Why have Apple ruined the MacBook Air design?

[theluggage]

What bothers me the most about the redesign is the fact they removed the heat sink…

Something that you can do when you switch to a processor that can run happily in an iPad... and a heatsink is a big chunk of aluminium or copper which adds to the weight of a product.

The M2 Air isn't just about the M2 vs M1, it's about the first Air with a housing that was actually designed for Apple Silicon.

 

[Tagbert]

There will be no citation incoming I don't think as there's zero proof to the statement. Given the recent numbers that have some out, I'm betting the Air had a significant number of them.

Wrong. There is a reason the new M2 Air is the worst selling Apple product in 25 years. As the OP already suggested, outdated design in comparison to the wedge, cheaper build quality and the M1 Air is as powerful if not more powerful than the M2 in most common circumstances, and over half the price cheaper. There is also a reason why the midnight colour has only sold 26,000 units globally since the M2 air was released in comparison to the M1 Air which has sold in its millions form day one

You mean the recent numbers that show the Apple 2022 Q4 financial reports?

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/FY22_Q4_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf

Mac sales 2021 $35,190M
Mac sales 2021 $40,177M

that is a 14% year over year increase since the new MacBook designs have come out. I does seem like the Air had a significant contribution to those numbers, but on the positive side.

 

[Tagbert]

What bothers me the most about the redesign is the fact they removed the heat sink…

They didn't, though.

The M1 Air has a small metal heat spreader (heat sink) that transfers the heat from the SOC to the interior of the case. It was connected to the SOC with thermal paste.

The M2 Air has a thinner but larger metal heat spreader that also transfers the heat from the SOC to the interior of the case. that new heat spreader has more surface area to disperse heat. Surface area is more important for dispersion than mass, especially for such small components. It was connected to the SOC with thermal paste. In addition it has a carbon heat transmission film on the spreader to increase the transfer of heat.

At least one of the "reviewers" scraped off that graphite film and removed thermal paste before putting the Mac back together and only then doing their performance and thermal throttling testing!

 

[Tagbert]

What do u prefer ? Didn’t u like the ergonomics of the wedge ?

What ergonomics? The keyboard on the older Air design is nearly horizontal. The taper is all on the bottom and is there to give the impression of thinness even though the rest of the case is thicker than the M2 case.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Having been working with the M2 MBA on the the thighs, you don’t feel that the computer is hot. So unless you do things that is CPU/GPU intensive, I don’t think that you will feel that your Mac will get very hot.

I started using a 4k144hz display and I can tell you that my mba m1 runs much hotter now , so I’m kinda worrried .

Using a 4k60 my averages temps were 35

Now using a 4k144 I’m averaging 55

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

What ergonomics? The keyboard on the older Air design is nearly horizontal. The taper is all on the bottom and is there to give the impression of thinness even though the rest of the case is thicker than the M2 case.

Going lower to higher is better for ergonomics , at least for me

Besides the lower it is on the front , the more comfortable (again, for me at least)

I had to return my MacBook Pro 16 because my wrists were in pain (no joke) , hence why I’m wondering how the m2 fares compared to the m1 low profile

 

[johnmacward]

They look outdated and anachronistic with that bulky, boxy design. The new MBP looks similar to my ancient Macbook Pro from 2006 and the colour options on the boring new iMacs are just silly. Go into any Apple Store or reseller and they just look out of place.

The same Air design has floated around since the very first one without a single change until now so to talk about something getting old is rich. The angled design was a great talking point for “look how thin it is, literally millimetres” but the battery life of the first one was a travesty DUE to that design as the taper doesn’t allow anything to fit there. So, looks interesting, not very functional. The new MBA stays slim (much slimmer at its highest point than the outgoing tapered design) AND gets more functionality thanks to a consistent inner design. More space for batteries and still an incredibly lightweight and slim unit. It’s good that the taper design is gone- its looks came with penalties.

 

[avalon68]

I stopped seeing the notch about 5-10 minutes into using the notebook. If it continues to be a problem for you it's because you want it to be and is obsessing ver it. There's no other reason that I can think of someone to have a constant problem other than they want to complain.

Thats just silly. It might not affect you, but there are many instances where the notch prevent access to items that would otherwise be on the menubar. As I type this on my lap, I can see that several icons that are visible when docked are gone. It's a pain in the ass when you are working. I dont care what it looks like. They should have implemented some sort of software solution to make missing icons more readily accessible.

 

[johnmacward]

Going lower to higher is better for ergonomics , at least for me

Besides the lower it is on the front , the more comfortable (again, for me at least)

I had to return my MacBook Pro 16 because my wrists were in pain (no joke) , hence why I’m wondering how the m2 fares compared to the m1 low profile

The angular difference is so minuscule from high to low that I doubt it’s the angle that makes any difference, maybe how you interact with a newer slightly different device like that. If you’re wrists are in pain, you’re chair might need a height adjustment to help with the height you interact with the machine. I doubt the M2 MBA is designed to to **** up wrists - Apple have heard ALL the complaints already for many decades.

 

[johnmacward]

Wrong. There is a reason the new M2 Air is the worst selling Apple product in 25 years. As the OP already suggested, outdated design in comparison to the wedge, cheaper build quality and the M1 Air is as powerful if not more powerful than the M2 in most common circumstances, and over half the price cheaper. There is also a reason why the midnight colour has only sold 26,000 units globally since the M2 air was released in comparison to the M1 Air which has sold in its millions form day one

Again, not wrong just something so utterly subjective that we’re sick of making the point. The new M2 MBA is now the design of EVERY OTHER functional laptop on the planet. It went from tapered angle (that was very subtle and not very transformative) to standard MBP design, flat, functional laptop design that is still thinner than the original tapered design - an upgrade in my book. It’s still SLIM, LIGHTWEIGHT and performs like a mother… you’re the one who’s wrong for thinking things like can be ostensibly wrong or right.

 

[johnmacward]

The wedge shape also served a purpose, by angling the keyboard toward the user.

The angle was as subtle as a NOT Tesla panel gap - I.e not worth talking about. I doubt it has any positive effects on typing. Although granted some of you will disagree with me.

 

[Queen6]

I like the new 14" & 16" MBP's as they offer far better port solutions and thermal headroom for M2/M3 SOC's etc. I still like the 13" MBP for its monstrous battery life and solid performance. I like both the older & M2 air, if to buy think I'd opt for the M2 Air. Yeah overpriced, but very far from being a bad or ruined notebook.

Think a lot like the boxy design as it brings technical benefits and pays homage to the Power PC & OG MBP's.

Q-6

 

[johnmacward]

Easier for typing

How could it be easier for typing - the angle is so minimal I don’t see how it helps except in the perception and hence psychology of the user. You’re tricking yourself - fundamentally, your palms are still resting on the computer itself, angle or no angle. Adjust your chairs for god sake.

 

[johnmacward]

LOL! 6th grade grammar tests are incredibly simple and most authors in major publications (e.g., The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, etc.) could readily pass such a low bar. Their writing — in vocabulary, grammar, structure, and substance — routinely surpasses that of the average 6th grader!

Now, as to the topic at hand…

A strong case can be made the M1 MBA is *objectively* thinner than the M2 MBA.

Several have rejected that because the M2 MBA's height of .44“ is clearly less than the .63” of M1 MBA.

Well, that data is right, but cherry-picked. It uses the M1's greatest height! Instead, consider the other end, which is only .11”. That means the M1 MBA is only 1/4 the height of the M2! Clearly, by that measure, it's the thinner one. 😎

But that would be cherry-picking, too. Of greater relevance, consider this. The M2's height of .44” is *greater* than the average height of the M1 MBA, which is roughly .395”. (Half way between .16” and .63”.).

See https://www.apple.com/mac/compare/

Objectively, therefore, the M1 MBA is thinner. 👍🏼 💯

Another point. Bizarrely, we've also had this asserted, albeit not in this thread.

“Despite not having a tapered design, the new ‌MacBook Air‌ delivers a 25 percent volume reduction over the previous generation”​

Color me skeptical! How can that be true?

The M2 MBA is slightly *deeper* than the M1 (8.46” vs. 8.36”) and, as noted, has a greater average height across its chassis!

There is no way the M2 MBA could have 25% *less* volume. As they say in math classes:

”Show your work!” 😎​

Finally, there's this whole “modern” vs. “outdated” debate that keeps getting rehashed.

Describing the M2 MBA as “modern” is, at one level, laughable as it is a throwback to the classic, vintage MacBook Pro box shape. It looks generic and dated.

In contrast, for many people, the M1 MBA with its slanting wedge still looks futuristic. Of course, at another level, it's hard to describe the taper as “modern“ given how many years it's been around! 🙈

Still, I’d cast my vote with Ken's original blunt critique of the new design language, at least as to the MBA.

Yes, Jonny Ive made a fetish out of thinness and much was lost along the way because of it, but the tapered MBA was a breakthrough in design language. It combined form and function, was a delight to use, and retains a magic the rectangular box shape lacks.

To address your point about which one is thinnest, we’ll that’s not the point of this thread - it’s the fact that the taper is gone and the “outdated design of MBP now visits MBA’s and that pisses some of us off” even though both are highly desirable computers for millions of people (if outrageously expensive). It’s all very much a question of subjectivity.

 

[Tagbert]

Thats just silly. It might not affect you, but there are many instances where the notch prevent access to items that would otherwise be on the menubar. As I type this on my lap, I can see that several icons that are visible when docked are gone. It's a pain in the ass when you are working. I dont care what it looks like. They should have implemented some sort of software solution to make missing icons more readily accessible.

Having too many menu bar icons and some of them getting pushed off was a problem long before the notch came along. It really depends on which apps you have installed whether it is an actual problem or not.

Many of us use BarTender. It lets you decide which icons are important enough to show on the menu bar and which ones can be pushed off to a secondary panel that appears when you click on the Bartender icon. If you don’t like paying for software, there is at least one free clone app out there that does this.

 

[harriska2]

Hmm, the m2 air has a slightly bigger screen and retina, no touch bar, and costs about $75 less than the 13” mbp when configured with 16gb and 512. Hadn’t thought to look at the air as I hated the wedge design. Not sure if being fan less is an issue. I do use Handbrake and FCP a bit. Also needs to hook to my 4k monitor.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

The angular difference is so minuscule from high to low that I doubt it’s the angle that makes any difference, maybe how you interact with a newer slightly different device like that. If you’re wrists are in pain, you’re chair might need a height adjustment to help with the height you interact with the machine. I doubt the M2 MBA is designed to to **** up wrists - Apple have heard ALL the complaints already for many decades.

I Hope so

I tried changing chairs but it didn’t help much sadly

I haven’t tried the m2 much , I was talking about the mbp 16 m1 , which is much thicker and higher , don’t u agree ?

 

[transpo1]

How could it be easier for typing - the angle is so minimal I don’t see how it helps except in the perception and hence psychology of the user. You’re tricking yourself - fundamentally, your palms are still resting on the computer itself, angle or no angle. Adjust your chairs for god sake.

You obviously don’t understand that the fundamental design of the taper/wedge shape allows you to rest your arms comfortably on the MBA while you type, instead of having a raised edge. Many people find it much more comfortable and the excellent part of the design is that it almost feels like the laptop blends in with your desk and disappears.

But YMMV. 😉

 

[bradl]

I haven’t tried the m2 much , I was talking about the mbp 16 m1 , which is much thicker and higher , don’t u agree ?

Umm.. no. I mean, consider my previous Mac's dimensions:

.11 to .68in H x 12.8in W x 8.94 D

Compare that to my 16" MBP M1 Pro:

.61in H x 12.31 W x 8.71 D

At the back of the wedge, my M1 Pro MBP is thinner than my mid-2011 13" MBA, yet is more fully featured and more powerful.

BL.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Umm.. no. I mean, consider my previous Mac's dimensions:

.11 to .68in H x 12.8in W x 8.94 D

Compare that to my 16" MBP M1 Pro:

.61in H x 12.31 W x 8.71 D

At the back of the wedge, my M1 Pro MBP is thinner than my mid-2011 13" MBA, yet is more fully featured and more powerful.

BL.

i care not for the overall thickness , but i do care about the front thickness ,as it is the part that's in contact with my wrirst/hands

it may be thinner overall , but it doesnt make it more ergonomic or comfortable , nor low profile . in fact , it is quite the opposite

 

[bradl]

i care not for the overall thickness , but i do care about the front thickness ,as it is the part that's in contact with my wrirst/hands

it may be thinner overall , but it doesnt make it more ergonomic or comfortable , nor low profile . in fact , it is quite the opposite

The bold is your telling lack. You are looking for the low profile, which the MBP is not supposed to offer, so you are basically handicapping the MBP in your comparison to begin with. You are sacrificing power and functionality for aesthetics.

BL.

 

[avalon68]

Having too many menu bar icons and some of them getting pushed off was a problem long before the notch came along. It really depends on which apps you have installed whether it is an actual problem or not.

Many of us use BarTender. It lets you decide which icons are important enough to show on the menu bar and which ones can be pushed off to a secondary panel that appears when you click on the Bartender icon. If you don’t like paying for software, there is at least one free clone app out there that does this.

Thats good to know - will check out Bartender. I still think that there should be a native solution to this though - apple is usually elegant in matters like this. I dont think I have an excessive amount of things in the menu bar by any means, and it was never an issue with my pre-notch mbp. I dont see why they couldnt implement a drop down menu bar solution.

 

[MrCheeto]

Every car on the road made after 1969 looks like a plastic door stop too, yet the roads are full of them, because people need to get to work. The US doesn't need good design, it needs a steady supply of product to feed its gaping maw. Might as well have your crap designed by engineers. The rich can buy Italian if they appreciate design. Yeah, guess my industry.

LOL. Sad but true. This is why I laugh at *agist slur*'s when they talk about their 1977 Firebird being the end-all be-all of cars. They still judge cars by their look and sound and have no clue how absolutely WHIPPED anything from their childhood is in comparison with today's products. We've evolved and moved past constraints of whatever "looks" sexy and "feels" fast. Now we make things that are...actually fast. Ever seen that video of a Honda minivan beating a 60's Corvette around a track? Boy the *agist slur*'s were fuming and saying it was rigged and fake and making up every excuse. Sorry but progress don't halt just because your feelings disagree.

But if somebody asks why all [current product] look alike the simple answer is "because that's what people are buying".

I had to return my MacBook Pro 16 because my wrists were in pain (no joke)

No joke. My 16" kills me as does every MacBook of any range, size, and vintage that isn't an Air.

The angled design was a great talking point for “look how thin it is, literally millimetres” but the battery life of the first one was a travesty DUE to that design as the taper doesn’t allow anything to fit there

I sure remember the first days of the Air. Everybody slammed it and rightly so. It was a piss-poor excuse for a netbook being sold as "full featured". I wanted one until I tried using iMovie on it. The MBA did literally nothing well except balance out wobbly tables. With the release of the M1 Air, I feel that the design was finally ready for prime-time. I believe I have a fully uncompromised machine. I do not need any other computer at all to do everything I will ever need to do except run multiple displays. It is not a laptop sold on "look and sound" like a Corvette (in the first quoted message of this reply). This is the Air that finally doesn't need qualifiers and disclaimers. I wrote an entire review on this achievement and how it feels that so many of my dreams were realized after more than a decade.

All of Apple's machines with AS are finally making dreams into reality. It's like stepping from faux-3D (StarFox on SNES) to real 3D (N64). Enough faking it and setting everybody up for disappointment because this is the real deal and every modern Apple machine truly delivers.

I will agree the M2 Air does look more advanced.

 

[Sowelu]

For those complaining about the notch (still) and menubar icons disappearing... there is an easy and elegant fix for this - it's an app named 'Bartender' and it is a must-have. I tuck all my infrequently used menubar items on the secondary menubar (the 'Bartender Bar') so the 'important' icons on the main menubar never disappear. Just a quick mouseover will reveal all menubar items. It's a great little app.

 

[MrCheeto]

OK, I'm jacking this thread.

Can I just say how much I appreciate the curved menu bar corners on some Macs? God why did Apple ever stray from the curves? That was such an iconic look and on my 16" MBP it adds such a nice distinctive flare. I look at my Air and the corners are meh. The round corner is that final *pow* that makes the dish.

🤌