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MacBook Air M4

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Re: MacBook Air M4

#311

Post by giancarlostoro »

ruuda wrote: post #247

My 4-year old Dell XPS 15 is up for replacement, but somehow no manufacturer aside from Apple is making laptop with decent specs nowadays? I want 2TB storage, a 4k (or close) HiDPI display, good build quality, and not a bulky gaming laptop. The XPS 15 was perfect, it had those specs, except it only had 1TB storage which is now full. I was expecting that to not be an issue 4 years later ... But now Dell discontinued X…

> Why is there no competition here?

Mobile. A lot of games I played as a kid have mobile apps, and in some cases, I don't know if its the case for all of them, the userbase is mostly on their phones. I can only imagine this is the case for a lot of things.

Re: MacBook Air M4

#312

Post by Spunkie »

postexitus wrote: post #207
Spunkie wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone I know that got an M1 cheaped out on the 8gb model and are now struggling to use a browser with heavy sites and multitasking(zoom) at the same time. But also apples upcharge on RAM is disgusting, so it's hard to blame them for picking the lowest spec model.

Cries in 4Gb Macbook Air 2013 /s I am fine(ish) with the above setup, I don't know what you are talking about. 8Gb is plenty for website browsing.

It isn't depending on what "web browsing" someone is doing, which can be a pretty wide range now.

1 persons "web browsing" is no browser extensions, a couple of gmail tabs, some light blog reading, and maybe something as heavy as reddit.

While another persons "web browsing" is running multiple browser extensions like grammerly, adblocker, etc. Along with a bunch of gmail tabs, plus a bunch of heavy "web apps"(think: miro, monday.com, google workspace/office365, photoshop online) and then throw 10s-100s of tabs of "research" on top of that.

8gb is quickly becoming unworkable for people that fall closer to the latter group.

Re: MacBook Air M4

#313

Post by meindnoch »

brk wrote: post #265
meindnoch wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you try using a 60hz screen after a 120hz one, it will feel very sluggish and choppy. As long as you don't get used to 120hz, you'll be fine with 60hz.

I've never really felt this way, and have used all kinds of screens of various resolutions, sizes, technologies, etc. For 99% of the typical use cases (chats, email, doom scrolling, etc.) there just is not a big enough perceptible difference for most buyers. Screen refresh rate arguments are starting to have hints of audiophile discussions.

Going 60hz → 120hz: "Meh, I guess it's smoother? Whatever..."

Going 120hz → 60hz: "WTF? Why is it so choppy? Am I accidentally in low battery mode?"

It's similar to going back to non-retina displays after getting used to retina resolution.

Re: MacBook Air M4

#314

Post by electrograv »

webdever wrote: post #302
electrograv wrote: post #131

I really wish Apple would make a MacBook Air variant with display quality on par with the iPad Pro or MacBook Pro (ProMotion/120hz and XDR/HDR, at least). The screen quality is the only reason I currently use the Pro despite its chunkier weight, since the local compute/memory of the Air is already plenty for me (and most users). The iPad Pro proves that weight and battery life is no excuse here for the lack of state-…

As others have said, they do this on purpose. It's the same with memory. I'd probably switch from a Pro to an Air if I could get 64gig ram (for LLM work) but they'd rather charge me $4800 instead of ~$3200 (guessing the price given the top end 32gig Air is $2800) It's frustrating because I'd prefer a lighter device. In fact, even the Air isn't that light compared to its competition. I'd happily pay +$500 ($5300) for…

I have absolutely no problem paying a premium for an upgraded display. The problem is that Apple does not offer that option for the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Pro has an amazing screen, which is why I bought the MBP. But the MBP compromises increased weight (which I don’t want) in exchange for more performance (that I simply don’t need). And we know this compromise is not needed to host a better display, as evidenced by the existence of the iPad Pro.

Don’t get me wrong, the MacBook Pro is a fantastic product and I don’t regret buying it. It just feels like a huge missed opportunity on Apple’s part that their only ultra-lightweight laptop is so far behind in display tech vs their other non-laptop products (like the iPad Pro which is lighter still, just crippled due to iOS limitations).

I would gladly pay even more than the price of my MacBook Pro for a MacBook Air with a screen on par with the iPad Pro or MacBook Pro. Or even for an iPad Pro that runs OSX!

Re: MacBook Air M4

#315

Post by giancarlostoro »

gavinray wrote: post #273
ruuda wrote: post #247

My 4-year old Dell XPS 15 is up for replacement, but somehow no manufacturer aside from Apple is making laptop with decent specs nowadays? I want 2TB storage, a 4k (or close) HiDPI display, good build quality, and not a bulky gaming laptop. The XPS 15 was perfect, it had those specs, except it only had 1TB storage which is now full. I was expecting that to not be an issue 4 years later ... But now Dell discontinued X…

Gen question: why do people care how bulky a laptop is? I buy gaming laptops because they're the only powerful laptops and their size has never bothered me when traveling

If you don't travel from your house with it I understand your confusion, the weight is a factor when traveling. I never have back pain, but when I do, its because I'm carrying a heavy laptop around on my back.

Re: MacBook Air M4

#316

Post by [deleted] »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #308
crazygringo wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but even non-tech people I know are wondering why Android phones run smoother than iPhones. Stuff that would be completely unheard of purely because of how noticeable 60hz vs 120hz is. Are they? I'm a tech person and I can barely notice it at all. And I don't think I have a single non-tech friend who is even aware of the concept of video refresh rate. Whenever there's something that doesn't feel smooth about an int…

It just feels more "fluid" and real, and then you get used to it and 60Hz feels jittery. I have an iPad pro, and its honestly made me consider going with an iPhone Pro (I still have just the non-pro model), although not quite yet. However, I notice a huge difference between scrolling on my phone and scrolling on my ipad. Its the same thing about retina vs. the previous resolutions we had put up with. Yes, you don't n…

[deleted]

Re: MacBook Air M4

#317

Post by [deleted] »

Ataraxic wrote: post #230
Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I think when they say non-tech people they mean a subset of people who know a bit about refresh rates (example being avid PC gamers for instance), but I'd still say the vast majority of people cannot tell 60 to 120. That or its not something they think about. Certainly if they had both side by side they may be able to notice a difference, but in everyday use it makes no real difference to the vast majority of pe…

It's one of those things where once you have used it, you will notice it. Given most iOS users aren't swapping between pro and non pro models, it's not something you think about.

[deleted]

Re: MacBook Air M4

#318

Post by pishpash »

Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #189
crazygringo wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but even non-tech people I know are wondering why Android phones run smoother than iPhones. Stuff that would be completely unheard of purely because of how noticeable 60hz vs 120hz is. Are they? I'm a tech person and I can barely notice it at all. And I don't think I have a single non-tech friend who is even aware of the concept of video refresh rate. Whenever there's something that doesn't feel smooth about an int…

Yeah I think when they say non-tech people they mean a subset of people who know a bit about refresh rates (example being avid PC gamers for instance), but I'd still say the vast majority of people cannot tell 60 to 120. That or its not something they think about. Certainly if they had both side by side they may be able to notice a difference, but in everyday use it makes no real difference to the vast majority of pe…

Just tried ProMotion vs. 60Hz on MBP, no/very little difference I can see. Sure it's just me but for me all the claims here are way exaggerated/psychological, almost like audiophiles being able to "hear" stuff that doesn't exist in a blind test.

Re: MacBook Air M4

#319

Post by petesergeant »

RandomBacon wrote: post #298
petesergeant wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’m not surprised iPhones are struggling to obtain new market share. They just look like old and slow phones to most normal people now Literally the only people I know with non-iPhones are: * People who can't afford one * People who want a folding screen * People who are conceptually anti-Apple Apple have over 50% market share in the US, talking about "struggling to obtain new market share" seems bizarre.

* People who like to think differently and customize their phones without relying on jailbreaking.

That tiny proportion fits nicely into conceptually anti-Apple
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