Some of us, for certain hardware, carry battery packs. I carried one for my 2015 laptop and iPad. Perhaps this would be of advantage to you. Some packs can charge laptop, iPhone, iPad and more.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 15" Air screen is beautiful.
- Thread starter Iron Curtains
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You can use apps like Lunar, Vivid, TotalXDR, etc., to unlock the full 1000 nits sustained brightness on regular SDR content. It's an outstanding level of brightness offered by no other laptop. It has some small impact on battery life but is otherwise safe - the display doesn't get hot and isn't at risk of burning out. It's really useful for working outdoors.
The left half of the M2 MBP 14" on the left is running at 1000 nits, while the right half, and the MBA 15" on the right, are at the default max brightness of 500 nits.
That’s great if you need a really bright screen. I usually keep my screens around 50-60% brightness anyway. Any more just seems too bright. Not sure what I would do with a screen 5 times as bright!
are you seeing saturation is as good with the 15 air? and general picture quality?That’s great if you need a really bright screen. I usually keep my screens around 50-60% brightness anyway. Any more just seems too bright. Not sure what I would do with a screen 5 times as bright!
It's really, really great for outdoor use - you can sit in the sun, wearing sunglasses, and see everything on the screen comfortably.That’s great if you need a really bright screen. I usually keep my screens around 50-60% brightness anyway. Any more just seems too bright. Not sure what I would do with a screen 5 times as bright!
Does it take a very slight hit to performance cuz it’s not on default, or is being at 2x scaled bring it back to normal while default is actually the hit to performance. Or is it so small of an issue with these chips that it doesn’t even register while doing intense things?
The M-series chips are well optimized to handle the scaling and don’t begin to break a sweat from doing different scaling resolutions. There is a theoretical performance hit but it is so tiny you’ll never notice and neither will the Mac.
Just got my 15" MBA (M2/16GB/1TB). This thing is beautiful.
you ever try using your laptop outside or in direct sunlight? my office orientation has the sun directly reflecting onto the screen around 2-5pm every day.That’s great if you need a really bright screen. I usually keep my screens around 50-60% brightness anyway. Any more just seems too bright. Not sure what I would do with a screen 5 times as bright!
I don’t but I can see why that be a case where you want a bright screen or… some shade.
just got my 15 air today, I have a MBP 16” from work and my personal laptop is a 2019 MBP 13in.
When I compare the Air to the 16” Pro, yes the screen is nicer and more bright on the 16” and yes the speakers are better too.
However for my use and needs, the Air is more than enough from a power perspective.
The thinness and light weight is noticeable on the Air compare to the Pro.
The screen on the Air is very nice and only when you have a M series MBP next to it you will be able to tell that it’s not as good as the Pro, but if you don’t have a MBP, you won’t feel like you’ll be missing out on it.
If only Apple can magically put the 16 MBP internals, ports, and screen into the 15in Air body, then that would prob be the best laptop today.
Now compare to the 2019 13” MBP, the screen on the Air outshines it just by the size and bezel alone. You don’t realize how big the bezel is on the 13in until you compare it next to the Air. After using the 16 MBP and the 15 Air, the screen on the 13 looks tiny and to a point unusable.
I’m very happy I got the Air, I thought about getting the 14in MBP but that screen looks small too. The 15in Air footprint is just perfect for everything that I need.
When I compare the Air to the 16” Pro, yes the screen is nicer and more bright on the 16” and yes the speakers are better too.
However for my use and needs, the Air is more than enough from a power perspective.
The thinness and light weight is noticeable on the Air compare to the Pro.
The screen on the Air is very nice and only when you have a M series MBP next to it you will be able to tell that it’s not as good as the Pro, but if you don’t have a MBP, you won’t feel like you’ll be missing out on it.
If only Apple can magically put the 16 MBP internals, ports, and screen into the 15in Air body, then that would prob be the best laptop today.
Now compare to the 2019 13” MBP, the screen on the Air outshines it just by the size and bezel alone. You don’t realize how big the bezel is on the 13in until you compare it next to the Air. After using the 16 MBP and the 15 Air, the screen on the 13 looks tiny and to a point unusable.
I’m very happy I got the Air, I thought about getting the 14in MBP but that screen looks small too. The 15in Air footprint is just perfect for everything that I need.
Last edited:
lol i wish, but the building won't allow us.I don’t but I can see why that be a case where you want a bright screen or… some shade.
Oh my, you made me to reconsider seriously to get 15” Air (I have M2 13” Air now), lol
I disagree with the only time seeing a difference is side by side. If you watch a lot of movies (especially in the dark) and they're not all shot in the daylight it becomes very apparent how different the black levels are between the two. It's not a deal breaker for some but many consumers watch their TVs with Vivid and Motion Smoothing on too...the majority just go with what they're given.
I have been thinking about upgrading my 2019 16" MacBook Pro to one of these so this is good to know.. I don't really need to upgrade yet and it does what I need it to do but was curious about the screen. It has to be as good if not better than mine I would like to think. Guess I could bring my in and do a side by side comparison.
And yet the 15" Air is a logical upgrade for a lot of folks who had the 15 or 16" Pros solely because that was the only way to get a big screened MacBook prior to 2023.
If you are jumping from any Intel Mac to any Apple Silicon Mac, it will be an upgrade*
* Mac Pro excepted
I can understand the situation, but those folks should be aware, they’re comparing Pro with Air, instead of Pro with Pro. The display, build, speaker etc shouldn’t be comparable.
Bought my wife a 15" MBA about a month ago. She loves it. And the display is a massive improvement from the 2016 15" MBP she had been using.
Just made a discovery... I got the M2 MacBook Pro 14" to also produce the scaling halo artifact at a non-2x resolution. The reason I wasn't seeing this before was that I had TotalXDR running (but with high brightness disabled), and it seems to somehow suppress this artifact, probably by changing the color space somehow. So I no longer think this is a limitation of the M1 and non-Pro/Max M2 chips which will be fixed with the M3.
Do you recommend people who want to use an M1 MacBook Pro 14" scaled to non-2x resolution use TotalXDR with high brightness disabled?
I'd say it's worth a try if you're experiencing issues with eyestrain or fuzzy text.
viewing wise, are you seeing a difference in screen color/quality with with text crispness?
Having the hardest time trying to decide either to keep the M2 14" MBP or the M2 15" AIR!
-I like the 15 Air (ordered the 16gb version) pretty snappy, but side by side the 14 m2 pro seems a bit snappier!
Love the large screen for sure and light weight.. of the 15" air..
-I like the 15 Air (ordered the 16gb version) pretty snappy, but side by side the 14 m2 pro seems a bit snappier!
Love the large screen for sure and light weight.. of the 15" air..