Got my 10/1TB/24GB silver M2 MacBook Air today. It's a beast!

[neo_cs193p]

Does it have a bent bottom plate?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-air-m2-bent-bottom-plate.2353438/

Mine does. I also checked out another 4 MBAs in a couple of different stores, and all of them had this issue. Basically I've never seen one with a straight bottom plate in real life. I think the bottom sheet is too thin and gets warped when tightening the screws.

This problem and the display corner light bleeding push me towards the Pro (which I otherwise don't really need the performance of, and whose extra weight I could do without). Too bad, cause this MBA is otherwise gorgeous.

 

[DrGreenCat]

I have the same model (10/1TB/24GB), but Midnight. This has been my perfect go-to companion for classes, the library, coffee shops, and quick tasks. Very fast, runs cool, silent, looks great, and battery lasts all day. I got the small charger, so easy to put it all in a sleeve. I still have a M1 Max MBP for Parallels and heavier processing. But the Air is a wonderful extension thanks to iCloud.

Does the M2 MacBook Air actually struggle with Parallels? I would expect it to do just fine considering how the M1 does.

 

[dizmonk]

The total thickness of the M2 Air is almost identical to the lower case of the 14" Pro. I have a Midnight 8/24/1TB arriving tomorrow (I decided to return the 10/16/1TB version I had before).

Why did you return the 10 core?

 

[dizmonk]

Mine does. I also checked out another 4 MBAs in a couple of different stores, and all of them had this issue. Basically I've never seen one with a straight bottom plate in real life. I think the bottom sheet is too thin and gets warped when tightening the screws.

This problem and the display corner light bleeding push me towards the Pro (which I otherwise don't really need the performance of, and whose extra weight I could do without). Too bad, cause this MBA is otherwise gorgeous.

So you're telling me... you went to several Apple stores looked at the bottom of the brand new m2 MBA and found four different examples of misalignment??? Really???

 

[KPOM]

Why did you return the 10 core?

It was the 16GB version and I concluded the extra 8GB was more useful than the two extra GPU cores for me.

 

[exoticSpice]

Mine does. I also checked out another 4 MBAs in a couple of different stores, and all of them had this issue. Basically I've never seen one with a straight bottom plate in real life. I think the bottom sheet is too thin and gets warped when tightening the screws.

This problem and the display corner light bleeding push me towards the Pro (which I otherwise don't really need the performance of, and whose extra weight I could do without). Too bad, cause this MBA is otherwise gorgeous.

All good here. I love my M2 MBA

 

[Gelam]

All good here. I love my M2 MBA

Yours does not have a slightly wavy bottom plate at the hinge?
I got 2 delivered to me and they both have it. I think they all have them and is not bothered at this point.
The backlight bleed however, gotta test first =).

 

[exoticSpice]

The backlight bleed however, gotta test first =).

The backlight bleed is common on LCD panels. I would return it if yours have unbearable bleed

 

[Gelam]

The backlight bleed is common on LCD panels. I would return it if yours have unbearable bleed

Yeah they are, and sometimes they come up later as the panel age and the laptop gets handled like compressed in a luggage etc. I had a 12" MacBook with absolutely no bleed out of the box, however, after a year there were a few bleeds. I have a 15" MacBook Pro that I replaced the display 3 times and all of them have the same bleed so it was a manufacturing line issue, even if I waited for a year to replace the final display so as to mitigate manufacturing lots.

So I agree with you, if there are slight bleeds I wouldn't bother, cannot avoid them anyway. Would love to have the miniLED Pro laptop but the thickness and weight is

 

[Mcdevidr]

Just checked my base model from Best Buy has same thing. The panel is just thin. I would never have noticed if it weren’t pointed out because you know I actually look at a screen when I use a computer.

 

[snugja]

Also have an M2 I picked up for travel reasons. It’s incredible. Sooo happy. Have more horsepower at home if I need it. It’s a go-between for me but does what I need it to do amazingly well and yes the battery life is insanely good.

 

[Psyclism]

Does the M2 MacBook Air actually struggle with Parallels? I would expect it to do just fine considering how the M1 does.

I'm running Parallels on my 16/1TB, and it seems to have almost no effect on battery, heat, or CPU. Just letting Parallels idle on my 16" intel MBP would burn through battery and turn it into a lap heater.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I'm running Parallels on my 16/1TB, and it seems to have almost no effect on battery, heat, or CPU. Just letting Parallels idle on my 16" intel MBP would burn through battery and turn it into a lap heater.

Out of curiosity, are you running Windows ARM?

 

[Zest28]

Congrats. But looks to me it's kind of overkill for web browsing?

 

[jchap]

But what I'd really like is an orange one! Hope they expand the color choices in future.

Yeah, some of us were indeed looking for the laptop counterpart to the M1 iMac with its new, vibrant color scheme. A pity that didn't materialize in the M2 MacBook Air.

 

[jchap]

Out of curiosity, are you running Windows ARM?

I think they mentioned that they were running it on a 16-inch Intel MBP, so it would not be the ARM version.

 

[MajorFubar]

I wish you well with it but that is a serious amount of money to spend on Apple's worst-performing* laptop. I'm trying to think of a task you plan using it for which desperately needs 1TB internal storage and 24GB RAM but yet wouldn't have warranted spending less money on the considerably superior 14" with 1TB storage and 16GB RAM. But only you really know your priorities.

*Yes I know it still wastes most laptops ever made.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

It’s the question that keeps me up at night… Only £70 (Education) difference between M2 Air 16/512 and base 14” Pro… Who would have thought it would be so difficult?

 

[CrazyForCashews]

When you’re spending that kind of money on something, it better be a beast.

 

[titovenok88]

I used it for the entire day and here's what I noticed:

• It stays cool to the touch. Not once did it get even slightly warm. Seriously, I tried overloading it with daily tasks and couldn't get it to warm up, let alone get hot.
• I had 30+ browser tabs open and as I continued to open more, websites loaded instantaneously. Tradingview and many exchanges consume a lot of resources in browser windows that my MacBook 12 couldn't handle after a few minutes. No such issues with the M2 Air. None. Websites load at lightning-fast speed.
• Wife called on FaceTime and she couldn't believe how good the webcam looked.
• The battery lasts FOREVER lol. At least that's what it feels like. I'm still on factory charge after 8 hours of semi-heavy use with 20% left.
• Magsafe charging kicks ass. It feels so solid and effortless to connect.
• Screen is gorgeous and feels huge compared to my MacBook 12.
• All in all, to me, this is hands down the best looking laptop in the world. From all angles, it's simply stunning.
• Silver color looks spectacular is person. I'm so glad that I went this route. It looks like a very light silver (almost white at times), but that could be because I was so used to space gray.
• Quality-wise, it's perfection. Zero issues or defects that I could spot. Keyboard is smooth as butter. Hinges on the screen feel incredibly sturdy. What an amazing product.
• After all day use, I can't see any fingerprints. Nil. I don't understand why so many reviewers complained about this. Their hands must be extremely oily.

For the record, I don't do video editing and I never will. So there's that. But what I can tell you is that my old 16 GB MacBook 12 was complete trash when it came to performance. It would get scorching hot very quickly (yes, scorching hot to the point where it would burn skin if you touched the bottom) with 20 browser tabs open. It would also throttle like crazy after just 5-10 minutes of heavy use (and by heavy, I mean having many browser tabs open).

For me, this upgrade is like going from a Toyota Camry to a Ferrari. I don't know of any other way to describe it. Night and day. My goal was to buy the fastest, lightest, and most portable laptop with a native Apple ecosystem. Mission accomplished.

Dear colleague! My congratulations. I have bought the same laptop, but in MDN color. Are You satisfied with its screen? I'm worried that I didn't buy MBP 14.

 

[jdb8167]

I wish you well with it but that is a serious amount of money to spend on Apple's worst-performing* laptop. I'm trying to think of a task you plan using it for which desperately needs 1TB internal storage and 24GB RAM but yet wouldn't have warranted spending less money on the considerably superior 14" with 1TB storage and 16GB RAM. But only you really know your priorities.

*Yes I know it still wastes most laptops ever made.

This has been discussed to death on these forums. I know you’ve read many explanations why buyers prefer the M2 MacBook Air over the M1Pro MacBook Pro. So why ask the same question again?

And worst performing? Apple still sells the M1 MBA so that isn’t even accurate. And the M2 is faster than an M1 Ultra in single core performance.

 

[MajorFubar]

This has been discussed to death on these forums. I know you’ve read many explanations why buyers prefer the M2 MacBook Air over the M1Pro MacBook Pro. So why ask the same question again?

And worst performing? Apple still sells the M1 MBA so that isn’t even accurate. And the M2 is faster than an M1 Ultra in single core performance.

Op hopefully has his own very specific reasons. I'm not here to question them. Just trying to spread knowledge and awareness. I haven't read the entirety of the thread, but not everyone is genned-up on the ins and outs of the Mac product line. There are probably many non-tech people who will assume an M2 Air will out perform an M1 Pro just because it says M2 in the name. So i was just trying to explain the difference. I saw OP on page 1 state he wasn't keen on the 14" because it looked thicker, which is a fair shout, but if he wants performance (which is what you usually buy a 24GB RAM machine for) the 14" is going to be a better bet.

Heck it's literally only yesterday I saw a post on this forum from someone who claimed their everyday workhorse was an M2 14" Macbook Pro: a computer that doesn't exist. That can be the level of consumer awareness we're dealing with.

As for single-core performance...there is some reality to that, but mostly it's just pretty figures for benchmarks. In heavy-duty real-world tasks (ie those tasks you buy a 24GB RAM machine for) a 14" Pro will toast an M2 Air. My M1 Air has a better single core performance than most Mac Pros, but Mac Pro owners will swap me when hell freezes over.

 

[fisherking]

Just checked my base model from Best Buy has same thing. The panel is just thin. I would never have noticed if it weren’t pointed out because you know I actually look at a screen when I use a computer.

i use my M2 air closed, upside down (with an external keyboard and monitor). i like to stare angrily at the bottom plate while i work...

 

[ogawa]

Just got my silver m2 mba yesterday. 10/16/1. In general very happy with it. very fast, almost twice as fast as my iMac pro for single core. Most of the apps I use are single core so that ultimately drove my decision over the 14" mbp. wanted the fastest single core I could buy. Yes the screen on the mbp is way better but this is fine for now. Didn't want to invest in a machine that right now is a great value but could be superseded in 6 months. Plan to upgrade in a year or two to m2 or m3 14" mbp. Or maybe by then the MBA will have a xdr display in which I'd be perfectly satisfied with an air. planning on pairing this with a studio display. very excited for that setup, SD slated to arrive in sept.

 

[jdb8167]

Op hopefully has his own very specific reasons. I'm not here to question them. Just trying to spread knowledge and awareness. I haven't read the entirety of the thread, but not everyone is genned-up on the ins and outs of the Mac product line. There are probably many non-tech people who will assume an M2 Air will out perform an M1 Pro just because it says M2 in the name. So i was just trying to explain the difference. I saw OP on page 1 state he wasn't keen on the 14" because it looked thicker, which is a fair shout, but if he wants performance (which is what you usually buy a 24GB RAM machine for) the 14" is going to be a better bet.

Heck it's literally only yesterday I saw a post on this forum from someone who claimed their everyday workhorse was an M2 14" Macbook Pro: a computer that doesn't exist. That can be the level of consumer awareness we're dealing with.

As for single-core performance...there is some reality to that, but mostly it's just pretty figures for benchmarks. In heavy-duty real-world tasks (ie those tasks you buy a 24GB RAM machine for) a 14" Pro will toast an M2 Air. My M1 Air has a better single core performance than most Mac Pros, but Mac Pro owners will swap me when hell freezes over.

Sorry, you are correct. Your post was entirely on topic. It was a knee jerk reaction on my part from seeing so many people saying that only a spend-thrift (in not so many words) would buy an upgraded M2 MacBook Air. Sorry about coming across as angry/triggered etc. Carry on.

Edit: I'll stand by my criticism that the M2 MacBook Air is the worst performing notebook from Apple. As long as Apple sells the M1 MBA, that won't be true.