My 2015 Macbook Pro has given 7 years of good service but now needs to be retired. I never really needed a pro, so an air will be fine. I want a laptop that will give me another 7 years - without compatibility/support issues, slowing down too much etc. I wanted magsafe, so have waited for M2 - but the price is making me wince. Some websites are suggesting that the M1 is still a good buy (esp for the price) - but will a laptop that's been out for 2 years already start to feel REALLY old in 7 (or so) years time? Apparently I can get an adaptor to solve the magsafe issue...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is a 2020 M1 Macbook Air too old to buy now?
- Thread starter chococornetto
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You could have literally spent a few minutes on this forum and seen this very topic brought up on all different threads.
It feels old because it’s in the same body designed in 2018. It looks dated compared to the m2 and yea, it may get a couple years less support than the M2.
So if you’re looking to keep something as long as you can then maybe the m2 is the better buy for you. I assume keeping it long you would get more storage and ram as well.
It feels old because it’s in the same body designed in 2018. It looks dated compared to the m2 and yea, it may get a couple years less support than the M2.
So if you’re looking to keep something as long as you can then maybe the m2 is the better buy for you. I assume keeping it long you would get more storage and ram as well.
Last edited:
If you can afford it, you should get the M2 MBA. The M1 MBA and the design is fading out soon. Within a year or two you will be questioning why you get an older looking model.
Whereas for the M2, it’s the new design that will be around for the next 5 or so years.
Whereas for the M2, it’s the new design that will be around for the next 5 or so years.
Is $200 really making you wince for a laptop that you're keeping for 7 years? Is it that or have you just fallen for the hype that the Air doesn't start under 1k? In the USA we're at over 9% annual inflation so yeah something has to give.
If your budget is that tight I would look at a cheaper Windows laptop or Chromebook. You can get one for under $500. Sure the quality won't be as good but you're saving over $500. If you must have a Mac and you just can't afford the extra $200 look at a refurbished M1 Air on the Apple refurbished store website.
Definitely a lot of people falling for the drama over the m2. A shame, hurting the rep of a great product before people even get their hands on it. Getting ridiculous
True but I can't fault the consumer for this. They're just looking at reviews and it's easy to get caught up in the hype... I've done it myself because I watch lots of YouTube videos. That's why I asked the OP if the $200 was really that big of a deal. Maybe it is but I suspect it's not in the grand scheme of things.
Oh I definitely put a lot of blame on the click bait YouTubers. The only real fault on this laptop is the downgraded base storage speed. It won’t even affect 90% of users for it but it’s still not an ok move
But beyond that, this is an upgraded device all across the board. I would have been shocked if apple released a fully redesigned air for the same price as two years ago. People need to get a grip a bit here.
Dedicated MagSafe charging port, fast charging support, larger, brighter screen with broader colour support, 1080p webcam, thinner, lighter, quad speakers, ddr5 ram, faster soc….The list goes on
Major inflation across the world aside, it’s worth more money.
Thanks all - very helpful! Sorry for repeating a topic - I'm very new to this forum - I did try to look for it but obviously not enough! It does need to be a mac because alllll my docs are in pages and I can't face converting them (plus, I do really love my mac!) I hear what you're saying about price - I guess I'm just wanting to get the best deal, considering I really just use pages/numbers/keynote and watch a lot of videos on the internet - so I'm not exactly a heavy spec user! Just want to see whether the extra £250 would mean that I get a few extra years of use, or whether it will not really make that much difference! I don't mind much about the design looking old - I'm only getting rid of my 2015 pro because the bottom line on the keyboard has broken and I have to keep it plugged in all the time because the battery needs replacing. But from what you're saying, it probably is worth getting the M2. I have normally just gone for the basic storage and ram, again because of the cost and because I'm not sure I need the upgrade (I have read other posts on this topic but end up feeling a bit bamboozled - and embarrassed by how little I'm using my mac for!) Anyway, thank you all
Unfortunately going base model hinders how useable this will be down the road as things advance and programs get more demanding. So it really depends what you can fit into your budget.
I have an M2 air on order and went for 8/10/16/1Tb model because I wanna hold onto this for atleast 5 years and enjoy it for all 5 of those years, not worrying if I’ll be hindered by ram or storage since those can’t be upgraded later.
Go with what fits your budget
I have an M2 air on order and went for 8/10/16/1Tb model because I wanna hold onto this for atleast 5 years and enjoy it for all 5 of those years, not worrying if I’ll be hindered by ram or storage since those can’t be upgraded later.
Go with what fits your budget
I think the M1 is still a good buy, there isn’t that much difference with an M2 performance-wise. But if you plan to hold on to it for seven years the 16 GB memory upgrade may be a good idea, unless you know that you’re never going to be doing anything demanding with the machine.
outside of the US, there are other reasons too, as the M2 costs 50% more than an M1 in Europe (and some other places) if you are looking in places like Amazon.
In fact, just a couple of months ago, before Apple stopped providing BTO options to third parties, you could have gotten a brand new M1 MBA with 16gigs of RAM and a 512GB SSD for less than what the base M2 goes for at the moment.
That's quite a substantial price hike if you ask me.
Of course, if the difference was just $200 for everyone, most people should indeed opt for the newer M2.
with 50% on top of an M1, an M2 is not an easy recommendation anymore though
Well that’s a different story where you live obviously lol. But for the op that’s not the case
i was just speaking generally, and generally there are also quite a few people located outside the US
If you want 7 years then of the two choices the M2 should last longer before being obsoleted by an OS that the M1 can't run. On the other hand they are so similar under their cosmetically-different 'skins' that I can't see why one would be obsoleted before the other, unless MacOS19/20 obsoletes every Mac without ProRes hardware encoders, which would be a strange move.
The best upgrade you can get with the M2 is going for 512GB storage as that seems to have more of an impact on performance than the 16 GB option, with an added bonus that you'll get more storage too. Having said that, if you're located in EU that pushes the price even further so in your situation and given your use case, I'd say that the M1 base model would be a better cost/benefit choice. I agree with the other poster that the M2 is not an easy recommendation anymore given the choices Apple has made with this generation.
It is. Op is in the UK. Base M2 Air is £1249 before you even start adding stuff. That's an eye-watering $1520 USD. M1 Air is still under a grand and is comparatively superb value.
If price is an issue, the M1 Air is still worth buying especially if you get a discount or are prepared to go down the refurbished route. It might not have the same lifespan as the M2 version, but the price difference is significant enough to consider it at the moment.
Dave2D did a good comparison video here -
I’m sure we will see decent discounts on the M2 Airs once the initial demand has been satisfied and then the decision will become more complicated.
Other than inflation and the ‘new design tax’, I wonder if Apple increased the prices because the Air was just too good and a lot of people that would normally buy the smaller Pro models switched to Airs.
Dave2D did a good comparison video here -
I’m sure we will see decent discounts on the M2 Airs once the initial demand has been satisfied and then the decision will become more complicated.
Other than inflation and the ‘new design tax’, I wonder if Apple increased the prices because the Air was just too good and a lot of people that would normally buy the smaller Pro models switched to Airs.
It depends on where you live. In the USA it's a $200 difference but in other countries it's more. Only you know what that money means to you. Don't be silly and spend money you need for something important on the M2 vs M1 though.
You do mean you're coming from a 13" MacBook Pro? If it's the 15" you might not be happy with the smaller screen. If you're coming from the 13" Pro either screen would be similar sized but the M2 is just a little bit larger.
If you don't care about looks the M1 is fine. It's affordable and still a really good option. MagSafe was my big thing but that's not really important to everyone and with the crazy long battery life of Apple Silicon you won't have it plugged in all the time.
If possible go to the Apple Store and mess around with them. At least you'll get a feel for how they look. Don't be embarrassed! It does what you need. My mom uses her M1 for basic web browsing and that's about it. She loves it. It's what I mainly do when I'm not playing WoW classic. Avoid going for unnecessary upgrades. Forums are full of tech people who couldn't fathom using a computer with less than 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Not everyone needs that. Make sure to buy what you need but don't waste money on going crazy. Also look at the refurbished Apple store. You can find some deals. Check your local stores for sales. We have B&H photo in the USA that will sometimes have sales. Just be aware of the return policy and be sure it's what you want.
I love his reviews. I think Apple did it because of costs and of course something new comes with a significant R&D expense. It's not possible to keep selling something for the same price over a long period unless you start off with an already inflated price. In the USA we're over 9% inflation. Unless something drastic happens with the economy it's not going back down.
I think the M1 Air will still be a big seller for Apple. This area of the market is going to be very price sensitive, especially at the moment, and I think the price increase kind of puts the M2 in a different segment of the market.
I agree that the new design is unlikely to drop down in price to the level of the old machine because of inflation, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t scope to drop it a bit. Having said that, it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple choose to retain the old design and put the M2 chip in it when the M3 Air is released.
Last edited:
I might be a little biased because I love my M1 MBA and I'm not a huge fan of the new design, but the M1 MBA is an excellent computer.
I do photo editing (Affinity Photo mostly), music recording (Garageband, native instruments Guitar Rig), writing, the odd bit of gaming and all sorts of casual stuff on it. I haven't found anything that it couldn't handle - and that's with the base model.
So, I absolutely recommend the M1 MBA. It's great and I'm planning on using mine for a bunch of years to come.
I do photo editing (Affinity Photo mostly), music recording (Garageband, native instruments Guitar Rig), writing, the odd bit of gaming and all sorts of casual stuff on it. I haven't found anything that it couldn't handle - and that's with the base model.
So, I absolutely recommend the M1 MBA. It's great and I'm planning on using mine for a bunch of years to come.
It depends on where he lives ...
Here the MBA m1 was launched at 1129€ ,while the MBA M2 launched for 1500€ ,quite the difference right ?
Although apple in their all kindness helper us make a better choicenby raising the price of the m1 After the launch of the M2 ,so now.the m1 is officially 1199€
Besides say what you will but 2 years have passed , and while spending a big chunk of.momey for a 8/256gb was fine in 2020,it's not as easy to swallow now
8/256 is still more than enough for basic computing. Many Windows laptops that non techie people buy are still 4/128. Sure the price is considerably lower but the build quality is too. It’s all about buying what you need. If you buy two little storage space or ram you’re going to be unhappy and you’ll know it. If you buy too much you won’t know it other than at the time you make the purchase.
Making the base model a higher spec will only increase the base price. People are complaining about $1200 in the USA but if some people have their way the base model would be $1600. Sure perhaps those users complaining about the base model won’t be effected because they were going to buy that model anyway but grandma who watches YouTube videos and messages her kids on a MacBook just paid an extra $400 for nothing.
I’m not sure why Apple charges more in other countries. I’m sure it has to do with taxes and the cost of doing business. I can imagine Apple’s expenses dealing with the EU must be considerable so maybe that’s being passed along to the customer. I think what also makes it confusing is in some countries the price includes tax. I remember in Germany that was 20%. In the USA tax is not included so when you go to checkout it’s added. I’ve seen people visiting the USA get very angry about this because they’re being asked to pay more than what’s on the price.
The main difference recently is the exchange rate. For example, the dollar is 17% stronger against the euro over the last 12 months and 15% against sterling.
I think we can tell from this forum that the price increases are affecting buying decisions. It’s more than just the normal complaints about Apple’s pricing and I can see it impacting their sales.
We have seen Apple lower prices when the situation reverses - the iPad 2 was £30 cheaper than its predecessor in the UK, and I would expect the same thing to happen again.
In the UK, the starting price of the M1 Air remained at £999, which tells you a lot about the psychological effects of the £1,000 barrier.
This is just nuts - especially for Windows. Then again, Microsoft themselves were selling the Surface Laptop Go with 64GB eMMC and 4GB RAM - the Go 2 now starts at 4/128.
Mind you, I was using a 4/128 MBA from 2014 not too long ago and that was fiiiiine. But I find Windows doesn't do as well as macOS with small amounts of RAM.