Adam Kos It's been two years since the M1 chip has been here with us. It's been two years since Apple showed us its MacBook Air with the M1 chip, which, although it already has a successor, is still in the company's offer. But is it a suitable entry-level laptop to the world of macOS and does this machine justify its current price tag?
It still amazes me that for how huge a company Apple is, its portfolio is relatively small. Instead of bringing a larger range of products with different options and features, in his case we tend to see the portfolio overlap in various ways and have only a minimum of differences (see iPhone 13/14, iPad 10th generation/iPad Air 5. generation etc.).
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Vratislav Holub This June, the company presented the M22 MacBook Air at the WWDC2 event, i.e. the successor to the now two-year-old model, which takes the design language of the 14 and 16" MacBook Pros but increases its performance thanks to the implementation of a new generation chip. However, Apple set its price above the M1 MacBook Air, which therefore remained in the offer and did not drop out of it (which was originally expected).
M2 MacBookAir
Which model is worth more?
Apple currently has two machines that can be considered entry-level devices into the world of macOS. The most affordable solution is the Mac mini, but it is limited in that if you have to buy additional peripherals for it, then paradoxically you will be even more than the price of the M1 MacBook Air, which Apple has priced at CZK 29. However, as part of the current Black Friday, you will receive CZK 990 on an Apple Store gift card for its purchase in the Apple Online Store, and it can then be purchased for around CZK 3 in various APR and e-shops. Does it still make sense to go into it, or aim higher?
M1 MacBookAir
We will not now discuss how demanding users you are and whether this computer is just for you. Let's assume that you are considering him. So if we count the difference from the M2 MacBook Air, which can now be purchased for around CZK 32, or at the full price of CZK 36 in the Apple Online Store to get the same 990 as a gift card, there is a difference of CZK 3. What can you buy from Apple for this difference? For example AirPods Pro 600nd generation, otherwise just accessories. Now let's put the M7 MacBook Air and 2nd generation AirPods Pro on one side of the scale and the M1 MacBook Air on the other. On which side will the greater value be present?
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Investing in the future
Personally, I am of the opinion that the M1 is enough for the average user. After all, I've been working with it in the Mac mini for over a year now, and I know that I'll have no problems for another year. But this chip has been with us for two years now, when it also has its successor. The logic of the matter dictates to me, why buy a two-year-old iron, and not throw away the possibility of owning AirPods, but rather invest in the future by just getting a newer, more powerful and more modern version of the computer?
Even if the two machines are visually completely different, even if the novelty is clearly in front thanks to the newer chip, even if there is MagSafe and a larger display (albeit with a notch), the price difference is too small to make sense to go for the older one model. I certainly don't mean to say that Apple M2 MacBook Air will become more expensive, it certainly isn't, but rather that, paradoxically, it seems to me that the better choice for buying a first Mac is to buy a newer model than the two-year-old one, and moreover with an aging design. Unless Apple made it cheaper in its basic price list as you can get it now as part of various promotions, this move would make sense.
I would say that most ordinary users do not need M2.
In addition, the price comparison falters a bit, the difference is still there because the discounts are on both types.
I bought a macbook m1 with 16gb ram a week ago for 30k with VAT and that should be on the other side of the comparison. 16 gb vs 8 gb in the future and not headphones.. Then the result will be different 😉
I see it exactly the opposite. The difference in value is almost zero. The user does not recognize the M2 against the M1 at all, the larger display by one line of text practically does not either. Buying a newer model because of the design is an emotional decision and not a rational one. And the price difference of 7 is big enough for a person to use it in other ways, even if he should enjoy the Euroweekend for example.
I bought the Intel version with an i1 core at the time of the introduction of the M5 Air. Footbridge error, I worked on it for a year, then I sold it and bought the M1 version, it was definitely worth changing, but I definitely wouldn't consider changing it to an M2, it doesn't matter.
An article about nothing, or rather misleading, without relevant information, only reduced to a reference to design. I personally bought an older M1 with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for about 30 CZK a few days ago. And that's based on comparative reviews with the M2 in the corresponding basic equipment. You just have to find videos where M1 users compare with the Pro version when processing video, etc. As a work tool, which will be the most used Office products and AutoCAD (mainly in 2D mode) will be fully sufficient for the next few years, incl. operation with Windows.
The design of the new M2 personally seems to me to be a step backwards, the elegance of the previous Air models is lost, and with regard to the placement of the hands, it is ergonomically worse.
I would like to add that the new Air with M2 in the basic configuration has, according to published information, a worse SSD access speed than the M1.
One note: the Air M1 may have an "outdated" design, but it's still a Design. Which definitely cannot be said for the art of two.
I had a 3 year old Air i5 16GB 500 SSD, unfortunately I bought an Air M2 16GB 500 SSD last month for 50k and regret my decision. Smaller keyboard, better ergonomics, good old style design was priceless. The current M2 looks like Acer, DELL or whatever. In other words, I should have gone to the M1.
M2 is definitely not worth it and, paradoxically, it will be worse than M1 even for the average user. The M2 with 256ssd has 2x worse reading and writing speed, which not only the average user will recognize, but Apple uses the SSD a lot to free up ram, and the result is that in some tests it is up to 5x slower than the M1. Even if we were considering the 512gb M2, which does not suffer from this, the price is already 12000 kc different, in exchange you get a machine that is 15% faster, but only at the initial moment, because the design praised in the article has much worse heat dissipation than the M1, if so if you want work that really puts a strain on both macbooks, the M2 512 gb will be faster only at first. If someone wants an M2, it makes sense to pay extra and go for a macbook pro. For everyone else, the cheaper M1 is far better. In the basic configuration, the M2 is just a fashion accessory, where for more money you get catastrophically worse performance in some situations.
I am currently choosing a new MB and chose MBA. After reading many reviews it also makes more sense to me to go for the MBA M1 16gb 256gb than to go for the MBA M2.