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Does anyone else feel like the M1 MBA is now an even better deal?

I'm considering upgrading my 2014 MBA as it just seems so very slow (4gb memory). Apple offers $200 trade-in for mine. I'm guessing I'll notice a big difference?! Also need to decide if spending an extra $250 is worth it for 512gb.
 
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iLoveYosemite said:
I'm considering upgrading my 2014 MBA as it just seems so very slow (4gb memory). Apple offers $200 trade-in for mine. I'm guessing I'll notice a big difference?! Also need to decide if spending an extra $250 is worth it for 512gb.
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If you are planning on keeping it... I'd spend the cash on 16gb ram... If I had to choose. I have the 16gb/1tb for exactly this reason.
 
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dizmonk said:
If you are planning on keeping it... I'd spend the cash on 16gb ram... If I had to choose. I have the 16gb/1tb for exactly this reason.
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I thought about that, but ordered the base 8gb ram. I've already chosen the trade-in on my old one, etc. Could the ram be upgraded later?
 
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Hunter5117 said:
I was looking at the new MBPs for the 2nd or 3rd time yesterday. For the first time, I noticed the notch. I had honestly forgetting about it, it wasn't something I had consciously gone to look at, and suddenly there it was. My response was "Oh yeah, forgot about that. Meh".
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Seeing it once in a shop vs seeing it every day is a very different thing. I had a 14” MBP for 10 days (before deciding it was overkill for me and returning it for a 16/1TB MBA).

I stopped noticing the notch by the end of day 2
 
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dizmonk said:
Wow... what made you decide that??? I've waffled with whether or not to get the 14" MBP and sell the Air...
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I took a step back and realized I didn't need the power of the MBP. It's a really nice machine and I had been waiting for it for awhile - I pulled the trigger on a 14" MAX on the day it was announced. But a few days later I began to think that I didn't need nearly that level of power and a MBA might be more than adequate. While waiting for mine to ship I wandered over to an Apple store and played with both the 14" MBP and a MBA and decided to cancel my order for the MBP. I travel a lot for work and figured there wasn't much sense in hauling around the extra bulk of the 14" if I didn't need to.

So far I haven't regretted the decision - my MBA is plenty fast for everything I do. It's a pretty fantastic machine. That said, my 16GB/1TB MBA was only a few hundred bucks cheaper than the base MBP with the same configuration. Ultimately I made a decision based on size/weight, but for someone that isn't as sensitive to that, the base MBP probably makes more sense.
 
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dmr727 said:
I took a step back and realized I didn't need the power of the MBP. It's a really nice machine and I had been waiting for it for awhile - I pulled the trigger on a 14" MAX on the day it was announced. But a few days later I began to think that I didn't need nearly that level of power and a MBA might be more than adequate. While waiting for mine to ship I wandered over to an Apple store and played with both the 14" MBP and a MBA and decided to cancel my order for the MBP. I travel a lot for work and figured there wasn't much sense in hauling around the extra bulk of the 14" if I didn't need to.

So far I haven't regretted the decision - my MBA is plenty fast for everything I do. It's a pretty fantastic machine. That said, my 16GB/1TB MBA was only a few hundred bucks cheaper than the base MBP with the same configuration. Ultimately I made a decision based on size/weight, but for someone that isn't as sensitive to that, the base MBP probably makes more sense.
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thanks... I'm in somewhat of the same boat. What keeps me hanging on to the MBA is the weight and the fanless design. I don't know why, but it's a feature (e.g., fanless) that I didn't know how appealing it was until I had it. The other thing that keeps me hanging onto the MBA is the battery and knowing this may be the last of the non-color scheme/non-white bezel MBA. The main pull for me on the new 14" MBP is the speakers and the display. Glad you are happy with your decision.
 
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I too went with a MBA M1 16G/1TB (refurbished) a few weeks ago as my first MacOS device, although I have targeted one of the new 14" / 16" 2021 over the last few month, once they are available.

For my private usage (off my day job), e.g. typcial media consumption, light-weight dev use case, bit of photo/video stuff, I really don't know how the new ones could serve me better, thus would justify the extra money. Saved money went into a new 4K Dell U2720Q monitor (coming from a UP2516D at 1440p). This combo works perfectly for me and lack of ports on the MBA is not an issue, due to USB-C power delivery of the monitor etc.

No regrets with the cheaper decision so far. 😀
 
dizmonk said:
I'm with you 1000% on the color schemes. Stupid idea.
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No it isn’t, it will probably push many people to buy MacBook Pros when an Air would have been more than good enough. And you know how much Apple loves selling more expensive stuff.
 
workerbee said:
No it isn’t, it will probably push many people to buy MacBook Pros when an Air would have been more than good enough. And you know how much Apple loves selling more expensive stuff.
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Yea but then the Air sales would go down... I thought I read something that the m1 MBA sales have exceeded Apple's estimates/expectations. If that's correct I don't understand why they would make this change. I could KINDA understand the color logic with the new entry-level Imac. I get it that they might make more profit per unit on a new MBP entry level but I suspect the sales on the m2 (color) MBA would go down compared to the m1.
 
dizmonk said:
Yea but then the Air sales would go down... I thought I read something that the m1 MBA sales have exceeded Apple's estimates/expectations. If that's correct I don't understand why they would make this change. I could KINDA understand the color logic with the new entry-level Imac. I get it that they might make more profit per unit on a new MBP entry level but I suspect the sales on the m2 (color) MBA would go down compared to the m1.
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Apple could easily keep the M1 MBA around as an ultra low cost entry laptop. But, it might eat into the new MBA sales, if the M2’s colour scheme/bezel/notch ends up looking hideous.
 
Just ordered one, base model in SG, don't care if it's "old" as for what I use it for it'll last me 5 years+ plus it was on discount.
 
It’s certainly a great deal and the best laptop experience I’ve ever had. I’m surprised by how much I love the 13” size. Of course it helps that now you can enjoy the smaller form factor a whole lot more, because the M1 is a little workhorse.

I’ve done nearly all my photo editing in 2021 on the M1 Air. Same workflow as my desktop.. large high res files.. often 8-10+ open in Photoshop at a time (still running off Rosetta!). Sure it’s a tad slower than my iMac, but it never feels bogged down and handles everything I throw at it silently. It took some time for me to adjust to the new display, but now I’m good to go.

And I love my wood case 👍💯

AA62D0F8-4722-4E85-A8E5-67C3D8B161DA.jpeg
 
My biggest complaints about the MBA (and it's not a big complaint at all) is the lack of brightness and the speaker quality. These are very minor. The best aspects of it are the battery life, fanless design, form factor and M1.
 
CE3 said:
It’s certainly a great deal and the best laptop experience I’ve ever had. I’m surprised by how much I love the 13” size. Of course it helps that now you can enjoy the smaller form factor a whole lot more, because the M1 is a little workhorse.

I’ve done nearly all my photo editing in 2021 on the M1 Air. Same workflow as my desktop.. large high res files.. often 8-10+ open in Photoshop at a time (still running off Rosetta!). Sure it’s a tad slower than my iMac, but it never feels bogged down and handles everything I throw at it silently. It took some time for me to adjust to the new display, but now I’m good to go.

And I love my wood case 👍💯

View attachment 1929595
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Wood case? Looks great. Where did you get that?
 
Phil77354 said:
Wood case? Looks great. Where did you get that?
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Thanks! I got it on Amazon last March for $19. I’m not sure if it’s real wood, but it has a nice wood grain texture. I love how well it fits with my aesthetic and blends in with the room

I just searched for it in my orders and apparently it’s not available right now, but I’m attaching a screenshot if you want to search again down the road.

580AB301-349B-46EC-9A24-F5B7EE4EAC63.jpeg
 
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