swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
The slower than previous generation SSD speeds on the M2 MacBook Pro are why anyone even thought to look at the SSD speeds on the M2 MBA.
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New Air turning out to be a dud
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The SSD base model stuff is hilariously overblown by the “tech” YouTubers, they’re looking for clicks and controversy.
Some of the tasks they’re using for this is ridiculous and not something it’ll ever be used for by 95% of buyers.
And that other 5% should have bought a pro for their needs anyway.
Sami Fathi from this site even mentioned it on Twitter today about the dangerous trend of exaggeration going on with reviewers.
Some of the tasks they’re using for this is ridiculous and not something it’ll ever be used for by 95% of buyers.
And that other 5% should have bought a pro for their needs anyway.
Sami Fathi from this site even mentioned it on Twitter today about the dangerous trend of exaggeration going on with reviewers.
I got the base model M2 Air on Friday and I spent the weekend using it the way I do for my typical workflow and it's great. I love the new form factor and the decrease in weight over the 14" Pro. I mostly use Office365, Safari/Chrome, Email, Contacts, Calendar, Quickbooks, Scrivener and N-Able Take Control to dial into customer PCs and servers and... it all worked great, felt very snappy--regardless of the SSD speed drop compared to my 14" Pro--and, bonus, the battery life was fantastic. I charged to full shortly after getting it Friday afternoon, used it off and on over the weekend and just plugged it in tonight and it still had a little more than 30% still available. So far I'm happy and will most likely be selling my 14" Pro--though I'm gonna use the new Air for the next week to be sure. So, for me, definitely not a "dud" by any stretch.
same sentiment as me. I've been saying all along that the MBA M2 is like an improved version of the M1 MBA with the bigger screen, magsafe, new designs, speakers and slightly noticeable snappier performance for normal day to day task. The issue with the SSD and the thermal seems overblown.
Sure. But everyone is all caught up in synthetic benchmarks. The people that this laptop IS INTENDED FOR, won’t even notice. Take video editing for example. The Air is probably meant for people who shoot on their iPhone more than a DSLR. The hardware encoders will make everything snappy. Real world scenarios. The Air is a general purpose machine. General… Purpose.
The usage of swap to make for 8gb of RAM puts the SSD issue in play for all types of users.
You’d be surprised how much a “normal” user can gobble up RAM and then wonder what’s up with the slowdowns? (From swap)
True, would like to see some tests on whether 16gb RAM or 512 MB SSD is better at mitigating these issues.
The M2 MacBook Air is far from being a dud. But I expected better from Apple: faster or higher quality NAND chips, and more advanced cooling technology. I read that Samsung is using vapor chamber cooling in the S22. Why can't Apple do on a laptop what Samsung is doing on a phone?
i'm sure that 3 or 4 people spent at least a couple of days designing the M2 air; why couldn't they just get it right? you know, midnight with no fingerprints, better speed on the 256g air; a better cooling system. 4 or 5 more ports...
i know that i don't know what happened in those design meetings, but it's not what i wanted. what the hell?
if i can think it, they should be able to make it. am not a technical guy, but... i can post indignantly on an internet forum... and that should be enough
i know that i don't know what happened in those design meetings, but it's not what i wanted. what the hell?
if i can think it, they should be able to make it. am not a technical guy, but... i can post indignantly on an internet forum... and that should be enough
Simple - engineering is all about tradeoffs at the end of the day. You want all of the aforementioned features - what are you willing to give up in exchange for it?
Ie: you have basically described the 14” MBP. Which is good, but simply overkill for the vast majority of users.
If Internet browsing is only thing that people use this machine for, why do you need to buy a new thousand dollar computer? Any computer produced in past decade and half will able to do handle internet just fine. In fact, i am typing this on my 2009 MacBook Pro and it browse, streaming videos, do office work just fine.
So WHY do you need spend thousand of dollar on a new computer? It isn't like most people hasn't brought a computer in past decade or so?
Solely browsing the internet & nothing else is probably a stretch. Basically what he's saying is that it will be used for extremely routine or casual tasks for most people. The 4K video rendering while opening 200 tabs in safari crowd, is a very loud minority. Most users aren't buying these machines to run Autocad.
i mean thats cool that you got so much out of a computer but I bet that thing runs hot and is funky. no offense. Some people upgrade the laptops more then the workstations. I was on a cheesegrater macpro from 2009 to 2018 but switched laptops like 3 times in that space.
It only runs hot when you stress it. Normal web browsing doesn't.
From 2009 to 2018, this is within 9 years, 3 laptops isn't that. I have only got 3 laptops from 2008 to now. 2008 white MacBook, 2018 MacBook Air and Acer Aspire 5 Windows laptop. Only recently I acquired bunch of unibody MacBook Pro for fun for not much money.
My dad runs AutoCad on his Haswell ThinkPad without issue and I am rendering 1080P family video on decade old MacBook Pro without problem...
This is what I am saying, why would anyone spending 1000+ for a new laptop for routine or casual tasks? If you are in a new computer, why aren't we shopping used, like retina MacBook Air or any Intel Retina MacBook Pros. I mean I saw people selling 2012 Retina MacBook Pro for like mid-200 dollars, this thing is just capable for doing almost all routine and casual task, while we can save a used laptop to landfill.
But this should not happen in first place. Apple has audacity to charge more for a new product that is actually slower than old product. I don't think this should be overlooked, frankly.
If what you do is not actually that demanding, why would you need spend that kind of money for something you don't need?
I can't answer that for you. You would need to ask each one of the millions of people who purchased the laptop. I'm sure there is no sweeping answer that will apply to all users. The question I would ask you though, is what does it matter?
I do believe this is come down to consumerism..
When you walk within a university library, you see some fresh student carrying with expensive MacBook Pro with iPad Pro and iPhone all together, and this is not uncommon.
We have been exposed to consumerism for long and lead to believe only new and fancy things are worth to buy, where old and used one are unworthy.
i think a lot of people (at least here on macrumors, and people who know a little about it), want to invest in a mac that's fairly future-proof, and for that, the silicon macs are the way to go.
I see it in different way. Apple doesn't have good track record on updating macOS on its Mac. I mean Mac that were produced before 2017 are no longer getting updates. So for folks who brought a MacBook Pro in 2016, you only get 6 years of new macOS and by 2024 there will be no software update at all.
That really means, the Apple Silicon mac you purchase today will be rendered obsolete by 2028, that is way too short for any computer standard. Who know what happen with these computers once Apple cut off software support?
The way I see it is that, Intel Macs are great, because it can run Windows and Linux in general. I get there are Linux distribution, namely Asahi Linux, for M1 macs, but it seems still not completed. When Apple decide to cut off software support, I can run Windows or Linux.
P.S. This by no means saying that people who need the new M2 Macs for actual work or various reason shouldn't be purchase one.
some macs produced before 2017 can't upgrade to ventura, but otherwise? and at some point, there will be software that requires a silicon chip, and eventually...a mac OS that does as well. even if apple had a new chip in 2028 (an incredibly abstract theory), the silicon macs will continue to work... just as intel macs do now.
anyway, i would advise anyone considering a new mac to start with the M1... definitely a longer shelf life that the intel macs now have (and both my macs are intel; my 2019 imac will serve me well for years if i want). but if i buy a replacement, it will definitely be a silicon mac.
While I agree Apple Silicon Mac will be more future proof than Intel Macs, but you need to look at cost side as well. For someone who don't need the power of M1, Intel Mac is A LOT cheaper than M1 Macs and it is capable for doing work for most people.
Take example, you can get 2017 MacBook Pro for well under 700 Canadian and base model M1 Mac cost almost twice much. Ask people who don't need much power for a computer, does twice amount of cost really justify for the purchase.
Of course, if you are someone who is going to utilize the power of new M1 or M2 chips, then by all means purchase one. But if not, people like my wife who is only going to use computer for word documents, doing some excel work, and doing her accounting staff, M1 is over kill.
2017 is 5 years ago, a long time in computer years. but a working intel mac is just that; working. and you can use it as long as you want; if the version of word works on the OS you're on... it will work as long as the mac works.
my point is... someone buying a new mac in 2022 should go with a silicon mac. i won't repeat the same things, and it's fine not to agree 👍
I've asked this loads of times. Apparently I don't have the right to question why someone spends 4x the amount they need to spend to sit there consuming YouTube content. I'm also frequently reminded that its Apple's cheapest laptop and isn't intended for creators and 'serious' users. Whereas as far as i'm concerned the £1249+ price of an M2 MBA should buy me something designed for some pretty serious work, irrespective of whether it's Apple's cheapest machine (M1 Air aside). Certainly a Windows machine in that price territory wouldn't be making any excuses for itself.