To you, maybe. Not to me.
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Screen Differences Between 14" MBP and M2 Air
- Thread starter briuhn
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I travel a lot, and replaced my 2015 13" MBP with an M1 Air - it was a very noticeable change. Like you said, every little bit helps. Of course weight might not be such a priority to someone else, but when I went into the Apple store to compare the Air to the 14" MBP - the decision was simple.
That said, the screen on the MBP and its buttery smooth scrolling *was* very nice!
Exactly if it weighed a ton then 5% would be significant. The problem is it doesn’t really communicate how much extra weight it is. 0.8 lb is about like having a can of soda in your bag. If you’re traveling with a very light bag that would be noticeable but if you’re carrying a backpack that may weigh 15 lb or so it’s probably not as noticeable
I’m not saying it’s nothing. It’s the same with the 4.2 mm is something but what does it mean for everyday usage? Are you going to buy a bag that’s 4.2 mm thinner? It looks cooler sure. I just feel like some of the specs are hyped up to get people to buy the product even though that feature is probably useless for them.
This being said I woke up specifically to order a M2 MacBook Air. Who knows maybe I’ll get this thing in my hand and think oh wow I’ve never held something so light… I have to wait two weeks to find out 😂
Back when the MacBook Air came in the 11” variety I bought it even though I had every intention of getting the 13”. But I did exactly that—I picked up the 11” and marveled at how much lighter it was than the 13”. I’d love an M2 version of the 12” MacBook for the same reason.
Edit: And the difference was only 20%. 2.96 pounds vs. 2.38.
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Luckily apple isn’t discontinuing the MacBook Pro to make the MacBook Air, so the consumer can feel free to purchase whichever fits their own criteria better.
I don’t care if you think the weight or thickness delta is negligible or should have no impact on my purchasing decision, because you are not me and you use your computer differently than I use mine! Funny how that just like, makes total sense huh.
I don’t care if you think the weight or thickness delta is negligible or should have no impact on my purchasing decision, because you are not me and you use your computer differently than I use mine! Funny how that just like, makes total sense huh.
This is why some like chocolate, some like vanilla!
Most people (not on this forum) won't fuss over the lack of mini LED or ProMotion. Sure we'll notice it, but they probably won't notice it — or care. Mini LED would have been nice, at least as an optional upgrade, but the fact that the new Air is more portable than the Pro is its main appeal. It's like someone took a rolling pin to the MacBook Pro & thinned it out. Ironically I can see this being the go-to device for professionals in the field because it's more portable. This may be why we're hearing rumors of a 12" MacBook coming back geared toward professionals. The new Air's display will still be good with a P3 color gamut although because it lacks mini LED it probably won't completely let the notch disappear in full screen mode.
Most people (not on this forum) won't fuss over the lack of mini LED or ProMotion. Sure we'll notice it, but they probably won't notice it — or care. Mini LED would have been nice, at least as an optional upgrade, but the fact that the new Air is more portable than the Pro is its main appeal. It's like someone took a rolling pin to the MacBook Pro & thinned it out. Ironically I can see this being the go-to device for professionals in the field because it's more portable. This may be why we're hearing rumors of a 12" MacBook coming back geared toward professionals. The new Air's display will still be good with a P3 color gamut although because it lacks mini LED it probably won't completely let the notch disappear in full screen mode.
Don’t forget the difference in resolution. The MacBook Air doesnt use 2x integer scaling by default, which means that everything will look a bit blurry, compared to the 14“.. This is for me the biggest regression and almost a showstopper
If you are happy with the screen on a 7-8 year old 13" mbp you will be happy with the Air 2, if not get the 14".
simple.
simple.
I fail to see adding any upgrades to an MBA. You loose the value. You'd be better served with an MBP.
No. The value, to me, is in a highly capable machine that also weighs and costs significantly less. Why would I pay extra for power that I don't need, and weight that I don't want? Instead, I was happy to pay extra for twice the storage I'd have gotten with the base 14" Pro and, with education pricing, still come out $250-300 ahead of where I'd be with the 512-GB Pro.
If you don't want the M2 Air, by all means, don't buy it. But for some - nay, many - it's exactly the right machine at the right time. There's a reason that I didn't pull the trigger on the base 14" Pro when it was twice on sale at Costco this spring for $1,749. I knew it wasn't the machine I wanted, and suspected that Apple had the one I did want in the on-deck circle. I was right.
I got M2 MBA 16gb/512gb and the based 14 M1 Pro and will use them side by side for about a week plus.
will keep either one and return the other one to Apple.
M2 MBA: Lower cost, weight, longer battery life?
M1 Pro MBA: Better screen, ports, generally faster performance overall
will keep either one and return the other one to Apple.
M2 MBA: Lower cost, weight, longer battery life?
M1 Pro MBA: Better screen, ports, generally faster performance overall
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The fact that the 14” MBP is priced close enough to a well spec’ed MBA is by design. If you are willing to shell out an extra $300 just because the better model is so close in price, it’s a win for Apple. If you will never touch the edges of those extra cores or RAM, and the subtle display improvements aren’t worth that money to you, the Air exists for that reason. Get it.
1lb is a BIG difference at this weight, as it's over 25%
That's how you gauge it. It's scaled up that way, obviously (so 1lb from a 10lb item would not matter much). This is more than just perception, it's how your body deals with it; fatigue.
Just saying. I do this with some other objects in this weight category, and practically carry around a digital scale.
This scale has gotten a lot of use.
That's how you gauge it. It's scaled up that way, obviously (so 1lb from a 10lb item would not matter much). This is more than just perception, it's how your body deals with it; fatigue.
Just saying. I do this with some other objects in this weight category, and practically carry around a digital scale.
This scale has gotten a lot of use.
Yes, exactly this.
The other night, I packed my gym bag and brought it downstairs in preparation for going to work and the gym the next day. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I realized that it felt too light and figured that something was missing. Sure enough, I'd left out the plastic sandals I wear in the locker room. Out of curiosity, I weighed them on our kitchen scale, and they came in right around a pound. In a bag with exercise clothes and running shoes, weighing about 4 lbs, the absence of a pound's worth of shower shoes was very noticeable.
Saying everything will look a bit blurry is an exaggeration. Every Mac laptop, Air or Pro, has shipped with a scaled resolution as default for the better part of a decade now and wasn’t a showstopper. Only the latest MBPs changed the PPI and went to 2X as the default for display config.
The added screen real estate is a good trade off for the virtually imperceptible impact on crispness. If perfect 2X integer scaling matters that much to someone, it is still just a click away in System Preferences.
Are you certain that the scaling of the M2 MacBook Air will be the same as that of the 13-inch MacBook Pro? They have different screen sizes and pixel densities.
M2 MacBook Air
Size: 13.6”
Native resolution: 2560 x 1664
Pixel density: 224
13-inch MacBook Pro
Size: 13.3”
Native resolution: 2560 x 1600
Pixel density: 227
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13” MBP/M1 MBA ships with “Looks like 1440x900” default resolution setting. The M2 MBA will likely ship with “Looks like 1440x936” to account for the added pixels in the menu bar.
Yeah, but on the miniLED display the black bar around the notch is off, there’s no backlight. On a classic LED it’s not possible to achieve pure black, it will be something like a dark gray (like an iPhone XR/11, where the notch is visible even with black wallpapers)
If that's true mine will be going back, I tried a 14" for a a week and didn't even know there was a notch lol
Of course it’s true. This is the way technology works. Blacks will never be as deep as on a MiniLED panel. I don’t think though that you will really notice it, especially after a while. You will just get used to it.
Having said that, I decided not to get the MacBook Air. The 14” MacBook Pro has everything I want from a laptop. Having two laptops and a desktop (I have the Mac Studio) makes zero sense too, at least for me.
Having said that, I decided not to get the MacBook Air. The 14” MacBook Pro has everything I want from a laptop. Having two laptops and a desktop (I have the Mac Studio) makes zero sense too, at least for me.