I feel the same. Most people probably won’t notice the lower disk speed, but nothing should be downgraded especially when the price went higher..Personally I don’t need 512 disk space, I actually only use around 190g on my current laptop. So this downgrade is a big deal for me and I will wait for the next upgrade
My thoughts exactly. If some of the leakers who were right about the M2 chip being on the same process as the M1 are right about the M3 making the 3nm node jump, then I bet the next chip upgrade we see better thermals as well. Good things come to those who wait. It's worth waiting for the next node jump if you're going to hold onto the computer for a while. I went 2013 MacBook pro to m1 air and it's been amazing. I'm good for a while. But for anyone else on the fence, just wait if you can (aka if you don't need a new computer)
@@bhavdeeprehal8827 I’m using a very slow 2015 air with a bad battery, so waiting is out of the question now. I needed to upgrade in 2021, but I decided to wait for the next upgrade anyway, not sure if I should buy the m1 or m2
@@ryanw8664 I want to use R, python and other such statistical softwares. I am not a computer geek, but I suppose these aren’t tasks that cause load on GPU and mainly use CPU. However, what about disk speed? Would the analysis time be affected significantly by disk speed? So, is M2 MBA worth it over M1 MBA?
Should have spent a couple hundred more for a base 14” macbook pro. Much better display (mini LED, 120hz refresh rate) and much faster SSD. Mich better overall performance.
Anyone doing ProRes video editing is not really going to get an Air but rather a 14" or 16" MBP. More testing with every day tasks that use Unified Memory would have been nice. That's when you'll really see the slow SSD memory swap negatively affecting performance compared to the much faster M1 MBA SSD. At any rate, it's pretty awful that Apple would cheap out and take a pretty major step backwards with SSD performance. It really should have been be the same or better than M1 and yet here we are with them intentionally crippling performance just to boost profits.
The processor improvements are not modest. Just look at processor improvements that other CPU manufacturers have been delivering in recent years from one processor generation to the next. The worse disc speed is indeed pathetic. I ordered mine with a 2TB and therefore my machine should not have that problem. Also I do appreciate that I can now use both Thunderbolt ports at the same time while charging which is not possible with the M1 Air. Also having a 25% percent brighter and slightly larger display is nice, too. Additionally there is the 50% higher memory bandwidth which, depending on the task, can also have an impact. Finally the M2 machine has moderately better speakers than the M1 machine. I'd say that's quite a few improvements!
I'm kinda bummed about the ssd but I have a gaming pc that still runs on a sata ssd and that still seems fast enough. So I don't think I'll even notice when using the m2 air for school.
I’d like to know if 16GB+ of RAM makes any difference on 4K video editing. I think the only use cases people will notice a benefit from more than 8GB of RAM on this machine is if they have 70+ web browser tabs open (who does that?) or if they’re editing 8K footage (I don’t know anyone that would buy this machine for that).
exactly, that’s why I placed the order for 14inch pro. However, I really love the lightness of m2 air, and its design. But I hate its speaker and screen
@@zhorapata9733 the 14” is not bulky at all lol. Comparing the m2, it’s literally less than a inch difference in different dimensions. Unless if you’re getting the 16”, ofc it’s going to be more bulky
Thanks for the coverage, and I appreciate the beautiful shots. One thing I hope to see different is the charts, please add the benchmark scores on the right of the bar charts, it would make comparisons clearer. Please include a percentage difference as well if possible! Thanks!
A discounted entry-level base model M1 MBA remains by far the best bang-for-the-buck value laptop for nearly all normal regular every day laptop users. So there is that.
@@fdsaffff Well idk about tha the screen is decent, There are still alot of laptops out there that only have 300 nits of brightness, 400 is still higher than alot of laptops out there
Yea, it feels like to me we have to compare $850 MBA M1 vs $1400 MBA M2 w/ 512GB. The $1400 version is definitely better in all aspects, but is it worth an extra $550 better?
@@fdsaffff Are you kidding? The speakers are still better than _any_ Windows laptop - and not really that much different than M2 MBA. And the display is a fine Retina, wide color P3 IPS, one of the best by far for any laptop under a grand. You have to spend way more for something better with a 4k, OLED or miniLED display.
@@ahsoka6807 thats not how to look at it, when dimmer the 500nit will have clearer and better image. and the speakers are 30-40 percent quieter than my 2017 12' macbook.
A video I would love to see is the M2 macbook air with the single 256gb ssd chip vs M2 macbook air with 512gb dual ssd chips. I’m debating whether I should upgrade the ssd so I have 2 chips, or if I should spend the extra money and buy a 14” pro (from Holland, so price difference is bigger than in US)
Thanks for doing the sustained test. This is what I needed to know. Looks like the M2 even throttled is still about as fast as a cold M1. Now all I need to know is can you keep flogging it and still keep it in your lap without setting your pants on fire. Seriously though I’m curious how quickly it recovers from throttling. My work load would be a cycle of a couple minutes or compiling code very few minutes or so. So if the recovery is short then sustaining this for longer sessions without burning my legs seems feasible #teamfanless
I've been researching non stop which model to buy for a week now.. Still have no idea if I should get the m1 air m2 air or the 14" pro. Its crazy that if you want to slightly spec up the m2 air you might as well but the 14" pro... thanks apple for confusing the majority of users
I just finished doing my research and ended up choosing the 14" MacBook Pro. The 14" mbp just offers so much more value when comparing to a spec'd up M2 MBA. The only reason to get the M2 MBA, truthfully, is if you just want the newest device. If the M2 MBA was priced at maybe $100 more than the M1 MBA and didn't have the throttling issues w/slower SSD then it most likely would be better.
I was having the same issue. I preordered the m2 with 16gb, 512Hd and the 10gpu. ($2150) After researching for 2 weeks I cancelled the M2 and picked up the m1 14 pro yesterday. For the extra 350 (in my case) it made no sense not to spend the extra and get a far superior laptop. I absolutely love the form factor of the M2 air but function won out over form.
I'm glad I got 1tb version of the m2 I didn't know that the read write would be better I just needed the space for samples and music related stuff. This is still interesting to see the comparison performing video exports and that they end up being very close. Thanks for the great information and your time and efforts testing the machines
I have been saying that on every video, why are they recommending a bigger SSD rather than 16GB of RAM? As techies they should know the slowdown is due to swap and that is due to having too little RAM.
I pre ordered the m2 base model as a freshman in college.. I think that $200 for extra 250GB is a straight rip off. You can easily find extra 1TB external storage for $100 or even less. Was my decision a good decision? Lmk
It’s not so much about storage as it is about performance. You’re very right in saying it makes more sense to but external storage so you don’t have to pay an arm and a limb for it new, but the issue with the storage is more about the fact that downloading, transferring, and working with large files/applications will be much slower on the 256GB model than the 528GB ones.
@@fdsaffff I’m looking for long term and I think after a yr or two that style of Mac air will be outdated while the new design will stay in style for years to come..
Was planning on upgrading from the base M1 that I got last year to test out Apple’s new chip but the slower SSD is disappointing enough to stick with what I have. Would have loved the 10 core GPU/ 16 GB RAM / 256 GB SSD if things were different. Will be waiting on future MacBook devices releasing in 2023 😃
@@MrGERiarza Not really. If it improves your experience then it is a great investment. You look at it from a glass half-empty rather than glass half-full. Apparently average users keep their laptop for 5-7 years so $200 over 7 years is cents per day and that is a great investment.
If we have a option of upgrading only one thing 16gb ram or 512gb sad What should I choose ? Coz it's base model has slow ssd issues otherwise no doubt i would have go for 16gb ram
UPGRADE 16GB DDR5 RAM, Not the SSD, This way You never face swap Memory issue in the fast place, and your machine is always snappy and smooth, remember 1 thing in future You can get fast external SSD but You can't upgrade Unified RAM, so just Upgrade RAM, not the SSD 👍
Most influencers are totally wrong in how they are framing this issue. It is 100% to do with users buying 8GB of RAM when they need 16GB of RAM and then complaining about a slowdown! Get 16GB of RAM and you will be fine. Ignore the YT conglomerate saying 8GB/512GB is better than 16GB/256GB as they are wrong.
Fantastic Video! Very informative! I am a student. I was looking to buy the M2 Air for things like browsing, documents, spreadsheets, watching videos, as well as some light photo and video editing, light gaming, and some coding. Would the 16GB Ram with 256GB SSD suffice, or would you recommend a different configuration?
Honestly, getting the 528GB of storage is an absolute must thanks to Apple seriously downgrading the SSD. When it comes to RAM, it depends on what exactly you are doing. For most students, like yourself, 8GB will be perfect. But if you plan on running multiple, large programs at a single time for long periods, 16GB might not be a bad idea. But at that point, when you’re paying over 400 dollars more, a 14in pro might be the way to go.
@@matthewcorson1260 “You’re already paying $400 more”, might as well just pay an ADDITIONAL $400 on top of that and pay $2,000 for a machine that is undeniably better, but overkill for so many users? I grow tired of people making this argument. Students often don’t have the extra $800 to upgrade to a more powerful machine that they don’t need 😆
@@tstoke7877 I bought the base 2021 14" MBP for $1799, once I priced the M2 MBA with 16GB/512GB. I'm old & it will probably be the last computer I buy. I'm coming from a 2012 Mac I bought used.
@@tstoke7877 I understand that an additional 400 is definitely out of the picture for a lot of students. For some, it isn’t though. In addition to that, it might be better to pick up a different Mac that better suits your needs. Any Mac will do a great job (except the Intel Macs) so whatever is in your price point :)
I’m a basic user, what should I go for 16GB RAM or 512 with faster SSD speeds. I will be doing word, Netflix, spreadsheets and light photo/video editing.
Once I saw the 13" M2 MBP heat problems, I got a $1799 base 2021 14" MBP instead of waiting for this. I knew I wanted 16GB/512GB, so it closed the price gap.
A common scenario for the Air is to have it on your knees and work on it; possibly with shorts. How does it feel then, while surfing or playing, e.g. Forge of Empire? (my wife likes to play FoE and her MPB 2014 runs pretty warm on it). Or developing a couple of RAWs in Holiday
100% get the 16GB as that negates the need to swap so the speed of the 256GB NAND is not as important. I have no idea why people suggest the 512GB over 16GB of RAM as you are stuck with your RAM but you can always attach an external SSD.
For 20% increase in the base model price, We should get better than 20% performance improvement across-the-board, even considering the other improvements in Camera, speakers, etc. Getting the M1 air for 850 bucks today.
I think this was a very balanced take on the situation. Like I think a lot of people i suspected this ahead of time and went with 512 GB model. Although - in all likely hood I would’ve gone with that version anyway for the GPU cores to make sure it was a complete upgrade on my M1 Air
For those who would upgrade from a 2013 MBA base model (like me) it might still be better to jump to this machine than its 2 years older version. It’s hard to resist MagSafe charger, better web cam and audio, new design, and last but not least: longevity. We don’t know when the M1 MBA would not be supported by Apple (maybe in the next 6 years?). It’s most likely 2 years earlier than the M2 version. But if you really have concern over disk speed, have the need for heavier editing tasks, are budget concern, or classic design lover, certainly M2 MBA isn’t for you. Having said, I can only deliver my final judgment after I have M2 MBA in (hopefully) the beginning of August.
I will never understand why Apple created an Air M2 with a 256GB SSD much slower than the 256 version of the Air M1. Sometimes they are really crazy, there is no reason to do this foolishness.
Thank you so much for doing this. I will not be buying the M2 MBA. I'll keep my M1 MBA. I'm disappointed in Apple. This is clearly intentional to get people to upgrade SSD to 512 at $200. Crazy... Greedy. The potential was so high for this to be another breakthrough release with record sales, instead its a flop and controversial headlines.
Once I saw the heating problems on the 13" M2 MBP. I got a base 2021 14" M1pro MBP for $1799. A M2 MBA with 16GB and 512GB was too close in price with less ports and lesser display.
The M2 was always a filler due to the delay in the 3nm architecture. It is def not aimed for M1 owners to upgrade to, it is aimed at users upgrading form older Intel machines and for them the NAND speed will be moot. That is the weird thing, no one should be upgrading from the M1 so why all the rage? The M3 is for M1 upgrades and if that is at a slower speed then I will sing in chorus with you that Apple has made a mistake, but not the M2.
What is the availability wait time of ordering the 256 gb base model versus the 512 gb? If a buyer is not in a hurry they should get the 512 gb but with the new school year right around the corner they need to place their orders now.
I just ordered a space grey, 528GB SSD 8GB RAM with the 67W power adapter yesterday and it’s estimated arrival is August 1st, but I’ve seen a lot of people saying that the UPS (who actually delivers your device) is delivering a few days earlier than Apple’s estimated date.
Which of these two is better for a university use (take notes, watching videos, using excel and other stuff)?: -MBA with 512 of SSD and 8gb of RAM - MBA with 256 gb of SSD (with the storage issue) and 16 go of RAM Considering that I would like to keep this MacBook for at least 5-6 years
@@GregsGadgets Hey! I have the same decision problem and I'll be glad to hear your thoughts :) Now I'm using a MacBook Air 2018 with an i5 intel CPU, 8 RAM, and 128 SSD. I usually work with big excel files and have a lot of open tabs. For example, now I have opened 14 tabs and during work, it can be +10 tabs of google tables or excel files. For the last year, it lags a lot when I scroll through google sheets or big excel files. Sometimes swap goes up to 4-5 Gb of memory. Also, I have only 12 Gb of free SSD space left. New models go with 256 SSD now, so it can be much better. But still, do you think a better option is 16 Gb of RAM rather than 512 SSD? Thanks for the answer and good luck!
@@matsetizar65 Correct, the slowdown is due to more RAM needed than you have ordered. If you have the correct RAM for your usage then no swap is needed.
The ssd issue is inexcusable. On Apple's end, the 256gb chip costs $2, and they charge $200 to upgrade from 256gb to 512gb. At $1,199 the base model should be 512gb. That's $349 more when you consider that a new M1 MBA can be had for $850.
The throttling is a bummer. Is the M2 air 8-c gpu 16gb 512gb suitable for a digital marketer or is the 14" pro better? I use wordpress, canva, excel, photoshop, davinci resolve and MS Teams etc. If I choose M2 air I'm buying AppleCare+ since the student discount is cheaper but I won't buy it if I get the 14" pro. M2 air with AppleCare+ (1650usd) vs 14" pro (1900usd) both 16gb RAM 512gb SSD. I could sacrifice AppleCare+ and upgrade 16 to 24gb RAM for the same price. Upgrading from 2015 13" MBP. This is my last year to enjoy student pricing.
Check on your RAM usage on Activity Monitor to see how much RAM you use. If you are using a lot of swap then 24GB may be a good choice. From my perspective I would say that either MB Pro 14 or MB Air M2 would be good, just what you are happy with.
I would personally get the 16gb of ram if u can fork out the extra $100 over the 10 core gpu. Since the m2 already throttles with the 8 core gpu, it would be a waste of money upgrading to the 10 core for only a few percent gain at best. 16gb ram on the other hand would be the faster option for 99% of workloads and general use aswell as being more future proof.
Hello, I am based in India and planning to replace my 5 year old intel MBA with either MBA M1 or MBA M2 base model. But unable to decide which one to opt? My usage will be for browsing, you tube, zoom meeting, word/excel, file transferring etc and not for any heavy task. Which one do you suggest? I ve read that MBA M2 has heating issue with slow SSD etc. Will appreciate input from anyone. Thanks…
If you're doing light to moderate tasks like web browsing, coding, photo editing, you shouldn't see a difference. If you were a professional photographer exporting hundreds of photos/videos and needing plenty of storage, you'd probably go for the 512+ GB variant anyway. However, people who buy the 256 gig variant can use a thunderbolt 4 external SSD enclosure with NVME SSDs to get more, cheaper and faster storage.
Greg - can you do a performance test that can show a ssd impact that is realistic? Like running zoom, have a movie running, and a bunch of web tabs open? The FCP test is not realistic for the base model - I doubt that anyone would buy a base model and be running FCP. The cost of FCP alone would get you the larger/faster ssd and 16gb of ram, then you could just run iMovie. What do you think?
I'd go 16/256 over 8/512 M2A any day. Disk speed is a much smaller concern than running out of ram. I only use about 80gb of my current drive space though, would maybe go MBP if space was a concern.
I got my 16gb/1TB 10 core today. After using migration assistant while charging, I opened every single app on the machine, opened 25 Safari tabs including 10 RUclips videos playing, Apple music playing, FaceTime, maps, find my, bunch of high advertisement web sites, Speedtest, disk speed test, everything plus Citrix VDI (for work) open with about 10 tabs in Chrome, and a few Google Docs, at half brightness and half volume. Zero memory swap and about 12gb memory used at the most over an hour. Oh, and from 100% charge it dropped to 99% at 1 hour and 41 mins. I'm currently at 5:42 on battery time and 83% battery remaining, per battery monitor, .
Apple has tested and knows its limitations. The thermal management will be such that no damage is done. However, I went for the MB Pro 13 M2 and ignored the hate from influencers as a fan is always better than no fan.
512gb to 1tb SSD upgrade on the 14 inch macbook pro costs 200 dollars, 256gb to 512gb SSD upgrade on the M2 macbook air costs 200 dollars. Isn't that a bit strange.
This is exactly the vid I was looking for. Virtually none of the top reviewers are reviewing base models so thanks for this!
I feel the same. Most people probably won’t notice the lower disk speed, but nothing should be downgraded especially when the price went higher..Personally I don’t need 512 disk space, I actually only use around 190g on my current laptop. So this downgrade is a big deal for me and I will wait for the next upgrade
My thoughts exactly. If some of the leakers who were right about the M2 chip being on the same process as the M1 are right about the M3 making the 3nm node jump, then I bet the next chip upgrade we see better thermals as well. Good things come to those who wait. It's worth waiting for the next node jump if you're going to hold onto the computer for a while. I went 2013 MacBook pro to m1 air and it's been amazing. I'm good for a while. But for anyone else on the fence, just wait if you can (aka if you don't need a new computer)
@@bhavdeeprehal8827 I’m using a very slow 2015 air with a bad battery, so waiting is out of the question now. I needed to upgrade in 2021, but I decided to wait for the next upgrade
anyway, not sure if I should buy the m1 or m2
@@Talal_111 buy 14 inch mbp.
@@Talal_111Do you have a sense for the SSD size and RAM you need? What kinds of tasks will you be using it for? What is your budget?
@@ryanw8664 I want to use R, python and other such statistical softwares. I am not a computer geek, but I suppose these aren’t tasks that cause load on GPU and mainly use CPU. However, what about disk speed? Would the analysis time be affected significantly by disk speed? So, is M2 MBA worth it over M1 MBA?
Please compare the base M2 against a M1 with 16GB - that would be a nicer comparison.
need to see a comparison of the base model vs the 512SSD and vs the 16GB Ram.
Endorsed! This would be a great comparison
Glad that I bought the 512GB + 16GB RAM starlight version (Can’t stand the fingerprint marks).
This was very informative!
Good choice on the RAM and SSD. No way could I get by on 8/256. Especially for a computer you may keep for 5-10 years
@ty Once I priced things out, I bought the 2021 base 14" MBP from B&H on their Payboo credit card. $1799 + free shipping and they pay the sales tax.
@ty plus the 14" MBP is slightly smaller than my 2012 13" MBP I've been using.
Should have spent a couple hundred more for a base 14” macbook pro. Much better display (mini LED, 120hz refresh rate) and much faster SSD. Mich better overall performance.
In my country that MBA spec is more expensive than the MBP14, crazy right?
Anyone doing ProRes video editing is not really going to get an Air but rather a 14" or 16" MBP.
More testing with every day tasks that use Unified Memory would have been nice. That's when you'll really see the slow SSD memory swap negatively affecting performance compared to the much faster M1 MBA SSD.
At any rate, it's pretty awful that Apple would cheap out and take a pretty major step backwards with SSD performance. It really should have been be the same or better than M1 and yet here we are with them intentionally crippling performance just to boost profits.
Kind of hard to justify a $200 price hike for modest processor improvements and worse disk speed.
The processor improvements are not modest. Just look at processor improvements that other CPU manufacturers have been delivering in recent years from one processor generation to the next. The worse disc speed is indeed pathetic. I ordered mine with a 2TB and therefore my machine should not have that problem. Also I do appreciate that I can now use both Thunderbolt ports at the same time while charging which is not possible with the M1 Air. Also having a 25% percent brighter and slightly larger display is nice, too. Additionally there is the 50% higher memory bandwidth which, depending on the task, can also have an impact. Finally the M2 machine has moderately better speakers than the M1 machine. I'd say that's quite a few improvements!
Disk speed on the base is a let down, definitely going the 512GB which was my intention to however the processor improvement is pretty good actually.
But you’re getting MagSafe, better screen, better camera, better cpu and GPU, more GPU cores, lighter, and brighter
@@austinr_90 and higher temp xD when you browse some internet you cpu jump to 80 C
I'm kinda bummed about the ssd but I have a gaming pc that still runs on a sata ssd and that still seems fast enough. So I don't think I'll even notice when using the m2 air for school.
I’d like to know if 16GB+ of RAM makes any difference on 4K video editing. I think the only use cases people will notice a benefit from more than 8GB of RAM on this machine is if they have 70+ web browser tabs open (who does that?) or if they’re editing 8K footage (I don’t know anyone that would buy this machine for that).
Also, can the extra 2 GPU cores make a significant difference without extra RAM?
16GB makes a huge difference with 4K video editing based on my usage with other M1 machines.
100+ tabs before lunch or I’m slacking
@@GlenCote Nope, it's found to be
Struggling even with 6 Browser Tabs
Open. 😭
I probably have 50+ open right now 😁
you either choose 16GB to avoid swapiness or 512gb for faster swap. choose one, if your pick them both, 14pro will be your choice.
exactly, that’s why I placed the order for 14inch pro. However, I really love the lightness of m2 air, and its design. But I hate its speaker and screen
I am choosing the 16/512. The 14 pro is 400USD. More….And bulky …
@@zhorapata9733 the 14” is not bulky at all lol. Comparing the m2, it’s literally less than a inch difference in different dimensions. Unless if you’re getting the 16”, ofc it’s going to be more bulky
Thanks for the coverage, and I appreciate the beautiful shots.
One thing I hope to see different is the charts, please add the benchmark scores on the right of the bar charts, it would make comparisons clearer. Please include a percentage difference as well if possible! Thanks!
thanks for the thermal test , very helpful. Do you happen to remember the ambient temperature these tests were run at?
72-75 degrees.
I bought the 512GB version to avoid the disk speed problem. Starlight is gorgeous.
How much memory did you get?
@@Swansy_1 8gb. good for my use
I saw the starlight in store and it looked nice! I'm really digging midnight though, I hope they bring this color to the MacBook Pro lineup.
@@GregsGadgets I have a question. What would you use the extra port in the charger for?
@@teerexx52 magsafe charger for phone / air pods
A discounted entry-level base model M1 MBA remains by far the best bang-for-the-buck value laptop for nearly all normal regular every day laptop users.
So there is that.
except not so good speakers and screen
@@fdsaffff Well idk about tha the screen is decent, There are still alot of laptops out there that only have 300 nits of brightness, 400 is still higher than alot of laptops out there
Yea, it feels like to me we have to compare $850 MBA M1 vs $1400 MBA M2 w/ 512GB. The $1400 version is definitely better in all aspects, but is it worth an extra $550 better?
@@fdsaffff
Are you kidding?
The speakers are still better than _any_ Windows laptop - and not really that much different than M2 MBA.
And the display is a fine Retina, wide color P3 IPS, one of the best by far for any laptop under a grand. You have to spend way more for something better with a 4k, OLED or miniLED display.
@@ahsoka6807 thats not how to look at it, when dimmer the 500nit will have clearer and better image. and the speakers are 30-40 percent quieter than my 2017 12' macbook.
You should have also stated the percentage increase for each benchmark and comparison.
Can’t wait for the 512 model review. I like how you describe things, it’s like my teacher, easy to understand. Keep up the good work, dude!
A video I would love to see is the M2 macbook air with the single 256gb ssd chip vs M2 macbook air with 512gb dual ssd chips. I’m debating whether I should upgrade the ssd so I have 2 chips, or if I should spend the extra money and buy a 14” pro (from Holland, so price difference is bigger than in US)
I just got the base cause it’s already expensive as it is. Mainly using it for office work so it’s not a problem. Even with light video editing.
Thanks for doing the sustained test. This is what I needed to know. Looks like the M2 even throttled is still about as fast as a cold M1. Now all I need to know is can you keep flogging it and still keep it in your lap without setting your pants on fire. Seriously though I’m curious how quickly it recovers from throttling. My work load would be a cycle of a couple minutes or compiling code very few minutes or so. So if the recovery is short then sustaining this for longer sessions without burning my legs seems feasible #teamfanless
I've been researching non stop which model to buy for a week now.. Still have no idea if I should get the m1 air m2 air or the 14" pro. Its crazy that if you want to slightly spec up the m2 air you might as well but the 14" pro... thanks apple for confusing the majority of users
im in the same boat
@@foskr4 its so obvious lol 14"!
I just finished doing my research and ended up choosing the 14" MacBook Pro. The 14" mbp just offers so much more value when comparing to a spec'd up M2 MBA. The only reason to get the M2 MBA, truthfully, is if you just want the newest device. If the M2 MBA was priced at maybe $100 more than the M1 MBA and didn't have the throttling issues w/slower SSD then it most likely would be better.
14 pro if u have the money. It'll retain its value the best and it's the best bang for the buck.
I was having the same issue. I preordered the m2 with 16gb, 512Hd and the 10gpu. ($2150) After researching for 2 weeks I cancelled the M2 and picked up the m1 14 pro yesterday. For the extra 350 (in my case) it made no sense not to spend the extra and get a far superior laptop. I absolutely love the form factor of the M2 air but function won out over form.
I'm glad I got 1tb version of the m2 I didn't know that the read write would be better I just needed the space for samples and music related stuff. This is still interesting to see the comparison performing video exports and that they end up being very close. Thanks for the great information and your time and efforts testing the machines
Why not just get 16 gb ram? Then you need less swap. Then you need less disk speed. Then one nand doesn’t matter.
I have been saying that on every video, why are they recommending a bigger SSD rather than 16GB of RAM? As techies they should know the slowdown is due to swap and that is due to having too little RAM.
i find myself checking out Greg’s videos for Apple products among the bigger names youtubers.
Appreciate the support 🙏
Good review Greg!! Look forward to more testing!!
If I buy the M1 Mac Book Air today with 256GB/8GB specs, will it have a single SSD or two 128GB ones?
i subscribed because you had the movie Hook on display in the background. Also video was good.
I pre ordered the m2 base model as a freshman in college.. I think that $200 for extra 250GB is a straight rip off. You can easily find extra 1TB external storage for $100 or even less. Was my decision a good decision? Lmk
It’s not so much about storage as it is about performance. You’re very right in saying it makes more sense to but external storage so you don’t have to pay an arm and a limb for it new, but the issue with the storage is more about the fact that downloading, transferring, and working with large files/applications will be much slower on the 256GB model than the 528GB ones.
get a m1 air 256 or m2 512
@@fdsaffff I’m looking for long term and I think after a yr or two that style of Mac air will be outdated while the new design will stay in style for years to come..
@@kab9729 Because it's all about style...lol
@@Richard.Cabeza it’s not but you’re future proofing it and there’s also benefits like better camera, faster gpu and cpu.
Was planning on upgrading from the base M1 that I got last year to test out Apple’s new chip but the slower SSD is disappointing enough to stick with what I have. Would have loved the 10 core GPU/ 16 GB RAM / 256 GB SSD if things were different. Will be waiting on future MacBook devices releasing in 2023 😃
just get a 512gb problem fixed
@@Sam-pn2kc nahh that 215 additional euros for such a small storage increase is unethical.
@@MrGERiarza Not really. If it improves your experience then it is a great investment. You look at it from a glass half-empty rather than glass half-full. Apparently average users keep their laptop for 5-7 years so $200 over 7 years is cents per day and that is a great investment.
@@Sam-pn2kc 512gb is an overkill
Love your humor GREG. Keep grindin💯
What humor? Lol thank you.
Let’s be real, there’s a $400 price difference because base model M1s can be found for $799 pretty easily.
It’s nice you’ve run benchmarks but you didn’t say which model did you get
$1199 Base model
Thanks…I appreciate your thoughts. Blessings on your day!
I’d buy the M1… except I love the midnight and the MagSafe 😭
Thanks for doing the thermal test! Good to know M2 air still beats M1 even if it throttles.
What's the temperature difference during thermal throttles between the 2 machines?
Apple has messed up the price vs performance of macs here.
All these M2s are compromised in someway or the other
Is it me or is Greg showing off the guns 💪 in the video. Keep making great videos.
Great video Greg, thanks for the comparison
If we have a option of upgrading only one thing 16gb ram or 512gb sad
What should I choose ?
Coz it's base model has slow ssd issues otherwise no doubt i would have go for 16gb ram
UPGRADE 16GB DDR5 RAM, Not the SSD, This way You never face swap Memory issue in the fast place, and your machine is always snappy and smooth, remember 1 thing in future You can get fast external SSD but You can't upgrade Unified RAM, so just Upgrade RAM, not the SSD 👍
Most influencers are totally wrong in how they are framing this issue. It is 100% to do with users buying 8GB of RAM when they need 16GB of RAM and then complaining about a slowdown! Get 16GB of RAM and you will be fine. Ignore the YT conglomerate saying 8GB/512GB is better than 16GB/256GB as they are wrong.
great video. this should be most relevant video for 'general users'.
Fantastic Video! Very informative!
I am a student. I was looking to buy the M2 Air for things like browsing, documents, spreadsheets, watching videos, as well as some light photo and video editing, light gaming, and some coding. Would the 16GB Ram with 256GB SSD suffice, or would you recommend a different configuration?
He clearly said to upgrade to at least 512 GB SSD
Honestly, getting the 528GB of storage is an absolute must thanks to Apple seriously downgrading the SSD. When it comes to RAM, it depends on what exactly you are doing. For most students, like yourself, 8GB will be perfect. But if you plan on running multiple, large programs at a single time for long periods, 16GB might not be a bad idea. But at that point, when you’re paying over 400 dollars more, a 14in pro might be the way to go.
@@matthewcorson1260 “You’re already paying $400 more”, might as well just pay an ADDITIONAL $400 on top of that and pay $2,000 for a machine that is undeniably better, but overkill for so many users? I grow tired of people making this argument. Students often don’t have the extra $800 to upgrade to a more powerful machine that they don’t need 😆
@@tstoke7877 I bought the base 2021 14" MBP for $1799, once I priced the M2 MBA with 16GB/512GB. I'm old & it will probably be the last computer I buy. I'm coming from a 2012 Mac I bought used.
@@tstoke7877 I understand that an additional 400 is definitely out of the picture for a lot of students. For some, it isn’t though. In addition to that, it might be better to pick up a different Mac that better suits your needs. Any Mac will do a great job (except the Intel Macs) so whatever is in your price point :)
Nicely balanced review with good insights on what really matters. Yes I want the blue!
What you should do is review the screen and the speakers. Those are the major differences in the computer.
Need a comparision between M2 MBA 8-512 or 16-512 VS base 14 inch M1 Pro
I’m a basic user, what should I go for 16GB RAM or 512 with faster SSD speeds. I will be doing word, Netflix, spreadsheets and light photo/video editing.
get the base model 8/256
I am deciding between MBA M1 16GB/256GB vs MBA M2 16GB/256GB. Which would you choose?
the SSD speed is disappointing, I skipped the M1 hoping the wait would be worth it
Same or i would have bought base🙃 and cant afford to upgrade ssd
@@sairigdebbarma4638 upgrading the ssd is not worth it imo (if you don’t need the extra space like me) I wish I bought the M1 when I needed it in 2021
Once I saw the 13" M2 MBP heat problems, I got a $1799 base 2021 14" MBP instead of waiting for this. I knew I wanted 16GB/512GB, so it closed the price gap.
A common scenario for the Air is to have it on your knees and work on it; possibly with shorts.
How does it feel then, while surfing or playing, e.g. Forge of Empire? (my wife likes to play FoE and her MPB 2014 runs pretty warm on it).
Or developing a couple of RAWs in Holiday
How about 16gb RAM and 256gb? Is it better than 8gb ram and 512gb??
16GB RAM and 512GB SSD is better.
@@and30ers but what if you only could choose one.
@@sxrhad435 512gb because that'll help with swap. Otherwise an m1
If you get 16gb RAM the chance/need for swap is lower.
100% get the 16GB as that negates the need to swap so the speed of the 256GB NAND is not as important. I have no idea why people suggest the 512GB over 16GB of RAM as you are stuck with your RAM but you can always attach an external SSD.
For 20% increase in the base model price, We should get better than 20% performance improvement across-the-board, even considering the other improvements in Camera, speakers, etc. Getting the M1 air for 850 bucks today.
Exactly. M2s are the worst. Day by day Tim Cook is taking Apple to grave
@@debasishchowdhury6496 Tim Cook is also responsible for the M1 chip deployment, which sets new standards for performance and efficiency.
Larger screen magsafe better speaker, larger fp sensor, better ergo, and webcam, i'll spend 300$ on it
Apple are giving you a choice, stop whining, get what you want or can afford and be happy.
@@pakorn9901 where?
I am not that technical .My tech friends ask me what am i comparing it with?Do you have a M1.Is their something better out there?
I would rather sacrifice storage space and get more RAM tbh, apps are already using 4-5 gigs of RAM as it is
I think this was a very balanced take on the situation. Like I think a lot of people i suspected this ahead of time and went with 512 GB model. Although - in all likely hood I would’ve gone with that version anyway for the GPU cores to make sure it was a complete upgrade on my M1 Air
Alright Greg need to see this video know if it worth getting the m2
Great comparison but the way those charts depict are not linear so it's a tad misleading. Still, both are powerful models 👍
For those who would upgrade from a 2013 MBA base model (like me) it might still be better to jump to this machine than its 2 years older version. It’s hard to resist MagSafe charger, better web cam and audio, new design, and last but not least: longevity. We don’t know when the M1 MBA would not be supported by Apple (maybe in the next 6 years?). It’s most likely 2 years earlier than the M2 version. But if you really have concern over disk speed, have the need for heavier editing tasks, are budget concern, or classic design lover, certainly M2 MBA isn’t for you. Having said, I can only deliver my final judgment after I have M2 MBA in (hopefully) the beginning of August.
Greg so question my friend I only use my computer 💻 for RUclips , watching movies 🍿 internet, pictures. Now is it worth it still ? I like th speed
Yes of course, it is plenty fast for those tasks and even more demanding ones.
Please test the Airpod Bluetooth/Mic connection. Does the bitrate/quality still drop when applications use bluetooth microphone?
anybody ever noticed you could get wasted if you take a drink every time you hear greg says 'uh'
I will never understand why Apple created an Air M2 with a 256GB SSD much slower than the 256 version of the Air M1. Sometimes they are really crazy, there is no reason to do this foolishness.
Thank you so much for doing this. I will not be buying the M2 MBA. I'll keep my M1 MBA. I'm disappointed in Apple. This is clearly intentional to get people to upgrade SSD to 512 at $200. Crazy... Greedy. The potential was so high for this to be another breakthrough release with record sales, instead its a flop and controversial headlines.
I concur, I always reccomend the m1 mba users to wait for 2023 MacBook Air for the M3 chip
Once I saw the heating problems on the 13" M2 MBP. I got a base 2021 14" M1pro MBP for $1799. A M2 MBA with 16GB and 512GB was too close in price with less ports and lesser display.
The M2 was always a filler due to the delay in the 3nm architecture. It is def not aimed for M1 owners to upgrade to, it is aimed at users upgrading form older Intel machines and for them the NAND speed will be moot. That is the weird thing, no one should be upgrading from the M1 so why all the rage? The M3 is for M1 upgrades and if that is at a slower speed then I will sing in chorus with you that Apple has made a mistake, but not the M2.
single core cinebench test would've made more sense to see the effect of thermal throttling on performance.
What is the availability wait time of ordering the 256 gb base model versus the 512 gb? If a buyer is not in a hurry they should get the 512 gb but with the new school year right around the corner they need to place their orders now.
I just ordered a space grey, 528GB SSD 8GB RAM with the 67W power adapter yesterday and it’s estimated arrival is August 1st, but I’ve seen a lot of people saying that the UPS (who actually delivers your device) is delivering a few days earlier than Apple’s estimated date.
I want to buy Mac but ı cant decide 16gb Ram M1 or 8gb Ram M2. Which one is better ? (Video editing, software dev.)
Which one should i buy M1 Air With 500Gb or M2 air 256 gb i am College Student A coder
Which of these two is better for a university use (take notes, watching videos, using excel and other stuff)?:
-MBA with 512 of SSD and 8gb of RAM
- MBA with 256 gb of SSD (with the storage issue) and 16 go of RAM
Considering that I would like to keep this MacBook for at least 5-6 years
i’m in the same situation…lol
I think I'd go for the 512gb option.
Personally, I would rather have 512gb of storage.
Thanks a lot
@@GregsGadgets Hey! I have the same decision problem and I'll be glad to hear your thoughts :)
Now I'm using a MacBook Air 2018 with an i5 intel CPU, 8 RAM, and 128 SSD.
I usually work with big excel files and have a lot of open tabs. For example, now I have opened 14 tabs and during work, it can be +10 tabs of google tables or excel files. For the last year, it lags a lot when I scroll through google sheets or big excel files. Sometimes swap goes up to 4-5 Gb of memory. Also, I have only 12 Gb of free SSD space left.
New models go with 256 SSD now, so it can be much better.
But still, do you think a better option is 16 Gb of RAM rather than 512 SSD?
Thanks for the answer and good luck!
Hey i have to use dj software rekordbox and some other apps so which one i have to buy mac m1 air or m2 air
I often have safari with 5 tabs, a numbers file, a pages file and apple music open. Would the base m2 air be slower than m1 in my use case?
I don’t think it would be slower.
I have a similar workload but more tabs and more apps open and the base M2 MB Pro 13 has zero issues with RAM to spare.
@@andyH_England in other words if I don’t max out the 8 gig RAM, the ‘slow ssd’ issue of the base m2 Air will not be a problem?
@@matsetizar65 Correct, the slowdown is due to more RAM needed than you have ordered. If you have the correct RAM for your usage then no swap is needed.
Apple shipping black stickers with a non-pro device? this betrayal shall not stand
The ssd issue is inexcusable. On Apple's end, the 256gb chip costs $2, and they charge $200 to upgrade from 256gb to 512gb. At $1,199 the base model should be 512gb. That's $349 more when you consider that a new M1 MBA can be had for $850.
Probably they can't find enough module those days. No excuses, consumer products are suffering.
…if Apple Management would follow your approach, the share price would drop below 100$😂😂😂
I love your T-shirt!
@4:12 can you use better contrasting font colour? I had a hard time reading the text.
The throttling is a bummer. Is the M2 air 8-c gpu 16gb 512gb suitable for a digital marketer or is the 14" pro better? I use wordpress, canva, excel, photoshop, davinci resolve and MS Teams etc.
If I choose M2 air I'm buying AppleCare+ since the student discount is cheaper but I won't buy it if I get the 14" pro.
M2 air with AppleCare+ (1650usd) vs 14" pro (1900usd) both 16gb RAM 512gb SSD.
I could sacrifice AppleCare+ and upgrade 16 to 24gb RAM for the same price. Upgrading from 2015 13" MBP. This is my last year to enjoy student pricing.
Check on your RAM usage on Activity Monitor to see how much RAM you use. If you are using a lot of swap then 24GB may be a good choice. From my perspective I would say that either MB Pro 14 or MB Air M2 would be good, just what you are happy with.
I am also buying the 16/512 . Plz let me know your experience
I see the m1 Mac air going for 800 on eBay crazy good deal
That is a very good deal
Should I get the extra GPU and CPU with 8gb of RAM? Idk if that would affect the ram with a higher GPU and CPU. (I’m also getting 512gb of storage)
I would personally get the 16gb of ram if u can fork out the extra $100 over the 10 core gpu.
Since the m2 already throttles with the 8 core gpu, it would be a waste of money upgrading to the 10 core for only a few percent gain at best.
16gb ram on the other hand would be the faster option for 99% of workloads and general use aswell as being more future proof.
Can it be fixed with a software update?
I’d like to see Logic Pro X running on the new Air
which speakers r better?
Hello, I am based in India and planning to replace my 5 year old intel MBA with either MBA M1 or MBA M2 base model. But unable to decide which one to opt? My usage will be for browsing, you tube, zoom meeting, word/excel, file transferring etc and not for any heavy task. Which one do you suggest? I ve read that MBA M2 has heating issue with slow SSD etc. Will appreciate input from anyone. Thanks…
@gregsgadgets
Hi sir
I'm a student
Which configuration of M2 air should I buy‽
Best video on the M2 Air I have seen thus far!
Yay Greg is back.
No eating Big Macs out of the box again? Darn it
That’s reserved for big macs. This is too slim.
Big Macs only for Big Macs
I get it nice lol
So it would be better to buy a 512GB version with 8 GB instead of 16GB with 256GB for the long term like for 5-6 years?
You can always get an external disk drive but u can’t get external ram.
16 gb ram just makes more sense for the long term imo.
16gb ram upgrade should come first before storage upgrade
@@notbrokebrolt6281 Thanks for this suggestion
@@Salty_Biscuitz88 Thanks, understood
Will i get better ssd speed if i get only 16gb ram upgrade and same 256gb storage?
Hi,
How big of an impact will the slower ssd have on everyday tasks in comparison to m1 air?
If you're doing light to moderate tasks like web browsing, coding, photo editing, you shouldn't see a difference. If you were a professional photographer exporting hundreds of photos/videos and needing plenty of storage, you'd probably go for the 512+ GB variant anyway. However, people who buy the 256 gig variant can use a thunderbolt 4 external SSD enclosure with NVME SSDs to get more, cheaper and faster storage.
all things considered, the thermal throttling is minor compared to say Intel 12th gen induction stove that can fry a dozen eggs.
maybe we should wait for the m3 or new batch of m2 with revised ssd......
I like silver. Not a fan of midnight 😕 sorry Greg
Lol no worries, that's why there's multiple color options.
Greg - can you do a performance test that can show a ssd impact that is realistic? Like running zoom, have a movie running, and a bunch of web tabs open? The FCP test is not realistic for the base model - I doubt that anyone would buy a base model and be running FCP. The cost of FCP alone would get you the larger/faster ssd and 16gb of ram, then you could just run iMovie. What do you think?
I wonder what to choose MBA M2 version 16/256 or 8/512 ?. I can also choose MBP 13 with M1 processor in 16/512 configuration
Same for me bro
I'd go 16/256 over 8/512 M2A any day. Disk speed is a much smaller concern than running out of ram. I only use about 80gb of my current drive space though, would maybe go MBP if space was a concern.
Is memory swap an issue on this base model like it was on the M1?
Same memory constraints as 8GB model on M1, and made even worse with the slower disk speed on the 256gb model.
I thought the memory swap issue was resolved on the M1 months after it’s release
I got my 16gb/1TB 10 core today. After using migration assistant while charging, I opened every single app on the machine, opened 25 Safari tabs including 10 RUclips videos playing, Apple music playing, FaceTime, maps, find my, bunch of high advertisement web sites, Speedtest, disk speed test, everything plus Citrix VDI (for work) open with about 10 tabs in Chrome, and a few Google Docs, at half brightness and half volume. Zero memory swap and about 12gb memory used at the most over an hour. Oh, and from 100% charge it dropped to 99% at 1 hour and 41 mins. I'm currently at 5:42 on battery time and 83% battery remaining, per battery monitor, .
@@jeffholthus2009 Wow that's awesome to hear!
@@GregsGadgets Thanks for the reply Greg!
So if I get an external ssd will that take care of the slow writing speeds?
I'm waiting for m3 air base model because downgrade in SSD is a big deal for me if the price is increased!
Would the heating up in M2 damage the machine more in the long run? It sure ran faster but also throttling more right?
Apple has tested and knows its limitations. The thermal management will be such that no damage is done. However, I went for the MB Pro 13 M2 and ignored the hate from influencers as a fan is always better than no fan.
@@andyH_England you may want to check this out….
ruclips.net/video/I6ypgIGEjdo/видео.html
I think that the Base model is targeted to the average person looking for a small , light laptop for note taking and or Microsoft word. Users
About the M2 256GB SSD speed: is it faster or slower than the MacBook Pro 2017 A1706 512GB ?
slower
Macbook air m1 - 1100 dollar
Macbook air m2 - 1300 dollar
All are in base variant
Which one should I choose?
Eh, what's with the Max Tech click bait thumbnail?
512gb to 1tb SSD upgrade on the 14 inch macbook pro costs 200 dollars, 256gb to 512gb SSD upgrade on the M2 macbook air costs 200 dollars. Isn't that a bit strange.
16/256 m1 air or 8/256 m2 which would be great for next 4-5 years? im going to use it for programming and Photoshop/lightroom. thanks
M1 is fine for the next years