And why should they? That would be a very extreme reaction with very little factual basis. You may want to skip the base model. Go ahead. Don’t pretend this is the same as killing puppies.
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M2 MacBook Air Reviews: 'Apple's Near-Perfect Mac'
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Yeah that does help in some situations, but now when my head is under layers of blankets, unfortunately. I have to remove them and lift my head up when I'm lying on my side. I know, first world problems. I just prefer Touch ID.
The MacBook Air from before generally felt thinner and was very easy to carry, almost negligible when it comes to weight and form factor. It also didn't have a "feet" problem.Thats Apple latest laptop form factor, the rounded edges with lid closed make it more comfortable to carry. What height of a desk likely affects the edges being felt with keyboard. The larger thickness helps as you said with both speakers/heat as well as allow batteries to fit to all edges. I also like the feet sticking out a lot more to maintain some airflow underneath laptop on a hard surface.
Again, I am not disputing the benefits of MacBook Pro like design, I am simply stating that the tapered design made for a wonderful typing experience. Far better than what we have now.
It was not really a better typing experience. An angled keyboard is worse from an ergonomic standpoint. There were feet on the older MBA, just more domed and people had trouble with them coming off. This new MBA is lighter and thinner, but I understand the appearl of the thin leading edge. It gave the impression of thinness even when it wasn’t really true.
How is angled not better ergonomically? All stand alone computer keyboards in the world have settings to make them angled. Sorry but I don’t buy that. Agree with the perceived thinness point. Disagree with feet coming off at least in my case but can appreciate that others have a different experience. Another thing I notice is that the angled Air’s trackpad is smaller than the Pro, and thus it’s got more space for resting our palms. I understand some users need a bigger trackpad, but yeah, that was another thing I personally appreciated about the whole typing thing on the Air.
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I have not seen any 1TB SSD with 24RAM speed results yet. Anyone have them?
Not to mention Apple's own desktop keyboards all have a very slight angle from back to front
Just because manufacturers provide the ability to tilt doesn’t mean that is actually does anything beneficial. If you look at what people who study ergonomics say, a tilted keyboard is the opposite of what you need.
Because, early on, people thought it would help. The manufacturers promoted them as ergonomic though they had no data to back that up. That created a market for it. Since then, studies and experiments have shown the your wrists should be straight, not bent to avoid carpel tunnel syndrome.
I’ve also seen a suggestion that noobie typist liked the tilt because it make it easier for them to see the keys. Not sure if that was part of the appeal or not.
Remember when cigarette manufacturers advertised menthol cigarettes as good for your lungs? We’ve come a long way, baby. 😊
I am not going to be that guy and keep challenging you when I know that you are right - I did some research, and indeed, flat keyboard makes for a better "healthy" experience than angled. Learned something new.
That said, the research says that type such that your wrists aren't stressed. And I can tell you that I use the MacBook Air on my lap and naturally, sitting down, there's an angle, and the way Air's keyboard angle was, it did make for a fantastic typing experience vs. Pro. But, you are absolutely right here.
Thanks for looking into it.
On a practical level, the slant on the old MBA was fairly mild so there is probably not a lot of impact to your wrists. I just had to react to people who were complaining about the flatter design saying that the older design was more ergonomic when it wasn't. If you are using the older design, you probably don't have a significant problem as long as you give your wrists some flex now and then.
Now, some of those third party keyboards have props that really tilt them up and those could easily impact your wrists over time.
I think in all fairness, as I think about this a bit more, what bothers me on typing on my MacBook Pro 13 is that the back of my palm rests against the edge of the computer, which is a good half inch off the surface (the boxy design), and the edge unnaturally cuts into the fleshy part of our palms, whereas on MacBook Air, because the edge is so thin and on top of it, tapered, it's almost like placing my palm on the surface. I think that is what it is. The thinner edge than MacBook Pro (fact) and the taper, together, somehow, make for a better typing experience.
I have yet to try the new MacBook Air. I am guessing that if it's thinner than MacBook Pro, it'll still feel better to type on, given they haven't made the feet too tall (increasing the ground clearance)
Considering on buying the M2 Mac Book Air for my Mom. She will be using it primarily for MS Office applications. She has an M1 iPad. I just tried the base model (8GB/256GB SSD) at Best Buy and was blown away by the speed and graphics. Definitely more than enough performance for her. I have an M1 Pro 14 inch. Well done Apple!
I would even consider getting the M1 for her if it's primarily an MS Office machine. It's still plenty fast.