Weird pricing for M1 Macbook Air

[Mity]

Is it? What do you base that on? I've seen no reports of problems with the M2 MacBook Air based on the sturdiness of the case. I also haven't seen the same complaints about screen cracks that you see with the M1 MacBook Air.

I have had my base M1 Air for a little over a year. I don't have any cracks. It has never gotten hot and I normally keep 20+ tabs open. It gets a bit slow when I do this but never hot, indicating a RAM limitation. I went to MicroCenter around Thanksgiving time and they had the M1 and M2 Airs literally side by side. Those display models are on all day. The M2 was significantly warmer than the M1. I also didn't like the new keyboard. The old one felt like it had more travel. The speakers on the M1 also sounded "better" because of their location:

These guys did blind tests and there was basically no difference between the two in day to day tasks:

I would say that if you're doing more demanding tasks like video editing, then the 14" MBP should be your choice. If it's anything less, then it's just a matter of design preference between the M1 and M2.

 

[jdb8167]

I have had my base M1 Air for a little over a year. I don't have any cracks. It has never gotten hot and I normally keep 20+ tabs open. It gets a bit slow when I do this but never hot, indicating a RAM limitation. I went to MicroCenter around Thanksgiving time and they had the M1 and M2 Airs literally side by side. Those display models are on all day. The M2 was significantly warmer than the M1. I also didn't like the new keyboard. The old one felt like it had more travel. The speakers on the M1 also sounded "better" because of their location:

Yes, I have the M1 MacBook Air and used it every day for almost 2 years with no problems. I don't know what causes the screen cracking problem or how common it is but the number of reports from people saying all they did was open the display and a crack formed is too high to just discount it.

I've seen no reports that the M2 had a problem though because the chassis was less sturdy.

I track my temperatures. My M1 usually stayed around 30 °C at idle. The M2 is slightly warmer at about 35 °C but since we don't know where the sensors are and the fact that the sensors are different between the M1 and M2 means we can't really reason about any temperature differences. I can see the temps on the M2 rise quite rapidly under load but they go down just as quickly. For my use, I never throttle. I get quick bursts of performance and then back to idle.

I use the M2 MacBook Air all day for 8 hours or more and it literally never gets even warm to the touch. I'm a software developer currently doing mostly ReactJS development. Most of my day is either typing or thinking about problems to solve. When I build the software using the standard ReactJS stack, my M2 MBA is very quick. I also use a couple of Docker containers for development. While they use a bit of memory, they don't seem to cause any particular load on the system except obviously when they are in active use.

I agree that the speakers on the M1 MacBook Air sound a bit better than on the M2 MBA. I rarely use the speakers though so it wasn't much of a consideration. The keyboard on both the M1 and M2 MBAs seem very similar to me but everyone has their preferences.

These guys did blind tests and there was basically no difference between the two in day to day tasks:

The difference for me is the extra 8 GB of RAM (24 GB). It definitely helps keep things speedy since the M2 never needs to swap. I essentially switched to the M2 because of the available extra RAM though I will admit that I wanted the new design too. I definitely see a bit of a speedup on my day to day development tasks but if you are doing Office, web, or email I doubt anyone could tell the difference.

I would say that if you're doing more demanding tasks like video editing, then the 14" MBP should be your choice. If it's anything less, then it's just a matter of design preference between the M1 and M2.

I don't do video editing. I definitely don't want a 14" MacBook Pro. I carry the M2 MBA everywhere and I really appreciate the 2.7 pounds of weight. I'd love it if it was even lighter. The battery on the M2 MBA is also a lot better than the 14" MacBook Pro. I've been working since 9:30 AM EST and it is now 4:00 PM. My brightness is set to about 50% and I still have 61% battery remaining. I wouldn't trade the battery life on the M2 for anything (the M1 also got similar battery life so that wasn't a reason for buying the M2.)

So for me, the technical reason to get the M2 MacBook Air was the ability to get 24 GB of RAM. I also appreciate the new design but as you say, that is a personal preference.

 

[Mity]

Yes, I have the M1 MacBook Air and used it every day for almost 2 years with no problems. I don't know what causes the screen cracking problem or how common it is but the number of reports from people saying all they did was open the display and a crack formed is too high to just discount it.

I've seen no reports that the M2 had a problem though because the chassis was less sturdy.

I track my temperatures. My M1 usually stayed around 30 °C at idle. The M2 is slightly warmer at about 35 °C but since we don't know where the sensors are and the fact that the sensors are different between the M1 and M2 means we can't really reason about any temperature differences. I can see the temps on the M2 rise quite rapidly under load but they go down just as quickly. For my use, I never throttle. I get quick bursts of performance and then back to idle.

I use the M2 MacBook Air all day for 8 hours or more and it literally never gets even warm to the touch. I'm a software developer currently doing mostly ReactJS development. Most of my day is either typing or thinking about problems to solve. When I build the software using the standard ReactJS stack, my M2 MBA is very quick. I also use a couple of Docker containers for development. While they use a bit of memory, they don't seem to cause any particular load on the system except obviously when they are in active use.

I agree that the speakers on the M1 MacBook Air sound a bit better than on the M2 MBA. I rarely use the speakers though so it wasn't much of a consideration. The keyboard on both the M1 and M2 MBAs seem very similar to me but everyone has their preferences.



The difference for me is the extra 8 GB of RAM (24 GB). It definitely helps keep things speedy since the M2 never needs to swap. I essentially switched to the M2 because of the available extra RAM though I will admit that I wanted the new design too. I definitely see a bit of a speedup on my day to day development tasks but if you are doing Office, web, or email I doubt anyone could tell the difference.


I don't do video editing. I definitely don't want a 14" MacBook Pro. I carry the M2 MBA everywhere and I really appreciate the 2.7 pounds of weight. I'd love it if it was even lighter. The battery on the M2 MBA is also a lot better than the 14" MacBook Pro. I've been working since 9:30 AM EST and it is now 4:00 PM. My brightness is set to about 50% and I still have 61% battery remaining. I wouldn't trade the battery life on the M2 for anything (the M1 also got similar battery life so that wasn't a reason for buying the M2.)

So for me, the technical reason to get the M2 MacBook Air was the ability to get 24 GB of RAM. I also appreciate the new design but as you say, that is a personal preference.

It could be that the glass used in a particular factory was from a particular supplier so some batches were affected. It's definitely possible but I'm glad that didn't happen.

My only interaction with the M2 Air has been at Microcenter and I can't explain why it was significantly hotter than the M1 Air. My assumption was that it was due to the lack of a real heatsink in the M2 Air.

I also agree with the RAM. My ideal machine is a Macbook Air with a real copper heatsink with 32GB RAM, more TB controllers and the ability to drive 2 4K displays. I don't need the extra processing power.

When you run 4K YouTube videos, does it get warmer than 35C? Or does it only heat up with those synthetic benchmark tests that reviewers run on Youtube? I keep my M1 Air on all day to watch YouTube videos and surf and it has never gotten even slightly warm. Is that the same experience you get with the M2 Air?

 

[circatee]

@Mity did you collect/was it delivered today? How is everything with it?

 

[jdb8167]

It could be that the glass used in a particular factory was from a particular supplier so some batches were affected. It's definitely possible but I'm glad that didn't happen.

Unless Apple acknowledges the problem either voluntarily or by force (lawsuit) we'll probably never know. I've seen enough reports to think it is at least a minor problem. The biggest issue is that unless Apple acknowledges the problem people are having a hard time getting warranty repairs.

My only interaction with the M2 Air has been at Microcenter and I can't explain why it was significantly hotter than the M1 Air. My assumption was that it was due to the lack of a real heatsink in the M2 Air.

I also agree with the RAM. My ideal machine is a Macbook Air with a real copper heatsink with 32GB RAM, more TB controllers and the ability to drive 2 4K displays. I don't need the extra processing power.

No idea but it is possible that Microcenter runs some software on their display devices that isn't very efficient. I can tell you that at least my M2 MacBook Air is never warm unless I do something to really push it like a long running benchmark or Handbrake. Even then, it never really gets hot just warm to the touch.

The M2 MacBook Air does have a heat spreader that seems to work very well. You can watch the temperatures rise under load. Take away the load, the temperatures drop very quickly. Apparently the heat spreader is made from a material that dissipates heat better than you would expect for its thinness. It seems like a copper heat sink would have made the notebook much heavier. I don't think I'd want that.

I'm always going to take as much RAM as I can get. So 32 GB would be great but I haven't really run into anything that 24 GB can't handle. I really don't need any more Thunderbolt controllers for my use and I don't have a second display but I do find the lack of 2nd display capability to be an odd omission. I'd definitely rather have 2 external displays than a ProRes encoder/decoder which I have no use for.

When you run 4K YouTube videos, does it get warmer than 35C? Or does it only heat up with those synthetic benchmark tests that reviewers run on Youtube? I keep my M1 Air on all day to watch YouTube videos and surf and it has never gotten even slightly warm. Is that the same experience you get with the M2 Air?

I don't watch a lot of videos on Youtube. When I'm home I connect to a 24" 4K display though so if I'm watching a video at home it is probably 4K. I've never noticed the M2 MBA getting particularly warm. I'll pay closer attention in the future but I don't expect to see anything.

My M2 MacBook Air is very similar to my M1 MBA. Neither ever really gets hot with what I do every day.

 

[Mity]

@Mity did you collect/was it delivered today? How is everything with it?

Yes, it was delivered but I haven't opened it. I may return it and buy an M2 given what @jdb8167 said about how his machine doesn't get warm. Even though I prefer the design of the M1, getting another 2 years of software updates could be worth it for me. The last time I played with the M2 keyboard, I didn't like it. I'll have to spend some time with it again over the weekend and if it works out, I'll send the M1 back. Otherwise, I'll open it.

 

[kyriostrife]

Yes, it was delivered but I haven't opened it. I may return it and buy an M2 given what @jdb8167 said about how his machine doesn't get warm. Even though I prefer the design of the M1, getting another 2 years of software updates could be worth it for me. The last time I played with the M2 keyboard, I didn't like it. I'll have to spend some time with it again over the weekend and if it works out, I'll send the M1 back. Otherwise, I'll open it.

I almost bought this exact m1 but I keep second guessing because i prefer the m2 long term.

 

[VaruLV]

Is it? What do you base that on? I've seen no reports of problems with the M2 MacBook Air based on the sturdiness of the case. I also haven't seen the same complaints about screen cracks that you see with the M1 MacBook Air.

Go to a store that has both M1 and M2 Macbook Air's on display, try out keyboard flex, palmrest flex and try to twist laptops base slightly when it's open.
Also, take a look at the waviness of bottom panel, most of M2 Air's come with such defect. Some more, some less so, but it's now been accepted as normal by community here.
Unless one smokes copium, it will be rather obvious that there's a difference in build quality or sturdiness, doesn't matter what it's called.

 

[jdb8167]

Go to a store that has both M1 and M2 Macbook Air's on display, try out keyboard flex, palmrest flex and try to twist laptops base slightly when it's open.
Also, take a look at the waviness of bottom panel, most of M2 Air's come with such defect. Some more, some less so, but it's now been accepted as normal by community here.
Unless one smokes copium, it will be rather obvious that there's a difference in build quality or sturdiness, doesn't matter what it's called.

Yet no reports of actual problems. I don’t see it. I can report that my M2 MacBook Air is rock solid.

 

[VaruLV]

Yet no reports of actual problems. I don’t see it. I can report that my M2 MacBook Air is rock solid.

Pick it by its front corners, lid open and twist it slightly and/or try to bend it slightly.
Then try the same with M1 MBA, there's huge difference and I've tried it with about 10 M2 Air's in stores.
Palmrest area is also bending easier than on M1 MBA.
Bottom plate is wavy on many, if not most of M2 Air's.

Now, I'm not saying M2 MBA is a bad laptop, but in certain areas that I've described it's seriously lacking for the price Apple asks for it, especially in Europe where it starts at ~1500€ for base model.
Imagine the same design being implemented with the same goal in mind - thinnes and low weight in much bigger surface area and you're gonna get poorly built "plastic" like computer for some good 1700-1800€ for 8/256 configuration.
I don't find it that tempting.

 

[genexx]

I prefer the M2 Air over the M1 Air anytime.

 

[papbot]

Also, take a look at the waviness of bottom panel, most of M2 Air's come with such defect. Some more, some less so, but it's now been accepted as normal by community here.
Unless one smokes copium, it will be rather obvious that there's a difference in build quality or sturdiness, doesn't matter what it's called.

I can’t speak For every M2 out there but the one I just picked up Thursday is perfect in construction and appearance. I’ve not noticed any unusual or concerning flexibility but I’m not a metallurgist nor do I swing my computers around by their screens, but in every way I’ve used laptops for decades this is the nicest one yet. There is no waviness of any panel whatsoever. Again that’s going by my close eyeball inspection not a metallurgical one. I’ve seen these blanket statements made by some for every device I’ve ever purchased and I almost never have experienced any of these fallacies. I have had some physical anomalies in a few products, a 2001 G4 Apple PowerBook did not close completely level but have not had any such imperfections since.

 

[jdb8167]

Pick it by its front corners, lid open and twist it slightly and/or try to bend it slightly.
Then try the same with M1 MBA, there's huge difference and I've tried it with about 10 M2 Air's in stores.
Palmrest area is also bending easier than on M1 MBA.
Bottom plate is wavy on many, if not most of M2 Air's.

I wouldn’t suggest doing any of that with any notebook. Why would I?

The “wavy” bottom plate fake issue faded very quickly. Even if it is a tiny bit uneven, it has no deleterious effect so it isn’t a real issue. Mine is nearly perfectly straight.

On the other hand, screen cracking on the M1 MacBook Air seems to be an ongoing issue.

There are few to no reports of problems with the M2 MacBook Air because of a fragile chassis.

 

[VaruLV]

I love it how you state that wavy bottom plate issue is fake while so many M2 Air's have it.
All of the 10 or so M2 Air's I've played with in stores had it. Obviously, fake, right.
About fragility - if laptop bends while picking from one of the front corners while open or makes weird noises it seems weird and unacceptable on product this expensive, not even for Windows laptops, let alone Apple.

 

[MBAir2010]

The old one felt like it had more travel. The speakers on the M1 also sounded "better" because of their location

I agree, the MBA_m1 sounds great for a MacBook,
I had to move the HomePod recently and the music playing sounder very surprisingly nice!

 

[jdb8167]

I love it how you state that wavy bottom plate issue is fake while so many M2 Air's have it.
All of the 10 or so M2 Air's I've played with in stores had it. Obviously, fake, right.
About fragility - if laptop bends while picking from one of the front corners while open or makes weird noises it seems weird and unacceptable on product this expensive, not even for Windows laptops, let alone Apple.

You keep repeating yourself but provide no evidence. There are very few to no reports of M2 MacBook Air fragility.

 

[genexx]

You keep repeating yourself but provide no evidence. There are very few to no reports of M2 MacBook Air fragility.

I have no Idea what @VaruLV ist talking about, have used a 2008 Macbook Pro until 2016 as a DJ with Traktor.
So you might have an Idea of what that thing has gone through.
I would think my MBA M2 can withstand the same abuse. Not the case with the MBA M1 as of my experience.
And there are multiple broken Display stories with the M1 MBA and MBP.
But hey if you try to bend a Cars Door, there is no problem doing it at the right angle
I could prove that on any Laptop except maybe Military grade ones.

It is a free World ( or was ) to express yourself.

I would not argue against an MBA M1 because it is not my decision and it depends.
But as i stated above, i would take the M2 MBA over an M1 MBA and even the M1 MBP 14" anytime as i had done for many reasons.

There are plenty Videos out there so that anybody can make a personal decision based on facts.

I also like my Lenovo Ideapad 5 14ARE05 Ryzen 7 4700U 16GB/2TB, but this MBA M2 is way above.