Apple Announces New MacBook Air With 15.3-inch Display and M2 Chip Starting at $1,299

[ApplePhy]

what happened to the trade in program that was mentioned a couple of days ago for the m2 13" air? any word on this and how much apple is offering for trading up to the 15"?

 

[lewchenko]

If you can still get one , consider a 16” MBP (even refurb) if you are looking at an expanded Air model.

Once you upgrade the memory to a more usable level (16Gb) and the SSD to 512/1TB on the 15” Air you are probably close to getting the M1 Pro which is probably faster/much better screen (XDR/120hz) , more ports , but a little heavier.

The M2 Pro is still ludicrously expensive (especially in the UK) so the above only applies to the M1 Pro models.

 

[b.stolk]

Does it have an OLED screen? Or is this just plain old LCD?

 

[dominiongamma]

Lost me at m2

 

[Bcn]

MBP 16 is amazing, but not practical at all and far to big and heavy to use around the house, I bring my 15 pro around 6-7 places in my house and on travel and it’s too much to carry around.

 

[audiokid]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I wish they'd move the headphone jack to the left side on the Airs.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

Wish it had better battery life - was thinking the bigger case would allow more than 18 hours.

Bigger case means a bigger screen, and thus more power drain? Just guessing.

 

[Gengar]

Give us an 11” version!

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

My guess is 1600 euro.

yeah probably around that.

do you think they'll lower m1 and 13" m2 as well?

 

[dmr727]

Bigger case means a bigger screen, and thus more power drain? Just guessing.

It's always a tradeoff of course, but I thought they might utilize the additional bottom space for a bigger battery. But as another poser mentioned maybe they wanted that space for better cooling - I dunno. I guess I was just hoping the 15" would be a laptop that provided capability above the 13" beyond more pixels.

 

[Asiatic Black Hebrew]

I see the usual suspects, chomping at the bit to bash a new product the second it is announced, as is tradition.

 

[racer1441]

Why are they comparing its' performance vs Intel MacBook Air and PC laptops?

You don't need to win over apple M1 and M2 users, you want to take a big dump on intel and steal their users.

 

[WilliamG]

Does it have an OLED screen? Or is this just plain old LCD?

Looks like a standard 500nit IPS LCD.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Bigger case means a bigger screen, and thus more power drain? Just guessing.

just like the mbp 16, and yet it has much better battery, by a wide margin

 

[Cape Dave]

I love tuning in the see all those who PROMISED they would buy it the second it becomes available come up with a myriad of excuses why they are not going to buy it. Pass the popcorn!

 

[Stoianski]

yeah probably around that.

do you think they'll lower m1 and 13" m2 as well?

How much is 13" m2: 1500 euro? Perhaps they will lower it to 1400 euro.

I see on Amazon.de is 1260 euro now (13'').

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

How much is 13" m2: 1500 euro? Perhaps they will lower it to 1400 euro.

I see on Amazon.de is 1260 euro now (13'').

yes 1500

mba m1 was released for 1130 but is now 1200

wonderi if they will lower it too

 

[Shadar]

I just don't understand why Apple don't make RAM upgradeable post-purchase, either by users doing so themselves or a subsidised upgrade by taking it into an Apple store.

Saying that... M1 MBA with 8GB has been fine - there's not been one moment I've needed more but I only browse the web, use word processors/email and watch videos/streams. I always think I'll need more but never do.

Why would anyone buy the base model with 256GB if it has the same SSD config as the M2 13"?

Because the M2 13" with 256GB is plenty fast for many people. M2 feels a bit faster than M1 with my workload (internet browsing and text editing), even though the storage is slower, but that might be an imagined increase. Both are fine.

Heck, even my old 12" with a 1.1Ghz Intel mobile chip is adequate for most of my workload (just a little slower starting up, but once it's running, I use the same apps all day). And despite being smaller, I like the old 12" screen brightness and color and apparent sharpness better than the 13". And the old 12" keyboard has always been fine for me too.

I like the idea of the 15" Air -- always like more screen real estate -- but given I've got several old but very serviceable Airs that work flawlessly, I'll probably hold off until 2025 unless something dies. I've been able to use every Mac I've owned for more than 5 years without issue.

Worst Macs I ever owned (had 3 of them) are the 2011 through 2015 MacBook Pro 15's. One had a screen die, and all three had battery bulging problems eventually, all after 5 years of use. So far all my Airs have been perfect. Just miss the 15" screen a little bit.

 

[Apolloza]

I’m guessing still only one external display supported?

 

[Damur]

Very stuck deciding between this new MBA 15" M2 with 16gb/1TB or the MBP 14" M2 binned with 16gb/1TB. My use case is mostly just heavy browsing, text editing and emails but would like to future proof as I keep my laptops for around 5 years.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Very stuck deciding between this new MBA 15" M2 with 16gb/1TB or the MBP 14" M2 binned with 16gb/1TB. My use case is mostly just heavy browsing, text editing and emails but would like to future proof as I keep my laptops for around 5 years.

Unless you need the slightly larger screen and slightly more "air" form factor, nearly everything about the 14" is better on the tech front

 

[Jkf0703]

Sticker shock, but in a great way! It may finally be time to upgrade my 2013 MBP. Way to go Apple!!

 

[MacGekko]

Because the M2 13" with 256GB is plenty fast for many people. M2 feels a bit faster than M1 with my workload (internet browsing and text editing), even though the storage is slower, but that might be an imagined increase. Both are fine.

Heck, even my old 12" with a 1.1Ghz Intel mobile chip is adequate for most of my workload (just a little slower starting up, but once it's running, I use the same apps all day). And despite being smaller, I like the old 12" screen brightness and color and apparent sharpness better than the 13". And the old 12" keyboard has always been fine for me too.

I like the idea of the 15" Air -- always like more screen real estate -- but given I've got several old but very serviceable Airs that work flawlessly, I'll probably hold off until 2025 unless something dies. I've been able to use every Mac I've owned for more than 5 years without issue.

Worst Macs I ever owned (had 3 of them) are the 2011 through 2015 MacBook Pro 15's. One had a screen die, and all three had battery bulging problems eventually, all after 5 years of use. So far all my Airs have been perfect. Just miss the 15" screen a little bit.

Dumb question but will the new 15" Macbook Air with 8gb ram be faster for most tasks than a mid 2015 Macbook Pro 2.2 with 16gb ram?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Dumb question but will the new 15" Macbook Air with 8gb ram be faster for most tasks than a mid 2015 Macbook Pro 2.2 with 16gb ram?

yes, very much so

I have a 2015 15" MBP also -- and as much as I've loved it, it gets totally lapped by all these ASi machines

 

[Asiatic Black Hebrew]

I love tuning in the see all those who PROMISED they would buy it the second it becomes available come up with a myriad of excuses why they are not going to buy it. Pass the popcorn!

Happens every single product release, like clockwork. Also the ones who claim to have no interest in a product, yet can’t stop talking about it.