Some say the M2 MacBook Air is only good for light tasks…scoffs

[FrankySavvy]

Just watched this excellent video from MaxTech, it just made me laugh how far we have come, and how silly some reviewers sound when they say the MacBook Air is only good for light video editing and some creative work….

Side note: I know the new MacBook Pros are even faster but the MacBook Air is a screamer for most consumers and professionals…Apple Silicon really is killer.

 

[jav6454]

Just watched this excellent video from MaxTech, it just made me laugh how far we have come, and how silly some reviewers sound when they say the MacBook Air is only good for light video editing and some creative work….

Side note: I know the new MacBook Pros are even faster but the MacBook Air is a screamer for most consumers and professionals…Apple Silicon really is killer.

Disclaimer: I dislike anything Intel on a Mac. I believe Intel lost their touch by being too greedy and extremely complacent.

It has been completely proven on the M1 that Intel's CPUs on the Mac Pro were worthless in terms of benchmarks. However, the CPUs on the Mac Pro are workstation/server oriented, which means that their main purpose are server side features. In other words, those benchmarks are worthless comparison points.

A consumer CPU like the M-series are not able to do what Xeon CPUs can natively do as M-series are not currently designed for that; furthermore, if they can perform a Xeon specific task, there is penalty hit on the M-series.

 

[Shirasaki]

Tons of people has said M2 MacBook Air is for “light use” and not for next blockbuster rendering. I totally disagree. M1 and M2 with proper workload surely runs circles around Intel and AMD offerings, maybe even their future generations. It’s just that the passive thermal is still an issue for long heavy workload.

 

[richinaus]

Tons of people has said M2 MacBook Air is for “light use” and not for next blockbuster rendering. I totally disagree. M1 and M2 with proper workload surely runs circles around Intel and AMD offerings, maybe even their future generations. It’s just that the passive thermal is still an issue for long heavy workload.

the M2 will be when turned into an ultra x2 and put in a pro case.
My studio ultra runs quiet at 100% CPU and 100% GPU loading [which I do quite often]. I always think of it as a miracle computer.....

 

[MajorFubar]

Only in the Apple world would anyone ever consider labelling a computer that costs between £1249 and £2549, depending on how you spec it, as 'suitable for light work'. In the PC world that's buying you kit capable of some very serious heavy lifting. Thankfully, so is the M2 Air.

 

[FrankySavvy]

I just find it crazy that some reviewers are writing the M2 MacBook Air off for professional use. I am a graphic designer, I use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator daily. I use Dreamweaver/Safari for web design and After Effects/Premiere workflows on occasion for video. I could easily use this computer for my professional workflow as a Senior Graphic Designer at a national federal credit union.

I understand for high end 3D Modeling with Blender and daily 8K video editing the MacBook Pro would be better.

But Apple Silicon is so next level that the M2 MacBook Air destroys windows counterparts and even beats a $16,000 Mac Pro at some tasks.

Air doesn’t stand for just consumers anymore….

 

[G5isAlive]

Only in the Apple world would anyone ever consider labelling a computer that costs between £1249 and £2549, depending on how you spec it, as 'suitable for light work'. In the PC world that's buying you kit capable of some very serious heavy lifting. Thankfully, so is the M2 Air.

Only in the intel PC world is it not understood quality costs more. Specs alone don’t tell the story. In the case of the air, you’re also paying for what’s not there, weight.

I just find it crazy that some reviewers are writing the M2 MacBook Air off for professional use. I am a graphic designer, I use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator daily. I use Dreamweaver/Safari for web design and After Effects/Premiere workflows on occasion for video. I could easily use this computer for my professional workflow as a Senior Graphic Designer at a national federal credit union.

I understand for high end 3D Modeling with Blender and daily 8K video editing the MacBook Pro would be better.

But Apple Silicon is so next level that the M2 MacBook Air destroys windows counterparts and even beats a $16,000 Mac Pro at some tasks.

Air doesn’t stand for just consumers anymore….

The air is a capable machine, but even in the Apple world there are better choices if sustained work load and not portability is the primary concern. The M2 doesn’t have to apologize for that.

 

[MajorFubar]

Only in the intel PC world is it not understood quality costs more. Specs alone don’t tell the story. In the case of the air, you’re also paying for what’s not there, weight.

But now you're talking personal preferences. I was just pointing out the fact that an M2 Air is not just suitable for 'light work'. In fact I've only just put up a thread today comparing my M1 Air against my Mac Studio and the TLDR is the difference in experience is marginal until you undertake tasks which exploit the Studio's extra memory and additional CPU and GPU cores, because their single core performance is broadly similar. The M2 actually has better single core performance.

 

[fisherking]

light tasks? i find it's also good for dark tasks.

apple offers logic pro and final cut with your purchase, they must believe that's a workable combination....

 

[FrankySavvy]

And the funny thing is, the Apple M1 Pro/Mac solutions are the alternatives for higher end workflows. At this point Windows Machines are only better at Gaming....

 

[scottrichardson]

Exactly right. There is currently this bizarre understanding of performance when it comes to Macs. A "low-end" Mac is currently snappier and more powerful in most ways than even my top-of-the-range 10-coire i9 iMac from 2020 - a workstation class machine that I use for heavy lifting across photography, web design, development and audio engineering.

People read this: ANY M1 or M2 Mac is going to be an absolute BEAST of a machine. Single core performance is significantly faster than ANY intel Mac before it - including all the top-end Intel Macs ever released, and those are still fast today.

Just get plenty of RAM (as much as possible) and you will be well looked after for many years.

 

[jav6454]

And the funny thing is, the Apple M1 Pro/Mac solutions are the alternatives for higher end workflows. At this point Windows Machines are only better at Gaming....

Please, don't start the gaming argument as it will devolve into madness.

 

[MajorFubar]

light tasks? i find it's also good for dark tasks.

apple offers logic pro and final cut with your purchase, they must believe that's a workable combination....

Exactly.

 

[mikethemartian]

And the funny thing is, the Apple M1 Pro/Mac solutions are the alternatives for higher end workflows. At this point Windows Machines are only better at Gaming....

Apple itself has to use Intel machines running Windows or Linux to run the enterprise grade electrical engineering design and simulation applications from companies like Mentor Graphics, Cadence, Keysight, Ansys, Synopsys, etc. to make their own products. They can’t do that on Apple Silicon.

 

[Pugly]

I think Apple's market segmentation gets inside people's head a little too much. The Pro/Air label is meaningless if it does what you need.

 

[m1maverick]

Exactly right. There is currently this bizarre understanding of performance when it comes to Macs. A "low-end" Mac is currently snappier and more powerful in most ways than even my top-of-the-range 10-coire i9 iMac from 2020 - a workstation class machine that I use for heavy lifting across photography, web design, development and audio engineering.

People read this: ANY M1 or M2 Mac is going to be an absolute BEAST of a machine. Single core performance is significantly faster than ANY intel Mac before it - including all the top-end Intel Macs ever released, and those are still fast today.

Just get plenty of RAM (as much as possible) and you will be well looked after for many years.

Oh the irony exhibited by this post.

 

[canadianpj]

Out of everyone I know who has a computer, all but one of them I'm pretty sure could move to an iPad and get everything they need to do done. Realistically how many people even actually need a laptop or a desktop anymore? I got an M2 MacBook and I wonder how much of that is nostalgia and just an ingrained notion that I'm supposed to have a computer.

 

[srexy]

Out of everyone I know who has a computer, all but one of them I'm pretty sure could move to an iPad and get everything they need to do done. Realistically how many people even actually need a laptop or a desktop anymore? I got an M2 MacBook and I wonder how much of that is nostalgia and just an ingrained notion that I'm supposed to have a computer.

I like the screen real estate, keyboard and the OS. The iPad just can't compete unless you bump up to the full size iPad pro which, with a magic keyboard, will be more expensive than the Air.

 

[Pugly]

Out of everyone I know who has a computer, all but one of them I'm pretty sure could move to an iPad and get everything they need to do done. Realistically how many people even actually need a laptop or a desktop anymore? I got an M2 MacBook and I wonder how much of that is nostalgia and just an ingrained notion that I'm supposed to have a computer.

Once you add a keyboard, the iPad loses it's appeal. A decent keyboard makes the whole thing thicker and unwieldy, and you are stuck with an OS that's still finding it's feet to multitask.

When the iPad first came out, we were still waiting on ultrabooks to catch up. But now that laptops have gotten so thin, light, powerful with great screens and speakers I often fail to see a reason someone wouldn't choose a laptop.

 

[Saturn007]

How many of those same reviewers just a year and a half ago were producing videos touting the M1 MBA as the greatest thing since sliced bread? As incredibly powerful, fast, with amazing battery life, and capable of handling even many people's heavy-duty tasks?!

Now, suddenly, even the new M2 MBA is only good for “light work”. Up is down, black is white, and circles are squares. It's bizarre. Their credibility is shot — even some who are clickbait masters were right in their praise and evidence back in late 2020, early 2021. But now?!

 

[canadianpj]

Once you add a keyboard, the iPad loses it's appeal. A decent keyboard makes the whole thing thicker and unwieldy, and you are stuck with an OS that's still finding it's feet to multitask.

When the iPad first came out, we were still waiting on ultrabooks to catch up. But now that laptops have gotten so thin, light, powerful with great screens and speakers I often fail to see a reason someone wouldn't choose a laptop.

To each their own I guess, it in no way makes it more unwieldy for me.

I mean I look at myself, realistically I don't need a laptop. I could get away with doing everything I need to do on an iPad and call it a day. Like I said before I think a lot of people are getting laptops because they feel this reason which no longer applies that they "need one".

Overall I'm pretty confident this M2 is my last laptop or desktop computer.

 

[Tagbert]

To each their own I guess, it in no way makes it more unwieldy for me.

I mean I look at myself, realistically I don't need a laptop. I could get away with doing everything I need to do on an iPad and call it a day. Like I said before I think a lot of people are getting laptops because they feel this reason which no longer applies that they "need one".

Overall I'm pretty confident this M2 is my last laptop or desktop computer.

I have both an MBA and an iPad Pro. I got the iPad first.

The iPad is good if you are doing most of your work in one app at a time. If you are using multiple apps or keep other windows open for reference while you work on one app, then the balance tips more to an MBA. The iPad can give you a simple version of multitasking but it is more limited than what you get on Mac OS. When I’m working, i usually have 3 or 4 documents and apps open for reference while I summarize in another. That’s pretty easy in Mac OS, especially with an external monitor. You can do it with an iPad but you run into more friction setting up and switch back and forth.

It really comes down to the type of work you want to do on a computer and what you can make work.

 

[DD88]

This is probably said by people who spend upwards of £2000 on a fully specced machine who know nothing about computers ,simply to use it to scroll through Facebook and YouTube and have some lag or something because their internet is slow yet they will blame it on the machine saying it “struggles” to cope with basic tasks.
Even the old M1 MacBook Air from 2020 is almost overkill in terms of power for 75% of its users and is still a workhorse, and even that can handle some pretty heavy applications, so these newer machines only improve on that.

 

[alphahuskie]

I have both an MBA and an iPad Pro. I got the iPad first.

The iPad is good if you are doing most of your work in one app at a time. If you are using multiple apps or keep other windows open for reference while you work on one app, then the balance tips more to an MBA. The iPad can give you a simple version of multitasking but it is more limited than what you get on Mac OS. When I’m working, i usually have 3 or 4 documents and apps open for reference while I summarize in another. That’s pretty easy in Mac OS, especially with an external monitor. You can do it with an iPad but you run into more friction setting up and switch back and forth.

It really comes down to the type of work you want to do on a computer and what you can make work.

Absolutely this. the iPad is a joy to use but anything more than 2 screens with advanced functionality it becomes a chore

 

[Mcdevidr]

I got an 2018 iPad Pro but thats mostly regulated to reading sheet music off at the piano or using at the table while eating managing finances or watching something. My m2 currently 8gb model soon to be replaced by 16gb 10 core will be my main machine for everything. Sadly i still need a windows machine as multiplayer in some games i play tends to go out of sync on Mac. As far as power improvements at least in the game i play which is a paradox game at the highest speeds in game i have seen a 20-25% improvement from m1 to m2 in game ticks (this is a Rosetta using title). The gpu performance is also significantly improved in scrolling around the map, oddly it performs better than the m1pro in the 14 in that regard (not sure why though).