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Screen Differences Between 14" MBP and M2 Air

For me i can tell the difference right away with the XDR and the inky black of the MBP 14 vs the m2 MBA.
The black on the MBA M2 looks grey if you are in darker place while the MBP 14 will look completely black.

And the Pro motion on the MBP 14 makes the device feels like a more premium and modern device when using.
The MBA M2's 60hz screen is good on it's on and perfectly usable, but putting it next to the 14 just makes it feels abit worse than it actually is.

But OMG is the speakers of the MBP 14 that leaps and bounds better than the MBA M2. Media experience is very much enhanced due to that speakers.
 
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FattKingHugeman said:
For me i can tell the difference right away with the XDR and the inky black of the MBP 14 vs the m2 MBA.
The black on the MBA M2 looks grey if you are in darker place while the MBP 14 will look completely black.

And the Pro motion on the MBP 14 makes the device feels like a more premium and modern device when using.
The MBA M2's 60hz screen is good on it's on and perfectly usable, but putting it next to the 14 just makes it feels abit worse than it actually is.

But OMG is the speakers of the MBP 14 that leaps and bounds better than the MBA M2. Media experience is very much enhanced due to that speakers.
Click to expand...
are you keeping both?
 
My wife got a MacBook Air on Monday and I set it up for her. The difference in display quality is really big. Even when compared to an iPad Pro (the last one before M1), the difference can be seen immediately. Is it a bad display? Of course not, but when you know that for 200 to 300€ more you can get something much better, then it's difficult to go with the Air (unless you are getting a base model)
 
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petvas said:
My wife got a MacBook Air on Monday and I set it up for her. The difference in display quality is really big. Even when compared to an iPad Pro (the last one before M1), the difference can be seen immediately. Is it a bad display? Of course not, but when you know that for 200 to 300€ more you can get something much better, then it's difficult to go with the Air (unless you are getting a base model)
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I have had an 11" M1 iPad Pro for over a year, and an M2 Air for nearly a week. I already prefer the screen of the M2 Air. It's plenty brilliant, clear and smooth enough for my tastes, and significantly bigger.

With the MBP 14", you're paying a premium for a better screen and more powerful processor. I have no real use for either of those. With the M2 Air, you're paying a (smaller) premium for lower weight, a slimmer profile and longer battery life, all of which are, indeed, premium features, and ones, that I value. People should spend their money on what they value most.
 
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petvas said:
My wife got a MacBook Air on Monday and I set it up for her. The difference in display quality is really big. Even when compared to an iPad Pro (the last one before M1), the difference can be seen immediately. Is it a bad display? Of course not, but when you know that for 200 to 300€ more you can get something much better, then it's difficult to go with the Air (unless you are getting a base model)
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Do you really watch a lot of movies on your notebook? I watch YouTube videos but outside of 4K, I don't really care if they are high contrast or HDR in the vast majority of cases. I have a 4K TV that just works better for watching full length movies, TV shows, and sports.
 
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FattKingHugeman said:
For me i can tell the difference right away with the XDR and the inky black of the MBP 14 vs the m2 MBA.
The black on the MBA M2 looks grey if you are in darker place while the MBP 14 will look completely black.

And the Pro motion on the MBP 14 makes the device feels like a more premium and modern device when using.
The MBA M2's 60hz screen is good on it's on and perfectly usable, but putting it next to the 14 just makes it feels abit worse than it actually is.

But OMG is the speakers of the MBP 14 that leaps and bounds better than the MBA M2. Media experience is very much enhanced due to that speakers.
Click to expand...

FattKingHugeman said:
I returned the MBP 14 and kept the MBA M2
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What a freaking twist.
What was your reasoning?
 
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petvas said:
My main complain with the MacBook Air is the lack of a MiniLED display with ProMotion. Why should only Pro customers be getting such a display? The display should have been higher resolution than the current one. That is my main issue with the new laptop. I love gadgets and I would buy the MBA immediately, even if I don't really need it. The argument of thickness is not really important to me, but the extra battery life would be great. Having said that, the MacBook Pro is really the better laptop and has the perfect size..
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What's funny is I keep seeing these posts. Do you actually know why you want MiniLED and ProMotion? Seriously, how many people posting about this spec have actually used MiniLED and ProMotion? Let me tell you my experience:

I have had a 16" MacBook Pro M1 since it launched, and am typing on a 14" MBP M1 Max. Both have MiniLED and both have ProMotion. I just took receipt of a new MBA M2 yesterday and I also have an iPad that doesn't have MiniLED or ProMotion. Guess how much difference I notice? Basically ZERO. ZERO. I literally can't tell most of time. The screen on the M2 MBA is EXCELLENT. I kept trying to see "worse quality" but couldn't. I had to go so close to it and look at several elements and do tests just to see any kind of difference, and that difference is slight.

So I just have to call total BS on people who state that MiniLED and ProMotion are so good as to render screens that don't have them effectively non-starters. Yes, it's based on my experience but I have yet to see anyone here objectively demonstrate that MiniLED and ProMotion is so much better and therefore necessary.
 
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booksbooks said:
What's funny is I keep seeing these posts. Do you actually know why you want MiniLED and ProMotion? Seriously, how many people posting about this spec have actually used MiniLED and ProMotion? Let me tell you my experience:

I have had a 16" MacBook Pro M1 since it launched, and am typing on a 14" MBP M1 Max. Both have MiniLED and both have ProMotion. I just took receipt of a new MBA M2 yesterday and I also have an iPad that doesn't have MiniLED or ProMotion. Guess how much difference I notice? Basically ZERO. ZERO. I literally can't tell most of time. The screen on the M2 MBA is EXCELLENT. I kept trying to see "worse quality" but couldn't. I had to go so close to it and look at several elements and do tests just to see any kind of difference, and that difference is slight.

So I just have to call total BS on people who state that MiniLED and ProMotion are so good as to render screens that don't have them effectively non-starters. Yes, it's based on my experience but I have yet to see anyone here objectively demonstrate that MiniLED and ProMotion is so much better and therefore necessary.
Click to expand...
Outside of forum scrolling, I haven't really noticed the difference (which is very, very small). The iPad Pro 11" is the only ProMotion device I have and while it is nice, I don't miss it at all using my Macs.
 
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I take people that say they can't live without mini-led or pro motion about as seriously as i take those that say they can't tell the difference.

There is a difference and it is obvious just by looking at the displays. That said, my 16gb 512 mba m2 i just ordered today was just about $500 less than the MBP m1 at best buy after taxes and the $150 gc apple gave me for using the edu website.

$500 is not an insignificant amount of cash when looking at a casual use unit. is the MBP m1 better? Heck yeah. However I'm not going to be browsing my MBA m2 with a MBP m1 side by side in my living room.

I found the screen on the m1 mba to be wanting. Dim and the size was just a bit small. The new MBA m2 fixes both of those issues and while it doesn't have the jet blacks of the mini LED nor does it have 120hz which is a negative its screen is pretty damn good. IS the mbp m1 $500 better? Not for me.
 
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booksbooks said:
What's funny is I keep seeing these posts. Do you actually know why you want MiniLED and ProMotion? Seriously, how many people posting about this spec have actually used MiniLED and ProMotion? Let me tell you my experience:

I have had a 16" MacBook Pro M1 since it launched, and am typing on a 14" MBP M1 Max. Both have MiniLED and both have ProMotion. I just took receipt of a new MBA M2 yesterday and I also have an iPad that doesn't have MiniLED or ProMotion. Guess how much difference I notice? Basically ZERO. ZERO. I literally can't tell most of time. The screen on the M2 MBA is EXCELLENT. I kept trying to see "worse quality" but couldn't. I had to go so close to it and look at several elements and do tests just to see any kind of difference, and that difference is slight.

So I just have to call total BS on people who state that MiniLED and ProMotion are so good as to render screens that don't have them effectively non-starters. Yes, it's based on my experience but I have yet to see anyone here objectively demonstrate that MiniLED and ProMotion is so much better and therefore necessary.
Click to expand...
That’s your opinion! Lol
I have both and can For sure tell a difference with MLED. In fact the air m2 looks slightly fuzzy. It’s good yeah but NOT a 14 !
 
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FattKingHugeman said:
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
Click to expand...
Please update us.
 
dizmonk said:
Why?
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MBA M2 16gb/512gb is US470 cheaper.
It is thinner, much more lighter and portable. If you are walking around, can feel a lot of difference.
The battery life is almost 40% longer than the MBP 14 for the task I’m doing.
The MBP 14 feels warm to the touch while the M2 MBA M2 stays cool.
With the power efficiency, the M2 MBA will save me tons of electricity cost over the few years.
I already have a main machine at home. Portability is my key concern. I want something more useful than an iPad.
 
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FattKingHugeman said:
MBA M2 16gb/512gb is US470 cheaper.
It is thinner, much more lighter and portable. If you are walking around, can feel a lot of difference.
The battery life is almost 40% longer than the MBP 14 for the task I’m doing.
The MBP 14 feels warm to the touch while the M2 MBA M2 stays cool.
With the power efficiency, the M2 MBA will save me tons of electricity cost over the few years.
I already have a main machine at home. Portability is my key concern. I want something more useful than an iPad.
Click to expand...
nice practical description!!
 
Fatus_Asticus said:
I take people that say they can't live without mini-led or pro motion about as seriously as i take those that say they can't tell the difference.

There is a difference and it is obvious just by looking at the displays. That said, my 16gb 512 mba m2 i just ordered today was just about $500 less than the MBP m1 at best buy after taxes and the $150 gc apple gave me for using the edu website.

$500 is not an insignificant amount of cash when looking at a casual use unit. is the MBP m1 better? Heck yeah. However I'm not going to be browsing my MBA m2 with a MBP m1 side by side in my living room.

I found the screen on the m1 mba to be wanting. Dim and the size was just a bit small. The new MBA m2 fixes both of those issues and while it doesn't have the jet blacks of the mini LED nor does it have 120hz which is a negative its screen is pretty damn good. IS the mbp m1 $500 better? Not for me.
Click to expand...
No, it is not obvious, and certainly not obvious just because you think it is. The difference between you and me is I actually state that this is just my opinion... in other words, others may have a differing perspective. So no, it's no obvious to me, and it's not obvious to others posting on here agreeing with me etc.

I found the screen on my M1 Air to be wanting, that much I can agree with you on. I find this new M2 Air to be very much improved in colour saturation and brightness compared to the M1 Air. It brings it much closer to the quality of the MBP. I did 30 minutes of these screens side by side (MBP 14 vs MBA M2) and the difference on my testing just was not there, other than the noticeable increased brightness of the MBP and slightly sharper picture. However, I can turn up the brightness on the MBA and when I'm using the MBA, I just do not notice the screen being worse than my MBP. It's a very good screen. My testing involved watching 4K HDR trailers giving the MBP a huge edge because it supports HDR... looking at Apple's Website certain sections on products to see colour saturation levels, blacks, etc. I can't even tell the difference between blacks on the MBP 14 vs. MBA M2.

Yes, watching movies in high res in HDR etc. will be more noticeable... but that isn't something I do with my laptops very much.
 
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briuhn said:
I just ordered a midnight 16/512 M2 Air. I currently (like many here) use the 14" MBP. I am not a power user by any means, and am really looking forward to the portability, my only fear is losing the "pro" display. Other than the loss of pro-motion, can someone describe how much of a step down the M2 Air screen is, vs the 14" MBP? Thanks in advance to all here!
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Sooooo anyone else selling their 14 and how much did you all recoup the difference?
 
booksbooks said:
No, it is not obvious, and certainly not obvious just because you think it is. The difference between you and me is I actually state that this is just my opinion... in other words, others may have a differing perspective. So no, it's no obvious to me, and it's not obvious to others posting on here agreeing with me etc.

I found the screen on my M1 Air to be wanting, that much I can agree with you on. I find this new M2 Air to be very much improved in colour saturation and brightness compared to the M1 Air. It brings it much closer to the quality of the MBP. I did 30 minutes of these screens side by side (MBP 14 vs MBA M2) and the difference on my testing just was not there, other than the noticeable increased brightness of the MBP and slightly sharper picture. However, I can turn up the brightness on the MBA and when I'm using the MBA, I just do not notice the screen being worse than my MBP. It's a very good screen. My testing involved watching 4K HDR trailers giving the MBP a huge edge because it supports HDR... looking at Apple's Website certain sections on products to see colour saturation levels, blacks, etc. I can't even tell the difference between blacks on the MBP 14 vs. MBA M2.

Yes, watching movies in high res in HDR etc. will be more noticeable... but that isn't something I do with my laptops very much.
Click to expand...
So you say it’s not noticeable then list a bunch of stuff you noticed different.

Ok.
 
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