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Why the MBA M2 is the Best Laptop Apple Has Ever Made

Spaceboi Scaphandre said:
Ehh. The M2 Macbook Air is really good, but is it Apple's best they ever made? No, that would be the 2015 15 inch Macbook Pro and 14/16 inch Macbook Pros hands down. The 2015 15 inch has legacy as so many pros still use it, and from a technical spec the 14/16 inch are better. Especially at the spec you ordered your Air, you'd get more performance out of a 14 inch Macbook Pro instead just for the simple fast that laptop has a heatsink, as well as a 1440p 120hz display
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The M2 MacBook Air has a heatsink, it just doesn't have a fan. I bought the M1 MBA and now a M2 MBA. I would never consider buying the boxy 14" or too large 16" MacBook Pro. So to me, the M2 MBA is better than the M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro.

I never owned a 15" MacBook Pro so I can't comment on that design specifically but I don't think I would ever buy a notebook larger than 13" so again, I would go with the M2 MBA.
 
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jdb8167 said:
It is 30% heavier and 39% thicker than the M2 MacBook Air. It's too thick and heavy for me. For you it is fine apparently. To each their own.
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Now 30% heavier may sound like a lot...until you factor in the comparison. The M2 Macbook Air is 2.7 pounds, so it's not far behind the 14 inch Macbook Pro.
 
Spaceboi Scaphandre said:
Now 30% heavier may sound like a lot...until you factor in the comparison. The M2 Macbook Air is 2.7 pounds, so it's not far behind the 14 inch Macbook Pro.
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It's almost a pound heavier. That's a lot, to me. Maybe not to you. That's fine—it's why Apple makes different models because people have different opinions on what matters to them in a computer design.

I want the lightest and thinnest notebook that doesn't compromise battery life. It's a bonus that I can now get the M2 MBA with 24 GB RAM and it's even faster than the M1 MBA which was no slouch.
 
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6 weeks ago I needed a new ultra-portable laptop with excellent battery life for travel and work. The new M2 Air topped the list, but I went with the new Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 2 15.6" instead.

It was a very very close call, but the lack of a touch screen and pressure sensitive pen on Apple's notebooks is a deal-breaker, as it always has been the case for me, unfortunately. I use it to draw and paint on the road, and an iOS device is just too limited for what I want and need to do in terms of software.

I just wish Apple's Air and Macbooks would feature a touch screen and a pen option. Makes even more sense to me now that MacOS is looking more like iOS with each new version.
 
Herbert123 said:
I just wish Apple's Air and Macbooks would feature a touch screen and a pen option. Makes even more sense to me now that MacOS is looking more like iOS with each new version.
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Just because the system preferences somewhat resemble iPadOS settings, doesn’t make overall MacOS look like iOS.
 
Spaceboi Scaphandre said:
Ehh. The M2 Macbook Air is really good, but is it Apple's best they ever made? No, that would be the 2015 15 inch Macbook Pro and 14/16 inch Macbook Pros hands down. The 2015 15 inch has legacy as so many pros still use it, and from a technical spec the 14/16 inch are better. Especially at the spec you ordered your Air, you'd get more performance out of a 14 inch Macbook Pro instead just for the simple fast that laptop has a heatsink, as well as a 1440p 120hz display
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absolutely. the 14/16 are literally the best macs ever made
 
jdb8167 said:
It is 30% heavier and 39% thicker than the M2 MacBook Air. It's too thick and heavy for me. For you it is fine apparently. To each their own.
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This is my exclusive dilemma with the 14... I agree it's boxy BUT... that extra screen real estate and the speakers are very impressive.... I'm still in my return window for the 14 and I have no idea what I'm going to do.
 
dizmonk said:
This is my exclusive dilemma with the 14... I agree it's boxy BUT... that extra screen real estate and the speakers are very impressive.... I'm still in my return window for the 14 and I have no idea what I'm going to do.
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Unfortunately no one can really help you. It is a completely personal subjective decision. I'm lucky in that I know I can do my work on a MacBook Air and I don't tend to watch much video on my notebook (especially on the portable's built-in display) so the decision was easy. I want maximum portability. The additional 8 GB of RAM (24 GB total) is going to be helpful down the road a bit but I haven't needed it yet.
 
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jdb8167 said:
Unfortunately no one can really help you. It is a completely personal subjective decision. I'm lucky in that I know I can do my work on a MacBook Air and I don't tend to watch much video on my notebook (especially on the portable's built-in display) so the decision was easy. I want maximum portability. The additional 8 GB of RAM (24 GB total) is going to be helpful down the road a bit but I haven't needed it yet.
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I'm 100% with you on the portability issue... but.... the screen on this 14" is impressive. First-world problems...
 
Johnnyseeth said:
...Thin and light beyond thin and light: this is effectively the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made (yes the smaller 'netbook' 12" MacBook is an exception).
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If there are exceptions to the statement, then you cant make that statement.

Both the 11" MacBook Air and 12" MacBook were thinner and lighter.
 
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dizmonk said:
This is my exclusive dilemma with the 14... I agree it's boxy BUT... that extra screen real estate and the speakers are very impressive.... I'm still in my return window for the 14 and I have no idea what I'm going to do.
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I was in the same position. I love a good display, love my LG OLED tv (can't compare I know) and love good sound.

The MBA M2's weaker points vs the Pro are those things. Ironically, I still bought the Air.

Portability is the most important factor for me. The Pro is too bulky, for me personally.

So, the screen, it's great on the Air. Not as good as the Pro but really that's only applicable to HDR movies/shows/content. The speakers are good on the Air, but again I can hear the lack of 'umph'.

What helped me decide is how much do I really rely on those two things; display (really for movies etc) and speakers. I probably need them at their best, 2-5% of the time.

Most of the other time I'm just working, browsing, maybe have some basic YouTube content on, or football, all in SDR anyway. I have HomePods for sound!
 
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Hey everyone, first, I got a return shipping label for my MBP 14" M1 Max today. It's going back! And I'm keeping the M2 Air maxed out with 24 GB RAM, etc. So I'm now running a 16" MBP 16 GB RAM M1 Pro and a maxed out Midnight Blue MBA M2. And guess what that MBA is saying to all of you right now?

 
darngooddesign said:
And your statement would be incorrect.
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And I would be correct.

You can only compare apples to apples. The larger screen is what puts it on a class of its own. As a laptop comparing it to other Apple laptops with the same size screen it is exactly as I describe.
 
Johnnyseeth said:
And I would be correct.

You can only compare apples to apples. The larger screen is what puts it on a class of its own. As a laptop comparing it to other Apple laptops with the same size screen it is exactly as I describe.
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This is what I quoted and commented on in your post:

"Thin and light beyond thin and light: this is effectively the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made..."

The M2Air is great and all, but it is in no way the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has made.
 
darngooddesign said:
This is what I quoted and commented on in your post:

"Thin and light beyond thin and light: this is effectively the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made..."

The M2Air is great and all, but it is in no way the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has made.
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Yes, it is EFFECTIVELY the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made. I am comparing it to the majority of Apple’s laptops that they have produced. I noted an exception to the smaller 12”. Apple’s laptops have been the 13”-16” variety for years. And compared to these this laptop takes that crown.

The 11” MacBook Air is actually classed as a Netbook, not a laptop. The 12” has a thickness reaching 0.52 vs 0.44 for the M2 MBA and while the 12” is lighter, this can be accounted for by its smaller screen.

It is also absurd to think a statement can’t be made with an exception. In fact this is rooted explicitly in laws that are passed, everyday speech, scientific research etc. like saying it rains everyday with the exception of the last day of every month.
 
"Yes, it is EFFECTIVELY the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made. I am comparing it to the majority of Apple’s laptops that they have produced. I noted an exception to the smaller 12”.

You're kind of digging yourself a hole here. I mean, if you like say it is the thinest and lightest 13" laptop. That you can say.

"The 11” MacBook Air is actually classed as a Netbook, not a laptop."

This is an arbitrary thing you have decided for yourself—it's not how it was marketed, or how it worked.

"It is also absurd to think a statement can’t be made with an exception."

Look, do what you want, but saying THIS IS THE THINEST AND LIGHTEST APPLE LAPTOP EXCEPT FOR TWO OTHER LAPTOPS APPLE MADE is kind of dumb.

Your point—that it's a very thin and light and powerful laptop—should be made a better way.
 
mrmister said:
"Yes, it is EFFECTIVELY the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple has ever made. I am comparing it to the majority of Apple’s laptops that they have produced. I noted an exception to the smaller 12”.

You're kind of digging yourself a hole here. I mean, if you like say it is the thinest and lightest 13" laptop. That you can say.

"The 11” MacBook Air is actually classed as a Netbook, not a laptop."

This is an arbitrary thing you have decided for yourself—it's not how it was marketed, or how it worked.

"It is also absurd to think a statement can’t be made with an exception."

Look, do what you want, but saying THIS IS THE THINEST AND LIGHTEST APPLE LAPTOP EXCEPT FOR TWO OTHER LAPTOPS APPLE MADE is kind of dumb.

Your point—that it's a very thin and light and powerful laptop—should be made a better way.
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You’re trolling. Stop.
 
Johnnyseeth said:
...It is also absurd to think a statement can’t be made with an exception. In fact this is rooted explicitly in laws that are passed, everyday speech, scientific research etc. like saying it rains everyday with the exception of the last day of every month.
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"One of the thinnest..." allows for exceptions.

"The thinnest..." does not allow for exceptions.
 
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