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Redesigned MacBook Air With New Starlight and Midnight Colors Revealed in First Hands-On Photos
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It likely is the fact the the MBP 13" is the one remaining laptop that still has the Touch Bar. Many people hated it, but a small minority loved it. Apple keeping a 13" model with Touch Bar keeps those users happy, but doesn't compromise the evolution of the "main" laptops in the Macbook Pro line.
TBH there was very little reason to buy the 13" M1 Pro when it came out over the older Air. There is even less reason now.
The only reason I can see to buy the 13" Pro M1 or M2 is if you're doing something that is going to continuously max the CPU but don't want to buy the 14" Pro.
The Touch Bar is dead and the notch is what it is. People cried about the 720P potato camera so Apple upgraded it. The choice then was a bigger top bezel or the notch. People would be complaining either way so Apple chose the notch.
They sure do look thin, hey! And the Midnight colour looks epic, looking forward to seeing it in person.
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Yeah, a 15" MBA w 24GB RAM would have been my machine if it existed. Going to have to "settle" for my 16" M1 Pro W 32GB instead. Jealous of the Midnight already though, it looks like a sexier, darker, spacier, Space Grey.
Can you believe they are teasing me with this delivery. "Shipment on hold" at my nearest major delivery facility!!!!!
FYI, it is Tuesday late morning right now here on east coast Australia, and it's been parked at the delivery facility 1hr drive away for 2 days.
EDIT: I spoke too soon, it just arrived!
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I am so so so so so glad this computer is as pretty as it is and that Apple didn't go crazy with pastels and white everywhere. It looks incredible and I will move heaven and earth to add one to my collection!
There is a lot to like. Add in:
-> MagSafe
-> slightly bigger screen, but thinner and lighter
-> Liquid Retina vs Retina (not quite sure what this difference is tbh, does anyone know?)
-> Optional 24GB RAM
Downfalls are
-> a bump up in price
-> 8GB base RAM is inadequate for any M-series Mac, thus the genuine base price is a chunk higher.
Thought about pulling a trigger on Pro '14 recently from '2018 Pro, glad I waited, my 2018 Pro got me through my masters, now this M2 Air will be just perfect for every day things and save $$$.
Base Air is only 8 core CPU 8 core GPU at $1200 USD. 18 hr “movie playback” on 52.6 watt hour battery. Comes with 30w power adapter. MagSafe. Touch ID only. 1080p front face camera.
Base Pro is 8 core CPU 10 core GPU for $1300 USD. 20 hours “movie playback on 58.2 watt hour battery. Comes with the 67w power adapter. Not MagSafe. Touch Bar and Touch ID. 720 front face camera. But active cooling.
So for $100 with the pro, you gain 2 more graphics cores, “2 hours” or 5.6 watt hours of battery”, a 67w charger, active cooling, and Touch Bar (not necessarily a huge selling point).
The advantages of Air over Pro are: Liquid Retina (vs Retina display, whatever the difference is) 13.6" Vs 13.3" screen size. 1080p Vs 720p front camera, MagSafe, and a bad ass midnight color.
Idk…. I have been waiting over a year to upgrade my 2012 MBP 13”. Insane that for how much money they are asking, you only get a base of 8 Gb memory and 256gb ssd. Really with they had included an SD card reader to add expandable storage (was looking at the flush SD cards available on amazon); $200 for a storage upgrade is ridiculously steep. Tough to decide which one to go with now, including 2020 M1 air (which order I just canceled at sale price of $899). As others have stated, I feel that the price scheme is way off.
Base Pro is 8 core CPU 10 core GPU for $1300 USD. 20 hours “movie playback on 58.2 watt hour battery. Comes with the 67w power adapter. Not MagSafe. Touch Bar and Touch ID. 720 front face camera. But active cooling.
So for $100 with the pro, you gain 2 more graphics cores, “2 hours” or 5.6 watt hours of battery”, a 67w charger, active cooling, and Touch Bar (not necessarily a huge selling point).
The advantages of Air over Pro are: Liquid Retina (vs Retina display, whatever the difference is) 13.6" Vs 13.3" screen size. 1080p Vs 720p front camera, MagSafe, and a bad ass midnight color.
Idk…. I have been waiting over a year to upgrade my 2012 MBP 13”. Insane that for how much money they are asking, you only get a base of 8 Gb memory and 256gb ssd. Really with they had included an SD card reader to add expandable storage (was looking at the flush SD cards available on amazon); $200 for a storage upgrade is ridiculously steep. Tough to decide which one to go with now, including 2020 M1 air (which order I just canceled at sale price of $899). As others have stated, I feel that the price scheme is way off.
Liquid Retina is just a higher pixel count. And it sounds cool in marketing speak, hahaha
That's not really true. I know several people with the old M1 Air that have 8GB of RAM with zero issues. A better statement would be "8GB base RAM is inadequate for many people on these forums with any M-series Mac". People forget that not everyone is a techy or YouTube creator. Some people buy a Mac for browsing the web and FaceTime calls. Some people make recommendations based on their needs rather than the end user's needs.
There's videos out there showing people doing techy stuff with the base model and having no issues but of course it's going to work better with more RAM.
It’s a pretty big jump, though. $1200 to $2000. From a use case, if you need the extra horsepower (or promotion) it’s a great upgrade. But if having a small, lightweight, relatively cheap computer (that will look badass in a coffee shop, lol) is the goal, I’d think the stiff competition would be with with the M1 version and save cash. I mean, I’d go for the M2, but some may want to save money.
Well, one can suppose that one reason for the higher might be the increased prices of everything: petroleum, components, wages, etc.
Apple is certainly not in the business of taking the hit for the end users.
Apple is certainly not in the business of taking the hit for the end users.
Totally doable. I got $550 for a 2018 Intel MBA four months ago. After fees I netted about $500.
It's the same issue as the M1Pro MBPs. The tapered edges of the previous lineup of MBPs made them look a lot less chunky. They were not as thin at its thickest point as they appeared to be when you're looking at a front profile of the machine. Current MBPs are only a bit thicker at the thickest point, but give off a much much chunkier appearance.
LOL, yeah they’ll have a really tough time selling them. 😂
Exactly (acknowledging the obvious sarcasm, of course 😉). If the price were really too high, then they'd not sell so well. I doubt that will be the case. And I bet you a lot of people protesting about the price will buy it anyway, and actions speak louder than words. For those who actually won't buy it because of the price, it simply means it's no longer worth it for their needs or no longer fits their budget. That doesn't mean that's not what it's worth in the market.