Waiting for the 2021 MacBook Air

[unoporfavor]

Yeaaaah no. 5000rpm on the i3 this morning just noodling around in Brave. 8000rpm on the i5 in any video conferencing app I tried. Here is what I normally get when I mention this:

'Just use Safari! Use Pages! Use Apple apps only!' That's ridiculous.
'You're using it wrong!' I'm using it like any other notebook I've used in the last decade, including Macbook Airs.



Stop being hung up on cooling? No. Not when I'm paying $1500-2000AUD for a computer that's historically been (and is marketed as) being cool and quiet.

'Browsing the internet and writing documents does not push any modern computer'?

Agreed. Now tell Apple. In the last decade I've only come across these issues on the three 2020 MBAs I've owned.

Hoping for much better consistency in 2021.

I've seen your extensive and thorough review before @RiaKoobcam ! Thank you! I made my decision on the i3 based largely on it!
What I would say is, Video conferencing is very processor intensive.
Example: 2018 MBP with 6-core i7 sounds like a plane taking off after about 10-15 minutes.
MBA's fans do turn on but seem to take a bit longer - 25-30 minutes I would say depending on the number of participants.
😂
I only use Firefox (occasionally chrome for certain apps) and never Safari, so perhaps it's your browser with the online applications you use? SAP analytics for example is processor reliant, just like video conferencing in a browser.
The processor in the MBA is designed to be fanless. Apple have included a fan and allow the power draw to be a bit higher though so that may have something to do with it.
I'm not sure I've seen any marketing material that promotes cool and quiet, I do agree with you that any fan noise is intrusive and I hate it.

My comment on being hung up on cooling, is that most comments seem to be around the temp of the processor (blame Max Tech and their over-eager videos designed for 'clicks' and advertising revenue not actual real-world reviewing). It's like being overly concerned with a car engine getting to 90 degrees. If that's where it operates and it's not damaging anything who cares. Yes if the fan noise is intrusive that is a reason to be concerned. So far our voices on that seem to be the minority.
I'm about to set up a 2020 MBP so will compare that this week.
Most of the complaints seem to be from people who haven't actually used the Air (or any Apple laptop - perhaps just enjoy the debate it generates to feel part of something?), and/or have no intention of buying one so are relying on anecdotal evidence that it's not a good laptop based on it not being a good fit for them.
Like complaining that a Toyota Corolla can't go 4wd so it's not a good vehicle 😂
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The non retina 13 inch and 11 inch macbook air were great laptops for many years and easily recommended. In 2018 the 13 inch got a nice redesign, retina screen, but passive cooling, an underpowered cpu and a poor butterfly keyboard. 2019 just brought true tone. 2020 the 'magic' scissor keyboard is back, performance has improved greatly with the new quad core cpu, but they seem beyond the limits of the passive cooling system with reports of heat and noise issues.

Like the 12 inch Macbook, the retina Macbook air passive cooling would be perfect for an ARM cpu in 2021. These should bring performance improvements to graphics, light gaming, battery life and thermals.

I personally find the 12 inch Macbook too narrow to use. My 11 inch MBA is 1 inch wider, the same width as the 2018-2020 retina MBA. A 14 inch screen is likely to add weight. I would prefer a new lighter 13 inch MBA with the weight of my 11 inch (2.4 pounds).

If the 2021 MBA stays with an intel cpu, Tiger Lake looks like a nice improvement. Hopefully Apple brings back active cooling to the intel MBA, especially for the quad cores. The Macbook Air can be great again if Apple wants it to be.

The MBA is already great. The processor in it is designed to be fanless so your issue with thermals is really a non-issue. There's a fan. It comes on for heavy tasks. Largely it's silent. Stop getting worried about some arbituary parameters like processor temperature. Your car exhaust gets pretty hot too and I don't think you're off on forums complaining about how cars used to be great but now they aren't because of the exhaust manifold isn't 'actively cooled' (whatever that is). Or maybe you do

Household Macs in case you think I'm biased:
2017 MacBook 12
2016 MacBook Air (about to be sold)
2018 MacBook Pro 15" i7
2020 MacBook Air i3
2020 MacBook Pro 13" (still boxed from last week.. thanks covid)
2019 Mac Pro (office)

I would order the MBA and try it out mate. If you are doing long-running processor intensive tasks then you are looking at the wrong tool. Stop trying to be cheap and attempting to get MBP performance without paying for it 🤷‍♀️

 

[Blueberry123]

I'm about to set up a 2020 MBP so will compare that this week.

I would appreciate your testing results on your base MBP compared to your i3 MBA. For me, the price difference is not important, it is about fan noise during normal use and the bottom case heat for using on my lap. If the base MBP runs quieter and cooler, then that is best for me.

Ideally for my multiple chrome tabs, both are equally able to perform. I prefer the MBA and expect the dual core i3 should run cooler and quieter than the quad core i5 or i7 MBA, and have longer battery life too. The 10th gen ice lake are powerful cpu's, my only concern is the thermals, comparing to a non retina MBA which used a 15 watt intel u series cpu with active cooling, as also used in the base MBP 8th gen.

Androidauthority.com tested the i3 MBA and found the laptop slowed down opening more than 10 tabs on Chrome. This is a concern. @RiaKoobcam detailed review also highlights the increased heat and noise of an i5 MBA. My eyes want to move to a retina screen. I hope to test both the base MBP and MBA in an Apple store soon.

In two weeks, Apple WWDC 22nd June may give us news about an ARM Macbook. This may impact my buying decision, but waiting until 2021 is a long time away, even though my 2013 MBA is still working fine. I am ready to buy, just want to make the right choice.

 

[unoporfavor]

I would appreciate your testing results on your base MBP compared to your i3 MBA. For me, the price difference is not important, it is about fan noise during normal use and the bottom case heat for using on my lap. If the base MBP runs quieter and cooler, then that is best for me.

Ideally for my multiple chrome tabs, both are equally able to perform. I prefer the MBA and expect the dual core i3 should run cooler and quieter than the quad core i5 or i7 MBA, and have longer battery life too. The 10th gen ice lake are powerful cpu's, my only concern is the thermals, comparing to a non retina MBA which used a 15 watt intel u series cpu with active cooling, as also used in the base MBP 8th gen.

Androidauthority.com tested the i3 MBA and found the laptop slowed down opening more than 10 tabs on Chrome. This is a concern. @RiaKoobcam detailed review also highlights the increased heat and noise of an i5 MBA. My eyes want to move to a retina screen. I hope to test both the base MBP and MBA in an Apple store soon.

In two weeks, Apple WWDC 22nd June may give us news about an ARM Macbook. This may impact my buying decision, but waiting until 2021 is a long time away, even though my 2013 MBA is still working fine. I am ready to buy, just want to make the right choice.

Why don't you just order what you think might work and then send it back if it doesn't fit your needs? The MBP 10th gen probably will heat up the least - but then it's twice the price. If cost isn't an issue just get that.
You will struggle to do complete your testing scenario in an Apple store. They generally don't let you take them to sit in your lap for hours at a time to see if they get hot

What I can say is that the MBA i3 browsing the internet does not heat-up uncomfortably, and I rarely hear the fans for general web browsing.

The statement that the reviews all say different -well I'd love to see the review where the processor heats up the underside of the laptop uncomfortably and the fans are on constantly from browsing the web on someones lap.
All I've seen is laptops doing benchmarks.

Android 'authority' test doesn't sound very worthwhile - basing it on the number of tabs in a browser. I can make my 6-core i7 MBP run at 100% processor with a single open tab within a browser. (using an SAP plugin)
My MB 12 wouldn't slow down until I had 25+ tabs open. Does that make the MB12 more powerful?

If I understand your use-case :
You want to use a laptop to browse to the internet on your lap.
The MBA will do this just fine.
So will an iPad. If you want no fan this may be a better option for you. Maybe not. Best you quantify and decide exactly what you require and go from there.
Good luck mate!

 

[Dulcimer]

I hope we get a Tiger Lake MBA in 2021 and that the first-gen ARM guinea pig goes to the fanless MB. Gen12 graphics + new Willow Cove cores + standardized USB4 (which is just rebranded TB3) + LPDDR5 + Optimized 10nm+ in Tiger Lake looks like a nice upgrade.

 

[Blueberry123]

What I can say is that the MBA i3 browsing the internet does not heat-up uncomfortably, and I rarely hear the fans for general web browsing.

It's good to read real experience of owners as well as the various tech reviews. They all help to inform and influence a buying decision for others. Personal testing is certainly the only way to actually confirm whether a MBA or MBP will perform how I want with my own use case. If I order a MBA from Apple, I could fully test it and return if necessary.

My own personal experience is only from one mac. 7 great years with a 2013 MBA. I'm looking for the same experience for the years ahead. An important difference to the new retina MBA is the change from the intel 15 watt cpu to a lower watt cpu, and the new passive cooling design.

I'm confident from user reviews that I would have a great experience using safari on a 2020 MBA. My concern from the reported thermal issues, is using chrome and continuing my same experience of my MBA running cool and quiet in use. Using chrome for internet browsing is not a sustained task that should require a MBP.

I love the MBA form factor and function keys. I want to buy a great new MBA and move to the retina screen. I rejected buying the MBA in 2018 and 2019 because of the butterfly keyboard. So now in 2020, I have the opportunity to buy the upgrade to the retina screen I have been waiting for.

If I buy and the thermals are an issue, then the next choice is to either wait to see what Apple brings in 2021, ARM or Tiger Lake MBA, or consider the MBP. There is no pressure to buy, just a desire to enjoy a larger retina screen than my old 11 inch, which is still working well. Decisions for me to make. I appreciate users contributing on the forum to assist others, whether the experience is great or not.

 

[unoporfavor]

It's good to read real experience of owners as well as the various tech reviews. They all help to inform and influence a buying decision for others. Personal testing is certainly the only way to actually confirm whether a MBA or MBP will perform how I want with my own use case. If I order a MBA from Apple, I could fully test it and return if necessary.

My own personal experience is only from one mac. 7 great years with a 2013 MBA. I'm looking for the same experience for the years ahead. An important difference to the new retina MBA is the change from the intel 15 watt cpu to a lower watt cpu, and the new passive cooling design.

I'm confident from user reviews that I would have a great experience using safari on a 2020 MBA. My concern from the reported thermal issues, is using chrome and continuing my same experience of my MBA running cool and quiet in use. Using chrome for internet browsing is not a sustained task that should require a MBP.

I love the MBA form factor and function keys. I want to buy a great new MBA and move to the retina screen. I rejected buying the MBA in 2018 and 2019 because of the butterfly keyboard. So now in 2020, I have the opportunity to buy the upgrade to the retina screen I have been waiting for.

If I buy and the thermals are an issue, then the next choice is to either wait to see what Apple brings in 2021, ARM or Tiger Lake MBA, or consider the MBP. There is no pressure to buy, just a desire to enjoy a larger retina screen than my old 11 inch, which is still working well. Decisions for me to make. I appreciate users contributing on the forum to assist others, whether the experience is great or not.

If you need a new computer, now is a good time as the MBA and MBP 13 have been updated.
I think browsing the Web isn't a problem for any modern computer. If you like function keys then the only option is the MBA. Thermals are grossly over- exaggerated in my opinion. Everyone seems to know more than Apple engineers! Haha the fact that adding water cooling to the MBA gives you 12% increase in performance should tell you there's no thermal issue. Enjoy!

 

[ctjack]

My concern from the reported thermal issues, is using chrome and continuing my same experience of my MBA running cool and quiet in use. Using chrome for internet browsing is not a sustained task that should require a MBP.

Hey! I also had the same problems with deciding. But I made my own tests and now i can see where the problem is and solutions to it.
Sure thing that browsing Chrome should not be a big problem to require Pro level laptop. But I am running MBP 13 2012 Retina, and my tests show me that the same workload on Chrome consumes 2x more power than Safari.
To be precise, same number of tabs in Chrome consumes 7-10W of power, while Safari 3-5W.
That is not a problem of Apple - this is Google boys making bad coding for Mac environment. That is why you can't watch 4k on youtube and that is why changing browsers on Win laptops is a no brainer and Chrome runs fine, where as with the Macbooks it has problems.

Here is the video of comparing an i5 Air with i7 16gb MBP 13 2015. Long story short: it is twice more powerful than fully specced out MBP 13 2015. So that is definitely more powerful than your current Air.

 

[RiaKoobcam]

That is why you can't watch 4k on youtube and that is why changing browsers on Win laptops is a no brainer and Chrome runs fine, where as with the Macbooks it has problems.

Sorry, that part's not true unfortunately - MacOS doesn't support the VP9 codec that's used for 4k videos on Youtube. The Macbook Air can play 4k just fine on Windows (virtual or Bootcamp) because VP9 is supported. Apple is pushing a different codec, HEVC (which I think they use for 4K on Apple TV?), because they make money from it, being part of the MPEG Licensing Association.

Long story short - it's a corporate battle and the consumers lose. Apple's swimming against the tide, hoping that they can force the majority switch to the version that makes them more money, as oppposed to supporting the version that works better/is already widely used.

So when you're struggling to watch a 4K video on YouTube on MacOS, it's because your notebook is having to brute force the video using the GPU. Support for the video isn't enabled at the OS level, leading to dropped frames, crazy temperatures and a pretty crappy experience.

The fact that so many YouTube reviewers keep showing that same damn video of the Costa Rican snake in 4K in Chrome is really frustrating. I think Google is a ****** company, but it's not their fault Chrome acts up on the OS - Apple won't allow them to optimise it.