the notch.
- I chose the M2 over the M1 mostly because of the display (positive reviews, 500 nits). I tried the 2020 Intel MBA & the display contrast was poor so I exchanged it for the Intel MBP. Haven’t looked at the 14” MBP but very happy with the M2’s display. Very good contrast, bright enough.
- Speakers are ‘different’ from the old MBP. Voice on calls seems more clear/refined to me on the M2 but music separation was better on the MBP. Overall, would say I prefer the speakers on the old MBP but not a deal breaker.
- I wanted as thin/light as possible. Anyone remember the old thin/light higher end Sony VAIOs back in the day?
- This is the first time I’ve felt a notebook was not a compromise vs. a desktop. Very happy with it.
- Have never owned an M1 Air so can't compare.
chrono1081
macrumors G3
I bought mine fully expecting to return it but absolutely kept it after putting it through its paces hard. I lost a LOT of respect for many YouTube "tech reviewers" (I won't name them here but people can guess) after getting this machine.
It is significantly more powerful than people give it credit for and no, the "throttling" isn't an issue in real world use. It's just not.
Some stuff I did on my machine:
-Hours of simulations in Houdini.
-Editing/exporting 4k video in Final Cut.
-Making music in Logic (I made 20 tracks before getting bored and the machine played everything perfectly fine).
-Did lots of programming in Xcode.
-3D animation and rendering in Blender (which mind you, is the version not optimized for M series yet).
-Making effects in Motion.
-Lots of Final Fantasy 14 on med-high settings.
and more. This machine handled it just fine. It's small, lightweight, very portable, and very powerful. I adore it.
EDIT: I have the 8 core CPU, 10 core GPU, 16 gigs ram, 1tb hard drive. It outperforms my $4500 16 inch Intel i9 MacBook Pro with 64 gigs ram from...2020? (First 16 inch).
Please let us know who it was and specifically what part of the review that you found to be in error.
chrono1081
macrumors G3
There's too many to list, basically every reviewer who acted like this machine was going to be slow, overheat, and throttle to unusable speeds. Too many tech reviewers use benchmarking software which is a terrible indicator of real world use and any IT person worth their salt knows that, but a lot of these reviewers are tech enthusiasts and never actually worked in the sector. Real world usage > benchmarking software every single time.
If you want a good, accurate review of this machine, [Mobile Tech Review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFLXf-BeWr4&t=6s) is spot on.
prisoner54
macrumors member
Thank you OP for soliciting 'real-world' reviews, I thought I'd wait until after the YouTube dust had settled so it's great to hear about peoples' actual experiences.
Back on topic: I'm particularly interested in the base model M2 MBA so it would be good to hear how 8GB/256GB copes in real-world use (all the Office apps open, 15 Safari tabs, etc.). Also... X-Plane! I'd be worried that a sustained CPU load for such a graphically-impressive game would slow down the FPS. I like to fly in X-Plane every few days. If graphical settings are dialled down a bit, how does a fanless machine cope? I wouldn't want to buy a MBP just for one game!
Oh yes. My flatmate back in the early 2000's had one, his one had an external DVD drive because the machine was so thin. At the time, this was incredibly impressive and I was envious. It cost almost £3000 IIRC. A thing of beauty, and way ahead of its time.
Back on topic: I'm particularly interested in the base model M2 MBA so it would be good to hear how 8GB/256GB copes in real-world use (all the Office apps open, 15 Safari tabs, etc.). Also... X-Plane! I'd be worried that a sustained CPU load for such a graphically-impressive game would slow down the FPS. I like to fly in X-Plane every few days. If graphical settings are dialled down a bit, how does a fanless machine cope? I wouldn't want to buy a MBP just for one game!