Lack of brightness? My M1 Air is plenty bright. As a matter of fact, I have to turn it down to about 40% so I don't get blinded.
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Does anyone else feel like the M1 MBA is now an even better deal?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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Yea I kinda prefer brighter screens. It's okay but not great for my purposes.
speakers are actually very good, imho.
On brightness side, I also use at about 40-45% of brightness, otherwise it is really, really bright.
First and foremost the M1 MBA is probably my favorite laptop ever and for the price it is just fantastic. I got it at Costco over a year ago when it was on sale and since I got it there with my Costco Citi card I get a 4 year warranty on it.
However I will focus on the things I wish were better:
- Native multiple external monitor support.
- Wish it had at least one more port, and on the other side.
- Wish the higher end retail version was 16/512 instead of 8/512.
- Screen could be a little brighter for outside use.
Now at the time I didn't need either of those first two features since I got it mainly to be my lightweight portable device when "traveling". However, it was so good at everything else vs my loaded 2020 13" MBP Intel that I sold off the MBP!
However I will focus on the things I wish were better:
- Native multiple external monitor support.
- Wish it had at least one more port, and on the other side.
- Wish the higher end retail version was 16/512 instead of 8/512.
- Screen could be a little brighter for outside use.
Now at the time I didn't need either of those first two features since I got it mainly to be my lightweight portable device when "traveling". However, it was so good at everything else vs my loaded 2020 13" MBP Intel that I sold off the MBP!
For those lucky enough to live in a city with a Micro Center, they are blowing base M1 Airs out for $779.
www.microcenter.com
www.microcenter.com
its a steal of a deal for those with the $ and it fits their needs.
upgrading the ram and SSD on the other hand.... not so much.
upgrading the ram and SSD on the other hand.... not so much.
Yes the savings go out the door as soon as try and upgrade ram or ssd
I’d like a MacBook, but from everything I have read it’s worth waiting for the air 2022. My budget is about $1,500 if that matters. I want something to last me 5 years. Am I wrong, or should I wait? I don’t need it today, but it would be nice. Just afraid I’ll sell it for a loss next year for the 2022 model if I buy now. Is there anything now for $1500 that will rival the 2022 air?
It depends on what you need it for/will use it for. I got a 16gb/1tb from the Apple Refurb store for $1399 and am generally thrilled with it. I doubt I will sell it when either the m2 Air or the new entry-level MBP is introduced next year. From what I've read the M2 MBA won't be announced until the fall or the end of 2022.
M2 air will probably only have marginal gains than the M1. Think of how phones only increase incrementally year over year.
With $1500 could get a pro or a maxed out air.
I would expect the M2 to have 10%-20% single performance core improvements. I would also expect the efficiency cores to match the M1 Pro/Max efficiency cores. I wouldn’t expect an increase in the number of CPU cores. I would expect an increase in the number of GPU cores and small increase in GPU core performance and maybe something like ray tracing hardware.
I wouldn’t expect much of a increase in cost for the 2022 MacBook Air. So if you can wait, I don’t know why you would buy an M1 MBA.
because apple hasn't established the release cadence for the new M1 computers yet....could be 2022, could be 2023. and I doubt the average user would notice a difference between the M1 and M2 in day-to-day usage.
if the poster above wants a MBA now and has the money burning a hole in their pocket, why wait? nothing will be released before wwdc so we're talking about at least 6 months.
Given the MBA is Apple’s best selling Mac, I would expect a new model in 2022. Don’t forget the M1 MBA came out in November 2020. I don’t think there is much chance that Apple is going to wait much more than 18 months to come out with a new model. Late Spring or early Summer 2022 seems likely.
If someone needs a Mac notebook right now, I absolutely will still recommend an M1 MacBook Air but want vs. need makes me believe that patience is warranted this case. Waiting 6 months for something that is going to be used for 5 years doesn’t seem very long.
I’m waiting. It’s hard, but I already know I will be frustrated if I don’t wait. I’ll buy new in 2022 and be sorted for years
I would also encourage you to think about these rumors about the color scheme and the white bezels. From my view IF that's what the new M2 MBA looks like it will continue to be a polarizing design. Some people like it. Some hate it. Count me in the category of hating it. If you have strong feelings about that, that might inform your choice. For me... if the rumors are wrong about the colors and white bezels - I'd put it at a 25% chance I'd upgrade from my Space Grey M1. If the new M2 comes only in bright colors and white bezels - 0% chance I'm upgrading.
the white notch would kill any desire for me personally. its just too distracting.
Going from the 2020 Intel i5 Air to the M1 Air was such a dramatic improvement. Double to triple the battery life, no fan, and it feels easily 2-3x as responsive.
My only regret was getting the 8GB of RAM. Once I load up personal and work user accounts and run a bunch of things for a while, it does start to slow down at times. In contrast my M1 iMac wiht 16 GB of RAM barely ever misses a step under the same workload. I'm not sure if some of that is cooling-related processor throttling on the Air, but I suspect more RAM would help.
I expect soon to be using this Mac much less intensively as my work demands lighten up -- if I was I'd probably consider trading it in for one with beefier specs or just that new 14" MacBook Pro.
My only regret was getting the 8GB of RAM. Once I load up personal and work user accounts and run a bunch of things for a while, it does start to slow down at times. In contrast my M1 iMac wiht 16 GB of RAM barely ever misses a step under the same workload. I'm not sure if some of that is cooling-related processor throttling on the Air, but I suspect more RAM would help.
I expect soon to be using this Mac much less intensively as my work demands lighten up -- if I was I'd probably consider trading it in for one with beefier specs or just that new 14" MacBook Pro.
the rumors say it will have about 10-15% gain in performance over M1. It is true that after the introduction, the progress will be incremental. If the OP has money and patience, may be good idea to see what the new MacBook Air (or without Air title, but spiritually MBA M2) will look like. If you want amazing hardware now, spend on maxed Air or 14 inch base model. Both will be good for at least few years (think iPhone X in 2022).
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I have money to buy 14 or 16 inch, or wait for M2. But I invested last month in 16/512 M1 and enjoying it now. In few years maybe I will upgrade but i do work now on MBA M1 and everything works. It is light, screen and speakers are great (not best, but very good), processor and GPU are fast, I can use all my software. So make your choice
Yes, remember the G5 iMac. The Core solo minis. Apple wants to sell more computers. That is exactly what will happen. The intel people will get (maybe) 2 more OS updates and that's it. Not a terrible fate.