Best Form Factor - M1 vs M2 Air?

[erkanasu]

Considering it's thinner and lighter (barely but technically) than the M1 Air, how are they taking away what made it an Air in the first place?

seems quite Airy to me

This pic is really helpful. Seeing the huge thickness of the m2 (the spot that touches the wrists on big hands), I can already feel the pain and discomfort!

The super thin edge of the m1 does not hurt hands

 

[Kayakphotos]

I like the wedge design and have no complaints, but I would trade it for Magsafe and the better color options on the M2 Air, so I voted for M2.

 

[Coreymac84]

This pic is really helpful. Seeing the huge thickness of the m2 (the spot that touches the wrists on big hands), I can already feel the pain and discomfort!

The super thin edge of the m1 does not hurt hands

But you don’t know how the height from a wrist rest position feels. It’s shallow enough where it may be an experience similar to the M1

 

[erkanasu]

But you don’t know how the height from a wrist rest position feels. It’s shallow enough where it may be an experience similar to the M1

Do you have a graphic like that with the 13” mbp

 

[dgdosen]

Considering it's thinner and lighter (barely but technically) than the M1 Air, how are they taking away what made it an Air in the first place?

seems quite Airy to me

Can you add the 2015 Macbook to that?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Everyone likes the latest and greatest design, but the classic wedge MBA M1 is still a timeless design that is my personal favourite of all the MacBooks.

I really like the wedge of the M1 as well. The thing I don't like about the design of the M1 is the speaker grills, which can be a hassle to keep clean.

 

[jav6454]

I agree. whats old is new gain? Fashion and music trends repeat so I guess it’s not surprising for Apple.
I like the slab flat edges for thinner devices like the iPad and iPhone over the convex-like design.

The Air name has something whimsical about it but the M2 is not in my opinion. I thought it was quite jarring to have the feather in the promo video with it. Maybe bc they need a whimsical example to get the idea across and the computer by itself didn’t quite do the trick.

Apple knows what they are doing for the most part but this seems odd and reminds me of when they introduced the 12 MB which was much thinner and whimsical that the Air of the time.

True, designs come and go, but that has only been true on the MBP line. The Air line has only seen the wedge and it is iconic.

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

M1 Air was a great design. But bring in the new one. MagSafe + 2 ports. Squared off design. I dig it.

 

[FattKingHugeman]

the M2 Macbook Air design looks fine to me, Just hope that they could have put the other USB C port on the right side.

 

[Joniz]

3. Clean, no notch, if you have your menu bar hid on the M1 air, it's almost the same screen space!

The M1 MBA has a notch.

It’s just very, very wide.

 

[IsaacM]

The M1 MBA has a notch.

It’s just very, very wide.

If we are going to call screen borders notches, then both M1 and M2 have four notches because they aren't edge to edge screen.

 

[Coreymac84]

The M1 MBA has a notch.

It’s just very, very wide.

If we are going to call screen borders notches, then both M1 and M2 have four notches because they aren't edge to edge screen.

The point is, the display on the current M1 MBA is ALL usable display area on the M2 with notch. Imagine the task bar being inside the black bezel….that is the notch display. It’s really not a negative and I don’t know why anyone thinks otherwise. I guess because the list of bullet points as negatives looks pretty small otherwise.

 

[IsaacM]

The point is, the display on the current M1 MBA is ALL usable display area on the M2 with notch. Imagine the task bar being inside the black bezel….that is the notch display. It’s really not a negative and I don’t know why anyone thinks otherwise. I guess because the list of bullet points as negatives looks pretty small otherwise.

In my opinion it looks ugly and distracting on a large screen. It's tolerable on a phone because the screen is so tall, but on a 16:9 screen it's like a punch in the eye.

I understand this is something personal and everyone has a different opinion here.

 

[Wizec]

Science says otherwise. A flat or negative tilt (sloping from front to back) is preferred ergonomically.

This cracks me up. People like me who have tried both and experience pain without the wedge, and comfort with the wedge, let it be known that “science says otherwise”. 🤣

 

[fisherking]

This cracks me up. People like me who have tried both and experience pain without the wedge, and comfort with the wedge, let it be known that “science says otherwise”. 🤣

sure. and what about all the macusers who use macbook pros, the apple keyboard? everyone finds their comfort zone (a flat keyboard, a tilted one). and there are some really-smart ergonomic keyboards out there (you can google this).

plus, there are a lot of arguments for using a keyboard that tilts up in the front, not the back. here's a place to start:

ergonomics


edit: there's a lot of information online suggesting a flat keyboard, or one tilted up:
"Tilt the keyboard in a neutral (zero-degree) or slightly negative (4-8-degrees) position to offset the risk of wrist injury when typing."

so perhaps apple should return to the wedge, but put the thinner part at the back... 🤔

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Hey gang, I can't help but feel the m1 air is still the superior form factor.

The M1 has the form of an MBA, the M2 has the form of an MBP with an "Air" sticker on it. If one wanted to buy an MBA13 in the body of an MBP13, they already make that. Too bad the tapered MBA body doesn't have enough volume to move enough air to cool the m2.

 

[jav6454]

This cracks me up. People like me who have tried both and experience pain without the wedge, and comfort with the wedge, let it be known that “science says otherwise”. 🤣

In the end, ergonomics is dependent on how everyone's body behaves.

 

[mr_jomo]

I know you all scoff at iJustine, but her video from WWDC has some neat shots of the M2 Air compared to the M2 Pro ... that M2 Air is tight 😆

 

[Neverless]

The new MBA front height sits very close between MBP 13 and air. You can check around how the MPB 13 typing experience feels like and the MBA M2 should be better than that. I use both MBP 13 and the M1 Air and both feels the same.
Never used a MBP 14 but it does look much ticker than the others so I wouldn't use it as a comparison.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I personally prefer the design of the M1 air, and I dislike that they're using a Macbook Pro chassis for the air, it just feels cheap - not only for the air, but also devaluing the aesthetics of the pro. That said, I'll buy a 12" Macbook Pro the second I'm able to, if Apple ever announces one.

 

[fisherking]

I personally prefer the design of the M1 air, and I dislike that they're using a Macbook Pro chassis for the air, it just feels cheap - not only for the air, but also devaluing the aesthetics of the pro. That said, I'll buy a 12" Macbook Pro the second I'm able to, if Apple ever announces one.

am with you on the 12"... mine is my fave mac, ever (& i've owned many). but the M2 air is NOT a macbook pro chassis, it's a design of it's own, and am personally happy to see that. am getting one (which i will drop in a heartbeat if a new 12" shows up).

 

[Violet_Antelope]

Another firm agreement on the 12"! My favourite mac ever despite lacking power/RAM and the dreadful butterfly keyboard. I loved the screen and keyboard size, the weight, it was the ideal machine. A pro version would be epic

 

[fisherking]

Another firm agreement on the 12"! My favourite mac ever despite lacking power/RAM and the dreadful butterfly keyboard. I loved the screen and keyboard size, the weight, it was the ideal machine. A pro version would be epic

i've had mine since 2016. it's mostly-ok. the camera doesn't work, a hardware issue, battery gives me 2 1/2 hours tops. the 'N' key is somehow smeared a bit. but am running monterey, and everything else works.

i live on this mac, all day, every day (i use my imac for logic & final cut). i've been waiting for a new 12" forever (maybe next year???) but am gonna go for the M2 air... just so i can move into the 21st century 🤪

 

[ucfgrad93]

I think it's an abomination to the MBA line.

Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel.

 

[ghanwani]

Wedge design with a 4:3 screen aspect ratio would be best for me. Yeah, I'm old school and mostly run everything sized to fit the screen.