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MBA M1 or M2 for College?

dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
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Sep 16, 2008
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I have twins heading off to college this fall. Different schools, but both are business majors (one accounting, one marketing). Myself being an engineer, I can't see either of them really needing a super-powerful laptop for their studies. Would the M1 MBA be fine for at least the next 2-3 years? Or is it worth it to pony up for the newer M2 coming out next month with the hope it lasts all 4 years?

I'd almost rather get the M1 and pay for extra RAM maybe, but then again, I thought 8gb was too little 6 years ago. Apparetnly Apple thinks its still plenty for most use (and honestly, they are probably right).

EDIT: I plan to wait for the back to school deal and hopefully some free airpods for them too. Pricing via the education store is:
  • 2020 M1 MBA w/16gb RAM: $1079
  • 2022 M2 MBA w/8gb RAM: $1099
 
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dmk1974 said:
Would the M1 MBA be fine for at least the next 2-3 years?
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M1 MacBook Air would be fine well over 2-3 years. You can expect full OS support for at least five other years (probably more), and the computer itself will be usable for at least a decade. Same for M2, I don't think that MacBook longevity is at stake if you're planning for an Apple chip anyway.

I also think that M1 with more RAM could be more useful, but for their needs, I don't think that 8GB of RAM is that bad. But for future proofing and better resell value, I'd go with 16GB
 
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If they are interested in using a single computer for 2-3 years, then the M1 has the amount of power to get the job done.

If they are willing to use a computer that can last 4 years and more and (the super awesome Midnight color) the M2 is more than enough, extra power at a price

ps I am aware of the updated M2 Macs, and I still feel that the M1 is leaps ahead of the game in comparison to other PC/ MAC hardwares available today
 
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Originally I was going to say the M1 with 16GB but after thinking about it, I think the M2 makes more sense. They are both in business school, the extra 8GB of ram really won't make a difference. I think the better FaceTime camera will play a better role assuming some classes are done via zoom, or a group meeting via team. Clarity is important not to mention they will have the latest air with a bit more screen size and more importantly a brighter screen. That way they can actually use the Laptop outside if they want some sunshine and fresh air. One cant discount the magi safe charger and how that will prevent accidents. Apple care is a must.
 
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A good laptop for college is essential. It is the single most important tool for a student. Personally, I would bite the bullet and spend $1,299 (with education discount) on the M2 with 16gb RAM. I would also get Apple care. If you are like most parents, you are about to drop $100K or more per child on college…..and that’s at a state university…..private will be much more. I would make sure they have the tools necessary to make the most of this large college investment. Also, my kids used their college laptops for years after graduation…..so spreading the price differential over the useful life of say 7 plus years, and it really is a small amount annually.

Having said that: they could easily get by with the $899 M1 MBA 8GB for the 4 years of undergrad……which can probably be bought on sale at big box stores for much less.
 
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Thanks all for the feedback. I have a little time to figure out which way to go.

  • From a dollars standpoint vs the 4-years of college, the few hundred bucks is minimal. But its still money.
  • Hopefully there are no bugs in the M2 version. Its a bit of a redesign.
  • Best bang-for-the-buck in 2022 is the M1. I have one and it's worked great for me since Christmas '20, and got it on sale at BB for $800.
  • I've never bought AppleCare for any Mac, MacBook, or iPhone over the past 15 years. I get the benefit with one of them being 2000 miles away vs 150 miles for the other. Hopefully they care for the machines. But things happen of course. I didn't have to drag my 386 SX Packard Bell desktop PC around when I went to college in 1991 ;) Come to think of it, that machine probably cost about $1400 or so even back then!
 
The M1 will be more than enough for their needs for years to come and the extra RAM helps immensely. RAM is like the size of your desk. The more RAM you have, the bigger your desk, the more things you can do at once. 8 GB is not enough for what I do and it's not enough moving forward. The M1 is very very very fast for most needs.
 
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I just made a similar decision for myself. The M1 with 16GB should be perfectly capable for MANY years for basic browsing and editing work. Possibly the 8GB too, but I went with 16. My Intel based MacBook Pro had 8GB and in the last year or so it seemed to be working significantly harder and needing to use more swap space. I didn't feel comfortable going with 8GB, though there are many who have and say that 8GB on M1 is more efficient than 8GB on Intel, which does seem plausible to some extend.
 
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dmk1974 said:
I have twins heading off to college this fall. Different schools, but both are business majors (one accounting, one marketing). Myself being an engineer, I can't see either of them really needing a super-powerful laptop for their studies. Would the M1 MBA be fine for at least the next 2-3 years? Or is it worth it to pony up for the newer M2 coming out next month with the hope it lasts all 4 years?

I'd almost rather get the M1 and pay for extra RAM maybe, but then again, I thought 8gb was too little 6 years ago. Apparetnly Apple thinks its still plenty for most use (and honestly, they are probably right).

EDIT: I plan to wait for the back to school deal and hopefully some free airpods for them too. Pricing via the education store is:
  • 2020 M1 MBA w/16gb RAM: $1079
  • 2022 M2 MBA w/8gb RAM: $1099
Click to expand...
honestly the monitor of Air is too small, not good for eyes health at all.
 
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I would defin
dmk1974 said:
I have twins heading off to college this fall. Different schools, but both are business majors (one accounting, one marketing). Myself being an engineer, I can't see either of them really needing a super-powerful laptop for their studies. Would the M1 MBA be fine for at least the next 2-3 years? Or is it worth it to pony up for the newer M2 coming out next month with the hope it lasts all 4 years?

I'd almost rather get the M1 and pay for extra RAM maybe, but then again, I thought 8gb was too little 6 years ago. Apparently Apple thinks its still plenty for most use (and honestly, they are probably right).
Click to expand...
A couple of thoughts:

1. You were absolutely right and Apple is absolutely WRONG about 8GB of ram being "enough." It's honestly embarrassing that Apple still ships any Mac with 8GB of Ram and 256GB of storage in 2022, let alone in pro machines. If you really want these machines to perform well for your kids over the next few years, spend the extra on 16GB of ram (and more storage if you can afford it.)

2. I don't know your kids or your/their financial/aid situation, but I do know a lot of people end up changing direction (major) in college or finding new things they want to simultaneously pursue (double majors, minors, etc) so I do think there's a good argument for buying more than you think they'll need based solely on their interests today (if you can afford it)

3. In other words, assuming you're in the US and paying a fair amount for tuition, room, board, and overpriced "used books", try and consider the cost of these new computers as a small part of that education/investment. If you can afford to buy them both M2s with 16GB of ram that's honestly what I'd recommend. It's not that the M1 is bad, it's still very capable, but it has limitations (like only officially supporting a single external display) that have to be brute forced around, and the M2 should handle that quite a bit better.

4. The M2 MBA is much more than just a faster CPU/GPU. You get a bigger, brighter screen, a 1080P webcam (vs 720P on the M1), fast charging, a much more advanced media encode/decode block, MagSafe (and thereby an extra port that can be used while charging without a hub), and more.

To summarize: Prioritize 16GB of ram over all else, if you can afford it, consider the M2 as a minor additional investment in your children's education that will allow them to do more with their Macs should they so choose.

Finally, please for the love of god purchase AppleCare, or have some kind of supplementary insurance (credit card, homeowners insurance, etc) that will cover both mechanical failures and accidental damage. They're college students, even if they're careful **** happens (and sometimes just breaks randomly) and being a "poor college student" and suddenly facing a super expensive repair bill sucks.
 
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The only advantage for users of M2 over M1 I'm hearing about (for 'average' users) is that the M2 will be better capable for video editing. This doesn't sound like a priority here. And I guess the 'newer' model means the OS updates extend further into the future, but again, at 2 - 3 years of intended use, I don't see that as a priority, either.
More storage and (especially) RAM is always good, regardless of device, and if that can be installed for the same / less price than the $200 hike to M2, that's a far better choice. An external portable SSD can handle bigger storage / backup issues.

And if you want to present an example of good business sense to them, check out Apple's own Refurbished and Clearance section in Apple's online Store. Save some additional bucks, and the products are all individually inspected, come wth the regular warranty and have the ability to get AppleCare.
 
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m2, maybe stock configurations. Office work (and business education apps) generally do not require much RAM anyway. It is not that they will draw on CAD or make very complex physical or chemical simulations. Mostly they will use for email and thesis writing. Moreover, Apple's management of memory makes older assumptions of RAM size obsolete, so 8GB is enough and you know about that more than me.

M2 is a best option for 2022 and beyond. Yes, m1 was a great value for 2020-2021-first half of 2022. However, MBA M2 has better hardware all the way and has also new design. It is future proof at least until M3, which is probably 2024. Therefore,

1. Buy stock configurations of M2 MBA. Your kids will be happy to have latest design (and less weight). 8GB of RAM is enough.
2. Storage, however, should be upgraded to 512GB to be future proof.
3. Use education discount to get free airpods and the academic discount.
 
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StoneJack said:
m2, maybe stock configurations. Office work (and business education apps) generally do not require much RAM anyway. It is not that they will draw on CAD or make very complex physical or chemical simulations. Mostly they will use for email and thesis writing. Moreover, Apple's management of memory makes older assumptions of RAM size obsolete, so 8GB is enough and you know about that more than me.
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I'm sorry but this just isn't true for many, many people.

Sure, if you're a light or efficient user who doesn't keep a lot of apps (or tabs) open, tends to do one task at a time, and doesn't have to deal with any apps that hog ram (often, but certainly not limited to, X86 Apps running through Rosetta 2,) then yes, you can probably get by with 8GB of memory and not NOTICE the slowdown from memory pressure building up.

But that's a lot of assumptions to make about people's usage, and it's especially problematic when macOS Monetary has had multiple major memory leaks from day one (day zero if you count the betas,) including an obnoxious memory leak related to the Finder and Spotlight that can cause the Finder to use upwards of 3GB+ of ram and persists to this day.

Is 8GB of ram still serviceable in 2022? Sure. But is it ideal/future proof? Absolutely not.
 
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jav6454 said:
All in all, I always recommend that if you can, go with the highest amount of memory your budget allows.
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While there are valid concerns about 8GB being enough going forward, I do want to point out that when the MacRumors front page made that post about the 10-year anniversary of the original Retina MBP I decided to look up contemporary threads on it and found several people complaining back in 2012 that a base 8GB of soldered RAM was ridiculous and would be completely unusable in 5 years. Didn't quite shake out that way.

RAM capacities and demands have definitely plateaued in the past decade, it's not the 90's or 2000's anymore when capacities doubled every 2-3 years. Here's a logarithmic plot of the base RAM capacities for each individual Mac SKU since the 80's to illustrate what I mean:
full

Also I finished my Master's in 2020 with a 2011 Thinkpad X220 hackintosh w/ 8 GB RAM. I always keep a ton of tabs open and do a fair bit of programming and data analysis with heavy software and I managed just fine. I only upgraded to a 14" MBP last year because it could only run up to High Sierra and my PhD involves heavier data crunching, unless you're running specific heavy software 8GB should be relatively comfortable for browsing/writing and plenty of other workloads.
 
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