New Air turning out to be a dud

[MajorFubar]

I'll make it simple for you: because they can. Nobody has to justify themselves to you or anyone else.

It's like asking why someone needs to buy an expensive car when a cheaper one will get them from point A to point B just as easily.

I happy bought a maxed out M2 air and will be buying a Mac Pro when they're announced to replace my maxed out 2013 Mac Pro.

Your financial questions sound like a personal problem.

No the question usually comes along the lines of "will a [stupidly over-specified MBP or MBA] be good enough for [insert really simple menial task here, like watching TY]" and I try to respectfully point out that the [insert really simple menial task here, like watching YT] can in fact be carried out by a computer for a quarter of the cost. And that's when I get told to fluff off, even though I'm actually just trying to save the questioner some money because their requirements are so rudimentary any computer made in the last 10+ years can probably do it.

I respect that it's actually no business of mine if they buy a fully loaded Mac Pro in order to just run Mine Sweeper on a Windows partition.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Okay. Sure.

Well just don't buy one, not that I get the impression you were going to anyway so why do you care?

I'll enjoy my machine, I have zero doubts it can do 100% of what I need. About 2-3 hours into playing World of Warcraft at top specs I don't I'll notice a thing and even do something else on the other monitor.

Which model do you have?

 

[canadianpj]

Which model do you have?

I'll have the 10-core/2TB/24GB shortly.

 

[MajorFubar]

"But the SSD is benchmarked slower" - Neat. So what? Have you spoken to an average user and seen if they even noticed?

I don't want to keep flogging the proverbial dead horse on every single thread about the M2 Macs, but this oft-quoted justification that the drop in performance of the M2s' SSDs vs M1s' doesn't matter just because most buyers won't notice, is, if stretched to the ultimate ridiculous extreme, akin to justifying the murder of someone providing no one notices the victim is dead.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I'll have the 10-core/2TB/24GB shortly.

Let us know if it throttles and by how much. I am very curious. It just seems crazy to me that the M2 would be throttling that much. Why would Apple do that to the M2?

 

[canadianpj]

I don't want to keep flogging the proverbial dead horse on every single thread about the M2 Macs, but this oft-quoted justification that the drop in performance of the M2s' SSDs vs M1s' doesn't matter just because most buyers won't notice, is, if stretched to the ultimate ridiculous extreme, akin to justifying the murder of someone providing no one notices the victim is dead.

Sorry, I don't agree in the slightest.

Benchmarks for most people are pointless.

I'm interested if the average user uses the machine and notices it. Does it ACTUALLY have an impact? From REAL people? I don't care, at all, what a benchmark says.

I don't want to keep flogging this same point, over and over and over again here. I'm not sure why I bother, the mob has spoken and the ruling is final....

 

[canadianpj]

Let us know if it throttles and by how much. I am very curious. It just seems crazy to me that the M2 would be throttling that much. Why would Apple do that to the M2?

I'll let you know IF I notice, I'm not going to check. If I don't notice it ... then ... who cares?

Again, I'm not going to check, I'm not going to look at any metrics. I'm going to, get this, use my machine. Strange?

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I'll let you know IF I notice, I'm not going to check. If I don't notice it ... then ... who cares?

Again, I'm not going to check, I'm not going to look at any metrics. I'm going to, get this, use my machine. Strange?

Not at all, that's what I am interested in. Do you notice any throttling in your day-to-day usage?

 

[canadianpj]

Not at all, that's what I am interested in. Do you notice any throttling in your day-to-day usage?

I don't have it yet. I will doubt it, like 99% of people I mostly browse the web, use Facebook, etc. I'll play WoW sometimes for an hour or so.

Nothing listed above is going to throttle and if so to a degree I would notice.

I'm not buying this laptop looking for a problem to complain about. I'm just going to use it.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I don't have it yet. I will doubt it, like 99% of people I mostly browse the web, use Facebook, etc. I'll play WoW sometimes for an hour or so.

Nothing listed above is going to throttle and if so to a degree I would notice.

I'm not buying this laptop looking for a problem to complain about. I'm just going to use it.

So anyone that uses it aggressively for the ways they used the M1 shouldn't have to worry?

 

[canadianpj]

So anyone that uses it aggressively for the ways they used the M1 shouldn't have to worry?

I don't know. Are there any real-world reviews or just benchmarks and those from YouTube influencers?

For 99% of the population? I doubt they will, for the rest? They already buy different machines so this isn't now and never has been an issue.

 

[Asiatic Black Hebrew]

Agreed.

This whole Macbook Air launch reminds me why I have frequently in the past taken long breaks from these forums. All of this manufactured outrage is truly bizarre.

If you don't like the Macbook Air (for real reasons or following the crowd) then don't buy it. Problem solved. It's not a massive scandal, it's nothing significant at all. It's just not for you. Move on.

"But the SSD is benchmarked slower" - Neat. So what? Have you spoken to an average user and seen if they even noticed?

It's because they're absolutely furious that people are actually satisfied with their purchases. They won't stop complaining until everyone is as mad as they are about specs over a machine they were never going to buy in the first place.

Either that, or they're furious that the base model won't satisfy all their needs & they simply don't believe they should have to spend more money. They could stick with the M1 that apparently does everything they need, yet here we are. It's a lose/lose situation.

 

[canadianpj]

It's because they're absolutely furious that people are actually satisfied with their purchases. They won't stop complaining until everyone is as mad as they are about specs over a machine they were never going to buy in the first place.

Yes, this is the thing right now.

How DARE I be happy with what I bought. How DARE I bought a maxed-out model because "who needs that! it's to expensive!" and other such things.

I think this will be my last day on these forums for a while and just, and I know it's so WEIRD to say so, enjoy something?

 

[fuchsdh]

Again, if Apple advertising M2 Air capable for 4K and 8K rendering, its customer can expect to have performance to match. Not some excuse where MacBook Air is not designed to be.

I have never understand why Apple is so obsessed with thin and quite operations to the point it’s design hinders potential performance. It almost to me that Apple is purposely designed this way to upsell its MacBook Pro line.

It is capable. They make no warranty that it's going to be an exceptional experience that you will do your billable work on.

Again, this is a computer for most people. Most people don't need a four-pound laptop with maximum performance. If you do, there are the MacBook Pro lines right there. Demanding a product not designed for A do A better is a waste of breath.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I hope that's all it is, but I think y'all are seriously understimating the amount of power users that use the M1 MBA every day and use it well. I also believe a number of these folks also want to use the M2 in the same powerful manner. They use XCode, Android Studio, IDE environments, Machine Language Processing, Video editing, Photo editing, etc., Every day they do this professionally without the 14" or the 16". So it will be interesting to see what happens with the M2 throttling. I bet it is overblown also actually.

 

[LeeW]

In some tests, I have seen so far, both on YT and from fellow developers, there is more throttling on the M2 vs the M1. but this is the important part. The M2 is still doing the tasks faster than the M1. That is what I would expect to see.

In fact, I am sure it was Brian Tong on YT who did a massive AP video export where the fanless M2 MBA despite the throttling exported it 10 minutes faster than the M1 Mac Mini was able. That's pretty impressive. And the MBA M2 was using less power.

That kind of real-world test matters more to me (albeit extreme for that type of machine) than repeating short benchmarks that will always show a degraded 'score' over time whilst proving nothing really.

I am not trying to defend Apple, that is not my thing. For me, it has to be about real usage, not artificial.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

It is capable. They make no warranty that it's going to be an exceptional experience that you will do your billable work on.

Again, this is a computer for most people. Most people don't need a four-pound laptop with maximum performance. If you do, there are the MacBook Pro lines right there. Demanding a product not designed for A do A better is a waste of breath.

Except the M1 is also right there and already did it just fine. Why do we need to make excuses for the M2?

 

[chikorita157]

Intel Mac currently is in good position for price side of thing. You can probably get maxed out Intel machine cheaper than Apple Silicon Mac.

Still, wouldn’t recommend it as they won’t receive major macOS updates relatively soon, especially after 2026 and there is a good chance that some software will drop support for Intel. That money is better spent on a used Apple Silicon Mac or a new one, especially if you intend to use it for a long time.

I personal won’t purchase any Apple Silicon Mac for few years until I see how support of Apple Silicon Mac comes to be. If there is any indication as software support on iPhone, Apple could stop supporting Apple Silicon for 5-6 years after release, not mention features fragmentation.

Again, I highly doubt that they will do this, especially since most of their sales come from iPhones and Macs tend to have more flexibility for extending updates. Again, like the PowerPC transition, support was cut short for the tail end Macs because of the transition. I expect Apple to support the Macs longer since they are supporting their own silicon and they know that customers do not update their Macs compared to iPhones, thus no incentive to drop support quickly. It will most likely receive longer support like the iPads.

Frankly, I think the advantage for Intel Mac is ability to run alternative OS natively. And I don’t except Microsoft will stop sending updates to unsupported PC.

Not so sure about that. Microsoft has publicly stated that Windows Updates will not work for people who installed Windows 11 on unsupported machines.

As for Intel Mac being running hot, I do think Apple doesn’t do a good job on thermal design. I also see this on Apple Silicon Mac. Someone fan-less design on this MacBook Air, it just seems to me that Apple doesn’t want M2 has its full potential on this machine and purposely designed this machine to differentiate with higher MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Air is not designed for heavy workflows, it’s a productivity machine, but not for intensive video editing, photo editing, and 3D modeling. Additionally, my 16 inch M1 Pro Macbook Pro never got hot or loud under load.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

In some tests, I have seen so far, both on YT and from fellow developers, there is more throttling on the M2 vs the M1. but this is the important part. The M2 is still doing the tasks faster than the M1. That is what I would expect to see.

In fact, I am sure it was Brian Tong on YT who did a massive AP video export where the fanless M2 MBA despite the throttling exported it 10 minutes faster than the M1 Mac Mini was able. That's pretty impressive. And the MBA M2 was using less power.

That kind of real-world test matters more to me (albeit extreme for that type of machine) than repeating short benchmarks that will always show a degraded 'score' over time whilst proving nothing really.

I am not trying to defend Apple, that is not my thing. For me, it has to be about real usage, not artificial.

THIS! This is very important! Exactly what I want to here! See, we don't need to make excuses, nor do we need to Pro line!!!! Power Users Air users unite!

 

[ponzicoinbro]

On the contrary, I think the new Air will become Apple's best selling portable.

It’s selling out as soon as store gets them.

If rando online people complain about heat and slow drive, buy a Pro and stop being a troll. An Air is a sub-notebook not a workstation. It’s for office work and education.

My iPad Pro would burn up if there were a stupid thing called Cinebench running on it.

 

[LeeW]

Time to find out for myself vs my wife's M1 MBA.

 

[Asiatic Black Hebrew]

It’s selling out as soon as store gets them.

If rando online people complain about heat and slow drive, buy a Pro and stop being a troll. An Air is a sub-notebook not a workstation. It’s for office work and education.

My iPad Pro would burn up if there were a stupid thing called Cinebench running on it.

If only it was this easy. They will just tell you that the M1 could handle their workflow just fine. Then, when you ask why they don't just continue using their M1? They ignore the question & continue trolling. Rinse & repeat.

 

[Queen6]

Not exactly Apples to Apples yet it illustrates the base model M2's are best avoided, by the time you spec them up you may well reach for the 14" MBP

I don't see the thermals as a big deal, however Apple should have bit the bullet an included dual NAND chips. The impact to performance is clearly significant. Has to be said comes across as Apple being cheap to push in-house upgrades and or more expensive models...

Q-6

 

[EastHillWill]

Not exactly Apples to Apples yet it illustrates the base model M2's are best avoided, by the time you spec them up you may well reach for the 14" MBP

I don't see the thermals as a big deal, however Apple should have bit the bullet an included dual NAND chips. The impact to performance is clearly significant. Has to be said comes across as Apple being cheap to push in-house upgrades and or more expensive models...

Q-6

Could have been a decision based on supply rather than cost. That’s not necessarily a justification, but is a possibility

 

[LeeW]

Apple should have bit the bullet an included dual NAND chips. The impact to performance is clearly significant.

Indeed, I went for the 8GB 512GB model to avoid the single NAND. But at £1.549 it's nearly at the 14" price point which I can get for £1,745. Now my use for this device is very basic for travel/mobility purposes. If I decide 16GB is needed then I would be returning it to pay £1,749. More than the 14".

Having said all that, I was in the Apple store and my preference was the MBA, the 14" was just too heavy. Getting the M2 MBA out of the box it's just perfect here in the hand and the size is equally as perfect. Apple are complete *****, they really are. But it is what it is, they won't change for me