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Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

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Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#391

Post by quacker »

grumpyprole wrote: post #111

Almost 10 years ago we purchased a MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for approx 2K UK pounds. It's really surprising and disappointing that a decade later these same specs essentially cost the same!

Almost 10 years ago we purchased a MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for approx 2K UK pounds.

With inflation, £2000 in 2012 is equal to about £2516 today. I configured an M2 MacBook Air with these specs for £1750 today, so it actually costs less in real terms.

Edit: A 13" MacBook Pro with the same specs is also £1750

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#392

Post by frosted-flakes »

ghaff wrote: post #276
mrtranscendence wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the best portable laptop Apple made since the 11" Air before it was discontinued I used to have an 11" Air as a daily driver. The portability was nice but I'd never go back to a computer that small. Too cramped, too little screen real estate, too small a battery. It doesn't surprise me that 11" laptops are rare these days.

I've gone back and forth over the years. Part of me would like a smaller system for travel but 1.) I always end up wondering if the tradeoff is worth it given how relatively small and light 13" laptops can be and 2.) I probably will never again travel to the degree I was doing it at peak. So I probably wouldn't actually buy an 11" MacBook Air even if I could.

A modern 13" laptop with narrow bezels is pretty much the same size as the old 11" laptops with huge bezels. I have a Dell XPS 13 9310 (2021 model), and I absolutely love how small it is.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#393

Post by alfiedotwtf »

mullingitover wrote: post #123
fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #16

Just spent 4k on the M1 max. These chips are coming out too fast

If your purpose in buying a computer is to have the latest thing, and not because it does what you need it to do, you're gonna have a bad time.

My new computer's got the clocks, it rocks

But it was obsolete before I opened the box

You say you've had your desktop for over a week?

Throw that junk away, man, it's an antique

Your laptop is a month old? Well that's great

If you could use a nice, heavy paperweight

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#394

Post by danlugo92 »

nickpp wrote: post #197
copperx wrote: post #37

Finally, Apple has seen the light! This is going to be an instabuy for many, including me. This feels like 2012 when Apple introduced Retina displays: Everything that's good about Apple in a single package, and unavailable at any price anywhere else. The nitpicky in me will complain about the lack of a glass touchpad, but I feel Apple is justified in leaving it as a Pro feature.

Displays are significantly better on the MBPs though: PPI, refresh rate.

Greater contrast ratio as well

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#395

Post by spaceman_2020 »

elxr wrote: post #361
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #14

This looks like what the Macbook (2015) wanted to be. Keyboard and single port aside, it was a fantastic form factor, albeit crushingly slow. Mine no longer holds a charge, and am eagerly awaiting replacing it with one of these. Over time I've also noticed I no longer care about having the fastest possible laptop, since my job provides me with an MBP and that's where serious work gets done. I have a feeling this is g…

I'd rather buy a similarly light laptop, that has a touchscreen. You can already get AMD Zen 3+ machines in this size class, that isn't too far behind in perf & efficiency. Doing so gives you much better Linux compatibility, a touchscreen, and (sometimes) better feeling keyboards. Battery life will always come up short though, x86 laptops just can't match these new macbooks.

I'm yet to find a single non-Apple laptop that comes even close to Macbook's touchpad.

There are better keyboards (Thinkpads are great), even comparable screens, fast processors, better dedicated GPUs. But somehow no one can get the touchpad right.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#396

Post by standyro »

grumpyprole wrote: post #375
coldtea wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Software has only been getting more and more complex and bloated over the last 10 years That's just some handwaving complain that doesn't mean much. > What good is 16GB of super fast RAM if the machine is swapping out to disk regularly? Try - opening 2 Linux/Windows VMs on that 2012 laptop - or opening a big Logic project with 100 tracks, convolution reverbs, high end AU/VSTs, and so on - or opening and editing sev…

I don't understand the point you are trying to make here. I wish you luck getting a 2022 Apple machine with 8GB of RAM to handle 2 VMs, IntelliJ, a logic project with 100 tracks or 4K video editing. These tasks are all limited by available RAM and the available RAM has not significantly increased since 2012 (my point).

I definitely have used multiple VMs in VirtualBox and Docker on a daily basis on my Macbook Air M1. It's a phenomenal machine.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#397

Post by pxmpxm »

troupe wrote: post #390
throw0101a wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 16 gigs of RAM on an M1-based chip gets you much, much better performance than 16 gigs on an Intel chip from 10 years ago. Unless you want to run VMs. Then more RAM is generally more better.

While your second statement is probably true, do you actually disagree that 16 gigs of RAM on an M1 gets you much better performance than 16 gigs on an Intel Mac?

Isn't it the same DDR4x in either?

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#398

Post by duxup »

dschuessler wrote: post #369
duxup wrote: post #331

Anyone do full time web dev work on an Air? I’m thinking of switching from PC land but not sure.

Until February I used a 2013 Air with 8 GB. It was perfectly fine for web dev, even with Docker. The current model will probably not even notice what you throw at it.

TY

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#399

Post by jerlam »

lm28469 wrote: post #346
rnernento wrote: post #10

Why does my $500 Samsung Galaxy Book Flex have the webcam in a tiny little bezel and this thing has a giant notch?

Most likely design consistency; to have the same design element across all devices

It's going to look even more outdated when the 2022 iPhones remove the notch.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#400

Post by elxr »

seunosewa wrote: post #364
elxr wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather buy a similarly light laptop, that has a touchscreen. You can already get AMD Zen 3+ machines in this size class, that isn't too far behind in perf & efficiency. Doing so gives you much better Linux compatibility, a touchscreen, and (sometimes) better feeling keyboards. Battery life will always come up short though, x86 laptops just can't match these new macbooks.

Why do you need a touchscreen? What are some of the applications? I feel like the screen would get dirty.

For casual web browsing, on some sites I find it more efficient to click links directly on the screen instead of using a cursor. A big one for me, pinch to zoom for images/charts/maps is a lot more natural to me on a touchscreen.

Controlling mobile emulators when developing mobile apps can also benefit from a touchscreen.

> I feel like the screen would get dirty.

It does, but I'd just wipe it down occasionally like I do my phone.

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