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New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

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Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#651

Post by Dah00n »

mbreese wrote: post #528
makeitdouble wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple continues to simplify the laptop naming scheme, we're at a point where it's simply: > Air OR Pro > Small screen OR big screen The weird part of that argument to me: to arrive to that point you've already made a ton of choices that need to be educated. You decided on the form factor: you don't want a convertible (neither a Surface like tablet + keyboard, nor something like a Yoga). You decided to forgo touch.…

You’re going about your decision tree backwards. People don’t say “I don’t want a touchscreen” or “I don’t want to game”. You don’t make decisions based upon what you don’t want to do… you make them based upon what you do want to do. I was talking with my dad recently, and he wanted a new computer that could handle email, a little Excel, Facebook, and some other light web browsing that didn’t get stuck in an infinite…

>If a Mac fits your requirements, then you have far fewer decisions.

That's what OP said? Because now you have already decided you don't want to game, etc.

>Even if you say you want a Dell laptop — have you ever tried to browse their site?

This is the iPhone versus Android discussion all over again. Yes, many will be happy with the iPhone, but they also often didn't know they had the option to buy an Android phone that could do something the iPhone couldn't that they'd like to be able to do (like copy&paste or whatever). Ignorance is bliss for some. Others want the choices, and Apple have nothing for those buyers.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#652

Post by akvadrako »

Solvency wrote: post #284
briffle wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Asus zenbook 14 is around that price, has a 1TB disk, and 16GB of ram. I'm sure the processor on the M3 is faster, and probably a fair amount more battery out of it, but now I'm comparing a $1000 zenbook to a $1700 13' macbook once I add disk and memory, without the upgraded cpu.

And it feels like a cheap piece of flexible creaky plastic.

They are all metal.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#653

Post by firecall »

bloopernova wrote: post #502
itsoktocry wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Macbooks are just so far ahead of everyone else that you can't even compare them. They are awesome, but not perfect. Way over-priced storage and RAM upgrades, can't connect multiple monitors unless you pay up, and you're stuck with MacOS. Any one of these could be reason enough for people to look elsewhere.

Lordy does that multiple monitor thing grind my gears. I just want to display on 3 screens. But the base model is the only one that corporate IT will buy. So I have to buy a DisplayLink adapter to do what the Intel macbooks did with zero problem.

I was amazed to see the new Air models support dual external displays!

> Apple unveils the new 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip The world’s most popular laptop is better than ever with even more performance, faster Wi-Fi, and support for up to two external displays — all in its strikingly thin and light design with up to 18 hours of battery life

EDIT:

mmmm... no.

>Support for up to two external displays: MacBook Air with M3 now supports up to two external displays when the laptop lid is closed

FFS Apple.

I guess it's something of an improvement at least :-/

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#654

Post by thfuran »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #609
thfuran wrote: post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We already live in that world. Nah, the treadmill stalled out years ago.

The CPU treadmill did because Moore's Law petered out. RAM keeps getting cheaper and applications keep using more of it.

RAM usage has barely budged for years. Taking the '90s as baseline again: In 1991, you could get a brand new PowerBook 100 with 2 MB of RAM. In 2001, you'd get a new PowerBook G4 with 128 MB of RAM, a 64-fold increase. But in 2013, a MacBook Air came standard with 4GB, and we're looking at only 8GB in 2024.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#656

Post by _ugfj »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #457
numbers wrote: post #355

I was recently buying a Dell laptop for my sister and it boggles my mind how most other companies (maybe Framework is an except) still have dozens or even 100s of SKUs for consumer laptops. I didn't enjoy the process of looking through dozens of various lines that Dell has and then other companies like Lenovo and HP earlier in the process, just to find a "mid-range usable computer with a decent screen". If you didn't…

I finally made the switch to Apple after being thoroughly frustrated with Windows laptops. It's not even close to a competition. Macbooks are just so far ahead of everyone else that you can't even compare them. Most Windows laptops have abysmal batteries, to the point that you can barely call them laptops. The trackpads are downright unusable. The keyboards are a hit or a miss. And for some reason, so many companies…

The problem is the storage is not removable in the Apple Macbooks.

It is disturbing it didn't sink the Macbooks. It speaks volumes of how little people care about their own data. About their own privacy. There should've been zero sold. It truly is dismal and a very large systemic problem a laptop like this is sold.

Because when it breaks, are you going to wipe it and restore from backup? No. You will just hand it over to a repair person and even an ethical shop much less Apple doesn't even have a chance to hand the disk back before handling it. An unknown amount of complete strangers will access your everything. Your medical records, your banking, your private photos, everything.

And people pay real world money for this, money they worked hard for. It's unfathomable to me.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#657

Post by dividedbyzero »

danpmurray wrote: post #526
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I picked up a M3 Macbook Pro and this thing works like an absolute beast. I currently have Photoshop, Illustrator, VSCode, multiple Chrome windows - each with 20-40 tabs - and this thing is not even sweating. I get 8-10 hours of useful work out of it even on battery. Completely changed the way I work

How much RAM does it have, and have you ever wished you had more?

I have an M2 Air with 24gb and it has no problems running Brave with 800-ish tabs, development workloads (a bunch of VSCode projects, several docker containers, lots of iTerm terminals), low-end CAD and 3D printing apps, CaptureOne and a bunch of Electron apps in parallel with room to spare. I've found I can fit more into those 24gb than into the 32gb of the Intel Mac I had before that (however that's possible).

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#658

Post by thomaslord »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #537
itsoktocry wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Macbooks are just so far ahead of everyone else that you can't even compare them. They are awesome, but not perfect. Way over-priced storage and RAM upgrades, can't connect multiple monitors unless you pay up, and you're stuck with MacOS. Any one of these could be reason enough for people to look elsewhere.

I agree 100% with what you've said, but this sentence: > Way over-priced storage and RAM upgrades, can't connect multiple monitors unless you pay up, and you're stuck with MacOS. Basically boils down to "Apple is selling a much better product, and they know it." I.e. your first bullets (over priced storage, RAM, charging for multi monitor support) all just boil down to "Apple charges more because they can". The "you'…

These days I want Apple's hardware (the M chips specifically, but the trackpads/screens/cases are nice too) but can't stand their software. While I'm not a big fan of Windows either, it at least provides basic window management features by default.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#659

Post by hartator »

bhpm wrote: post #650
hartator wrote: post #111

I wish they will bring back a smaller form factor. 12" MacBook despiste its CPU flaws was the perfect size.

But more than a pound heavier than the current 13” MacBook Air

I think that’s the reverse.

MacBook 12” was only 2.03 pounds. Current MacBook Air M3 13” is 2.75 pounds.

Sad times.

Re: New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

#660

Post by Dah00n »

yodsanklai wrote: post #630
numbers wrote: post #355

I was recently buying a Dell laptop for my sister and it boggles my mind how most other companies (maybe Framework is an except) still have dozens or even 100s of SKUs for consumer laptops. I didn't enjoy the process of looking through dozens of various lines that Dell has and then other companies like Lenovo and HP earlier in the process, just to find a "mid-range usable computer with a decent screen". If you didn't…

This will sound slightly provocative but I genuinely wonder: why would anyone buy anything else than an apple laptop? Gaming? ideology? budget constraints? lack of familiarity with MacOS? They are marginally more expensive, but they also very easy to sell second-hand. I'm speculating that the monthly cost is on par with a PC.

Lots of people doesn't see Apple laptops like you obviously do. Ask provocative questions and you'll get likewise answers. For my needs and my opinions:

- The software is worse. Linux is better. Windows has much broader options. I run both.

- I game.

- Ideology? Yes, Apple is an awful company.

- Familiarity? I have used it enough to know it cannot do a lot of things I need, want, like, etc.

- Budget? Yes, but not because it is too expensive, but because it cannot do anywhere near what Linux and Windows can do (for me) for way less.

>I'm speculating that the monthly cost is on par with a PC.

What is the monthly cost of a Mac that can run games, run old software I require for work and hobbies and (importantly) isn't locked down in either hardware or software so I can use it for something completely different later in life?

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