Nice review and he's hit the nail on the head - The throttling really isn't an issue when you consider that 99% of people who buy an Air aren't going to be using it for demanding tasks. It's just never going to get to that level.
Poll: *** The official 2022 MacBook Air/13" MacBook Pro thread (it has the M2 chip, MagSafe and everything!) ***
- Thread starter Feek
- Start date
Soldato
It’s a shame about the use of the SSD however a bump to the ram should remove any paging issues and based on the review I think opting for the extra ram and ssd and ditching the CPU upgrade was a wise choice. The need for the extra SSD space however was probably wasted on a whim of wanting proper ssd speeds and I could have saved a few quid on fairness by leaving the 256gb in there as I literally don’t use SSD space with my NAS keeping the bulk of my files backed up and off the laptop.
I needed the ram. That’s a fact. I just need to have a think about whether ditching the order and building a ram upgraded system only is worthwhile to keep a couple of hundred quid on my pocket where it has the best value.
I’m keeping the 16” max so don’t need a workhorse of a system and if I need the power I can take that with me but I can count on 1 hand how many times that would be needed based on the last 8 months of use.
I needed the ram. That’s a fact. I just need to have a think about whether ditching the order and building a ram upgraded system only is worthwhile to keep a couple of hundred quid on my pocket where it has the best value.
I’m keeping the 16” max so don’t need a workhorse of a system and if I need the power I can take that with me but I can count on 1 hand how many times that would be needed based on the last 8 months of use.
Associate
I'm thinking of swapping my 14" MBP 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 16GB Ram and 1TB for the new MBA 512GB. I only typically browse online and like the form factor of the MBP. However, the screen differences are stopping me from proceeding. I love my MBP HDR screen. Anyone else thinking of swapping?
Absolutely not. Screen + ports win it for me.
Associate
I do love the screen, the bezels are thinner and the speakers are also better in the 14” pro.
I just really like the form factor of the new Air - wasn’t a fan of the teared edge plus that midnight colour is really nice.
Soldato
It’s here, compliments the 16” max terrifically in the design department but I cannot see a difference over the m1 air in performance at all unless I push it and it digs in to that extra ram. Once it in that extra ram and it’s not paging (swap file) like the m1 air was it becomes very clear it’s faster however an m1 with the 16gb would also be equally as fast in a round about way. That serves me right for speccing too low in the first place.
Happy so far. Should I have spend a little more and gone 14” base spec? Unsure.. maybe.. the screen on the m2 air is lovely but the bezels are bigger and although brilliant isn’t anywhere near as nice as the mini LED on that 14” pro.
Verdict? If it was £1099-1149 base and not £1249 then it would be bang on the money and a worthwhile upgrade over an m1 air. At £1249 and above, it brings it too close to that 14” imho and for that reason it will nag at me from time to time I’m sure.
Happy so far. Should I have spend a little more and gone 14” base spec? Unsure.. maybe.. the screen on the m2 air is lovely but the bezels are bigger and although brilliant isn’t anywhere near as nice as the mini LED on that 14” pro.
Verdict? If it was £1099-1149 base and not £1249 then it would be bang on the money and a worthwhile upgrade over an m1 air. At £1249 and above, it brings it too close to that 14” imho and for that reason it will nag at me from time to time I’m sure.
Soldato
With the conversion to USD sat where it is I think you are not far wrong. At 1.3 the USD played a 1:1 with GBP for apple (I’m sure they have reasons for that) so no it’s less itll
Mean higher GBP prices than USD ones which isn’t great but I guess it’s just something to love with.
They’ve been on display in Apple stores since launch day.
Ta, I don’t go to shops in person much bar the supermarket and petrol station.
That’s the spec I’m planning on ordering. Do you have delivery date?
One thing I was wondering is that I currently have a 2020 Macbook Air 13" and I find that connecting it to an external display (Ultrawide 34" 3440x1440 via HDMI) results in a notieable drop in performance. In fact it's so bad that when connected to an external monitor, even in clamshell mode, I find the system is often very laggy/unresponsive to the point where it's barely usable sometimes.
I presume those of you with M1/M2 MacBooks haven’t experienced any similar issues?
That’s pretty ****! Do you have the same problem when connected to non-ultra wide displays? I haven’t heard this issue mentioned in reviews but I’m not sure they would test it in that way.
Soldato
@silvagti I connect to an 165hz 2560*1440 display on occasion, an 3840*2160 144hz rarely and an 5120*1440 240hz daily. I don’t have any issues at all with performance on the m1 air, m2 air or the m1 max.
I pile presume that’s an issue you are facing with your laptop however hdmi? I take it you are using an typeC to HDMi converter or sorts? A dock maybe?
I pile presume that’s an issue you are facing with your laptop however hdmi? I take it you are using an typeC to HDMi converter or sorts? A dock maybe?
Yeah, I'm using Apple's own USB-C to HDMI adapter though I've tried others and it doesn't improve things. Likewise I've tried an USB-C to Displayport adapter and the problems are the same. I think it's a combination of a lack of video memory, as I only have an 8Gb i3 dual core, and the chip runnign hot so thermal throttling creating the lag.
I haven't tried any other displays as I only have the one monitor at home. Could try a TV I guess but it's really the monitor I need to use the device with in my office.
Soldato
Ah, I thought that the i3 was an 2018/2019 model with the 2020 having an m1.
I couldn’t say what the performance of the intel series of macs are like. I’d imagine the i3 is more than able to handle that sort of monitor though so same applies, I’d get it looked at.
I couldn’t say what the performance of the intel series of macs are like. I’d imagine the i3 is more than able to handle that sort of monitor though so same applies, I’d get it looked at.
Associate
I was waiting for the M2 Air, but once I saw the price, and how close the specced up 16 / 512 option was to the 14" Pro, the 14" base pro became a no brainer.
Thus have just bought a MacBook Pro 14" - Base model, 16 / 512 and M1 Pro instead.
I don't move it about a lot, should last me 6 years, and OMG, the screen is beautiful. It had to be the Pro or the M1 Air, the M2 just fell into a hole for me with it's pricing at the spec I wanted.
The base price of the MBA M2 is too close to a specced up M1 MBA (16/512), and same at the top end too with the MBP 14".
Thus have just bought a MacBook Pro 14" - Base model, 16 / 512 and M1 Pro instead.
I don't move it about a lot, should last me 6 years, and OMG, the screen is beautiful. It had to be the Pro or the M1 Air, the M2 just fell into a hole for me with it's pricing at the spec I wanted.
The base price of the MBA M2 is too close to a specced up M1 MBA (16/512), and same at the top end too with the MBP 14".