'base' M2 Air all the way… the form factor is the winner here, as is the most excellent 13.6" screen.
i sold my M1 MBPro as it was overkill for my usage - which is similar to yours.
the missus has the 13" M1 Air and she is most jealous of my M2
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Upgrading my Air - M1 or M2? Base?
- Thread starter martin2345uk
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i sold my M1 MBPro as it was overkill for my usage - which is similar to yours.
the missus has the 13" M1 Air and she is most jealous of my M2
1, 2, 6 and 7 are your opinions. Here are mine:
1) The wedge is emblematic of the original Air, which, despite being exceptionally expensive,was so underpowered and hobbled that I had zero interest in it when it came out. Subsequent wedge designs had better specs, of course, but the first impression stuck with me. And honestly, until the M1, the Air had enough compromises and other issues to dissuade me from ever being interested in it.
More personally, I had a lousy Toshiba work laptop that had an (admittedly pretty poor) imitation of the Air's wedge design. I don't particularly like being reminded of work when using my personal machine, particularly since that work machine was slow as molasses and also something I used during a period in my career that I didn't much enjoy.
2) The notch is a non-issue for me. The M2's screen, even when you measure just the area below the menu bar and notch, is already larger than the M1's. The menu bar area is pure bonus space for an already larger, brighter screen.
6) The return of MagSafe is what finally convinced me to buy an Air. And its utility is not limited to when the computer is in use. I can now leave it charging on pretty much any surface I like, and not worry that our cats, or our robot vacuum, or my clumsy feet are going to snag the cord and send the computer hurtling to the floor.
7) The M2 Air is considerably more sleek and modern looking than the M1, in my eyes. And it feels great under the arm... It feels like I am carrying a thin, lightweight, high quality coffee table book. Again, the wedge design is 14 years old, which, by definition, makes it dated.
Moreover, the M2's Starlight color is the first gold tone from Apple that I ever liked - so much so that it's what I chose.
As for your other points:
3) Apple's success with the M1 SOC (and prior success with their in-house chips for iPhones) was enough of a track record to convince me that they know what they're doing with the M2.
4) I'll allow that the base M1 is a raving bargain. It's probably what I would recommend to my parents if their ~2018 MBAs needed replacement. I need extra storage and want extra RAM, however; 16GB + 1TB is the right combo for me. I considered buying an M1 Air with such a configuration from the refurb store, but it would have cost $1,399. I got the 16GB + 1TB M2 Air for $1,509, when you factor in education pricing (wife is a teacher) and the current $150 education gift card promotion. MagSafe alone is worth the extra $110 to me, and I am getting a bigger, better screen, better webcam and probably at least 2 more years of Mac OS updates as part of the bargain as well.
5) No, the "old" tech isn't old or passé, but there's no denying the fact that the new tech is, indeed, newer.
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- The MacBook Air wedge is iconic. It might be the thing that pushes many purchasers to the M1 MBA. Unfortunately, it isn't likely to live after the M1 MBA is retired. So I'd suggest getting used to the new design sooner rather than later if possible.
- Believe it or not, I'm finding the notch to be an actual benefit. I expected it to be neutral at best. But in full-screen mode with Spaces, you can turn on the menu bar and not lose any screen space and the notch is mostly hidden. This is great and is going to lead me to use full-screen mode more than ever. Very useful on a small 13" screen.
- Are you talking about the chassis or the SoC? If the chassis, then you might be ignoring issues that have cropped up over the M1 MBA. Namely, the screen seems very fragile and there a number of reports of the screen breaking without any obvious signs of abuse. Of course, it is too soon to know if the same issue occurs with the M2 MBA. If you mean the M2 SoC then it leverages the track record of the M1 and all the Axx SoCs before it. The M2 is just faster and more power efficient with a few extra features.
- Yes. The M1 MacBook Air is a very good deal. The M2 MBA definitely seems to have been hit with an inflationary price increase. I had no trouble justifying spending $2100 for myself on an upgraded M2 MBA but YMMV.
- Tech generally moves in increments not huge leaps. I think many have been fooled by the Intel -> M1 leap into thinking that is normal. It isn't and is not likely to happen again though the TSMC 3N (3nm) node might give a better boost between the M2 and M3 than what we get with the M1 to M2.
- That's an interesting opinion. I find the M2 MacBook Air to look modern (brand new design) vs. the M1 MBA with a six year old design. But everyone likes what they like. I was pleasantly surprised by the design of the M2 MacBook Air. I was afraid that it would be thicker and heavier following in the footsteps of the 14" and 16" MacBook Pros. Apple didn't do that. They actually made it lighter. Big win for me.
That's something I think people should make a point of considering when buying a Macbook Air and deciding between the M1 or M2. Beyond just the hardware improvements the fact the M2 will likely get ~2 years longer worth of OS updates and support than the M1 is also a big deal IMO.