Interesting. I’ve seen some different numbers but will need to check my sources. Thanks.
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M2 MacBook Air is too heavy
- Thread starter Zest28
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I’m not saying that the 13” Air should be lighter than the 11” Air. I also include the 13” MBP for comparison, too. I only included that stat for general comparison. I think that the current M2 Air is one of, if not the lightest 13” Air that Apple has every sold. This only came up because some people are claiming that the 13” M2 Air got heavier than previous models and that is not true.
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I bought my first 11” MacBook Air in 2010. I was intending to buy the 13” but then I picked up the 11” and did a comparison. My only question at the Apple Store was did the smaller size comprise performance and the Apple sales person said no, they perform the same. I checked later and they were right. No way was I going to buy the 13” after that. I bought many generations of the 11” until I couldn’t get them any longer.
Yes, I still have an 11” Air that I get out and boot sometimes. Don’t have much use for it anymore but it was my daily driver for several years and it’s fund to revisit that now and then.
But maybe I don’t need 15 hour battery life and am fine with a 2lb notebook with 5-7 hours of battery life.
I really liked my 12” MacBook back in 2017. If Apple made an M2 version it would get better battery life and be much faster than that old model.
I still find it amusing when people think the M2 MacBook Air is going to be underperforming or over heat. The M2 MBA is at least 5x faster than my last 11” MBA. I did everything for my job with that Mac and never noticed any performance issues so I certainly won’t have any issues with the M2 MBA. (The 24 GB helps).
I need about 10 hours but I think an M2 or M3 should be able to do that in the 12” MacBook chassis.
I am chill. Stating facts isn't disagreeing with someone's opinion.
No problem. Just be aware that I was not making the argument that you seem to have been arguing against.
Found this handy little chart at The Verge:
So the MacBook Air is essentially 10% lighter than the Pro. I'm not sure what your expectation was?
If you really wanted something lighter, you missed the boat with the 12" MacBook.
Wikipedia said:
That thing is light. You should have gotten that when it was released (I did) - absolutely amazing portability. We're talking 33% lighter - a full pound - than the 13" MacBook Pro.
You basically missed the boat if portability is your main aim. Hopefully they'll re-introduce the same chassis with an updated M-chip processor in the near future.
I feel like that was one of the last "Jony Ive" Apple products that came out. It was a fantastic form factor & design, but lousy consideration for the user being so underpowered, prone to overheating, and expensive.
I'm not quite sure Apple would be able to hit the same remarkable battery life with the 12" form factor as it does with the Air. Yes, Apple Silicon is remarkably more energy efficient, but placing such a small battery alongside it, it wouldn't get near the battery life unless they used an underclocked version of their current base chips. A laptop that is as light and portable as you can make it but with average-below average battery life seems like a niche device to me. I'm not a market researcher, though.
That’s pretty much the answer right there. Apple Silicon chips have more than enough power for basic browsing / word processing / spreadsheet / e-mail needs. I think it’s fine to be underclocked to maintain long battery life. If the aim is for doing things like heavy video processing an ultraportable isn’t the right device anyway - you’ll have to get a Pro-level device.