I was wrong

[Dealmans]

I was in the same position as you about a week ago. I returned the MBP 14 and kept the 16gb/512gb MBA. The price difference was $470USD.

The screen and sound of the MBP 14 is nice but I already got a bigger screen and nicer speakers at home.

I got macbook mainly because of portable use for regular stuffs and I’m not a media content creative professionals. And this is not my main machine. Hence I have to return it.

Same price here, I couldn’t sleep at night giving apple same AUD$$ with a sub par screen and speakers.

 

[Ramonsterrr1981]

Apple went function over form for the MBP. Oddly, though the form is similar on the MBA it looks so much nicer because a) it is much thinner and b) the color options are better.

I think it's really a personal preference. I actually like the way it looks and the heftiness makes it feel more sturdy to me, which is something I want from a professional machine. But I get what your saying.

 

[MajorFubar]

I personally can't get over how ugly the 14 and 16 pro are. The thickness looks like a 10 yr old Powerbook. I am sorry.

They made the MBA for people like you. Enjoy it. For those who want a powerful laptop with a great battery and aren't interested in entering beauty contests with it, they thankfully made the 14" and 16" Pros. So everyone is happy.

 

[Richu]

I personally can't get over how ugly the 14 and 16 pro are. The thickness looks like a 10 yr old Powerbook. I am sorry.

Thermodynamics and performance. For me it helps me with my work.

Also personally the 16 MBP is the first MacBook that I really like. I’ve had like 6 or so over the last 15 years. But they always felt disappointing. Fans going on like noisy airplanes, heat burning the laps and performance mediocre compared to cheap desktop computers.

 

[TechRunner]

Glad to hear good things about the new MBA. Looking forward to the rumored 15" version next year, assuming it's more than a rumor.

 

[BlueGhost]

After reading the prior 30+ posts, now I'm leaning toward waiting for the M2 Pro chip on an updated 14". The additional ports are more important than looks to me, and active cooling may be important during power failures on hot summer days (the way weather seems to be going). Hope an update hits the market in 6-12 months, before Big Sur stops getting security updates. Ventura looks more interesting than Monterey (and hopefully, less problematic).

Third USB-C/Thunderbolt port on 14" means no disconnecting hub or dock to attach external drive, since Western Digital documentation recommends direct connection of bus powered drives (no hub or dock). I like the HDMI port on 14"; wish MBA had an HDMI. I like the return of MagSafe on the M2 MBA, but would have liked ports more similar to 14"/16" MBP. I don't have separate speakers or microphones (so better specs there are a plus for 14"). Out of the box support for multiple external displays (no DisplayLink) is another plus, but I only mirror internal screen to a larger 2.5K external one for easier reading (may add another external display in next few years). Current 8+ year old 13" MBP does not support more than 2 x 2.5K external displays at higher refresh rates, and nothing higher than 4k (may limit to one at 4k). Never impressed by the touch bar on the 13" MBP, would rather see something useful, like more ports (yes, yes, I know some folks like the touch bar).

 

[macguy360]

Yeah I've been doing a couple of heavy renders as well as half an evening of playing WoW and wondering where the slowdowns and pasta-cooking from the youtube videos would start. Turns out the "throttling" is hard to notice outside of synthetics coupled with graphs.

This is a freakin' future machine. No volume and so much power.

How is wow on it? Does it hold up ok?

 

[Wokis]

How is wow on it? Does it hold up ok?

I was on 60fps running mythic+ dungeons for most of the evening. Settings below! Basically a conservative "4" but with higher texture resolution and better water effects. Upscaling with AMD Fidelity FX. Might try to turn it up a bit more later.

 

[JW5566]

Great to read a real-world opinion. As an Air user myself I'd second the huge advantage having a thinner and lighter form factor is, if you're highly mobile with your laptop. Some of my work - video editing - really needs a Pro but I'm happy with a slower Air for the 90% of time I'm not rendering video.

 

[dizmonk]

Just setting my 24 GB/1 TB from scratch right now. Should be ready for work by Friday morning.

Haven't been able to evaluate it yet but no issues so far. Staying nice and cool while downloading everything from iCloud and downloading apps from the App Store and from elsewhere.

I'm curious about the 24gb config. Please do let us know what if any lag/spinning beach balls you get with this setup.

 

[macguy360]

I was on 60fps running mythic+ dungeons for most of the evening. Settings below! Basically a conservative "4" but with higher texture resolution and better water effects. Upscaling with AMD Fidelity FX. Might try to turn it up a bit more later.

Nice! Thank you for sharing!

 

[dizmonk]

I'm sitting here with a new MBA (10/16/512) and a base 14" MBP.
I'm trying to decide which to keep. The MBP is $270 more than the MBA the way I have the MBA spec'd.
It comes down to solely the screen potential of the MBP and the better sound as I will likely never do intensive work that would make the MBP outperform the MBA.

I gotta say... it's a TOUGH call. I don't know what I'm going to do. The screen is definitely better on the MBP and so is the sound, but for $270? Worth it to me? I don't know yet! Ugh. lol. Modern-day-1st-world-problem I know...

The advanatages to the MBA besides the $270 it saves is that the portability of the MBA is noticeably better as well... plus I like Starlight. The MBA just begs to be taken out with me and somewhat cannibalizes my iPad. I could sell my iPad now and that makes this even cheaper!

I have a week or so more to decide.

Several of us are in the exact same boat. I don't have the M2 yet... just comparing the 14 MBP to my M1 MBA... (I know it's an incorrect comparison). I'm leaning toward the M2 due to the battery life and weight.

 

[mr_jomo]

Several of us are in the exact same boat. I don't have the M2 yet... just comparing the 14 MBP to my M1 MBA... (I know it's an incorrect comparison). I'm leaning toward the M2 due to the battery life and weight.

The M2 Air will blow your mind compared to the 14" (maybe minus the screen, which is indeed very lovely on my wife's 14" ... small compromise at least for me 🥳)

 

[fisherking]

Seeing as the screen is what you look at all the time 14” is the winner

whatever screen size you use and are comfortable with is the winner. i lived 6 years on a 12" macbook, comfortably. my ex (well, my ex ex ex) loved her 11" air. a collab has the 16" MBP, and loves that.

there's no one rule for everyone...

 

[Odessa]

Seeing as the screen is what you look at all the time 14” is the winner

not if you care about PWM, the Air M2 is flicker-free

 

[CarlSagan]

Has anyone gotten their top spec 24GB/2TB M2 yet? I am curious how it performs compared to the base models. Mine is still 2-3 weeks out.

 

[ucfgrad93]

When the news of the m2 came out. I made a post stating the m2 is just the m1.5 because they had not decreased the nm size at all. I watched video reviews on YouTube stating the speed of the m2 would be worse than m1 due to the solid-state drive being slower. This reaffirmed my feelings and I considered going for the 14" m1 Pro. My wife has one and it is a really impressive laptop.

Then tax free shopping came and it made the incentive for <$1500 laptop even more enticing. I decided to trade in my m1 air and get the m2 air base model.

TLDR: The m2 air base model is a beast. It is VERY FAST, noticeably more so than the m1 air and even feels faster than my wife's 14" m1 pro (in regards to opening apps, speed of loading internet pages, back and forth between different things). Clearly the 14" m1 pro will be faster when it comes to editing video in Final Cut Pro, but honestly something about the m2 feels right. For instance, everyone knows that when Apple switched from x86 to Arm processors they had to package all the software using Rosetta 2. With the m1 on my air and even my wife's m1 pro, there is a slight delay when opening up different programs. That delay appears to be gone completely and everything just loads instantly.

I also am really impressed with the build quality of the Air m2. It feels like my wife's 14" m1 pro, but thinner, but somehow more solid/dense. It feels much higher quality than my previous air m1. It feels like a $2000-$3000 laptop.

So anyway, I was wrong in my original disdain for the m2. I originally felt Apple should have scaled down the build to 4nm or even 3nm, but after actually using it, I am very impressed by what Apple has accomplished.

Thanks for the review. I’m glad you like it.

 

[Markgnyc2]

I think when all is said and done, the M2 Air will stand on its own as a great computer for the audience it is intended for. As I said in my own review post, spending the extra few hundred dollars on getting an M1 Pro machine would be a waste of money for me. Its power that I will never use. The M2 can do any task I throw at it and do it with ease. Despite all of the YouTube drama, history will say this is a great machine.

 

[jdb8167]

Has anyone gotten their top spec 24GB/2TB M2 yet? I am curious how it performs compared to the base models. Mine is still 2-3 weeks out.

Just got my 24GB/1TB yesterday. When I left for work, it was still downloading stuff. I will have time tonight to finish configuring it for work on Friday. So far, it seems flawless but I haven't had much chance to work with it yet.

 

[4743913]

Just setting my 24 GB/1 TB from scratch right now. Should be ready for work by Friday morning.

Haven't been able to evaluate it yet but no issues so far. Staying nice and cool while downloading everything from iCloud and downloading apps from the App Store and from elsewhere.

glad the preorder ponzi scheme worked for you. enjoy!

 

[erkanasu]

are you sure you are not wrong about being wrong? haha jk

 

[norcalsurfer925]

When the news of the m2 came out. I made a post stating the m2 is just the m1.5 because they had not decreased the nm size at all. I watched video reviews on YouTube stating the speed of the m2 would be worse than m1 due to the solid-state drive being slower. This reaffirmed my feelings and I considered going for the 14" m1 Pro. My wife has one and it is a really impressive laptop.

Then tax free shopping came and it made the incentive for <$1500 laptop even more enticing. I decided to trade in my m1 air and get the m2 air base model.

TLDR: The m2 air base model is a beast. It is VERY FAST, noticeably more so than the m1 air and even feels faster than my wife's 14" m1 pro (in regards to opening apps, speed of loading internet pages, back and forth between different things). Clearly the 14" m1 pro will be faster when it comes to editing video in Final Cut Pro, but honestly something about the m2 feels right. For instance, everyone knows that when Apple switched from x86 to Arm processors they had to package all the software using Rosetta 2. With the m1 on my air and even my wife's m1 pro, there is a slight delay when opening up different programs. That delay appears to be gone completely and everything just loads instantly.

I also am really impressed with the build quality of the Air m2. It feels like my wife's 14" m1 pro, but thinner, but somehow more solid/dense. It feels much higher quality than my previous air m1. It feels like a $2000-$3000 laptop.

So anyway, I was wrong in my original disdain for the m2. I originally felt Apple should have scaled down the build to 4nm or even 3nm, but after actually using it, I am very impressed by what Apple has accomplished.

Could you provide any insight on the difference between the screen of your M1 Air vs your M2? is the added brightness/contrast noticeable? any other differences?

 

[Warped9]

A positive perspective—is that even allowed on MR?

 

[aevan]

When the news of the m2 came out. I made a post stating the m2 is just the m1.5 because they had not decreased the nm size at all. I watched video reviews on YouTube stating the speed of the m2 would be worse than m1 due to the solid-state drive being slower. This reaffirmed my feelings and I considered going for the 14" m1 Pro. My wife has one and it is a really impressive laptop.

Then tax free shopping came and it made the incentive for <$1500 laptop even more enticing. I decided to trade in my m1 air and get the m2 air base model.

TLDR: The m2 air base model is a beast. It is VERY FAST, noticeably more so than the m1 air and even feels faster than my wife's 14" m1 pro (in regards to opening apps, speed of loading internet pages, back and forth between different things). Clearly the 14" m1 pro will be faster when it comes to editing video in Final Cut Pro, but honestly something about the m2 feels right. For instance, everyone knows that when Apple switched from x86 to Arm processors they had to package all the software using Rosetta 2. With the m1 on my air and even my wife's m1 pro, there is a slight delay when opening up different programs. That delay appears to be gone completely and everything just loads instantly.

I also am really impressed with the build quality of the Air m2. It feels like my wife's 14" m1 pro, but thinner, but somehow more solid/dense. It feels much higher quality than my previous air m1. It feels like a $2000-$3000 laptop.

So anyway, I was wrong in my original disdain for the m2. I originally felt Apple should have scaled down the build to 4nm or even 3nm, but after actually using it, I am very impressed by what Apple has accomplished.

It's always good when someone can admit their mistake. I try to - I remember claiming that iPad doesn't need a mouse, but when I tried it on mine, I liked it so much, I made a similar thread, saying I was wrong.

 

[DavidChoux]

I picked up a 14" pro in a store and it felt noticeably less sturdy than my 2016 13" Pro. I assume it's bigger so less sturdy.