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Anyone who criticises these incredible new MacBook Airs is really embarrassing themselves. In most aspects, these new MacBook Airs are the best laptops ever made by anyone in the universe.
 
Anyone who criticises these incredible new MacBook Airs is really embarrassing themselves. In most aspects, these new MacBook Airs are the best laptops ever made by anyone in the universe.

No it isn’t. The M1 MBA is better as:
- it is cheaper
- has better battery life
- beats the M2 MBA when you hit that 8GB RAM threshold and you start hitting swapping.

Personally, I’m going to wait for the M3 MBA now and hope that the base model is fine on that one, just like how it was on the M1 MBA.

I’m not going to spend $200 for 256GB more SSD when I can buy for $150 a 1TB SSD that does 7000MB/s.
 
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iPad Pro will also serve the needs of most people better.

The future of Mac is iPad Pro.
You might be right but I just can't do as well with the on screen keyboard so that means an external keyboard. There's the fancy one from Apple but I hear it doesn't work well as a laptop on your lap but rather best for a desk. I haven't tested it. I've tried many of the folio keyboards but the biggest problem is they don't hold in place like a laptop. If they could put a hinge to hold it that would be perfect. I think the problem with that is all the weight is in the screen.

Of course this is just my usage and others might do well with the on screen keyboard.
 
No it isn’t. The M1 MBA is better as:
- it is cheaper
- has better battery life
- beats the M2 MBA when you hit that 8GB RAM threshold and you start hitting swapping.

And people saying you simply need to spend more for upgrades, but that is just not the solution. Because what made the MBA so succesful is that you could simply buy the $999 Base M1 MBA and that was it.

With the M2 MBA, this is no longer true.

Personally, I’m going to wait for the M3 MBA now and hope that the base model is fine on that one, just like how it was on the M1 MBA.

I’m not going to spend $200 for 256GB more SSD when I can buy for $150 a 1TB SSD that does 7000MB/s.
So what MacBook are you using now? Did you buy the M1 and if not why not?
 
So what MacBook are you using now? Did you buy the M1 and if not why not?

I got the 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro and the M1 12.9 iPad Pro as an ultraportable solution. So I’m covered and I can wait an other year for the 3nm M3 MBA, which hopefully has a very good base model.

I was interested in the $999 M2 MBA at first, but then Apple increased the price to $1200. And now I need to spend even more. It’s just too expensive for what I had in mind.
 
So best I can tell from perusing industry reports, 128GB NAND capacity share has now reached almost 50% percent owing to the expansion of use in smartphones.

So it is not inconceivable that Apple could be seeing supply constraints on 128GB NAND flash and would therefore
be favoring allocation to the M1 and iOS devices and using the more readily available 256GB modules in these new M2 Macs.
 
It will be interesting to see if these all go to 1x256GB SSDs in future builds or if Apple stays with 2x128GB.

Of course, if they do go to 1x256GB, is it truly to save a buck or is it truly a sign of constraint in 128GB NAND (even if NAND in other capacities is in a glut) so Apple has to ration them for iOS devices?

There is nothing in the industry that even hints at a NAND shortage. It's about as silly as saying, there's a plastic shortage, so that's why the MacBook Air doesn't have a fan.

Everything from iPhone SE to Chromebooks is using 128GB NAND. None of those products are have any kind of delay.
 
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So best I can tell from perusing industry reports, 128GB NAND capacity share has now reached almost 50% percent owing to the expansion of use in smartphones.

So it is not inconceivable that Apple could be seeing supply constraints on 128GB NAND flash and would therefore
be favoring allocation to the M1 and iOS devices and using the more readily available 256GB modules in these new M2 Macs.

If that were the case, then there would be a shipping delay on any 256GB M1 or 128GB A-series product, no? Are there such delays?

You would also have to believe Apple prioritizes $479 iPhone SE and $699 Mac mini over $1,199 MacBook Air and $1,299 MacBook Pro 13. Those theories just don't make much sense.
 
There is nothing in the industry that even hints at a NAND shortage. It's about as silly as saying, there's a plastic shortage, so that's why the MacBook Air doesn't have a fan.

Everything from iPhone SE to Chromebooks is using 128GB NAND. None of those products are have any kind of delay.

Reports say the industry is recovering to the point it's generally able to meet overall demand, but I have not seen any breakdowns by capacity. So one can say "the industry as a whole is not suffering shortages" but that does not mean every capacity is available in adequate supply to meet all demand.

That may be the case, but it might not, either.

If that were the case, then there would be a shipping delay on any 256GB M1 or 128GB A-series product, no? Are there such delays?

You would also have to believe Apple prioritizes $479 iPhone SE and $699 Mac mini over $1,199 MacBook Air and $1,299 MacBook Pro 13. Those theories just don't make much sense.

Apple has storage more flexibility with the 256GB Macs than they do not have with 128GB iOS devices since the iOS devices seem to have a design for only a single NAND chip while the Macs have a design that can handle a single or dual NAND chip. So Apple has the option of using 2x128GB or 1x256GB modules in an Mac.

So if it is a situation where Apple cannot get all the 128GB NAND they want, then yes, I could see them prioritizing 128GB NAND allocation to a 128GB iPhone SE over an 256GB M2 MacBook Air.
 
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Reports say the industry is recovering to the point it's generally able to meet overall demand, but I have not seen any breakdowns by capacity. So one can say "the industry as a whole is not suffering shortages" but that does not mean every capacity is available in adequate supply to meet all demand.

That may be the case, but it might not, either.

Why would capacity suddenly be off plan? Has there been some catastrophic event that has increased demand or reduced supply for 128GB?

We just saw Q1 numbers. Global PC demand has shrunk by -7% and smartphone by -11%.
 
Apple has storage more flexibility with the 256GB Macs than they do not have with 128GB iOS devices since the iOS devices seem to have a design for only a single NAND chip while the Macs have a design that can handle a single or dual NAND chip. So Apple has the option of using 2x128GB or 1x256GB modules in an Mac.

So if it is a situation where Apple cannot get all the 128GB NAND they want, then yes, I could see them prioritizing 128GB NAND allocation to a 128GB iPhone SE over an 256GB M2 MacBook Air.

I would challenge your assumption that Apple has to ship iPhone SE or 11 128GB without delay. Because from a financial perspective, it doesn't make sense. We saw Apple divert parts last year from iPad to iPhone because phones generate more revenue. iPad slipped to 6-8 weeks delivery.

iPhone SE is $479. Mac mini is $699.
MacBook Air is $1,199. MacBook Pro is $1,299.

If there were any kind of shortage, why wouldn't Apple divert parts and delay shipping of iPhone SE and Mac mini?
 
I'm perfectly willing to believe Apple can get all the 128GB NAND modules they want for the M2 Macs and are shipping them with one 256GB module rather than two 128GB modules because the 256GB module is cheaper and they can maximize profits. If Apple moves the 256GB M1 Macs to a single 256GB module, this will confirm this in my eyes.

I'm also perfectly willing to believe Apple is using a 256GB module on the M2 Macs because everything else is more expensive so they need to save money on storage to either keep the price the same (M2 MacBook Pro) or keep the cost escalation lower (M2 MacBook Air). If Apple continues to sell the M1 Macs with 2x128GB until end of life, then I will conclude this was the reason for the change only with the M2 models.
 
That SSD speed on the 256GB is sad. We have to spend $200 more to get more speeds. Really Apple?

I am done with your cost cutting.
They never said it was cost cutting. In fact I doubt that was the case. Chip availability or profit maximizing is more likely.
 
That SSD speed on the 256GB is sad. We have to spend $200 more to get more speeds. Really Apple?

I am done with your cost cutting.
You act like $1200 is some princely fortune when in fact -- once you factor in inflation -- Mac prices today are the lowest they've ever been.

At random, how about a 2011 entry level MacBook Air, which cost $999 at the time. That's over $1300 now, or $100 cheaper than the MacBook Air you're whinging about.

Screen Shot 2022-07-15 at 5.04.57 PM.png

If you think you can get a better deal from some other computer vendor, literally nobody is stopping you. Or, I guess, you could just come here and rant about it some more...
 
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You act like $1200 is some princely fortune when in fact -- once you factor in inflation -- Mac prices today are the lowest they've ever been.

At random, how about a 2011 entry level MacBook Air, which cost $999 at the time. That's over $1300 now, or $100 cheaper than the MacBook Air you're whinging about.

View attachment 2030314

If you think you can get a better deal from some other computer vendor, literally nobody is stopping you. Or, I guess, you could just come here and rant about it some more...

That is not how it works.
1. Wages do not increase with inflation, it increases less.
2. MacBook's are not part of everyday spending, it's discretionary spending.
3. See point 2. After people spend all their money on high gas prices, food, clothes, housing, and so on ... due to inflation, people have less money left to spend on luxury items such as a MacBook Air. People are less likely to have money to spend on a $999 MacBook in 2022, let alone a $1200 or $1300 MBA in today's climate. This is why companies like Apple, AMD and NVIDIA are telling TSMC to stop making so many chips, as the demand cannot keep up with production in the current climate.

Even the base M1 MacBook Air at $999 is much less affordable today for most people in the current climate.
 
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I got the 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro and the M1 12.9 iPad Pro as an ultraportable solution. So I’m covered and I can wait an other year for the 3nm M3 MBA, which hopefully has a very good base model.

I was interested in the $999 M2 MBA at first, but then Apple increased the price to $1200. And now I need to spend even more. It’s just too expensive for what I had in mind.
when was there a $999 M2 Air? when the new airs first listed on apple.com, the price was $1200...
 
Consider it a fair trade for getting the power of M2 at the same relative price point people purchased Intel i5 based Macs for years. It's probably been said a million times but no one buying a base model Air cares about a slight reduction in SSD speed spotted in synthetic benchmark tests by people who own MacBook Pros or Studios.
 
It is common sense that lower capacity SSD will be slower. But if M1 had 2 x 128 blades than that means apple is cheating out on the M2. There is no reason why M2 has one 256 blade. There is no excuse on chip shortages for this. Simple greed.
 
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I don't know how anyone can use a 256GB SSD to begin with,
Even on a MacBook air just used for web-browsing and office work,
Even using Logic would fill the thing up...

Go at least 512, 1TB.
Honestly,

I would like to have at least the Capacity on my computer to perform a full-level backup of my Smartphone, And my Smartphone is destined to be a 1TB Model, because I like to carry around my entire phones history of Pictures, as well as Music. What are you going to do on such a wonderful computer with no space? Cloud everything? I mean,
Sure you can get away with an external backup, But even that is an inconvenience to hookup to access your files.

I guess I am old-school. Most of the music I like is OFTEN available in Itunes, and I buy alot of it, yet there is alot which is not and I rely on having local copies of my music to put music on Smartphones or CDs or whatever media. I do not have a Spotify.

I find such music on trackers like this:


Are for the most part, Non-existent on music streaming services, or spotify. Sure you can search most of the songs on YouTube nowadays, But who can remember all of their favorite songs, Besides those of us who still use Last.FM. It helps to see a list of stuff to choose from Locally!
 
The real answer to the question of why does Apple cut costs on a $1200 laptop, it's to keep the price at $1200 with the margins they demand.
 
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GPU prices are dropping. Just because gas and food prices have increased, doesn’t mean computers should increase too.

Companies like Apple, Nvidia and AMD are even telling TSMC to stop producing chips as they are making more products than the customers are buying, which doesn’t warrant a price increase but the opposite actually.


Inflation is largely due to, Inflation. Basically what happens is the Media and the News outlets report increased inflation, and it becomes trendy for businesses to take that opportunity to adjust their costs and charge more for things in general.

This should be Criminal, Because when inflation goes down, the prices often do not and are adjusted from there upwards.

The biggest problem is Greed but, also Dishonesty. Many companies are reporting false costs, to justify increases.
It has never been more important to watch what you spend, How you spend it, and how you plan to spend it.

There are many companies who are not adjusting their costs very much, Because they know this.
And of course, The second hand market.
 
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