If your on the fence: This is why I chose the M2 MBA over 14" or 16" M1 MBP

[BigMcGuire]

I moved to the Apple world in 2011 with an 11' MBA. I moved my personal computing to a 13' MBA in 2015 - got it for around $700 with a Best Buy discount. Sold it 3 years later for 50% of what I paid for it (traded it in for a 13' MBP).

I played World of Warcraft, did work and everything on that 13' MBA. It is doable. I used it with an external monitor and it was a champ. My Mac OS experience made me switch my personal computing from a lifetime of Windows to Mac.

The 13' MBP was even better - faster, could do more, ran windows in VMWare (and then Parallels). An eGPU made it play games and resulted in me selling my gaming desktop.

Go to today.

Could I get by with a MBA? Definitely. Would there be some compromises? Definitely. I went with the 16' MBP route because I need a Windows 11 Parallels instance with 20-40GB of ram and I often run multiple browsers with 20+ tabs each - not to mention a ton of memory intensive applications (Teams, Word, Powerpoint, OneNote, Excel, etc).

Do I wish I had a lap device at the end of the day? Definitely. I treat my MBP 16' like a desktop and it's not terribly comfortable on the lap. But 1st world problems.

I'm happy with the direction I went but I can definitely see how people can make a MBA work - I know I could. I really like the direction Apple's computing is going.

 

[Lioness~]

Quick read: M2MBA is lighter and good enough

Good to know 👍🏼

I tend to do the investigation and reading before I buy.
I have however bought enough Apple stuff this year, not going to buy anything more until my MBA starts to moan about it.
I seldom to never make a wrong buying decision these days. But hey, everyone can learn however they want. Apple have generous buying options.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I really wish they'd make a 15" or 16" MBA

 

[Hammie]

Here is my first world problem...

I have a 14" MBP M1 Pro 10/16/16GB/1TB in Space Gray. I love the computer, but hate the color. I wish Silver was available when I got mine (for no cost). My wife told me that I could get a Silver one for Christmas and just sell the Space Gray model.

Now, my dilemma is what Silver model to get. M2 MBA or M1 Pro/Max MBP? Models range in price with my company discount from $1659 for an M2 MBA with 8/8/16GB/1TB to $1939 for an M2 MBA with 8/10/24GB/1TB. Or the MBP route starts at $2029 for an M1 Pro with 8/14/16GB/1TB to $3379 for an M1 Max with 10/32/64GB/1TB.

Does my needs require an M1 Max fully loaded? Nope. I mostly do productivity work (O365), media consumption, Occassionally use Apple Photos (I recently migrated from Lightroom since I was not using it to its fullest and no longer wanted to pay the subscription), and I connect to work via a VM Horizon client. However, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford any of those options I mentioned at the current time. I just don't think I want to drop $3400 on a laptop that I won't even raise its heartbeat when using.

At 16GB, I often see my memory usage at 12-14GB, with anywhere between 300M and 6GB of swap being used. I am considering upgrading the RAM whether I go with the MBA or MBP, but I have seen and read a number of reviews saying that the chance of the SSD going bad due to swap before you upgrade is very low.

My last laptop was a 2013 13" MBP with Intel i5 chip, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. I would not say that I upgrade often, so I want something to last a little longer which is why I am at least staying with the 1TB SSD. I know my 2013 MBP was really showing its age and opening most programs caused the beach ball regularly.

I also love the SD card port on the MBP, but usually carry a dongle with me anyway for my 12.9 M2 iPad Pro (My 11" screen shattered and I have wanted the 12.9 for a while). So, even though I like the ports, I am lready used to carrying extra stuff with me.

My brain is exhausted from watching YouTube videos and reading articles on the subject.

Although this article helps lean me towards the MBA, I still have that bit of trepidation about regretting my choice and not going with the MBP.

 

[1BadManVan]

Here is my first world problem...

I have a 14" MBP M1 Pro 10/16/16GB/1TB in Space Gray. I love the computer, but hate the color. I wish Silver was available when I got mine (for no cost). My wife told me that I could get a Silver one for Christmas and just sell the Space Gray model.

Now, my dilemma is what Silver model to get. M2 MBA or M1 Pro/Max MBP? Models range in price with my company discount from $1659 for an M2 MBA with 8/8/16GB/1TB to $1939 for an M2 MBA with 8/10/24GB/1TB. Or the MBP route starts at $2029 for an M1 Pro with 8/14/16GB/1TB to $3379 for an M1 Max with 10/32/64GB/1TB.

Does my needs require an M1 Max fully loaded? Nope. I mostly do productivity work (O365), media consumption, Occassionally use Apple Photos (I recently migrated from Lightroom since I was not using it to its fullest and no longer wanted to pay the subscription), and I connect to work via a VM Horizon client. However, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford any of those options I mentioned at the current time. I just don't think I want to drop $3400 on a laptop that I won't even raise its heartbeat when using.

At 16GB, I often see my memory usage at 12-14GB, with anywhere between 300M and 6GB of swap being used. I am considering upgrading the RAM whether I go with the MBA or MBP, but I have seen and read a number of reviews saying that the chance of the SSD going bad due to swap before you upgrade is very low.

My last laptop was a 2013 13" MBP with Intel i5 chip, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. I would not say that I upgrade often, so I want something to last a little longer which is why I am at least staying with the 1TB SSD. I know my 2013 MBP was really showing its age and opening most programs caused the beach ball regularly.

I also love the SD card port on the MBP, but usually carry a dongle with me anyway for my 12.9 M2 iPad Pro (My 11" screen shattered and I have wanted the 12.9 for a while). So, even though I like the ports, I am lready used to carrying extra stuff with me.

My brain is exhausted from watching YouTube videos and reading articles on the subject.

Although this article helps lean me towards the MBA, I still have that bit of trepidation about regretting my choice and not going with the MBP.

If you’re that unsure, you could order the m2 air and try it for 14 days. Couple weeks with it should give you a good idea if it’s a good fit for you or not. I have the m2 air 16/1tb model in silver and it flies along. Love using on the couch as well

 

[Hammie]

If you’re that unsure, you could order the m2 air and try it for 14 days. Couple weeks with it should give you a good idea if it’s a good fit for you or not. I have the m2 air 16/1tb model in silver and it flies along. Love using on the couch as well

I keep forgetting about the 14 day return policy.

Did you get the 8 core or 10 core GPU?

 

[1BadManVan]

I keep forgetting about the 14 day return policy.

Did you get the 8 core or 10 core GPU?

10 core model, I wanted the larger charger anyways so was a cheap upgrade incase I do something more gpu intensive later. no issues with heat or battery life at all for me.

 

[Wokis]

The most powerful thing of the Air is that it delivers on being small and light, with pretty even weight distribution this time around. It's so effortless to bring around for any day to day situation. Dragging my 16" to another room is almost a project by comparison. The Air is almost like bringing around an iPad.

I'll take the tradeoffs over the chunkier Macbooks, although I totally get that many want to prioritise the selling points of those machines instead. They're bigger for good reasons, after all.

 

[JamesMay82]

thanks for the insight. if you were a person that needs the portability and is constantly on the move, lighter and smaller makes sense.

Although Im not a laptop user, if it were to purchase a MPB as a primary mac, anything less than 32 GB would kill my workflow. Heck, Id be hesitant with 32 GB -- might not be enough, since I regularly stress the 128 GBs in my 2020 Intel iMac. I know M chips use ram different, both wife and kids have base MBAs and minis, but not a chance with me =)

Good write up but i was getting frustrated by all your returns ha

 

[Marsikus]

My brain is exhausted from watching YouTube videos and reading articles on the subject.

Although this article helps lean me towards the MBA, I still have that bit of trepidation about regretting my choice and not going with the MBP.

You are hard chooser like me

Does my needs require an M1 Max fully loaded? Nope. I mostly do productivity work (O365), media consumption, Occassionally use Apple Photos

Looks like Air is sufficient for this.

At 16GB, I often see my memory usage at 12-14GB, with anywhere between 300M and 6GB of swap being used.

Is that under the workload? Usually, Unix-like systems tend to use whole available RAM and avoid using swap.

My brain is exhausted from watching YouTube videos and reading articles on the subject.

Although this article helps lean me towards the MBA, I still have that bit of trepidation about regretting my choice and not going with the MBP.

In 2017-2018 choice was easier: then Air was lol.
But 14” is what I wanted for a long time, and here it is.

 

[Hammie]

You are hard chooser like me

Looks like Air is sufficient for this.

Is that under the workload? Usually, Unix-like systems tend to use whole available RAM and avoid using swap.


In 2017-2018 choice was easier: then Air was lol.
But 14” is what I wanted for a long time, and here it is.

Yes, very hard chooser.

I’m thinking Air is sufficient, too… today. LOL

yes, that is a typical day for me — VMWareHorizon client, Mail, messages, photos, safari w/ 4-6 tabs, and maybe Excel.

I agree that times have changed and decisions are not as easy with some of today’s tech options.

 

[Basic75]

But it was very heavy compared to my old 13" and even the 14".

Kids these days ;-) Compared to back in the days when normal laptops weighed in at 3Kg or more I'm quite happy with the weight and portability of my 16" MBP and would never give up on the screen real estate. Or the fan, but that's a different discussion.

 

[Dr_Charles_Forbin]

And that's the crux. I have a 16" MBP, but I don't need the power. I like the screen real estate. When you put two windows side-by-side on the smaller Macs, you often get the 'mobile' version of a website. Very annoying.

Me too.. if they release a 15” MBA I’d be hard pressed to buy an MBP.

 

[Hammie]

Kids these days ;-) Compared to back in the days when normal laptops weighed in at 3Kg or more I'm quite happy with the weight and portability of my 16" MBP and would never give up on the screen real estate. Or the fan, but that's a different discussion.

I still have my 2010 17” MBP that weighed 3kg (6.6lb).

When I went to the 2013 13” MBP that weighed almost half, I thought I was in heaven. LOL

The current 14” MBP is almost identical in dimensions and weight to my 2013.

 

[1BadManVan]

Kids these days ;-) Compared to back in the days when normal laptops weighed in at 3Kg or more I'm quite happy with the weight and portability of my 16" MBP and would never give up on the screen real estate. Or the fan, but that's a different discussion.

Haha, tell me about it. Our oldest has an hp aero 13, only 2.2lbs to throw in his bag for school and its pretty fast too lol

 

[Technerd108]

Kids these days ;-) Compared to back in the days when normal laptops weighed in at 3Kg or more I'm quite happy with the weight and portability of my 16" MBP and would never give up on the screen real estate. Or the fan, but that's a different discussion.

I am happy you don't mind the weight of the MBP 16". I understand it offers you features you value more than weight which is exactly the point of the MBP 16". I think for what it is, it is darn near perfect.

Personally for my use case the extra screen real estate which is really nice is just not enough considering the other features that the laptop offers are wasted on me.

The M2 MBA is such a pleasure to use in every way. It doesn't make me feel like I am sacrificing performance or a beautiful screen to have the most portable and fun to use laptop Apple has ever made. Weight is a big deal to me. Having a fan less laptop just opens new ways I can use the device IMHO. The extra battery life is also a huge factor for me.

Of course when in the past our choices were limited to heavy laptops with blasting fans and toasty cpu we dealt with it. Now that we have a choice it is nice to have lighter laptops. I think the MBA nails the right combination of build strength and weight. I have had some really lightweight windows laptops and I loved the weight but they sacrificed build quality and rigidity to get there. Of course as time goes on designs and materials get better. I would love to see a titanium MBA as it might allow maybe .5-.3lbs to be shaved off while still offering the same rigidity as aluminum.

 

[MBAir2010]

I think the MBA nails the right combination of build strength and weight.

yes the USBc ports on these MBAirs seem very stable and hopefully last longer than my
MacBook Air 2010 USB ports that still work!

 

[JimMoriarty]

Greetings everyone!

I’m on the fence in this discussion as well and debating whether to get a M2 MacBook Air or a M1/M2 MacBook Pro. My main concern is whether the M2 MacBook Air can run the StudioDisplay smoothly while doing some moderate GPU intensive work (light video editing, playing NBA2K). Im currently running my StudioDisplay with an 13inch Intel MacBook Pro and the fans are running constantly and are very audible.

Has anyone experience running a StudioDisplay with a M2 MacBook Air? Thanks and a happy new year!

 

[lewchenko]

What a great read.

I've spent the last week going through the debate of whether to get an M2 Air, M1 14" MBP or M1 16" MBP, and last night I placed an order for refurbished Silver 16" MacBook Pro , 16Gb/1TB (see below for pricing). I've been using a Dell XPS 13" for the last couple of years personally, but use an Intel 16" MBP Space Gray as my daily driver for work and would like to have a similar machine for personal use as well, just not space grey (really dont like that colour!)

I did not consider an M2 MBP due to the ridiculous cost of a similar spec (£2900) which is crazy , and the little improvement over the M1 Pro (for my use cases - I don't need HDMI 2.1 and wont notice the extra speed that much)

My main reasoning was I just love the screens on the 16" MBP, and the new one ordered will be way better than my work 16" Intel MBP. I also connect my laptops to a pair of 27" monitors for the times I do sit at a desk and want maximum productivity (development work mainly). The Air cannot do this. So the MBP's extra ports will come in handy in that respect and I also use a dongle with ethernet/bunch of USB-A/C on it too. I don't travel with the laptop but do use them around the house - e.g. sofa / bed etc so that ruled out a Mac mini.

Whilst the 16" is heavy, for my use-cases above, I dont really notice until I pick up the Dell XPS and think wow thats light!

My Dell XPS has mostly served me well, but the screen can feel cramped at times, and the Macbook Air M2 , and probably the 14" MBP M1 would feel the same.

So its not that I need the performance of an M1 Pro MBP (let alone the M2 versions), but I do prioritise that screen above anything else.

The final deciding factor was cost.

On Apples refurb site in the UK , with 1TB/16GB on all these models I was looking at £1749 for the Air M2, £1839 14" MBP M1 Pro or £1999 for the 16" MBP M1 Pro. These prices include our local 20% VAT sales tax.

ie The price was close enough to each other to just get the 16" MBP M1 Pro. £2K was my absolute limit I was willing to spend (and £1999 for the 16" M1 Pro was £900 cheaper than an MBP M2 Pro with 16Gb/1TB), and I expect this machine to last quite a few years.

For even lighter stuff I have an iPad to carry around, which serves me well for surfing/email etc when I don't have my laptop.

 

[Technerd108]

What a great read.

I've spent the last week going through the debate of whether to get an M2 Air, M1 14" MBP or M1 16" MBP, and last night I placed an order for refurbished Silver 16" MacBook Pro , 16Gb/1TB (see below for pricing). I've been using a Dell XPS 13" for the last couple of years personally, but use an Intel 16" MBP Space Gray as my daily driver for work and would like to have a similar machine for personal use as well, just not space grey (really dont like that colour!)

I did not consider an M2 MBP due to the ridiculous cost of a similar spec (£2900) which is crazy , and the little improvement over the M1 Pro (for my use cases - I don't need HDMI 2.1 and wont notice the extra speed that much)

My main reasoning was I just love the screens on the 16" MBP, and the new one ordered will be way better than my work 16" Intel MBP. I also connect my laptops to a pair of 27" monitors for the times I do sit at a desk and want maximum productivity (development work mainly). The Air cannot do this. So the MBP's extra ports will come in handy in that respect and I also use a dongle with ethernet/bunch of USB-A/C on it too. I don't travel with the laptop but do use them around the house - e.g. sofa / bed etc so that ruled out a Mac mini.

Whilst the 16" is heavy, for my use-cases above, I dont really notice until I pick up the Dell XPS and think wow thats light!

My Dell XPS has mostly served me well, but the screen can feel cramped at times, and the Macbook Air M2 , and probably the 14" MBP M1 would feel the same.

So its not that I need the performance of an M1 Pro MBP (let alone the M2 versions), but I do prioritise that screen above anything else.

The final deciding factor was cost.

On Apples refurb site in the UK , with 1TB/16GB on all these models I was looking at £1749 for the Air M2, £1839 14" MBP M1 Pro or £1999 for the 16" MBP M1 Pro. These prices include our local 20% VAT sales tax.

ie The price was close enough to each other to just get the 16" MBP M1 Pro. £2K was my absolute limit I was willing to spend (and £1999 for the 16" M1 Pro was £900 cheaper than an MBP M2 Pro with 16Gb/1TB), and I expect this machine to last quite a few years.

For even lighter stuff I have an iPad to carry around, which serves me well for surfing/email etc when I don't have my laptop.

For your use case and budget I think you made a wise decision!

I hope you enjoy your new 16" MBP. It should serve you well!!

 

[Technerd108]

Just as a note to my original post. A lot of people commented on how long it was. I am rather long winded and apologize. I just wanted to be as detailed as possible.

Editing and shortening my posts have always been a problem for me. 😂 Lol

 

[1BadManVan]

Just as a note to my original post. A lot of people commented on how long it was. I am rather long winded and apologize. I just wanted to be as detailed as possible.

Editing and shortening my posts have always been a problem for me. 😂 Lol

A forum is for reading, not forcing anyone to read it but if they do, atleast they are getting lots of useful info!

 

[unblocktheplane]

I wish Apple would make a larger screen air. I like larger screens but also light weight.

The trillion dollar Apple is only about money. They won't risk the MBP market. My eyes are old & 13" just doesn't work for me.

 

[Technerd108]

The trillion dollar Apple is only about money. They won't risk the MBP market. My eyes are old & 13" just doesn't work for me.

I don't disagree with your opinion of Apple.

I do disagree that they won't try to open up a new revenue stream in a time where there is a economic recession. If they can sell a ton of 15" MBA while the new Pro's have hit a saturation point in the market then why not?

I think the MacBook pro 14"/16" is a completely different market than the Pro's are and the 13.6" is actually in a tough spot because there are a lot of people who want a larger screen but don't need or want the Pro for several reasons. And so they have also hit a saturation point with the MBA M2 but a new 15.6" MBA would open up a new market and satisfy a want of many consumers.

For Apple it is a win/win situation because if they start the base 15" at a cost of say $1399 with 256/8gb configuration they will make a big profit on upgrades. If you upgrade it to 512gb ssd and 16gb ram it still undercuts the M2 14" base model and offers the configuration most people want. $1899 with extra GPU cores.

Then people who want a Mac laptop with a big screen but don't have the budget for the 16" can buy the larger screen air. It provides an immediate boost in sales and revenue. I don't see it cutting into the Pro because people that need a Pro and use it for work will have the budget but the people who have waited to buy a Mac because there wasn't an option that met their needs suddenly can buy what they want.

If Apple doesn't make a larger air or MacBook it will only be because of their greed and will only hurt sales in the long run.

 

[StoneJack]

I have a large huge 32GB RAM desktop at home.
M2 MBA is a computer on go, really gets no heavy workload.
In the bed, iPad mini 6 until I fall asleep.
This is my setup

No heavy notebooks or small notebooks with short battery life.