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MacBook Air m2
- Thread starter tim1000
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I have both and it’s not too bad. Sadly the 16” display response time is so poor that ProMotion is more of a crutch than a feature. The response time of the new MBA and even the iMac 24” are much lower so I don’t feel it’s as distracting or drastic even if used side by side with a “ProMotion” display.
Your usage may vary though.
Your usage may vary though.
Do you use both? Does going back and forth feel like a downgrade when using air?
I do, my 16” is my desktop replacement so it stays in one spot and I use the MBA at work or around the house. I wouldn’t say a downgrade but there are some differences obviously as each have their pros/cons. However, there’s nothing that breaks my brain when I go back and forth.
I have all three. The MBA screen is slightly more washed-out when compared to the color of the other two. Not really noticeable unless they are side by side. MBA feels a little more cramped compared to the 14" but not major. I prefer the 14" but not by much. Could be perfectly happy with either. 120hz...it's there and noticeable when you are looking for it. Obvious head to head. No big deal when I just use the MBA. Honestly the MBA is a very nice computer, without the direct comparisons I would never be bothered by the differences.
Revisiting this topic. Anyone else move from a 16-inch MacBook Pro to M2 MacBook Air? Would you recommend or discourage such a change? Any pros or cons you have found would be great to know. Thank you.
I have had the 14" M1 MBP and then went to the 16" while I was in the return period for the 14". I ended up with a 16" MBP with M1 Max, 24 core GPU and 32 GB ram. Then about a month ago I sold it and bought the M2 MBA.
To be honest I was very worried about a few things like screen size, performance and lack of certain features. The reason I went to the M2 Air was that for me I use my laptop all over the place. I started to notice that I was using the Mac less and less and using a smaller and lighter windows laptop.
I don't have any super demanding work flows, I am not a video editor and photo editing is probably the most I tax the device. The speed and power of the M1 Max just wasn't what I thought it would be and I was noticing slow downs with mail app loading and browsing and other applications-not to say the machine was slow but it wasn't the upgrade that I had thought it would be from the M1 MBP 13" I had previously.
Long story short the weight and heft of the 16" over time was really bothering me and I didn't see a big benefit from the change in my workflow. The screen on the 16" is great. One of the best laptop screens there is but the blooming was an issue for me. Also the 120hz refresh rate seemed like it was turned off? I had gaming laptops with 120hz and higher and could always notice the smooth scrolling but the slow response time of the screen I still saw text blur while scrolling.
So most of the big features and benefits of the device were not as apparent for me as to others and I felt like I spent too much money.
Going to the M2 MBA has been really eye opening. I would have never considered a fan less computer as my main laptop before m series chips and I didn't like the slanted design of the older airs.
The speed of the M2 MBA is really good for day to day tasks. As I said I don't do very intensive work but for my workflow things only sped up. I was surprised by this. The M2 chip seems faster while loading applications and web browsing. Switching between apps, etc.
I love the size and weight of the M2 MBA as now I actually want to use my Mac again and am not dreading the weight of the laptop becoming uncomfortable in a few minutes. I like the new color options as silver and space grey get a bit tired.
The screen on the M2 MBA is great for an IPS display. It gets as bright as the 16" unless you are watching HDR content. It is probably one of the best IPS displays I have seen on a laptop. Viewing angles are great and there is a pretty high contrast. The blacks on the 16" were better and the vibrancy of the colors was better on the 16" but the 16" had flickering which bothered me after a while and the blooming was pretty bad. I thought I would miss Pro Motion but I don't. I am sure in some use cases I would miss Pro Motion but generally speaking I can't tell a difference.
Screen size. I thought I would moss the larger screen on the 16" but I don't. I always like bigger screens but these are laptops and there are limits. The way the 13.6" screen is on the M2 MBA it just feels bigger than it is?
The battery life on the M2 MBA is way better than my M1 Max laptop. I can go about two, almost 3 days on a single charge on the M2 MBA and it reminds me of the battery life I got on my first M1 Machine the 13" M1 MBP. Battery life is great while still having great performance.
Performance on the M2 MBA is excellent. I have the 512gb ssd and 16gb ram and 8 core GPU config. But everything flys on this machine. In my use case it is certainly faster than my older 16" MBP and 13" MBP. It never seems to break a sweat and I have not encountered any throttling or heat issues. The only time it gets warm is when you charge the device.
Speakers. The speakers on the 16" are a little louder and have a lot more bass. Comparatively speaking the 16" sounds a lot better but if they are not side by side the M2 MBA speakers are great. They have a wide stereo separation and are very clear and loud. They just lack the heavy bass you get in the 16". I have only grown to like them more and more over time.
Cons? Well not having a fan is always a con for performance but in use I have found the fan less design is very practical. I can use the laptop anywhere and I don't have to worry about blocking vents. This is kind of a big deal and I really like the absence of fans and of course no fan noise.
I guess the biggest cons might be not having as many ports but that is all I can come up with.
Everyone has to figure out their specific needs and use case and for me I overspent on the Pro thinking that in order to get performance I needed to upgrade to a Pro. I have never even considered an air before the M2 because I didn't like the design and before the M series chips always felt they were way too underpowered. Now with the new design and M2 chip I realized I don't actually need a Pro machine and I have really been enjoying the new design of the M2 MBA and the speed and portability of the device.
So far for me it has been one of the best laptops I have had from apple with the design language I loved own the M1 MBP, the thin and lightness of the air, and the performance of the M2 with great battery life. It is the perfect combination and honestly I think the M2 MBA is seriously underrated with all the bad press from initial YouTube reviewers.
I think the only way to see if it would work for you is to buy one. Test it out and see if you like it. If you sell your M1 MBP you can pay for it and have some money left over. Or you can have one for power use and one for mobility.
I will also add that the M1 MBP 16" is an excellent laptop. I don't see anything bad about it but for me it was overkill and I did not use it to its potential. For content creators and video editors it is perfect but the M2 MBA would not be a good fit. Use the Pro for Pro uses and the air for regular use case and both will serve you well!
Let me know if you have any specific questions. I would be happy to help any way I can!
the m2 mba screen is a bit washed out compare to mbp 14, thats kinda of a given consider you are comparing old ips tech to mini led, speaker sucks as well, the treble is nice but the overall sound profile is no where near as round and filled as the 14inch. its doable for zoom calls but whenever we test marketing materials it gets drowned out fairly quick.
For any heavy work, I've got a 27" iMac, fiber connection, dual Apple monitors, code mechanical keyboard, and lightspeed G502 mouse. I'm really hoping they release another 27" iMac with an OLED screen. If not, I may go dual PC / Mac mini on a top-tier OLED monitor.
I'm gonna get the M2 Air, base model 10/512. I've got the Intel 16" MBPro, I'm sick of it. This answered everything. Thanks.
In all honesty, the MBA is a temptation for me, but since I spent 2,500 for the the 14" MBP, its hard to try to sell that, and buy the MBA. I'll lose some amount of money and I'll not really gain anything.
The MBA has some advantages in my book. Price being one of them, but again if I have to sell the MBP, that advantage is out the window.
What I'm not sure about is, screen size, 14" seems to just about right for me, 16" was took big. I'd worry about the 13" being a tad too small. Its hard to say since I'm not using the MBA, but I have owned 13" MBPs back in the day and found them a bit too small for my eyes.
At the end of the day, while the MBA has some advantages, I think the 14" MBP offers too much and I'm content with my choice. If the M2 was out when I was buying the MBP, things might have been different. I'd rather spend 1800 (for a MBA with 1tb) then 2500 for the 1TB equipped MBP, but that didn't happen, so I don't dwell on it