Are MacBooks Worth it?

MacBook comes in various variants, such as MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. A lot of debate goes on whether they are better than Windows laptops. Windows laptops are usually cheaper and widely used, so are MacBooks worth it?
Apple MacBook Air has been around for a while and is quite user-friendly, and anyone can use it, from a student to a designer, from personal use to professional use. Still, MacBook Pro is faster and more suitable for heavy software.

Choosing the Right Laptop

Don’t make this crucial mistake when ordering your M2 MacBook Air. That’s what I’m telling you now because we have learned a lot of information about the MacBook architecture from the recent release of the M2 MacBook Pro. I think MacBooks are worth it.

We have this interesting information about how Apple is configuring this new M2 Max to save cost by offering cheaper components that may not be as fast as you were expecting.

M2 MacBook Air

Release Date

The latest M2 MacBooks were available to the public on the 8 of July 2022, whereas the date turned out to be the 15th for the USA. In the UK the release date was the 15th of July as well. Whereas in July the pre-orders started on the 8th of July.  Hence, it was around mid-July in most of the countries.

So when Apple announced the M2 MacBook Air, they gave just a vague release date.

Let’s learn some more useful information about these pre-orders to avoid some common mistakes. The first mistake to avoid is how you configure these MacBook models.

Ordering on Launch Day

Suppose you want the new M2 MacBook Air at the time of release date because if this is anything like the chaos of the M2 MacBook Pro launch. There are going to be some configurations that will not be available on launch day.

Battery Life

• You can use the M2 MacBook Air for 15-17 hours, browsing or watching movies.
• The battery could get drained for several reasons, like if there is any problem, or it could depend on how much you use it.

Storage Options

So if we look on Apple’s website, we can see two standard configurations being offered for the base model M2 MacBook Air. One with a binned eight-core GPU chip for the M2 and then 256 gigabytes of SSD storage space. In case of storage and speed, MacBooks are worth it.

Also eight gigabytes of memory for 1,999, a second base model with a higher starting storage of 512 gigabytes, a fully binned 10 core GPU M2 chip, and a 35-watt dual USB c charger or an optional 67 watt single USB-C fast charger.

Windows Laptop

While opting windows laptop ditching the MacBook Air can be a good option if you are comfortable with a new environment. You can always opt out of those that are more configurable and generally cheaper. High-end Windows laptops and other Windows laptops have a great battery life compared to MacBooks.

Apple MacBook Air

Configuring these models with more memory could have you waiting weeks before they are readily available.

We can say this because this is exactly what happened with the M2 MacBook Pro launch, and some of the higher-tiered models for that launch, like models with 24 gigabytes of unified memory, could be ordered but they did not start shipping until the end of July into early August. There is no doubt that Apple MacBook Air is an amazing product but you should try some other MacBooks.

Speed Options

Are MacBooks worth it in speed?

One of those areas is MacBook Air SSD speed on the base 256-gigabyte model, likely to be slower than the previous storage speed offered on the M1 MacBook Air.

Instead of using two 128 gigabytes SSD to get gigabytes of storage, has changed this configuration to just one 256 gigabyte SSD; because of this, even though you’re getting the same storage size, there is a sacrifice and speed.

The M2 Chip

1. The M2 chip is extremely capable. So basically, don’t be worried about the M2 thermal throttling. We are sure this MacBook air will be plenty fast, and remember, even the M1 MacBook Air thermal throttled after a sustained workload.
2. So this is nothing new with this laptop; however, with that being said, one configuration you might avoid on this new Air with the M2 chip is the one with the full 10-core GPU. We can say this for two reasons.
3. First of all, the 8-core GPU version is likely to run cooler than the version with the full 10-core GPU, and because of the M2 Air thermal throttles, you will likely be unable to utilize the full potential of that 10-core GPU. Spending 100 extra dollars to get that full 10-core chip will be a waste.
4. We will add the disclaimer that this isn’t confirmed, and it’ll require real-world testing to find that out, but it’s fair to assume that with the thinner body overall and the increased heat output by the M2 chip, the 10-core GPU version likely won’t be a good choice.

This is because if you had two SSD drives making up 256 gigabytes, you could read and write to both drives simultaneously, increasing the speed. The new base model can only utilize one speed of one solid-state drive meaning the read and write speeds are almost half the speed of what you would find on the old M1 MacBook Pro or M1 MacBook Air.

This is a significant downgrade over the older model, which is almost two years old. Now, will most users notice the decrease in SSD speed? Honestly, probably not, especially the audience that this M2 MacBook Air is targeted.

Again, this will probably not be a big deal for most users. The M2 MacBook Air is aimed at consumer-level users and non-professionals, even though it’s not being aimed at those users.

One of the step back areas is SSD speed on the base 256-gigabyte model, likely slower than the previous storage speed offered on the M1 MacBook Air.

Memory Configurations

• We base this information on the M2 MacBook Pro that they are using 256 gigabyte SSD instead of using two 128 gigabytes SSD to get gigabytes of storage.
• This is because if you had two SSD drives making up 256 gigabytes, you could read and write to both drives simultaneously, increasing the speed. The new base model can only utilize one speed of one solid-state drive meaning the read and write speeds are almost half the speed of what you would find on the old M1 MacBook Pro or M1 MacBook Air.
• This is a significant downgrade over the older model, which is almost two years old. Now, most users will notice the decrease in SSD speed? Probably not, especially the audience this M2 MacBook Air is targeted.
• However, if you want the faster SSD, our recommendation we would make to you anyway is to step up to the 512-gigabyte SSD; this configuration will provide you with two separate 256-gigabyte SSD working together to make 512 gigabytes of total storage.

Base Model

And that will have faster read and write speeds, and on top of that, it’s just more storage 256 gigabytes for a modern laptop is just a low amount of storage, and Most users would feel more comfortable with the 512-gigabyte model.

Especially if you plan on keeping this laptop for the long haul.

Now another mistake you might want to avoid with this new M2 MacBook Air has to do with the specifications on this M2 chip, and that’s because after testing out the M2 MacBook Pro, it has become apparent that the M2 chip is running hotter than the previous M1 chip.

Battery Life

• This makes sense because the M2 chip is physically bigger than the M1 chip and comes packed with an even bigger 10-core GPU over the M1 chip’s max 8-core GPU. The increase in this heat that the M2 now generates caused the M2 MacBook Pro fans to spin up during intensive CPU benchmarking.
• This is something we should expect from pretty much any laptop. However, it was notable that the old M1 MacBook Pro was even during the initial benchmarks. The fan did not audibly spin up once. What this means for the M2 MacBook Air is that it is likely to thermal throttle significantly, considering that the overall body of the M2 Air is thinner and does not have an active cooling system like the M2 MacBook Pro.
• Again, this will probably not be a big deal for most users. The M2 MacBook Air is aimed at consumer-level users and non-professionals even though it’s not aimed at those users.
• So this is nothing new with this laptop; however, with that being said, one configuration you might avoid on this new air with the M2 chip is the one with the full 10-core GPU. We can say this for two reasons.
• First reason is that the 8-core GPU version is likely to run cooler than the version with the full 10-core GPU, and because of the M2 Air thermal throttles, you will likely be unable to utilize the full potential of that 10-core GPU. 
• It can work up to 10-12 hours, whether browsing or watching movies.
• As we have discussed in the M2 MacBook Air that the battery could get drained for several reasons, like if there is any problem, or it could depend on how much you use it.

We will add the disclaimer that this isn’t confirmed, and it’ll require real-world testing to find that out, but it’s fair to assume that with the thinner body overall and the increased heat output by the M2 chip, the 10-core GPU version likely won’t be a good choice.

Conclusion

One last thing as we get closer to the July 8th pre-order date of the M2 MacBook Air. Hopefully, these insights into the M2 Air have helped you make your purchasing decision.

The M2 MacBook Pro was not exciting; therefore, the base model did not see a delay in shipping time, but we can’t say the same for the M2 MacBook Air. 

You can easily pre-order if you want. If there’s something you don’t like about it, or maybe the reviews got something wrong. You can take the advantage of Apple’s 14-day return period.

You can see that Apple products are cheaper in some countries and expensive in some countries this because of the different currencies. You can buy the cheapest Apple products from places like Japan and Australia and the expensive Apple products from Brazil. Check the product carefully before buying. We have been talking about M2s for quite some time, and now they’re finally here. I hope that this article will be helpful for you.

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