First M2 MacBook Air Orders Begin Shipping Out to Customers Ahead of July 15 Launch

[jchap]

I’m at that difficult decision point (and I think a lot of Mac users are facing this same decision) where an Intel 16” MPB is serving my needs well. I don’t really need a more high end “pro” machine than that. The M2 would definitely serve me well.

*BUT*

The one caveat is when I do push it, I don’t know if the fanless design is going to be enough. And I don’t want the 13.3” MBP because of the old design and all that comes with it (camera, speakers, etc.)

To me, and many I think, they are facing this same question.

The ideal machine for me that would be an instant upgrade to AS would nee new design, M2, and fan.

Here’s hoping that rumored 15” is a MacBook or MacBook studio with M2 and single fan design.

Yeah, I can definitely relate to your "difficult decision point." I use an MBP 16" 2019 model (core i9) for my daily work, and it serves me well for now. For what I do (translation and editing, e-mail and browsing, light graphic design and also some Windows apps virtualized in Parallels Desktop), it's sufficient.

The new MacBook Pros and Airs do appeal to me, though. I'm not sure if having any better performance would really make my workflow any smoother. As you mentioned, I would like to see a larger screen, yet still in a lightweight, very portable design like the Air. Also as you mentioned, the fanless design is a concern in terms of performance. I also compose and produce music on the Mac, and I'm a little concerned about how a fanless design would affect the performance of audio plugins, Logic Pro and so on.

 

[Macalway]

I'd argue that's where it could matter the most. A computer with a low amount of memory will disk-swap more and if it swaps to a slower drive you'll notice it more. I'm not claiming that this is a problem for certain in practice, but I would love to see the tech press try and make some tests with that aspect in focus.

Incessant swapping to a gimped drive.

A perfect storm

 

[chrono1081]

how do you know if will enter Anchorage, AK, I think most Apple product are shipping by flight!!!

Not sure about everyone else but almost all of my stuff entered through Alaska from China, only one item went elsewhere in the years I’ve been ordering from Apple.

 

[calstanford]

I Don't care, My 14 MacBook Pro has better screen, speaker, ram, cpu, storage, keyboard, literlly eerything, may be just a bit thicker, but I use it almost 99.999% in my house!!!!

Then why are you in this thread. Frankly your comments come off as very immature.

 

[Mendoza_559]

My original order said delivers August 9th, now saying 2 to 3 weeks so hopefully will arrive this month. I ordered with 16GB which seems to take longer than the 8 GB models to ship.

I ordered a 16gb midnight MBA right at 5am. Date says Aug 2nd-9th. I don’t think they had many if any 16gb available for launch day.

 

[Macalway]

I ordered a 16gb midnight MBA right at 5am. Date says Aug 2nd-9th. I don’t think they had many if any 16gb available for launch day.

I find this strange, and frankly a little disturbing. I mean, I would really like to save the bucks and live with 8gb, but it's just not a good idea IMO.

 

[orl2222]

Retired now, I have a iPad Pro 12.9 M1, also a Dell XPS 13 with 11 gen I5 u. I don't really need a MacBook Air M2, but it is a nice machine. I should probably sell the Dell XPS 13. If the battery life is good as they say on the MacBook Air M2, it will be amazing. Living on fixed income sucks! I'm happy for those who ordered them. My Mac mini M1 is amazing lil machine. Trying to weed myself off windows, last Mac I had was a 11" matchbook air, 2011.

 

[Macalway]

last Mac I had was a 11" matchbook air, 2011.

Fine machine. Those were the days

 

[Aragornii]

I ordered a 16gb midnight MBA right at 5am. Date says Aug 2nd-9th. I don’t think they had many if any 16gb available for launch day.

I separately ordered an iMac today, and selecting 16GB changed the delivery from immediate to August 9. Memory availability must be the bottleneck.

 

[jchap]

I ordered a 16gb midnight MBA right at 5am. Date says Aug 2nd-9th. I don’t think they had many if any 16gb available for launch day.

It definitely seems like the midnight color sold out quickly. It is the first time that Apple's used a dark color on a laptop since the black plastic MacBook model, way back when (not counting "space gray" as a dark color).

 

[jchap]

Fine machine. Those were the days

The MacBook Air 11" did have the advantage of being very light and compact, didn't it.

I recently saw a used one in a computer store, and was shocked at the size of the bezels 😄 They've really come a long way in narrowing those bezels down, haven't they.

 

[jchap]

I separately ordered an iMac today, and selecting 16GB changed the delivery from immediate to August 9. Memory availability must be the bottleneck.

I hope that a lot of people who are frustrated with the long lead-time on the 16 GB models don't cave in and go for the 8 GB models, if they're going to regret it later... A lot of people may not really even need the extra memory, but even with the faster M2 processor now on board, they might still not get the speed that they want with just an 8 GB model, depending on their use case.

 

[larryleveen]

I'm curious what people think about the choice between the two upgraded power supplies: 35-watt power adapter with two USB-C ports or a 67-watt USB-C power adapter that supports the M2-based MacBook Air’s fast charging capabilities. One article I read said that you have the choice between the two if you order a MBA with a higher capacity drive.

 

[jchap]

I'm curious what people think about the choice between the two upgraded power supplies: 35-watt power adapter with two USB-C ports or a 67-watt USB-C power adapter that supports the M2-based MacBook Air’s fast charging capabilities. One article I read said that you have the choice between the two if you order a MBA with a higher capacity drive.

Yes, it's kind of interesting how Apple added that in, but only for the higher-capacity storage models. Are they perhaps thinking that there's a connection between more storage and power consumption? Do users whose Macs have more storage capacity need that faster charging feature? Hmm.

Actually, this is the way they worded it:

35W Dual USB‑C Port Compact Power Adapter or 67W USB‑C Power Adapter included as free upgrade with selection of M2 chip with 10-core GPU and 512GB SSD storage or higher.

You can still purchase the 67W USB-C Power Adapter at extra cost with the base model, apparently. It's just not free, that's all.

 

[Shirasaki]

The MacBook Air 11" did have the advantage of being very light and compact, didn't it.

I recently saw a used one in a computer store, and was shocked at the size of the bezels 😄 They've really come a long way in narrowing those bezels down, haven't they.

MacBook Air 11” was one of my favorite Mac which lived with me throughout the university and even a little bit afterwards. Its portability even exceeds 12” MacBook and actually more powerful than that imo.

Sure, it has thick bezels, but I don’t really care about bezel thickness personally.

 

[zenntench_oni]

What are the chances of getting a 512GB M2 MacBook Air at the apple store this friday lololol Urgh I wish I didn’t fallen asleep.

 

[iSayuSay]

I Don't care, My 14 MacBook Pro has better screen, speaker, ram, cpu, storage, keyboard, literlly eerything, may be just a bit thicker, but I use it almost 99.999% in my house!!!!

Of course it has better components, it starts at $2K so what do you expect? 🙄

But for everyone not willing to spend that much, the new Air is a great choice. Comes with the newest chip, has Magsafe 3, and of course the camera notch.

 

[Shirasaki]

and of course the camera notch.

It’s sad to see this notch will stay for years with us if not decades. Rip menubar.

 

[The Game 161]

When is YouTube reviews? Guessing wednesday

 

[spacehippo]

MacBook Air 11” was one of my favorite Mac which lived with me throughout the university and even a little bit afterwards. Its portability even exceeds 12” MacBook and actually more powerful than that imo.

Sure, it has thick bezels, but I don’t really care about bezel thickness personally.

Had one of those MBA 11" ones and it was such a nice machine. The only down side was that it had a horrid batterylife (and display resolution wasn't good either). But it was perfect to carry with me everywhere.

That's one of the reasons I'm getting this new MBA because I want something as light as possible but with a decent battery life and compared to my old MBP 2013 this has it. Going to go with a 16Gb/512Gb version. Still debating whether to get the midnight or space gray.

People keep going like well why not get the 14" MBP then and for me it's the weight and thickness. I don't want that if I can get something lighter and thinner. It's really that simple. The most important thing for me is the portability. I'm willing to compromise a little on performance to get it as light/thin as possible.

 

[jonnysods]

Very excited to see the hands on experiences with this unit, as this may replace my 12" MBA, which has been a faitfhful sidekick!

 

[mr_jomo]

When is YouTube reviews? Guessing wednesday

Probably a good guess as most July 15 units have been shipped by then 🤣.

 

[jonnysods]

Had one of those MBA 11" ones and it was such a nice machine. The only down side was that it had a horrid batterylife (and display resolution wasn't good either). But it was perfect to carry with me everywhere.

That's one of the reasons I'm getting this new MBA because I want something as light as possible but with a decent battery life and compared to my old MBP 2013 this has it. Going to go with a 16Gb/512Gb version. Still debating whether to get the midnight or space gray.

People keep going like well why not get the 14" MBP then and for me it's the weight and thickness. I don't want that if I can get something lighter and thinner. It's really that simple. The most important thing for me is the portability. I'm willing to compromise a little on performance to get it as light/thin as possible.

I'm with you. So I have the 12" 2017 MacBook, which was great for screen resolution, ok for battery life (horrible keyboard). I actually have a 14" specced out MBP, which I want to leave at home and take a new MBA as a floating utility machine because I wanted the smallest form factor I could get in a Mac when it comes to travel.

I was hoping they would have kept the physical form factor as small as they can on the redesigned MBAs, but I'm excited about what we have seen so far.

 

[crees!]

I'm curious what people think about the choice between the two upgraded power supplies: 35-watt power adapter with two USB-C ports or a 67-watt USB-C power adapter that supports the M2-based MacBook Air’s fast charging capabilities. One article I read said that you have the choice between the two if you order a MBA with a higher capacity drive.

67-watt fast charging all the way!

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Ready for those hands on reviews for 2 reasons:

1. To see if base model SSD is 2x128GB or 1x256GB (maybe Apple saved stock for this?)

2. How the new design thermals handle M2 heat, especially over sustained use. Have they gotten super inventive with cooling in this fanless enclosure?)

Can’t wait to hear, this is an exciting machine!

You have hit the prevabial nail on the head. Like you, I am waiting to hear youtubers reviews on this new MBA with regards to thermals and SSD's.

I believe the embargo on reviews ends on the 14th of July. The MBA has got alot going for it, such as:

--> 1080p webcam
--> form factor i.e. size, weight
--> 4 speakers with Spatial Audio
--> magsafe 3 + high quality cable
--> liquid retina screen
--> thin bezels
--> the great midnight colour
--> beautiful all round design
--> great battery life to boot

Yeah, can't wait to see it in the flesh. But I am in no hurry to get it and can afford to wait. To be sure, to be sure.
But the midnight colour does have me lusting after it though.