Getting a MacBook Air if I already have an iMac?

[jm31828]

Considering what you wrote it seems that you could get away with an iPad.

Yeah, it seems that way- but I don't necessarily prefer touch over touchpad, and the file system and apps available on iPad are a bit more limiting- though it has been fun finding out how to do so much more than I thought I could on the iPad so far.
I like the iPad overall, it's a fun and useful device- is more of a bridge device that doesn't completely overlap my phone or my iMac- but I can't lie, last night was the first time I realized that it is clunky to try to hold the big 11" tablet for longer periods of time to simply browse the web and/or social media- not as easy to do as my phone or the MacBook Air.

I could definitely afford the M2 MacBook Air, and as noted it's on sale at Costco now for $200 off ($999), which is intriguing- it may almost be worth giving it a try. As noted, I am just cheap and don't like to spend too much on things, especially if it's something that would make my other expensive device- my older 2017 iMac- go unused. So I suppose if I did stick with the Air- either the one I have now, if somehow I get better with it- or the M2- that I would possibly need to consider selling the iMac, unless I find a way to make use of them both.

I definitely wouldn't be taking either device out of the house- so the "on the go" idea is really just around the house- in bed, on the couch, in the kids' playroom when watching them- being able to consume media and do some light photo editing vs. camping out in the room where the iMac is located for those things.

When you returned your iPad Airs- were they opened, or still sealed/unopened?
I see that I can initiate the return in the Amazon app, and it immediately sets up a UPS pickup, so it seems that it is pretty straight forward- did you have to communicate with them further to justify the return before a UPS pickup was scheduled?

Thanks again for the discussion! Glad to hear you are so happy with the M2 MacBook!

 

[1BadManVan]

Yeah, it seems that way- but I don't necessarily prefer touch over touchpad, and the file system and apps available on iPad are a bit more limiting- though it has been fun finding out how to do so much more than I thought I could on the iPad so far.
I like the iPad overall, it's a fun and useful device- is more of a bridge device that doesn't completely overlap my phone or my iMac- but I can't lie, last night was the first time I realized that it is clunky to try to hold the big 11" tablet for longer periods of time to simply browse the web and/or social media- not as easy to do as my phone or the MacBook Air.

I could definitely afford the M2 MacBook Air, and as noted it's on sale at Costco now for $200 off ($999), which is intriguing- it may almost be worth giving it a try. As noted, I am just cheap and don't like to spend too much on things, especially if it's something that would make my other expensive device- my older 2017 iMac- go unused. So I suppose if I did stick with the Air- either the one I have now, if somehow I get better with it- or the M2- that I would possibly need to consider selling the iMac, unless I find a way to make use of them both.

I definitely wouldn't be taking either device out of the house- so the "on the go" idea is really just around the house- in bed, on the couch, in the kids' playroom when watching them- being able to consume media and do some light photo editing vs. camping out in the room where the iMac is located for those things.

When you returned your iPad Airs- were they opened, or still sealed/unopened?
I see that I can initiate the return in the Amazon app, and it immediately sets up a UPS pickup, so it seems that it is pretty straight forward- did you have to communicate with them further to justify the return before a UPS pickup was scheduled?

Thanks again for the discussion! Glad to hear you are so happy with the M2 MacBook!

Costco is great for returns if it doesn't work out and $999 is definitely a nice deal for a new m2 air. I would certainly give it a try just for the display differences that should be better for your eyes alone with no display flickering/pwm to worry about.

My m2 MacBook Air is definitely my favourite device in the house.

 

[jm31828]

Costco is great for returns if it doesn't work out and $999 is definitely a nice deal for a new m2 air. I would certainly give it a try just for the display differences that should be better for your eyes alone with no display flickering/pwm to worry about.

My m2 MacBook Air is definitely my favourite device in the house.

Thanks, I am seriously considering it now after mulling over the options.

I do like that the M2 does not have flickering/pwm like the M1 has, and there is some talk that it might be a true 10-bit display, meaning no FRC/Temporal Dithering to achieve the higher color gamut- which would also be easier on the eyes as I think I mentioned in the long rambling post earlier.

Does your M2 Air get very warm at all with regular use- as in, warm to the touch at all? Or does it only get warm when doing anything heavier, such as gaming on it?

And you mentioned it being the favorite device in your house- do you use it even for basic media consumption on the couch, instead of an iPad or a phone? Just curious, as that would be one part of what I would hope to use it for- and was curious how bulky/cumbersome it is for that use case.

 

[1BadManVan]

Thanks, I am seriously considering it now after mulling over the options.

I do like that the M2 does not have flickering/pwm like the M1 has, and there is some talk that it might be a true 10-bit display, meaning no FRC/Temporal Dithering to achieve the higher color gamut- which would also be easier on the eyes as I think I mentioned in the long rambling post earlier.

Does your M2 Air get very warm at all with regular use- as in, warm to the touch at all? Or does it only get warm when doing anything heavier, such as gaming on it?

And you mentioned it being the favorite device in your house- do you use it even for basic media consumption on the couch, instead of an iPad or a phone? Just curious, as that would be one part of what I would hope to use it for- and was curious how bulky/cumbersome it is for that use case.

Well im sitting here on my couch right now with my m2 typing this out while watching YouTube videos, so nice timing for me to get on and read this lol. I absolutely love using it on the couch, much more than iPad myself. Too big to just hold in my hand, but then you need to balance it on the couch to use. Its a good 50/50 split for me between the iPhone and the Mac for the couch surfing.

As for the warmth, not at all unless you're trying to push it for stuff like gaming, video editing etc. Currently I have about 10 tabs open, streaming some YouTube and other social media and it's cold to the touch, cpu running in the mid 30's temp wise.

 

[jm31828]

Well im sitting here on my couch right now with my m2 typing this out while watching YouTube videos, so nice timing for me to get on and read this lol. I absolutely love using it on the couch, much more than iPad myself. Too big to just hold in my hand, but then you need to balance it on the couch to use. Its a good 50/50 split for me between the iPhone and the Mac for the couch surfing.

As for the warmth, not at all unless you're trying to push it for stuff like gaming, video editing etc. Currently I have about 10 tabs open, streaming some YouTube and other social media and it's cold to the touch, cpu running in the mid 30's temp wise.

haha. Indeed great timing for that question!

Thanks for sharing about the M2- that's great you can push it a bit like that and it stays cold to the touch! Sounds just like the M1 I am still using here.

Do you find that you don't end up getting much use out of your iPad?

 

[1BadManVan]

haha. Indeed great timing for that question!

Thanks for sharing about the M2- that's great you can push it a bit like that and it stays cold to the touch! Sounds just like the M1 I am still using here.

Do you find that you don't end up getting much use out of your iPad?

Not really no, besides using it in the kitchen to stream some shows while im cooking or just feel like picking it up here and there. My friend is considering buying it off me as she recently got a base model iPad and immediately loved using it as a laptop replacement. Her boyfriend got her the logitech keyboard case and she's fully replaced her slow windows laptop with it and now considering an upgrade to my 11" M1 Pro now lol.

Some people love the iPads, I still love mine but I love the MacBook more for my use case personally. And the battery life on the MacBook runs circles around my iPad as well.

 

[ignatius345]

But one other concern that arose- if I keep this, what is the purpose of my iMac?

I love having a second Mac around. I got a base model M1 Air to use as a kind of satellite machine.

My iMac works as an always-on media server. It also is set to keep downloaded *everything* I have on iCloud -- which then gets backed up to a Time Machine drive and a drive I keep offsite. Lastly, it's where I go for any real work where I need to spread out and have a good amount of screen real-estate and a nice mechanical keyboard.

All that frees up the MacBook Air to have minimal specs and minimal responsibilities. iCloud Drive and Photos are set to "optimize storage" so they're not chewing up my storage, and I'm never really doing anything too taxing on it. And yet because it's a real Mac, I can type on it and use it for stuff that I think would drive me insane if I tried to do it on an iPad.

 

[lowendlinux]

I have a Mac Studio, older MBA, older iPad, and phone. I use the MBA to work on when away from the house and the iPad for couch surfing.