Upgrade to the new M2 Air from a 2016 MBP?

[apocalyarts]

Hey everyone,

since there's been so much discussion regarding specs and pricing, I'd like to know when you would recommend the update.

I am a web dev and I am still with my late 2016 MBP. That is the 13inch base model without touch bar, so the lowest configuration they had back then. No extras.

I was already tempted when the M1 Air came out, but I said to myself I first want to know what the new MBPs look like or wait for a design refresh on the Air to have a device that really has been built with the M chip in mind. Now that we have the new Pros I gotta say they are simply too powerful for my use case and the M2 Air seems to be the perfect machine for me, especially with the new design and the fact that I really dig 13inch as a size.

However, web dev became a bit more hefty during recent years with all these build scripts and hot reloading watchers that run while you develop. So I'd definitely go for the 16GB Ram upgrade, which would boost the price of my M2 Air to 1729€ here in Germany. Since that's a lot of money i am wondering if I should hold on to my good ol' MBP for 1-2 more years? Or will the upgrade (all things combined) still be a no-brainer, coming from my six year old machine?

 

[Bonzey2416]

macOS Ventura dropped support for 2015/2016 MacBook Pro. So I consider you to upgrade to M2 MacBook Air.

 

[Chancha]

The 2016 is close to the worst of MacBooks in recent years. Weak specs (CPU only got to be Kaby Lake in 2017), price increase, flex-gate, butterfly KB gen 1, swollen battery, the list goes on... Consider yourself lucky that your machine lasted you this long without you feeling the urge to pull the trigger earlier.

I see the M2 Air a really decent upgrade path for you. Though the price increase vs the M1 Air, also the 16GB RAM BTO asking price are both pretty hard to take, especially for Apple's EURO pricing. I would say go for it, the other better alternative is perhaps the M1 Air but you lose out on all the newer hardware features in exchange for a more reasonable price.

 

[apocalyarts]

The 2016 is close to the worst of MacBooks in recent years. Weak specs (CPU only got to be Kaby Lake in 2017), price increase, flex-gate, butterfly KB gen 1, swollen battery, the list goes on... Consider yourself lucky that your machine lasted you this long without you feeling the urge to pull the trigger earlier.

It actually lasted this long because my serial number was one with a faulty battery, so I got a complete bottom case replace with fresh battery and keyboard gen 2 two years in

macOS Ventura dropped support for 2015/2016 MacBook Pro. So I consider you to upgrade to M2 MacBook Air.

Totally forgot about this! True

 

[natekettles]

Edit: check the thread here, I think it has a lot of relevant advice.

 

[RCElectricFlyer]

Hey everyone,

since there's been so much discussion regarding specs and pricing, I'd like to know when you would recommend the update.

I am a web dev and I am still with my late 2016 MBP. That is the 13inch base model without touch bar, so the lowest configuration they had back then. No extras.

I was already tempted when the M1 Air came out, but I said to myself I first want to know what the new MBPs look like or wait for a design refresh on the Air to have a device that really has been built with the M chip in mind. Now that we have the new Pros I gotta say they are simply too powerful for my use case and the M2 Air seems to be the perfect machine for me, especially with the new design and the fact that I really dig 13inch as a size.

However, web dev became a bit more hefty during recent years with all these build scripts and hot reloading watchers that run while you develop. So I'd definitely go for the 16GB Ram upgrade, which would boost the price of my M2 Air to 1729€ here in Germany. Since that's a lot of money i am wondering if I should hold on to my good ol' MBP for 1-2 more years? Or will the upgrade (all things combined) still be a no-brainer, coming from my six year old machine?

I have the same 2016 MBP. I really think it is time to update and like for you the new MBA M2 seems ideal for me as a replacement. I have a different use case (CAD, audio, office apps) so I can't comment on meeting your requirements. The MBP has served me well despite the issues with this model outlined by others.

macOS Ventura dropped support for 2015/2016 MacBook Pro. So I consider you to upgrade to M2 MacBook Air.

Yes. No support for newer OS versions concerns me a lot. And in general the decline in support will be more rapid than normal for all Intel based MacBooks.

The 2016 is close to the worst of MacBooks in recent years. Weak specs (CPU only got to be Kaby Lake in 2017), price increase, flex-gate, butterfly KB gen 1, swollen battery, the list goes on... Consider yourself lucky that your machine lasted you this long without you feeling the urge to pull the trigger earlier.

I see the M2 Air a really decent upgrade path for you. Though the price increase vs the M1 Air, also the 16GB RAM BTO asking price are both pretty hard to take, especially for Apple's EURO pricing. I would say go for it, the other better alternative is perhaps the M1 Air but you lose out on all the newer hardware features in exchange for a more reasonable price.

I had forgotten about the CPU being a generation behind in this model. Reason number 72b for apocalyarts and I to replace our 2016 MBPs with MBAs.

 

[ucfgrad93]

The M2 Air will be a significant upgrade from what you currently have. Go for it.

 

[DavidChoux]

I have the same MBP as you! Also got a bottom case replacement (and a screen replacement). Got both the keyboard issue and flexgate with the camera and screen. That was about 2 years ago. Now my camera has died again and I don't think I can get it repaired for free anymore.

My use is not as heavy as yours, although I do edit 1080p footage on FCPX now and again and it surprisingly holds up well.

I'm either going to get the M2 Air or wait for the more efficient 3nm M3 and hope they make a slimmer MBP 14". The M2 is nice, but I do play a lot of web based .io games so sustained performance does matter somewhat.

 

[apocalyarts]

I also like to game, but on my PC mostly simulation games, small indie titles and some emulation. But PSX, N64 or games like Parkitect or Tunic, they all run well even on my Early 2019 Intel iMac, so I'd say the M2 Air will easily satisfy my gaming needs, even without 10 GPU cores on the M2.

 

[thadoggfather]

That would be a really nice upgrade path imo

 

[Rian Gray]

I'm on a same boat as the OP (own 15 inch MBP 2016), so I'd love to hear more opinions on this. My experience with 2016 MBP was troublesome to say the least. I had keyboards replaced twice, and battery replaced once. And I'm not sure if this falls under faulty design or just regular wears, but I'm also having issues with USB-C chargers not staying plugged in on some of the ports. At this point, MagSafe would just be QoL improvement for me.

I am wondering though, if it'd be better to wait for M2 MBPs, possibly 14 inch. I've read comparisons between M2 MBA and M1 14 inch MBP. I don't fully agree with 'few more grands for better specs', but I'm wondering how M1 MBPs have outperformed M1 MBAs in terms of battery life, contrary to what Apple is saying.

 

[RCElectricFlyer]

I'm on a same boat as the OP (own 15 inch MBP 2016), so I'd love to hear more opinions on this. My experience with 2016 MBP was troublesome to say the least. I had keyboards replaced twice, and battery replaced once. And I'm not sure if this falls under faulty design or just regular wears, but I'm also having issues with USB-C chargers not staying plugged in on some of the ports. At this point, MagSafe would just be QoL improvement for me.

I am wondering though, if it'd be better to wait for M2 MBPs, possibly 14 inch. I've read comparisons between M2 MBA and M1 14 inch MBP. I don't fully agree with 'few more grands for better specs', but I'm wondering how M1 MBPs have outperformed M1 MBAs in terms of battery life, contrary to what Apple is saying.

FWIW I'm typing this on a well used 2016 13" MBP with the original keyboard and battery so not all MBPs of this era had such serious problems. I have no concern with the M2 MBA as a replacement since performance and battery life will both be light-years ahead of the 2016 MBP. Also, in addition to the higher cost, the 14" MBP is kinda bulky for my use case. I will, however, spec the MBA to have 16/512 to equal what this 2016 MBP is equipped with.

 

[Rian Gray]

FWIW I'm typing this on a well used 2016 13" MBP with the original keyboard and battery so not all MBPs of this era had such serious problems. I have no concern with the M2 MBA as a replacement since performance and battery life will both be light-years ahead of the 2016 MBP. Also, in addition to the higher cost, the 14" MBP is kinda bulky for my use case. I will, however, spec the MBA to have 16/512 to equal what this 2016 MBP is equipped with.

I think the bulkiness of MBP 14 inch is what's stopping me as well. Though it's few centimeters here and there, when all added up MBP is heavier and bigger roughly 20-30%. It's not exactly the most portable machine. Few more hours of battery life is definitely tempting, but at the same time I doubt I'd be working 10+ hours straight without a charger.

 

[avalon68]

I think the bulkiness of MBP 14 inch is what's stopping me as well. Though it's few centimeters here and there, when all added up MBP is heavier and bigger roughly 20-30%. It's not exactly the most portable machine. Few more hours of battery life is definitely tempting, but at the same time I doubt I'd be working 10+ hours straight without a charger.

I have mainly switched to PC now as I wanted a 15inch screen, but find myself needing a mac for a few things too. The bulkiness of the 14inch is really putting me off - however, if I went for the M2 air - its pretty much the same price when I would upgrade the RAM to 16 and hard drive to 512. For some reason that has made me incredibly annoyed! Buying an M1 air for the OH, so will see how that works I guess.

 

[apocalyarts]

Originally I wanted to buy the base model and just upgrade the RAM but now with the SSD stories floating around I am now more tempted to buy the highend. This would land me at 2.079 Euros with the RAM upgrade in Germany I think, so very close to the 14'' MBP.

But here's the thing: people complain about the higher prices, but considering the M1 Air did actually get a small price increase I am sure as hell as soon as we will see an updated 14'' MBP with M2 Pro and M2 Max these prices will bump as well. I actually believe the M2 Air isn't overpriced, it's the new baseline for new Apple Laptops in 2022 and I am sure you need to pay at least 2.500€ for a 14'' MBP when the new models arrive.

 

[RCElectricFlyer]

Originally I wanted to buy the base model and just upgrade the RAM but now with the SSD stories floating around I am now more tempted to buy the highend. This would land me at 2.079 Euros with the RAM upgrade in Germany I think, so very close to the 14'' MBP.

But here's the thing: people complain about the higher prices, but considering the M1 Air did actually get a small price increase I am sure as hell as soon as we will see an updated 14'' MBP with M2 Pro and M2 Max these prices will bump as well. I actually believe the M2 Air isn't overpriced, it's the new baseline for new Apple Laptops in 2022 and I am sure you need to pay at least 2.500€ for a 14'' MBP when the new models arrive.

It can be argued that an Intel or AMD laptop with the same combination of performance and efficiency as any model of M1 or M2 MacBook can't be purchased at any price.

 

[srexy]

I would consider a refurb'd MBA1 with 16gb ram. It's going to be a screamer in comparison to your 2016 MBP. That was certainly my experience coming from an early 2015 retina MBP. Not sure about EMEA but they're available on the refurb store with 16gb ram and 1tb currently.