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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

#411
post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any actual, professional use will put you way north of even 16gb. Well, I use my M1 (16 GB) for heavy video editing and music sessions, plus professional programming, with IDEA, VMs, and so on. And I don't seem to ever need even close to 16GB, much less "way north", or even saw it be slow. > As I sit here and type this, my 10.15.7 Catalina desktop is sitting at 12.25Gb of used memory with 2 Edge tabs and an open Ci…

> Maybe it's time to come over to M1 and 12.4? This is the very type of bamboozlement I was alluding to - instruction set and/or silicon architecture doesn't actually change the amount of data you use. Citrix will still need to buffer the same (compressed?) 4K worth of pixels and Edge will still to load up the full DOM, cache all the sources, stand up a sandbox with javascript virtual machine etc. There's nothing mag…

You're at least somewhat correct.

I'm now playing a 4K movie on Plex. It's using a little over 1Gb RAM for that. After I started it, my computer swapped ~250Mb to the SSD. Firefox is still snappy. Safari is still running normally. VS Code is still doing its thing. I even started a `brew update` on iTerm, and I have the App Store installing a couple apps. Mail still runs fine, sends and receives, and I can switch between mail accounts and messages.

So, you may be technically right about the memory usage and the need for swapping. What you're missing is the fact that it doesn't hurt the user experience.

This is not marketing or bamboozlement. This is me on the same laptop I'm typing this answer.

You should probably do a deep inspection of your beliefs and stop denying the actual, practical experience of many people who are responding to you with real world experience.

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

#412

And for the first time, MacBook Air supports fast charge for charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with an optional 67W USB-C power adapter. Anybody know if the 67W USB-C power adapter is finally stock? Edit: Nope, still gotta wait a month: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MKU63AM/A/67w-usb-c-power... Other (bigger) chargers are a 2 month wait. Looks like Apple is still suffering from supply chain issues.

Is this about the new MacBook Air? I'm in favor of them bringing magsafe back, but if and only if it also charges via USB-C cables as well. If this is true, and it charges 60W+, that'd be great.

https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/

> MagSafe 3 charging port

> ...

> Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for:

> Charging

> ...

There is absolutely zero doubt, and as others mentioned, it is the same on the 14" and 16".

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

#413
post #4

I wish they would bring back an all white version (not aluminum). Other than that, happy to see magsafe return.

Plastic might not even be strong enough since these are so thin.

Painted then, or anodized white (is white anodization possible?).

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

#414

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).

[deleted]

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

#415
post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that means they ship with something like a 45W that's just cruel. I bet the charge merely maintains when the computer is under load.

You can choose from either at no additional charge.

This is surprising! Thought they would have found a way to extract more money from people.

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

#416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

With 8gb?

I am aware that macOS is better than Linux with low memory conditions but I can’t imagine this, granted I have an older (2020) MacBook Pro, but I have ran out of ram and I specifically opted for the 32G one.

As in: I got the infamous “your system is low on memory” dialog.

All it took was teams, slack, chrome, MS word, docker (vm with default config) and 2 1G VMs invirtualbox

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

#417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is $1,200 for this a money grab? Lenovo X1 starts at $1,500 or so and really you can't get it going for https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadx1/t...

X1 is a Pro level device more comparable to MBP. Air is like a browsing the web laptop. It's in the class of laptops that should be $500. You are all so bedazzled by the hype machine that you don't even perceive how you are being fooled to pay a massive fee for EXTREMELY limited feature set of a laptop that's a class below. And Apple isn't even lying about that, Air is a hobby/not a pro level hardware. It's clear Air…

> "Air is like a browsing the web laptop. It's in the class of laptops that should be $500."

I do some volume purchasing of tech product (Lenovo / Dell Laptops and desktops + poweredge on server side + some networking on other gear). I like those products, they are fine.

That said, my wife has an air. I think folks are seriously underestimating the air if they are thinking it just something to browse the web.

The "pro class" X1 screen resolution is 1920 x 1200 / the "web laptop" Air is 2,560 x 1,600.

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

#418
Is it only me who’d like a 15 inch air?

I’ve got a 16 MacBook Pro and it’s great and all - but soooo thick. Like as thick as my old, old, MacBook Pro from 2012. I was expecting it to be more like a 2015 MacBook Pro when I bought it.

I’d much prefer some of that sweet apple silicon power, in a nice thin 15 inch size please.

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

#419

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 own a 12" Retina MacBook and I am sad that none of the new laptops can really replace it. They're all significantly larger and heavier. The new MacBook Air is a replacement for the old MacBook Air, not the MacBook. It's a shame Apple have given up on the ultra-ultra-lightweight MacBook concept, considering that the M1 would be perfect for it.

The new Air is significantly smaller in volume, though.

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

#420
post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a 12" Retina MacBook and I am sad that none of the new laptops can really replace it. They're all significantly larger and heavier. The new MacBook Air is a replacement for the old MacBook Air, not the MacBook. It's a shame Apple have given up on the ultra-ultra-lightweight MacBook concept, considering that the M1 would be perfect for it.

I own a MacBook Air 11'', and it's also a pretty unique machine in terms of small form factor and silent operation. I feel current MacBook Airs finally serve as a good replacement. However, the 11'' Late 2012 model was also quite unique in terms of being a perfect PC citizen. So one could run other OSes with zero effort. In fact, it was Linus' daily driver for a few years. I wish other manufacturers like Lenovo or De…

Totally agree. It’s just other CPUs don’t come close to the M1/M2. That’s what really makes the new MacBooks unique. It’s going to be like that for quite some time I think.
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