New MBA, some questions!

[bcemail]

Hello! Recently purchased our daughter an M4 15" MBA for college. I read waaaay too much about which type of laptop to buy, what might or might not make it through college, and looked at a bunch in person. It sounds like Macbooks have good reliability, so fingers crossed. Ands, of course, she loved the looks of it and how light it was.

Last Mac I owned was a hand-me-down laptop years ago, but we have plenty of iPhones, iPads, and a couple of iPods still in the family. So a few questions about using a MBA in 2025:

1. Any basic settings or anything that are helpful? I have certain things I prefer on my iPhone, but didn't know if there some on the MBA that people really prefer. Any battery or charging settings that help extend the life?​

2. I went with the 35W dual charger. It looked a little slimmer and I'm guessing she is going to be plugged in a lot. Good choice? Figure I can get a higher wattage charger down the line if needed.​

3. For the two Thunderbolt ports: is there anything I need to look for before buying her accessories? If I get something like a USB hub, thumbdrive, maybe an external HDD down the road, can I just buy USC-C stuff? Or do I need to buy T-bolt specific things? I've Googled, but got even more confused about form factors, transfer protocols, etc.​

4. Do people recommend things like laptop desks for cooling? Are temps a big issue or just use it and don't worry?​

5. Any sleeves/cases people really like?​

Any and all advice is welcome! Going to try and eke every dollar of use I can out of this! Thanks!

​

 

[CSAppleFan]

For her college work, that will last her easily the 4 years + any grad school years if she does that. People hold onto them for 10 years sometimes.

Since she is a college student I would recommend adding AppleCare+ for it incase of any accidental damage.

The dual charger is great bc she can plug the laptop in and her phone to charge and just need one charging brick. The battery on the air is very good. She should be able to get thru a full day of courses and usage with it no problem

If she is just saving school paper, lectures, etc. she might be fine with the 256GB but utilizing cloud storage (google docs/google drive) or iCloud will help there too or an external ssd if needed

For cooling I don't think anything will be needed. While it is fanless, doing school work, watching content, web browsing, etc. she will probably not experience it getting hot

 

[russell_314]

Hello! Recently purchased our daughter an M4 15" MBA for college. I read waaaay too much about which type of laptop to buy, what might or might not make it through college, and looked at a bunch in person. It sounds like Macbooks have good reliability, so fingers crossed. Ands, of course, she loved the looks of it and how light it was.

Last Mac I owned was a hand-me-down laptop years ago, but we have plenty of iPhones, iPads, and a couple of iPods still in the family. So a few questions about using a MBA in 2025:

1. Any basic settings or anything that are helpful? I have certain things I prefer on my iPhone, but didn't know if there some on the MBA that people really prefer.​

The only thing I can think of is have iCloud turned on which I think it is by default. If she’s going to be somewhere that has Wi-Fi all the time then she can store documents directly on iCloud. If not, she might want to choose local storage. Either way, have iCloud on backing everything up and purchase whatever additional iCloud storage that is needed. It’s not worth saving $2.99 a month or whatever if you lose important data.

Look up the YouTube channel Macmost for tips on basic usage.

Any battery or charging settings that help extend the life?​

No, not really necessary. If you leave it plugged in a long time, it will set the charge limit to 80% automatically. This is mainly for people that connect to a monitor.

2. I went with the 35W dual charger. It looked a little slimmer and I'm guessing she is going to be plugged in a lot. Good choice? Figure I can get a higher wattage charger down the line if needed.​

It’s a great choice. Any USB-C charger will work so she won’t have a problem. I thought I would be plugged in a lot with my MacBook Air, but no. The battery life is so good you just plug it in at night.

3. For the two Thunderbolt ports: is there anything I need to look for before buying her accessories? If I get something like a USB hub, thumbdrive, maybe an external HDD down the road, can I just buy USC-C stuff? Or do I need to buy T-bolt specific things? I've Googled, but got even more confused about form factors, transfer protocols, etc.​

The only thing I can think of is some basic USB-C to USB-A adapter. That way if she has a USB-A thumb drive or other accessories, she can use it. Unless you’re trying to go for an external monitor or something specific I don’t see spending money for it.

4. Do people recommend things like laptop desks for cooling? Are temps a big issue or just use it and don't worry?​

No, not needed. It’s not going to get hot. I got mine warm gaming, but it doesn’t need any additional cooling

5. Any sleeves/cases people really like?​

That’s a hard one. It depends on the style you like. I got a generic black sleeve with a zipper. I’m not a fan of the ones that just slide in without a closure.

Any and all advice is welcome! Going to try and eke every dollar of use I can out of this! Thanks!

​

I wouldn’t stress too much about it. As I said earlier check out the YouTube channel Macmost. He gives some great advice about the basics.

 

[ignatius345]

1. Any basic settings or anything that are helpful? I have certain things I prefer on my iPhone, but didn't know if there some on the MBA that people really prefer. Any battery or charging settings that help extend the life?​

2. I went with the 35W dual charger. It looked a little slimmer and I'm guessing she is going to be plugged in a lot. Good choice? Figure I can get a higher wattage charger down the line if needed.​

I would seriously not worry about battery and charging. These things are insanely efficient. In my experience you can get away with using it for many many hours, charge at night, not really thinking about it beyond that.

3. For the two Thunderbolt ports: is there anything I need to look for before buying her accessories? If I get something like a USB hub, thumbdrive, maybe an external HDD down the road, can I just buy USC-C stuff? Or do I need to buy T-bolt specific things? I've Googled, but got even more confused about form factors, transfer protocols, etc.

Unless she has some serious needs, Thunderbolt devices are overkill IMO. Any external SSD that connects via USB-C will totally suffice for Time Machine, which I would always recommend in case of loss or breakage of the laptop. (Would not recommend spinning hard drives at all at this point). I honestly don't know if anyone is using thumb drives these days, what with ubiquitous internet being what it is.

4. Do people recommend things like laptop desks for cooling? Are temps a big issue or just use it and don't worry?​

Not at all. If it did get too hot (not likely) it would throttle and slow down to prevent overheating. Again, they're really efficient and not likely to generate any significant heat.

 

[bcemail]

For her college work, that will last her easily the 4 years + any grad school years if she does that. People hold onto them for 10 years sometimes.

Since she is a college student I would recommend adding AppleCare+ for it incase of any accidental damage.

The dual charger is great bc she can plug the laptop in and her phone to charge and just need one charging brick. The battery on the air is very good. She should be able to get thru a full day of courses and usage with it no problem

If she is just saving school paper, lectures, etc. she might be fine with the 256GB but utilizing cloud storage (google docs/google drive) or iCloud will help there too or an external ssd if needed

For cooling I don't think anything will be needed. While it is fanless, doing school work, watching content, web browsing, etc. she will probably not experience it getting hot

Sounds great! I think the storage won't be a problem. She has iCloud for her pictures, and they use Google Docs a lot. She even asked me "what would I save to the computer?" Different times!

The only thing I can think of is have iCloud turned on which I think it is by default. If she’s going to be somewhere that has Wi-Fi all the time then she can store documents directly on iCloud.

No, not really necessary. If you leave it plugged in a long time, it will set the charge limit to 80% automatically. This is mainly for people that connect to a monitor.


The only thing I can think of is some basic USB-C to USB-A adapter. That way if she has a USB-A thumb drive or other accessories, she can use it. Unless you’re trying to go for an external monitor or something specific I don’t see spending money for it.

Thanks! I thought they would have the battery stuff figured out. I don't do anything special with my iPhone and it lasts all day.

I would seriously not worry about battery and charging. These things are insanely efficient. In my experience you can get away with using it for many many hours, charge at night, not really thinking about it beyond that.

Unless she has some serious needs, Thunderbolt devices are overkill IMO. Any external SSD that connects via USB-C will totally suffice for Time Machine, which I would always recommend in case of loss or breakage of the laptop. (Would not recommend spinning hard drives at all at this point). I honestly don't know if anyone is using thumb drives these days, what with ubiquitous internet being what it is.

And If I'm not getting Thunderbolt devices, regular USB-C devices will work? Do I need to get stuff that is approved for Apple? I remember that being a thing for a while with accessories. Thanks!

 

[russell_314]

Sounds great! I think the storage won't be a problem. She has iCloud for her pictures, and they use Google Docs a lot. She even asked me "what would I save to the computer?" Different times!

Most younger people have got on board with cloud storage. It’s so convenient because you can access your data from different devices.

Thanks! I thought they would have the battery stuff figured out. I don't do anything special with my iPhone and it lasts all day.

Exactly it’s fine. It has low power mode just like the iPhone but I never use it. Just like on the iPhone screen brightness is the enemy of battery life. If you’re sitting outside at 100% brightness it’s going to use a lot more power than inside at 50% brightness.

And If I'm not getting Thunderbolt devices, regular USB-C devices will work? Do I need to get stuff that is approved for Apple? I remember that being a thing for a while with accessories. Thanks!

Anything USB-C will work. I would buy name brand whatever just for quality. Especially with power adapters because some of the real cheap ones are dangerous. This applies to phone chargers as well.

What USB accessories do you think she’ll need? I was thinking maybe a basic hub that had a few USB-A ports in case she has some older external drive or accessories. She might not need it though so maybe find out what she plans to connect to it. Also a Bluetooth mouse is nice if you’re using a laptop on a table but again that’s me. I know people who just use the trackpad.

 

[ignatius345]

Anything USB-C will work.

Yep. And for external drives, most will come formatted for Windows but can easily be reformatted using Disk Utility. Don't pay extra for a drive that's pre-formatted "for Mac" as this is like a 5 minute operation at most.

 

[Technerd108]

Hello! Recently purchased our daughter an M4 15" MBA for college. I read waaaay too much about which type of laptop to buy, what might or might not make it through college, and looked at a bunch in person. It sounds like Macbooks have good reliability, so fingers crossed. Ands, of course, she loved the looks of it and how light it was.

Last Mac I owned was a hand-me-down laptop years ago, but we have plenty of iPhones, iPads, and a couple of iPods still in the family. So a few questions about using a MBA in 2025:

1. Any basic settings or anything that are helpful? I have certain things I prefer on my iPhone, but didn't know if there some on the MBA that people really prefer. Any battery or charging settings that help extend the life?​

2. I went with the 35W dual charger. It looked a little slimmer and I'm guessing she is going to be plugged in a lot. Good choice? Figure I can get a higher wattage charger down the line if needed.​

3. For the two Thunderbolt ports: is there anything I need to look for before buying her accessories? If I get something like a USB hub, thumbdrive, maybe an external HDD down the road, can I just buy USC-C stuff? Or do I need to buy T-bolt specific things? I've Googled, but got even more confused about form factors, transfer protocols, etc.​

4. Do people recommend things like laptop desks for cooling? Are temps a big issue or just use it and don't worry?​

5. Any sleeves/cases people really like?​

Any and all advice is welcome! Going to try and eke every dollar of use I can out of this! Thanks!

​

I would buy here a quick charger too. The dual charger is nice but students often forget to charge their laptops regularly or use it all night and then bring it to class and need an outlet. So I would advise to get a 100 watt or around that quick charge. Apple makes one and Anker and others do for less. That way if your daughter needs to charge her MacBook before class it will take less time to get enough charge.

You can find Thunderbolt adapters. Anker again has a lot of them. I have a Thunderbolt hub that has HDMI, USB a, USB c, sd card, etc. You just plug it in to the Mac and use any interface you want. Highly recommend to buy one.

I would not worry about cooling. There are no fans on the air which means you don't have to worry about blocking vents. The only time my air gets hot is when it is fast charging. It can get warm running heavy tasks but you really have to push the laptop beyond what it was designed to have bad thermals.

I would highly recommend getting her some microfiber clothes to clean the laptop and screen. I would also check Amazon for Tomtoc brand case. Sleeves are useless. A decent laptop case can keep the laptop in good condition as long as she just puts it inside when not in use. A lot of the laptop cases come with a handle and extra pockets for cables, books, etc. She will need a case/bag for her Mac. They have laptop cases with handles made just for the air and they are not that expensive.

Her laptop should last her through college and beyond. You made a great choice. Honestly at this time for a college student I don't think you can find anything better than an air. I would have bought her the 13.6" model though for maximum portability. I think the 13.6" model is perfect size for a college student.

If you have any questions about anything specific please let us know.