x

[nvmls]

OP, couldn't agree more, the chasis design screams zero "air" device, as if Tim designed it himself, soulless as it can be. The notch is hilarious really.. an absolute troll. I also prefer the old keyboard, it was rock solid, this one feels flimsier, although they seem reliable so far. One thing I did prefer from the butterfly abomination, was the no bleed backlight.

 

[laszlo182]

I also didn’t like the new System Settings layout in the beginning. Now I wouldn’t ever go back. It’s so much more intuitive.

 

[boss.king]

I also didn’t like the new System Settings layout in the beginning. Now I wouldn’t ever go back. It’s so much more intuitive.

Nah, the new System Settings is trash. They should at least allow for a third panel to make use to the width of the display, like this mockup from Jason Snell at Six Colors:

 

[ric22]

The difference is there, but not as noticable as going from the 11" to the M2 Air.

View attachment 2294289

This picture once again reminds us how unnecessary the extra big feet are... They could be the same height otherwise.

 

[boss.king]

This picture once again reminds us how unnecessary the extra big feet are... They could be the same height otherwise.

The higher feet are actually there for a reason — they let you get your fingertips under the edge of the laptop so you can pick it up when it's closed on a flat surface.

 

[ric22]

The higher feet are actually there for a reason — they let you get your fingertips under the edge of the laptop so you can pick it up when it's closed on a flat surface.

Wow, they work badly at that. What a crappy design- the thing is so much harder to lift one handed than the older designs. Same with the new Pros vs old Pros. You really think the tall feet are just there to make up for that design failing?

 

[boss.king]

Wow, they work badly at that. What a crappy design,

They work fine for me. Different hands, I guess. Flip the laptop over onto its lid and try pick it up, I promise it would be much worse without the feet.

 

[spcopsmac21]

It's the first time for me to experience the joy of auto-boot. Never heard of it before and I wish it was optional. I hate being force fed Apples visions this way.
Ok so I would have to add a black bar to every wallpaper I'd like to use, right? And I can forget the animated, dynamic ones from Apple...hmm..and stuff can still hide behind it...not ideal.

Adding a notch to the MacBook line up seems…. Terrible. Let’s hope they don’t go Dynamic Island on the MacBook line up. That would infuriate lots of people.

 

[h.gilbert]

OP, you should get an M1 Air when your 11" becomes a bit too slow. Still retains that wedge design and no notch.

 

[Chiromac81]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share my experience with the 2022 M2 Macbook Air coming from the 2013 MacBook Air 11,6“. I wanted to try one of these and compare it against the 11 incher. This is going to be very subjective and I‘m very picky but anyone upgrading from one of these might be interested.

Observations:
1. The difference in weight and especially size (duuh) is very noticable.
View attachment 2293752 View attachment 2293753 View attachment 2293755 View attachment 2293756


2. My palms prefer the wedge design.
View attachment 2293757 View attachment 2293758


3. Speakers on the new one have way more bass but totally lack the mids.

4. The keys on the new keyboard have a little less travel. Small difference but I prefer the old keyboard.

5. I hate that it auto boots when I open it (wtf?) and I can‘t turn it off.

6. I don‘t like the new layout of System preferences in Sonoma.

7. Display, webcam, battery life and raw computepower are way better on the new one. I‘m using mine for office and media consumption tasks, but also record vocals in Logic. I don‘t need 8K video editing power.

8. Notch bothers me more than it did on the iPhone. Why isn’t it aligned with the taskbar? Just shy of a couple of pixels. And the mousepointer and icons going behind the notch irritates me. You could literally "lose" a file on your desktop behind the notch. Why Apple?
View attachment 2293759 View attachment 2293773

9. I would have preferred keys for adjusting the keyboardbrightness instead of Spotlight and Focus.

10. The rubber feet on the new one are more slippery compared to the old ones. So one handed opening has it sliding away. This might change with time and depends on the tables surface.

11. The biggest gripe by far I have with it is the touchpad! It doesn‘t have any travel which irritates me so much it has me cringing when clicking. Feels like it‘s stuck or like it was "heavy" or something heavy pulling on it so you can't click it. Is this normal?? This alone makes me want to return it.


Additional points:
One USB-A port would have been a life saver when you‘re in other environments. USB-A is still everywhere.

I recently upgraded the SSD in the old one. Not having that option in the new ones is bad when you give it some thought. This has been discussed to death on this forum, but it‘s just the truth.

Oh and Apple needs to bring back the illuminated Logo 😉
View attachment 2293762


A couple of years back I tested the 12“ Macbook. Keyboard was really bad, one port only was really bad, weight and display were great!

Conclusion: 13,6“ is not for me. I‘ll be waiting for a new smaller Macbook and keep enjoying my fully functioning 11,6“.

I just wish the MacBook Air had 120 hz refresh rate like the pro

 

[ignatius345]

OP, you should get an M1 Air when your 11" becomes a bit too slow. Still retains that wedge design and no notch.

And still a million times faster than the 11” Air

 

[h.gilbert]

And still a million times faster than the 11” Air

I got a new base M1 Air a couple of months ago to replace my base 2016 13" Pro. When I first used the M1 it felt a tad faster, just slightly. But then I went back to the 2016 Pro the other day and now that I've been using my M1 for a while my god did the 2016 feel slow. And that was with the 2016 in it's best state too - I had erased everything and reinstalled Monterrey. OP's 11" Air must feel ancient.

 

[boss.king]

I got a new base M1 Air a couple of months ago to replace my base 2016 13" Pro. When I first used the M1 it felt a tad faster, just slightly. But then I went back to the 2016 Pro the other day and now that I've been using my M1 for a while my god did the 2016 feel slow. And that was with the 2016 in it's best state too - I had erased everything and reinstalled Monterrey. OP's 11" Air must feel ancient.

My mom still has a first or second gen Air (she's retired and rarely uses it). I did some stuff on it for her when she visited earlier this year and at points it was so slow that I thought the OS had crashed. I think at some point I'm just going to have to buy her an M1 Air and swap it out without her knowing.

 

[ignatius345]

My mom still has a first or second gen Air (she's retired and rarely uses it). I did some stuff on it for her when she visited earlier this year and at points it was so slow that I thought the OS had crashed. I think at some point I'm just going to have to buy her an M1 Air and swap it out without her knowing.

Ha, my grandmother has a 2015 Air still chugging along. It's actually not totally horrible as long as you don't push it. She leaves it plugged in 100% of the time. I know that's not advised, but she won't listen to my advice to unplug it once in a while. Anyway, I checked the battery cycles last time and it was like... 5 or something. And her uptime was like 19 months because she never restarts it, just closes the lid. I'm genuinely impressed at how well her laptop has aged, honestly.

 

[einsteinbqat]

This reads a lot more like "I don't like changes" / "this is too far from my comfort zone" 😄 than being picky 😉

I had the 2015 MBA, and the M2 is so much better in every way to me. But OK YMMV

At least, the M1 MBA has a similar shape to the intel MBA you have. Could be something you might want to try?

 

[darkelipse04]

"This reads a lot more like "I don't like changes" / "this is too far from my comfort zone" 😄 than being picky 😉"

This!

 

[HackMacDaddy]

This reads a lot more like "I don't like changes" / "this is too far from my comfort zone" 😄 than being picky 😉

I had the 2015 MBA, and the M2 is so much better in every way to me. But OK YMMV

At least, the M1 MBA has a similar shape to the intel MBA you have. Could be something you might want to try?

I have nothing against changes as long as they serve the purpose of a clear improvement.
You need to understand that I was excited to finally jump on the M2 Apple Silicon train too. But not all of the changes in this model are for the better, as many people confirm my findings. At the end of the day it doesn‘t matter if the whole world loves it. It matters if I love it. And the feel of the new trackpad for example is just something that‘s very noticable and I don‘t like it.
Also the reality is that the 11“ form factor is still unmatched. If you‘re looking for ultra portability with MacOS this and the 12“ MB are the only options.

 

[HackMacDaddy]

Nah, the new System Settings is trash. They should at least allow for a third panel to make use to the width of the display, like this mockup from Jason Snell at Six Colors:

This is an improvement! But I prefer a grid with bigger symbols so at first glance you know where to find what you‘re looking for. Now there‘s an endless list of tiny symbols.

 

[HackMacDaddy]

Adding a notch to the MacBook line up seems…. Terrible. Let’s hope they don’t go Dynamic Island on the MacBook line up. That would infuriate lots of people.

But people are telling me it‘s the best thing ever, why am I refusing to love it? 😂

 

[HackMacDaddy]

OP, you should get an M1 Air when your 11" becomes a bit too slow. Still retains that wedge design and no notch.

I will do for sure!
Although I need to say this: Some years ago when the M1 was new I had the opportunity to run through an Apple store and I played with the base M1 Air for a minute. And I noticed a noticable lag in the ui!! Call me crazy but this thing was lagging just when I brought up the launchpad/apps and swiped left right. So I released a good amount of air through my nose, chuckled and left the store.

 

[headlessmike]

I will do for sure!
Although I need to say this: Some years ago when the M1 was new I had the opportunity to run through an Apple store and I played with the base M1 Air for a minute. And I noticed a noticable lag in the ui!! Call me crazy but this thing was lagging just when I brought up the launchpad/apps and swiped left right. So I released a good amount of air through my nose, chuckled and left the store.

I can assure you that that’s not normal.

 

[HackMacDaddy]

My mom still has a first or second gen Air (she's retired and rarely uses it). I did some stuff on it for her when she visited earlier this year and at points it was so slow that I thought the OS had crashed. I think at some point I'm just going to have to buy her an M1 Air and swap it out without her knowing.

That‘s strange. I am using it for Youtube, Prime Video, Disney+, browsing the web, online shopping, email, pages & numbers documents and recording vocals in Logic Pro. It‘s also the computer I got music, audiobooks and movies on to sync to my kids ipads to. It all works flawlessly.
I have fiberoptic internet so a speedy connection and a very healthy original battery. And I‘m using a custom fan curve via MacsFanControl. These might be factors that help.

 

[headlessmike]

But people are telling me it‘s the best thing ever, why am I refusing to love it? 😂

The notch on my 14” Pro is something I hardly ever notice. It blocks an area of the display that I never use anyway. What I do notice and absolutely love is the taller aspect ratio. I prefer squarer displays and the difference the extra height makes to me is significant.

 

[headlessmike]

That‘s strange. I am using it for Youtube, Prime Video, Disney+, browsing the web, online shopping, email, pages & numbers documents and recording vocals in Logic Pro. It‘s also the computer I got music, audiobooks and movies on to sync to my kids ipads to. It all works flawlessly.
I have fiberoptic internet so a speedy connection and a very healthy original battery. And I‘m using a custom fan curve via MacsFanControl. These might be factors that help.

The 2011 model and later ones like you have were significantly faster than the models before it. The first few generations of the Air didn’t even have an SSD as standard. That makes a huge difference.

 

[HackMacDaddy]

The notch on my 14” Pro is something I hardly ever notice. It blocks an area of the display that I never use anyway. What I do notice and absolutely love is the taller aspect ratio. I prefer squarer displays and the difference the extra height makes to me is significant.

I would embrace the notch more if they refined it and integrated face-id!