M2 Air - Purchase Opinions

[mslilyelise]

Hey folks. Just wanted someone to check my math.

I came into some money, and I'm thinking about getting an M2 Air. I haven't had a new Mac in over ten years, I usually get something five to seven years old, keep it awhile, then upgrade when it starts not meeting my needs. But because the M2 Air is such a departure, I'm thinking I'll do it, and just keep the machine for 5-8 years to justify the cost. My experience with other Macs leads me to believe that's a perfectly reasonable lifespan expectation.

I'm thinking of the upgrade spec, 10GPU with 512Gb SSD, and upping the RAM to 16GB. And AppleCare cause one accident makes the cost of the coverage worth it given that this is a $2150 laptop in CDN dollars. It's probably overkill for my usage case; I'm an author, podcaster, and musician, so might get into using an Arturia virtual instrument with it and doing songwriting, which reviews lead me to believe this machine can handle just fine. The main reason I'm upping the specs is with an eye to longevity.

How's that math check out? Is that a reasonable spec if I expect it to last? How about AppleCare? Is the yearly option better than just buying three years outright? All your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tstafford]

I doubt upgrading the GPU is worth it. I'd do 512/16. Maybe more storage if you are the type that needs it. I personally have never done Apple Care on any device - prefer to "self insure" but that's just me.

If you want to share what you'll be doing with the laptop, folks could probably provide better recommendations.

 

[mslilyelise]

I doubt upgrading the GPU is worth it. I'd do 512/16. Maybe more storage if you are the type that needs it. I personally have never done Apple Care on any device - prefer to "self insure" but that's just me.

If you want to share what you'll be doing with the laptop, folks could probably provide better recommendations.

This are good points. I’m going to be doing podcast creation, writing in Scrivener, digital art in Pixelmator, and virtual instrument plugins for music creation, likely some of the Arturia instruments like the virtual Fairlight CMI and other vintage synthesizers.

I agree the GPU is probably unnecessary, but if I upgrade the base model to 16/512, and add the 67w charger, I’m at $2030, which means the extra GPUs are only $120, cause the bigger charger is a freebie with the upgrade model.

Curious what you mean by self insured, I’ve never had AppleCare on a device and needed to use it, but with the M2 being a new platform and the MBA being a new design, it just feels like it would be good défense against any unseen future issues. How do you insure against said issues?

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it.

 

[theorist9]

Upgrading the RAM to 16 GB is a good idea. For storage, you're in the best position to figure out what you need; based on how much you're using now, and the rate at which it's been increasing, you should be able to estimate how much space you'll need 5-8 years from now.

No idea about the GPU; among the software you mentioned, the only one I'd guess would benefit from a beefier GPU would be Pixelmator; and for that it would probably be best to ask on the Pixelmator forums.

I'm with you on AppleCare+; you can save some money by buying it from a university bookstore, which would give you educational pricing (even if you can't get the educational pricing on the computer, they're probably willing to sell you AppleCare). What the other poster meant by self-insured is that, it if breaks, they pay for it themselves.

One caveat you need to keep in mind is that the Air can only drive one external monitor.

If you don't already have an external drive for backups, I'd add that to your budget, unless you're backing up to the cloud. I'd recommend getting an external SSD. I use the Kingston XS2000, but there are many models that will do the job.

 

[mslilyelise]

Upgrading the RAM to 16 GB is a good idea. For storage, you're in the best position to figure out what you need; based on how much you're using now, and the rate at which it's been increasing, you should be able to estimate how much space you'll need 5-8 years from now.

No idea about the GPU; among the software you mentioned, the only one I'd guess would benefit from a beefier GPU would be Pixelmator; and for that it would probably be best to ask on the Pixelmator forums.

I'm with you on AppleCare+; you can save some money by buying it from a university bookstore, which would give you educational pricing (even if you can't get the educational pricing on the computer, they're probably willing to sell you AppleCare). What the other poster meant by self-insured is that, it if breaks, they pay for it themselves.

One caveat you need to keep in mind is that the Air can only drive one external monitor.

If you don't already have an external drive for backups, I'd add that to your budget, unless you're backing up to the cloud. I'd recommend getting an external SSD. I use the Kingston XS2000, but there are many models that will do the job.

Thanks for the feedback.

My MBP has a third party SSD upgrade added by the last owner to give it 512GB, and I find I only use about a quarter of that. I also think I’d keep separate drives for projects and games, two things that eat up a lot of storage. So 512GB should be enough. I had to go with at least 512 as I wasn’t willing to accept the speed cap the 256GB version has. Doesn’t fit with future-proofing.

Applecare seems to come in two flavours, 3 years for $279, or $99 a year (CDN$). Is the yearly plan able to be kept longer than 3 years or is it just another way to amortize the upfront cost? I can’t seem to find that info.

I have money now, I won’t necessarily later, that’s the nature of the arts. So I think I should just buy the three year and be done with it, but I might be swayed if I can just keep the warranty indefinitely.

 

[Miat]

If you want to future proof it, and plan to hang onto it for a long time, then at least 16GB RAM and 512GB storage is the way to go.

Applecare is better value for laptops than desktops, IMO. Also depends on how good the warranty laws are in your country, and how critical the machine is to you (e.g. use it for work).

Always helps if you take good care of your machine, of course. 😇

 

[1BadManVan]

16/512 storage is a great combo for this machine, should feel like a big upgrade from your old machines for sure

 

[Gudi]

How about AppleCare? Is the yearly option better than just buying three years outright?

Do not buy AppleCare, instead buy the cheapest six months old second-hand M2 Air you can find. Lots of new people buying Macs after owning only iPhones and iPads and then discover that they don't know how to utilize their power. The M1/M2 prices are not where they ought to be.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Honestly, upgrading the GPU on an Air is a waste of money.

Besides the fact that is can't sustain full loads (due to the lack of a fan) without an upgrade, the performance improvements when it is able to reach peak performance for are between 8-12% on average according to metrics. Furthermore, once the GPU has reached peak performance it rapidly throttles the frequency, which has been proven to actually provide worse performance overall for the majority of the testing than the base model.

Add in the questionable pricing and it's no brainer - either save your money or put it towards something else. 16/512gb seems like the sweet spot to me.

 

[maflynn]

I'm thinking of the upgrade spec, 10GPU with 512Gb SSD, and upping the RAM to 16GB.

Here's my take.
Base model M2 with 24GB of ram, 512GB of storage: 1,800 dollars
10GPU M2 with 16GB of ram and 512GB of storage: 1,700

More ram would be more beneficial then higher core count for GPUs and CPUs given the passive cooling of the MBA. Personally, if my budget could swing it, I'd also up the storage, but that's a story for another thread.

 

[kschendel]

I guarantee that you won't notice the speed difference between the 256GB and 512GB drives, unless you run benchmarks looking for it, or are regularly memory-poor, or unless you regularly move around files that are at least 10's of GB in size. Sequential transfer rates are almost never the long pole in the tent once you're a bit over SATA 3 speeds, and the 256GB unit definitely is (by about 2x).

I definitely would agree with 16GB. If it were me, I might get the 512GB internal drive because I don't use outboard drives (except for backup). I'm not sure that's the best place to put your money if you're going to use external drives for everyday storage.

 

[JPack]

I agree the GPU is probably unnecessary, but if I upgrade the base model to 16/512, and add the 67w charger, I’m at $2030, which means the extra GPUs are only $120, cause the bigger charger is a freebie with the upgrade model.

You don’t need the 67W charger. The standard 30W charger is plenty fast. The GPU is useless unless you’re running specific apps that take advantage of GPU acceleration.

In short, configure the base model to 16/512 and don’t look at anything else.

 

[Fishrrman]

You absolutely want 16gb of RAM "as the minimum".
512gb SSD should be fine.

The GPU upgrade is up to you. I'm kinda thinking you won't need it.

Alternative course of action:
Don't get the upgraded GPU,
but
DO get 24gb of RAM instead.

How's that?
(I think in the future, "more RAM" will be a better choice made today than "more GPU").

 

[theorist9]

Thanks for the feedback.

My MBP has a third party SSD upgrade added by the last owner to give it 512GB, and I find I only use about a quarter of that. I also think I’d keep separate drives for projects and games, two things that eat up a lot of storage. So 512GB should be enough. I had to go with at least 512 as I wasn’t willing to accept the speed cap the 256GB version has. Doesn’t fit with future-proofing.

Applecare seems to come in two flavours, 3 years for $279, or $99 a year (CDN$). Is the yearly plan able to be kept longer than 3 years or is it just another way to amortize the upfront cost? I can’t seem to find that info.

I have money now, I won’t necessarily later, that’s the nature of the arts. So I think I should just buy the three year and be done with it, but I might be swayed if I can just keep the warranty indefinitely.

In the US, I believe AC is renewable without limit regardless of whether you get the one year or the three year plan. But you should check with Apple Canada to verify.

I agree with both @maflynn and @Fishrrman that, if you want to spend a little extra to make it future-resistant, getting 24 GB RAM would be much more useful than the extra GPU cores. Indeed, you may find that 24 GB RAM improves performance today.

@Gudi 's suggestion to get a used machine is not a bad idea, but I would urge you to only do this if the original buyer purchased AC, which is transferrable. If you do this, make sure the buyer does the AC transfer to you before you leave with your purchase (it can take a while on the phone with Apple; and have them put Apple on speakerphone for at least the last part so you can confirm the transfer is complete). The problem is that 24 GB is unusual, so it may be hard to find a used machine locally that much RAM (and that also has AC).

Of course, you could probably find it on Ebay Canda, but there the prices may not be much better than buying it new, and even then it's probably not going to come with AC. E.g., with 8 CPU/8GPU/512 SSD/24 RAM retails for $1800 in the US, and this sold listing on Ebay wasn't that much less:

Another option is Apple refurbished, which are essentially indisitinguishable from new, and you get a full Apple warranty with those (including the option to purchase AC). But there you save only $100-$150, and you may need to wait a while to get one with 24 GB RAM (there aren't any there now):

Refurbished Mac - MacBook Air

Save up to 15% on a refurbished MacBook Air. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com

 

[mslilyelise]

You absolutely want 16gb of RAM "as the minimum".
512gb SSD should be fine.

The GPU upgrade is up to you. I'm kinda thinking you won't need it.

Alternative course of action:
Don't get the upgraded GPU,
but
DO get 24gb of RAM instead.

How's that?
(I think in the future, "more RAM" will be a better choice made today than "more GPU").
View attachment 2091525

Excellent film reference. As much as I'd like the bragging rights of 24GB of memory, I've been using Intel based Macs since the mid 2010s with 8GB of memory and I've yet to run into an issue, so I feel like doubling it will be enough to make it at least 5 years if not more.

Honestly, upgrading the GPU on an Air is a waste of money.

Besides the fact that is can't sustain full loads (due to the lack of a fan) without an upgrade, the performance improvements when it is able to reach peak performance for are between 8-12% on average according to metrics. Furthermore, once the GPU has reached peak performance it rapidly throttles the frequency, which has been proven to actually provide worse performance overall for the majority of the testing than the base model.

Add in the questionable pricing and it's no brainer - either save your money or put it towards something else. 16/512gb seems like the sweet spot to me.

That's what I'm getting the sense of after doing a lot of research. The 10 core GPU is great for a short sprint but in a marathon it gets aggressively thermal throttled to the extent that the difference between the two is negligible. There's already a chasm between the base M2 Air and my trusty MPB. I'm looking at benchmarks thinking "Oh, 10% more GPU could be worth it" ignoring the fact that the system on a whole is 8X faster in Geekbench than what I have. It's tempting to side step into a refurb MacBook Pro for the fans but I just don't think I need that much. I'm a creative but I'm not editing 4-8K video, and even if I wanted to, the Air could handle that better than my MBP handles 1080P renders.

Do not buy AppleCare, instead buy the cheapest six months old second-hand M2 Air you can find. Lots of new people buying Macs after owning only iPhones and iPads and then discover that they don't know how to utilize their power. The M1/M2 prices are not where they ought to be.

I'm not usually one to buy extra warranties, but I am giving it pause for thought on this purchase, because of the accidental damage policies. I'm good with my gear and I'm tech savvy, but if this thing took a tumble I would be heartbroken, and $300 for the deductible is a lot cheaper than a new machine. I'm curious, is the reason lots of folks say don't bother is because Apple is hard to deal with when trying to get warranty work done? It is tempting to just say "alright fingers crossed!" in terms of cost. By nixing the warranty and the 10 core GPU upgrade that's almost a cool $500 saved.

Ugh. If only we could see the future, right?

 

[theorist9]

I'm curious, is the reason lots of folks say don't bother is because Apple is hard to deal with when trying to get warranty work done?

No it's the opposite. I had GPU issues on my 2008, 2011, and 2014 MBP's, along with a swelling battery (which damaged the case and trackpad) and peeling screen material on my 2014. You could say I was both unlucky enough to have those failures, but lucky enough they all happened just before AC expired. Apple was a dream to deal with—they fixed all issues, no questions asked.

 

[mslilyelise]

No it's the opposite. I had GPU issues on my 2008, 2011, and 2014 MBP's, along with a swelling battery (which damaged the case and trackpad) and peeling screen material on my 2014. You could say I was both unlucky enough to have those failures, but lucky enough they all happened just before AC expired). Apple was a dream to deal with—they fixed all issues, no questions asked.

I'm really glad you had that warranty! That sure is a string of luck. I haven’t had nearly that level of carnage with my Macs, new or used, but the chance is always there that under extended use something that was marginal will straight up fail. And the one time I say hell with it, that’s when Murphy will be listening.

I think I’ve nailed it down to base model w/ 16/512 and AppleCare paid yearly. Out the door that’s $2200 instead of nearly $2700 with the 10 core graphics, warranty all at once, and a 67 watt charger which I doubt I’ll need (the machine lives at home mostly, so needing to charge + run won’t happen often). Also allows to me to drop out of AppleCare earlier if I don’t think I’ll run into issues.

Super excited to get my hands on it but because it’s custom I won’t see it until the 20th at a minimum, possibly until the 24th. Appreciate everyone’s help! Y’all have been great. 💖

 

[maflynn]

I think I’ve nailed it down to base model w/ 16/512 and AppleCare paid yearly. Out the door that’s $2200 instead of nearly $2700 with the 10 core graphics, warranty all at once, and a 67 watt charger which I doubt I’ll need (the machine lives at home mostly, so needing to charge + run won’t happen often). Also allows to me to drop out of AppleCare earlier if I don’t think I’ll run into issues.

Super excited to get my hands on it but because it’s custom I won’t see it until the 20th at a minimum, possibly until the 24th. Appreciate everyone’s help! Y’all have been great. 💖

Congrats and good luck, hopefully you get it sooner then later

 

[Gudi]

I think I’ve nailed it down to base model w/ 16/512 and AppleCare paid yearly. Out the door that’s $2200 instead of nearly $2700 with the 10 core graphics, warranty all at once, and a 67 watt charger which I doubt I’ll need.

Congratulations! You've successfully rationalized paying twice as much as you should. That's why the 10-core option exist, to make you think you are prudent spending $2000+ on a $1000+ computer. This is an Air not a Pro, the price should start with a 1.

 

[TSE]

8-Core, 16GB, 512GB SSD is the sweet spot.

Don't get the 10-Core GPU.

Apple MacBook Air M2 review - The faster 10-core GPU isn't worth it

Notebookcheck tests the new MacBook Air M2 with 16 GB of RAM, 1-TB SSD, and the faster 10-core GPU.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[mslilyelise]

Congratulations! You've successfully rationalized paying twice as much as you should. That's why the 10-core option exist, to make you think you are prudent spending $2000+ on a $1000+ computer. This is an Air not a Pro, the price should start with a 1.

It's not your money, honey. Don't worry about it.

Congrats and good luck, hopefully you get it sooner then later

Thanks!

So, I did it, but things worked out a little different. I got a notification for an M2 MBA locally. Turned out to be a midnight, 8CPU/8GPU, with 512GB storage but 8GB RAM. Was purchased as a gift but the person it was intended for has one already. It was still sealed up in the cardboard shipping box, never been touched. Now I know we talked about RAM, 16GB would have been better for peace of mind, but I create podcasts and write things generally, and I play a few 2D indie games with friends once in awhile. I decided to do it, for $1600. Then I went and subscribed to AppleCare as soon as I got it home.

It's working great honestly. Can't believe how instantaneous it is compared to the MBP. I mean, I can, but it's practically supernatural. I realize I may have kneecapped its longevity with the memory, but I think with my usage, I'll get five years use out of it at a minimum, I'll push for seven. And for $1600 rather than $2700, I won't mind so much if it doesn't make it as long.

Thanks again for all the help folks. Cheers.

 

[Gudi]

It's not your money, honey. Don't worry about it.

You asked if something was wrong with your math? I told you and you ended up buying a much cheaper package. No need to thank me!

 

[theorist9]

You asked if something was wrong with your math? I told you and you ended up buying a much cheaper package. No need to thank me!

She didn't ask you personally, she was soliciting a range of opinions. And when she didn't choose to follow yours, you responded with snark. You're in the wrong here, not her.

 

[theorist9]

I realize I may have kneecapped its longevity with the memory, but I think with my usage, I'll get five years use out of it at a minimum, I'll push for seven. And for $1600 rather than $2700, I won't mind so much if it doesn't make it as long.

You're not as potentially kneecapped as you might think. if you take the $1100 CDN you saved and let it collect interest, and you run into a RAM issue, say, 3 years from now, you could use those funds to sell your machine and buy a new one (if you keep up AppleCare, that will help a lot with the resale value). And by then the base machine may have 16 GB RAM.

 

[Gudi]

She didn't ask you personally, she was soliciting a range of opinions. And when she didn't choose to follow yours, you responded with snark. You're in the wrong here, not her.

She did follow my advice and purchased well below $2000.
Stay with the facts, not the feelings! 🤫