I've lurked these forums for a long time and haven't posted for years. However, I recently cashed in my M1 iPad Pro, and bought a Macbook Air M2.
All I want to say right now is that this machine is incredible! It's so much more superior to the iPad, for my use cases as a university lecturer.
Positives:
Screen brightness - Tested it out in bright, direct sunlight, and could still see the screen perfectly. Also, it gets really dim at night, saving my eyes!
Installed Firefox Nightly with ABP extension - YouTube experience is so much better than iPad. No ads. Very fast browsing experience! Playing media for students is so streamlined!
TouchID - Never have to mess with my facemask again! Just touch my finger, boom, logged in. The iPad's Face ID was very annoying as I'd often have to pull my mask down to log in.
Battery life - For media streaming, light audio recording/playback, and web browsing, the M2 Air has far exceeded my expectations for longevity, and it charges plenty fast.
MagSafe - I've been waiting for this to return! I had my iPad dragged off my lectern by a student tripping over the charging cable, several times. Now? The plug just pops right off the Air M2.
General Performance - Mind you, I'm coming from an M1. The M2 is snappy. What an absolute pleasure to run this machine as it was intended. I'm used to a silent machine, but still, as someone sensitive to electronic noises, this thing is beautifully devoid of noises.
Negatives:
Internal speakers - barely adequate. Sounds tinny and muffled, but to be expected.
USB-C - totally should have put one port on each side of the chassis.
Neutral:
Space Gray color - Classic look, nondescript, low-viz fingerprints. Makes the machine look unassuming, in stock at the Apple store.
Over all:
I'm very happy with this machine. I literally walked into an Apple store, cashed-in the iPad, applied the money towards this base model Air M2, and walked out in less than 10 minutes.
All I want to say right now is that this machine is incredible! It's so much more superior to the iPad, for my use cases as a university lecturer.
Positives:
Screen brightness - Tested it out in bright, direct sunlight, and could still see the screen perfectly. Also, it gets really dim at night, saving my eyes!
Installed Firefox Nightly with ABP extension - YouTube experience is so much better than iPad. No ads. Very fast browsing experience! Playing media for students is so streamlined!
TouchID - Never have to mess with my facemask again! Just touch my finger, boom, logged in. The iPad's Face ID was very annoying as I'd often have to pull my mask down to log in.
Battery life - For media streaming, light audio recording/playback, and web browsing, the M2 Air has far exceeded my expectations for longevity, and it charges plenty fast.
MagSafe - I've been waiting for this to return! I had my iPad dragged off my lectern by a student tripping over the charging cable, several times. Now? The plug just pops right off the Air M2.
General Performance - Mind you, I'm coming from an M1. The M2 is snappy. What an absolute pleasure to run this machine as it was intended. I'm used to a silent machine, but still, as someone sensitive to electronic noises, this thing is beautifully devoid of noises.
Negatives:
Internal speakers - barely adequate. Sounds tinny and muffled, but to be expected.
USB-C - totally should have put one port on each side of the chassis.
Neutral:
Space Gray color - Classic look, nondescript, low-viz fingerprints. Makes the machine look unassuming, in stock at the Apple store.
Over all:
I'm very happy with this machine. I literally walked into an Apple store, cashed-in the iPad, applied the money towards this base model Air M2, and walked out in less than 10 minutes.
