Is the MacBook Air (2020) a good laptop, or a waste of money?

[thadoggfather]

My only complaints about the 2020 MBA:

1. Inability of booting from an external device as part of the T2 chip security sandbox restrictions
   (even after I set the permissions in Startup Security Utility!!!)
2. Macbook Air 2020's purportedly do not support macOS releases prior to Catalina

2. comes as no surprise. As far as I can recall, hardware can never revert to an earlier OS than the shipping one.

Fortunately, despite all the moaning that Catalina is a dumpster fire (and I do believe these claims, because build to build things can wildly vary and I know Apple quality is a crapshoot), the shipping version of 12.15.3 which I'm not in a rush to move from, has been stable and working well for me...

1. - really? No T2 laptops can boot from an external? Guess there's another reason to keep my 2016 NTB which I already decided I'm keeping so I have a second computer, should I need repair downtime, or to boot into my Win10 boot camp partition which is loaded with home-brew, etc.

--

if you're going to be doing video editing, hardcore whatever, its probably best to get a Pro. but if you're a casual user, I think the Air can work just fine. The keyboard alone is worth the upgrade

 

[deeddawg]

1. - really? No T2 laptops can boot from an external?

Sure they can. Just need to do a couple things to enable it. Don’t have my 2020 MBA yet so don’t know if something has changed but would be surprised if it wasn’t possible.

Help! My clone won't boot! - Bombich Software

bombich.com

 

[unoporfavor]

Unless you have a pressing need to have one right now, I'd wait till the next model comes out.

based on? (just bought a MBA 2020)
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I ordered my 2020 MBA i5/16gb/512 to replace a 2017 MBP nTB i5/8gb/256, and my goodness am I glad I hadn't sent my 2017 in for trade yet. Instead I sent back the MBA....the thermal throttling was just too much, I hadn't even installed VMware Fusion on it yet. Yes, I waited for the background processes to finish, and no, I wasn't gaming or 3d rendering, I was afraid to even start taxing the machine as I would watch it immediately start climbing in temp. Day to day performance on my 3 year old base model MBP is much better, it might not be as snappy from idle, but it will cool itself and power through what I need it to. I just didn't see the MBA standing the test of time, and I typically have my MacBook powering a 4k display or two, which makes matters even worse.

I ordered the magic keyboard case for my iPad Pro...going to see if that will replace most of my mobile needs...if not, I guess I will wait for the next MBP 13 to replace my 2017.

Hi Evan.

Exchanging a professional machine for a portable-focussed machine doesn't really make any sense. Sorry you really need to compare use-case to requirement.
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I don't know what Discord is, some sort of enthusiast community?

Enthusiast groups find it easy to spend other people's money, I'm guessing their advice is just go buy a MBP16 i9/32/2TB and you'll have no worries about it having enough power for your needs. What do they care if you spend an extra couple grand? Not their money.

Sarcasm aside - hammers make crappy screwdrivers and vice versa. Professional lawncare folks would scoff at my little push reel mower - but for my little postage stamp yard it's perfect as I need no gasoline or oil and maintenance is minimal. Proper tool for the job.

So if your needs are a fit for the low end model of the Apple Macbook line then it'll be a fine choice for you. If your needs are more suited to a higher level computer, then it maybe won't be a fine choice for you. Same computer. It is what it is. Difference is whether or not its capabilities match your needs.
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Estimated delivery May 12 -

Apple MacBook Air 13" - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 512GB SSD

Apple MacBook Air 13" - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 512GB SSD

www.costco.com

Apple MacBook Air 13" - Intel Core i3 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD

Apple MacBook Air 13" - Intel Core i3 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD

www.costco.com

This x a million! Should be a sticky post under 'User Reviews". Thank you

 

[unoporfavor]

I got mine on Monday (Core i7/16 GB/512) and overall it is fine for my purposes.

I used a 2015 quad core 15" i5/16 GB/1 TB MacBook Pro for years and had downsized to a 12" 1.2 GHz i7/16 GB/512 in the past year or so (mostly for when I was traveling a lot... no longer happening or likely to resume). I could still run Lightroom and other apps that push dual core machines quite a bit. Wasn't the fastest experience but good enough for occasional use.

If you are a heavy graphics intensive user, a MacBook Pro may be a better option (I'd wait for the 14" to come out... only problem will be the cost will most likely be quite a jump from the MBA). Otherwise there is sufficient horsepower under the hood of the Air in my opinion.

For those who complain about excessive fan cooling:

1. Was it a clean install and app reinstall?
2. If not, did they clean up accumulated garbage before running User Migration Tool?
3. There is no more resource hogging browser than Chrome. If folks are using it, I suggest Opera or SRWare Iron as more resource thrifty and privacy-focused alternatives.

My only complaints about the 2020 MBA:

1. Inability of booting from an external device as part of the T2 chip security sandbox restrictions
   (even after I set the permissions in Startup Security Utility!!!)
2. Macbook Air 2020's purportedly do not support macOS releases prior to Catalina

Overall, for the $$$, weight savings and performance MBA's are just fine for many of us. You have 15 days to return it so why not order one and beat the crap out of it to see if it meets/exceeds your expectations?

Thanks for your insights. That's not quite true on the T2 sandboxing. If you turn off boot security it will boot just fine. Source: Linux on MBA 2020. If you want to install Windows (🤢🤮), you need to install boot camp assistant

 

[KPOM]

I ordered my 2020 MBA i5/16gb/512 to replace a 2017 MBP nTB i5/8gb/256, and my goodness am I glad I hadn't sent my 2017 in for trade yet. Instead I sent back the MBA....the thermal throttling was just too much, I hadn't even installed VMware Fusion on it yet. Yes, I waited for the background processes to finish, and no, I wasn't gaming or 3d rendering, I was afraid to even start taxing the machine as I would watch it immediately start climbing in temp. Day to day performance on my 3 year old base model MBP is much better, it might not be as snappy from idle, but it will cool itself and power through what I need it to. I just didn't see the MBA standing the test of time, and I typically have my MacBook powering a 4k display or two, which makes matters even worse.

I ordered the magic keyboard case for my iPad Pro...going to see if that will replace most of my mobile needs...if not, I guess I will wait for the next MBP 13 to replace my 2017.

Hi Evan.

I wouldn’t worry about the temperature. I run Quicken for Windows in a Parallels VM. It is fine. The MacBook Air doesn’t actually overheat. I wouldn’t recommend it for 4K video editing or 3D rendering. But it is fine powering a 4K display. That said, given your use case you probably are better off waiting for the 2020 MacBook Pro. The 13/14” model should be a nice upgrade.

 

[edubfromktown]

That never happens on MacRumors... 🤣🤣🤣

The only more emotional venue is trading stock

Thanks for your insights. That's not quite true on the T2 sandboxing. If you turn off boot security it will boot just fine. Source: Linux on MBA 2020. If you want to install Windows (🤢🤮), you need to install boot camp assistant

I have a ticket open them because I cannot boot an external Carbon Copy Clone of Catalina (even after I set startup security permission to allow booting from external and removable media).
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Sure they can. Just need to do a couple things to enable it. Don’t have my 2020 MBA yet so don’t know if something has changed but would be surprised if it wasn’t possible.

Help! My clone won't boot! - Bombich Software

bombich.com

Tried that and not working... ticket is open with big-A. I can set the permissions, select to boot from external startup disk... reboot starts and accesses external drive briefly then reboots back to internal storage.