First M2 MacBook Air Orders Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

[ian87w]

But it’s 2 years old no price drop.
So annoying, the principle of it.
Refurbed doesn’t count as a discount, as even that woulda been available forever ago…

Sure, it sucks having to pay full price for a 2 year old machine, but it's still cheaper than the base M2 Macbook Air, and can be faster due to the faster SSD bandwidth (2x128GB). The choice is yours, paying $1200 for the M2 Macbook Air with crippled SSD, or $1000 for the M1 Macbook Air that's older but have better performing SSD setup. The difference between M1 and M2 is arguableynegligible, unless you do a lot of pro res and final cut (which the M2 is better, but then it will be bogged down by the crippled SSD).

Tough choices if you want to save money. Apple's answer is for you to simply spend $2000 for the 14" Macbook Pro.

 

[ian87w]

That review led directly to my decision to go for the 14" instead (in the Fall, whether or not they get updated).

That's exactly the goal of Apple's business strategy, upsell people to the $2000 laptop. Upsize your happy meal.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Just ordered a 512 Starlight for the wife - local reseller had one in stock for delivery tomorrow - as she somehow managed to screw-up the screen connection on her current 16" 2019 Intel

Hope she likes the colour, I didn't see one in real life myself yet, but seems to be a pale gold, like the Apple Watch??

 

[Darth Tulhu]

That's exactly the goal of Apple's business strategy, upsell people to the $2000 laptop. Upsize your happy meal.

Absolutely. The irony is that it's the storage that drives the price to those levels. If I can afford $1.8k, then I can afford $2k. And If I can afford $2k, the $2.5k isn't so bad. On it goes.

I've been AGONIZING over what is the best bang for my buck (I keep my Macs for a decade):

(Vet prices):

M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 1TB: $1,619
M2 MBA 8/10 16GB 1TB: $1,709
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 1TB: $1,889
M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 2TB: $1,979
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 1TB: $1,979
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 2TB: $2,249
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 2TB: $2,339
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 1TB: $2,429
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 2TB: $2,789​

 

[iSuzan]

Just ordered a 512 Starlight for the wife - local reseller had one in stock for delivery tomorrow - as she somehow managed to screw-up the screen connection on her current 16" 2019 Intel

Hope she likes the colour, I didn't see one in real life myself yet, but seems to be a pale gold, like the Apple Watch??

She will love it. Should look exactely like the Watch in Starlight, great color.

 

[ian87w]

Absolutely. The irony is that it's the storage that drives the price to those levels. If I can afford $1.8k, then I can afford $2k. And If I can afford $2k, the $2.5k isn't so bad. On it goes.

I've been AGONIZING over what is the best bang for my buck (I keep my Macs for a decade):

(Vet prices):

M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 1TB: $1,619
M2 MBA 8/10 16GB 1TB: $1,709
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 1TB: $1,889
M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 2TB: $1,979
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 1TB: $1,979
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 2TB: $2,249
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 2TB: $2,339
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 1TB: $2,429
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 2TB: $2,789​

It depends on what you want to to with your Mac. Doing the homework like you did by listing the possible configurations and prices are great way to have a bird's eye view on what's available and your budget. I'd say great work. 👍🏼

If the use case is basic computing (no final cut), then I wouldn't worry too much about the GPU cores. My contenders would be between the first MBA on the list and the first 14" MBP on the list. Decision points will be portability, ports, and budget.

Depending on your budget, I wouldn't worry on storage as well if you have any cloud storage (icloud, one drive, etc). Plus it's easy to add external storage. Put the money on AppleCare and other accessories.

Good luck!

 

[daveporter2005]

I’ve just bought one here in the UK. I didn’t order up front just waited for today. I was able to order, and collect from my local Apple Store Metrocentre today. Midnight colour, which is very nice. It’s currently transferring all my data, via Migration Assistant, from my old 2017 MacBook. So too early to tell how good it is, but it looks really good. I like the size, I like that it’s flat, unlike the older Macbook Air. I asked the girl in the store if they had sold many today, and she said that they had not had much stock and had sold it all.

 

[ian87w]

I’ve just bought one here in the UK. I didn’t order up front just waited for today. I was able to order, and collect from my local Apple Store Metrocentre today. Midnight colour, which is very nice. It’s currently transferring all my data, via Migration Assistant, from my old 2017 MacBook. So too early to tell how good it is, but it looks really good. I like the size, I like that it’s flat, unlike the older Macbook Air. I asked the girl in the store if they had sold many today, and she said that they had not had much stock and had sold it all.

It's the perfect timing with back to school season.

 

[Max_G]

Absolutely. The irony is that it's the storage that drives the price to those levels. If I can afford $1.8k, then I can afford $2k. And If I can afford $2k, the $2.5k isn't so bad. On it goes.

I've been AGONIZING over what is the best bang for my buck (I keep my Macs for a decade):

(Vet prices):

M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 1TB: $1,619
M2 MBA 8/10 16GB 1TB: $1,709
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 1TB: $1,889
M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 2TB: $1,979
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 1TB: $1,979
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 2TB: $2,249
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 2TB: $2,339
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 1TB: $2,429
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 2TB: $2,789​

For me the best configuration is 16GB/1TB. The difference between $1,899 (MBA, 10 core GPU) and $2,199 (MBP) seems justified by the better hardware. Let's see if the price of the MBP M2 stays the same...

 

[svish]

To everyone who has ordered one, enjoy your new laptop. Looking forward to seeing more photos of Midnight.

 

[Damian83]

i want an article about first macbook airs arriving to customers in zambia, congo, seychelles, and ukraine of course!

 

[greenvomit8]

It's July 15 in New Zealand and Australia, which means the M2 MacBook Air launch day has officially kicked off. Customers in New Zealand and Australia are always the first to get their hands on new devices due to time zone differences.

Customers who ordered the M2 MacBook Air last week are starting to receive their new machines and will soon be sharing their experiences with the new design and M2 chip on the MacRumors forums, Twitter, and other social networks.

Because New Zealand does not have Apple retail locations, customers in Australia will be the first to be able to pick up an M2 MacBook Air from an Apple Store. Available MacBook Air stock in Australia will give us an idea of what we might be able to expect from other stores around the world. Apple is likely to have stock machines available, but custom configurations will need to be ordered online.

Delivery dates for the M2 MacBook Air slipped just after the machine was launched, suggesting that it is in short supply. M2 MacBook Air models ordered online will not be shipping out until mid to late August due to supply constraints.

Following New Zealand and Australia, sales of the MacBook Air are set to begin in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and then North America.

Pricing on the M2 MacBook Air starts at $1,199 in the United States. The updated M2 chip features a faster 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, plus the body has been redesigned. It includes a larger 13.6-inch display, a MacBook Pro-like chassis with no taper, MagSafe charging, and new colors like Midnight Blue and Starlight.

Get a new M2 MacBook Air today? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: First M2 MacBook Air Orders Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

Does anyone know if and when the Back to School promo will happen in Australia?

 

[entropys]

Does anyone know if and when the Back to School promo will happen in Australia?

It happens at the beginning of the year and ends in March. You know, when Aussie kids go back to school.

 

[0111587]

The blue colour is fine, but the notch is 🤮

 

[lowkey]

I don’t even notice the notch on my 14”MBP. But I do notice how beautiful the display is.

 

[lowkey]

Absolutely. The irony is that it's the storage that drives the price to those levels. If I can afford $1.8k, then I can afford $2k. And If I can afford $2k, the $2.5k isn't so bad. On it goes.

I've been AGONIZING over what is the best bang for my buck (I keep my Macs for a decade):

(Vet prices):

M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 1TB: $1,619
M2 MBA 8/10 16GB 1TB: $1,709
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 1TB: $1,889
M2 MBA 8/8 16GB 2TB: $1,979
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 1TB: $1,979
M2 MBA 8/10 24GB 2TB: $2,249
M1P 14” MBP 8/14 16GB 2TB: $2,339
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 1TB: $2,429
M1P 16” MBP 10/16 16GB 2TB: $2,789​

I’d go M2 MBA 8/8 16GB/512GB unless you are doing video or audio production.
In that case M1P 14” MBP 10/16 16GB 1TB.

 

[Bentheminernz]

Controversial opinion but I think the notch on the mac is amazing. It just looks distinctly Apple and premium for some odd reason. I just find the new MacBook Air very beautiful and pleasing lol. Wish I could afford one 😂

 

[Dnzilla]

It happens at the beginning of the year and ends in March. You know, when Aussie kids go back to school.

Say it ain’t so!

I mean strictly speaking semester start all year round… how about term 3 sale please 🤣

 

[wbeasley]

Sure, it sucks having to pay full price for a 2 year old machine, but it's still cheaper than the base M2 Macbook Air, and can be faster due to the faster SSD bandwidth (2x128GB). The choice is yours, paying $1200 for the M2 Macbook Air with crippled SSD, or $1000 for the M1 Macbook Air that's older but have better performing SSD setup. The difference between M1 and M2 is arguableynegligible, unless you do a lot of pro res and final cut (which the M2 is better, but then it will be bogged down by the crippled SSD).

Tough choices if you want to save money. Apple's answer is for you to simply spend $2000 for the 14" Macbook Pro.

Maybe for most people the difference between the base M2 and older M1 is not so much the slower SSD but more the bigger screen and faster M2 and new colours?

I wanted a 512G M2 one but none available.
Settled for a 256G and honestly it is 4 times faster than my 2017 iMac or MacBook Pro at upscaling video.
Huge difference so will be keeping it. 2 more GPUs and two SSDs would not yield enough extra to be worth more. For me. And as a base model, it will be easy to offload if I decide to upgrade later on

 

[ian87w]

Maybe for most people the difference between the base M2 and older M1 is not so much the slower SSD but more the bigger screen and faster M2 and new colours?

I wanted a 512G M2 one but none available.
Settled for a 256G and honestly it is 4 times faster than my 2017 iMac or MacBook Pro at upscaling video.
Huge difference so will be keeping it. 2 more GPUs and two SSDs would not yield enough extra to be worth more. For me. And as a base model, it will be easy to offload if I decide to upgrade later on

I think in a vacuum, the base M2 Air is fine. However, you should just be aware that you just paid $200 more for a machine that has inferior basic performance than the older and cheaper M1 model. And those things will only be noticable once you fill up the SSD and do more multitasking (swap). Of course, by that time, you would think of upgrading, perfectly as Apple intended.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I think in a vacuum, the base M2 Air is fine. However, you should just be aware that you just paid $200 more for a machine that has inferior basic performance than the older and cheaper M1 model. And those things will only be noticable once you fill up the SSD and do more multitasking (swap). Of course, by that time, you would think of upgrading, perfectly as Apple intended.

Agreed.

I've been going around in circles with that very thing, but I think that MagSafe and the extra 100 nits of screen brightness may be worth the $200.

I need at least 1TB of storage though (got 25 years' worth of family photos & video), so that puts me in a whole other bracket entirely.

Apple's storage prices are usurious, but I really don't want to carry dongled devices.

 

[0111587]

Agreed.

I've been going around in circles with that very thing, but I think that MagSafe and the extra 100 nits of screen brightness may be worth the $200.

I need at least 1TB of storage though (got 25 years' worth of family photos & video), so that puts me in a whole other bracket entirely.

Apple's storage prices are usurious, but I really don't want to carry dongled devices.

You don't need 1tb for photos. Can use iCloud.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

You don't need 1tb for photos. Can use iCloud.

I thought of that but I've always been more of an "on device" type of guy. I hate to wait for something to download and 20+ years of video and photos are a lot of wait time.

This is one of the reasons why the last Mac I bought (until my daughter's refurb base M1 Air this year) was back in 2012, the last year Mac drives were upgradeable.

iCloud makes for a good secondary/offsite backup though.

I actually want 2TB on-board storage, but I refuse to pay that much Apple tax for storage, so I have to settle for 1TB.