Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
That's ok for now, but consider OS updates, applications in a few years etc and future and longevity. Look at 2014 MBA with 4GB to 8GB and their ability to smoothly run Catalina. RAM is better upgrade to CPU in most cases. Just MHO. Storage is moot point if you are OK with plugging in another device. I've moved now to M2 SSD for external use and this is fine, quick and quite cheap if you need to shuffle things around to be on the move.
Well, I'm also looking at it from the perspective that we may just plan to upgrade our computers a bit more frequently and trade the old ones in to Apple. At least while we're both working and making a decent income. When thinking that way, another comment deeddawg made applies: Apple only gives you a small fraction of the extra money you paid for those upgrades.

But, yes, if I was thinking of this as a long-term purchase, I'd probably go ahead and upgrade both the RAM and the storage space.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RiaKoobcam and Loog
So a reinstall of Catalina didn’t go well... Having deleted and re-created the partitions, I got back to the screen to actually do the install and it wouldn’t progress past the first screen where you have to hit Continue. Also, while trying to move the status window around to see if it s was still responsive (which it was), there was bad screen tearing going on. No matter how long I left it after hitting Continue, it wouldn’t progress, so I now have a MacBook Air with no OS on it.

I’ve spoken to Apple and they think there’s a fault somewhere so its going back.
 
So two different perspectives. Regarding your suggestion to look at Activity Monitor...my experience has been that OSX will use up a good chunk of however much memory you have. For example, I'm just browsing the web with Safari (several tabs open - as is usually the case with me) and I have MS Excel open, but my 32GB MacBook Pro 16 is showing "Memory Used" as 21.70 GB. But you also mentioned Memory Pressure, so maybe that's the key? Right now, my MBP 16's Memory Pressure graph is green and flat.

Indeed, OSX will make some use of the memory available so purely looking at Memory Used is not always the full story. Memory pressure is a good indicator. More info at https://support.apple.com/guide/activity-monitor/view-memory-usage-actmntr1004/mac

It'll never "hurt" to put more memory in the machine - but IMHO it's $200 most folks don't need to spend, particularly since so little of it ever comes back in resale.


When I bought my MBP 16 a few months ago, I did upgrade that to 32GB, but I'm a software developer, and figured I might want to do some stuff with Docker and/or a Windows VM.
Working with VMs is one of the clear use cases for additional memory IMHO.


upgrading to the i5 should ... As for the 256GB storage...I was originally planning on 512GB, because she only had about 22 GB free on her 2018 MBA 256GB model, but after changing her Photos/Preferences/iCloud settings to "Optimize Mac Storage", a lot of space freed up. I also upped our iCloud plan to 2TB, and am thinking that she should be able to move a bunch of the stuff she's currently got under her Documents folder (which accounts for about 70+ GB of her current storage) to free up even more space.

I don't have my 2020 MBA yet so no direct experience with the i5. I'll just say there seems to be a lot of hyperbole on the topic, and that Apple has a solid return policy, so I'd go with that upgrade. After a few days usage so everything's settled down, if the system doesn't meet her needs return it and re-assess options.

Storage - seems like she's on the cusp to where 512 would be appropriate. Especially if she's thinking she'll do some video stuff. I hate playing the "how do I cut my storage usage" game.
 
Last edited:
So, after a week of having the i5 it is going to be returned to Apple. Until yesterday everything was good - very quiet and cool. I’m a relatively light user and using only MacOS Native apps. Yesterday I decided to ramp it up a bit - opened 3 safari windows, each with about three tabs opened. One tab in each window was playing a you tube video (1080p) and I separately opened apple TV and started a film and separately opened bbc iplayer and streamed another video. I also then opened the music app and started to update some playlists and also opened maps and looked up directions. CPU usage was still relatively low in activity monitor. I then also started to scroll through the photos app and love and behold my lap was getting hotter as did the function keys and fans revved up! Opened a new site on safari and noticed the scrolling no where near as smooth as usual. Personally I don’t think I was pushing the laptop hard?.... no office open, or anything else demanding. the fans did reduce speed at some point and when I closed windows everything began to cool.

looks like I’ll be waiting for the MBP to be released. I’m in no major rush. Just thought I’d let people know my experience to date. I really did think it could work, but I’d like some headroom in a laptop just so I know it can handle most things I give it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RiaKoobcam
Makes sense because I often find myself watching 3 videos at the same time, plus an additional show on Apple TV and a fifth video while of course consuming music and looking at photos while also surfing the net.

SMH at these scenarios.

On a side note I am thinking of leaving my wife as I asked her to spend time with me while also going to the market and cooking all at the same time and she couldn't pull it off.
 
I wasn’t watching them all at once. But I do open windows browsing for other videos and normally let the others keep running! Maps, tweaking playlists and photos is a real world scenario for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RiaKoobcam
So, after a week of having the i5 it is going to be returned to Apple. Until yesterday everything was good - very quiet and cool. I’m a relatively light user and using only MacOS Native apps. Yesterday I decided to ramp it up a bit - opened 3 safari windows, each with about three tabs opened. One tab in each window was playing a you tube video (1080p) and I separately opened apple TV and started a film and separately opened bbc iplayer and streamed another video. I also then opened the music app and started to update some playlists and also opened maps and looked up directions. CPU usage was still relatively low in activity monitor. I then also started to scroll through the photos app and love and behold my lap was getting hotter as did the function keys and fans revved up! Opened a new site on safari and noticed the scrolling no where near as smooth as usual. Personally I don’t think I was pushing the laptop hard?.... no office open, or anything else demanding. the fans did reduce speed at some point and when I closed windows everything began to cool.

looks like I’ll be waiting for the MBP to be released. I’m in no major rush. Just thought I’d let people know my experience to date. I really did think it could work, but I’d like some headroom in a laptop just so I know it can handle most things I give it.

So you were watching five separate videos simultaneously, while also scrolling through photos, looking up directions, and browsing websites across twelve tabs?

How much of your day do you typically perform this sort of workload?
 
Last edited:
Makes sense because I often find myself watching 3 videos at the same time, plus an additional show on Apple TV and a fifth video while of course consuming music and looking at photos while also surfing the net.
No offense to Mattyman, but I was thinking the same thing, and then literally LOLed when I read your reply.


On a side note I am thinking of leaving my wife as I asked her to spend time with me while also going to the market and cooking all at the same time and she couldn't pull it off.
Be careful what you wish for...the Pro models can be noticeably larger/heavier than the Air models. ;)
[automerge]1587573945[/automerge]
I wasn’t watching them all at once. But I do open windows browsing for other videos and normally let the others keep running! Maps, tweaking playlists and photos is a real world scenario for me.
In all seriousness...what is the use case for having multiple videos (that you aren't watching) continue to play?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bolanders
Makes sense because I often find myself watching 3 videos at the same time, plus an additional show on Apple TV and a fifth video while of course consuming music and looking at photos while also surfing the net.

SMH at these scenarios.

On a side note I am thinking of leaving my wife as I asked her to spend time with me while also going to the market and cooking all at the same time and she couldn't pull it off.

Be kind. You're over in one thread bleating persistently about 'people should use it for themselves, decide if it's for them, and then make up their mind.' This guy did, didn't claim the Macbook Air was broken, and said it didn't really work for his needs. His needs. Not yours. Not mine. He said:

Looks like I’ll be waiting for the MBP to be released. I’m in no major rush. Just thought I’d let people know my experience to date.

That's it. And you mock him. This is the User Reviews thread - he's just posted his experience which might seem ridiculous to you but might be normal to someone else. It might help someone else make their decision.

What do you want this to be, a confessional, where people who bought the right laptop come to get their praise and people who bought the wrong one come for penance?

You've spent thousands of words and god knows how many brain cells arguing that people should just know when a machine isn't for them and move on. That's all this guy is doing. I don't use as much stuff simultaneously as him, so his use case wouldn't help me make a decision, but it might help someone else who maybe isn't that tech savvy and can't translate specs into what's possible in the real world.

A person comes here and posts their user review of their experience. They say they're returning a laptop that doesn't work for them. No vitriol, no anger, just a user review. Like the thread title. This isn't the 'let's mock people who accidentally bought the wrong laptop' thread, or 'let's gloat about how much we know compared to others Society Of Exceptional Mobile Computing Minds'.

Unless you have a user review, or a constructive comment or question about one, don't mock people for being honest and trying to help other people out.
 
Last edited:
Be kind. You're over in one thread bleating persistently about 'people should use it for themselves, decide if it's for them, and then make up their mind.' This guy did, didn't claim the Macbook Air was broken, and said it didn't really work for his needs. His needs. Not yours. Not mine. He said:



That's it. And you mock him. This is the User Reviews thread - he's just posted his experience which might seem ridiculous to you but might be normal to someone else. It might help someone else make their decision.

What do you want this to be, a confessional, where people who bought the right laptop come to get their praise and people who bought the wrong one come for penance?

You've spent thousands of words and god knows how many brain cells arguing that people should just know when a machine isn't for them and move on. That's all this guy is doing. I don't use as much stuff simultaneously as him, so his use case wouldn't help me make a decision, but it might help someone else who maybe isn't that tech savvy and can't translate specs into what's possible in the real world.

A person comes here and posts their user review of their experience. They say they're returning a laptop that doesn't work for them. No vitriol, no anger, just a user review. Like the thread title. This isn't the 'let's mock people who accidentally bought the wrong laptop' thread, or 'let's gloat about how much we know compared to others Society Of Exceptional Mobile Computing Minds'.

Unless you have a user review, or a constructive comment or question about one, don't mock people for being honest and trying to help other people out.

This has nothing to do with being kind. To claim watching 5 videos at a time, while listening to music, looking up directions, browsing photos, and browsing the net caused it to turn the fans on is a ridiculous notion. In fact it is literally impossible to do all that simultaneously.

Had he said "I put it through my workload" and it isn't for me I would have no issues, but sorry I don't just fall for the I watch 5 videos at a time, while listening to music, browsing photos, surfing the net, and looking up directions.
 
I don’t watch 5 at a time. It was just to see how capable the machine was. To get a feel. That is all. I felt I wasn’t pushing it by doing that but still struggled. That is all.

Thanks for your review and for posting your experiences man. I appreciate it. I think people are misinterpreting your stress test (they normally do benchmarks) as 'that dude watches five video at once, who does that?'

I wasn’t watching them all at once. But I do open windows browsing for other videos and normally let the others keep running! Maps, tweaking playlists and photos is a real world scenario for me.

That to me sounds like your use-case for a laptop, and I'm sure there are lots of people out there who could benefit from your review. Before I bought my i5, I was looking for a review that matched how I use my computer and couldn't find any. As far as I'm concerned, the more data and experiences for people to read through pre-purchase, the better they'll be able to make their buying decisions.

Cheers!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arctic Moose
Storage - seems like she's on the cusp to where 512 would be appropriate. Especially if she's thinking she'll do some video stuff. I hate playing the "how do I cut my storage usage" game.

My view is that if you're on the cusp, definitely go up.

Having free space is useful. For things like shuffling data around (e.g., transport large project from work/friend to home NAS or whatever), maintaining free space to allow the SSD to do less shuffling around for wear levelling, having some space to spin up a(nother) VM for something to test if I need it, etc.

I personally aim to maintain 60-70% full "normally" so that I have some buffer space for large data imports, minimal SSD wear and improved SSD performance (due to the less shuffling around by the controller).


edit:
hence the 1TB air. I was running around 300 GB normally on my previous machine (a 512GB 13" Pro), but I was holding back some of the things from it and I expect my requirements to expand in the next 3 years.
 
Last edited:
I don’t watch 5 at a time. It was just to see how capable the machine was. To get a feel. That is all. I felt I wasn’t pushing it by doing that but still struggled. That is all.

I never saw the responses as rude as well. When I buy a car, I don't test drive it by trying to drive 120mph on a windy highway while eating a double-double (ketchup only). I obviously test drive it in normal conditions. So I understood the criticisms some had of your "test." I'm with you on waiting a bit. I'm waiting till I vacation in a sales-tax free state soon, but also sort of waiting to see what happens with the 13/14". Hoping it's a 14" in basically the 13" form factor.
 
hold option and click on the wifi icon and see what tx rate you get

I'll have to do that later, at the moment I'm working next to an older AirPort Extreme which maxes out at 300mb/sec.

I think I've seen up near a gigabit from the final generation AirPort Extreme , but can't confirm right now as its in another room.
 
My MBA runs wonderfully and the fans only come on (under 3000rpm) when I'm really bouncing around web pages quickly whilst some other stuff is going on in the background. I guess my previous (late-2013) Pro was wasted on me and I'm glad I saved the money and bought this instead of the next Pro. (Although the fans on my old Pro would come on too and the machine would get hotter than I've managed to get the Air so far.)

We all have 14 days to return for a full refund (well, if you bought direct) so do whatever tests you think are necessary to justify your "Pro" status., and keep or return as you see fit. It's a totally personal decision. My laptop, including an external 500GB SSD and a small monitor, costs HALF what the 16" Pro would have cost me.

They're very different machines and I'm confused by those who don't realise this, and buy the Air then are disappointed that it's not as fast as the Pros. I assume it's because people are keeping their fingers crossed that it's ok as there's currently no 13/14" Pro to buy. I get that. For me personally, I"m glad the new smaller Pro isn't out yet otherwise I would have bought it and spent more money, without trying the Air.
 
I personally went with i5/512gb/16gb. Obviously all of the upgrades are overpriced compared to how much they cost off the shelf. However there really isn't a option to upgrade it later so I pay the costs now. I think the 16gb may be too little as well as the 256gb for a drive. I haven't received mine yet. I've been running a i3 2010 imac since then that has held up pretty well.

If you think 16GB is too little for your MBA, you've got the wrong product mate.
 
In the iMac I have the habit while having breakfast of opening safari with all the tabs (40) of a folder, and then as I consult them I close them .... on the ipad / iPhone I usually get 10-20 tabs open(I am very curious and I always leave things to read later ... :) )
Anyone with a MBA2020 i5 can tell me how it works with about 20 tabs open? I understand that there will be a spike in the processor at first and then it will stabilize

Other question is... Okay, playing 4K videos on YouTube gets hot, but playing 4K video on VLC also happens?
This is in order to reproduce via plex too

thanks in advance!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gill Bates
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.