Why The M2 MacBook Air Is Still King! | In-Depth Long Term Review (Late 2023)
Summary
TLDRThe video offers a long-term review of the M2 MacBook Air, highlighting its durability, design, and performance after 18 months of use. The Midnight Blue model shows minimal wear, with the USB-C ports and paint job holding up well despite regular use. The reviewer praises the laptop's portability, build quality, and efficiency, making it ideal for everyday tasks like email and communication. They also touch on the laptop's ability to handle light video editing and its excellent battery life, concluding that it offers great value for money, especially for users not requiring high-performance tasks.
Takeaways
- 💻 The M2 MacBook Air, released in June 2022, has been used daily for over a year and a half, offering long-term impressions on its design, hardware, and software.
- 🌃 The Midnight Blue version is a fingerprint magnet and can show minor discoloration on the USB-C ports from regular use, but no significant chipping over time.
- 🔧 Despite some user-induced paint chipping from strong adhesive magnets, the overall hardware quality remains high with no degradation in functionality.
- 📱 The M2 MacBook Air represents a departure from the wedge design of previous models, adopting a more squared-off, MacBook Pro-like aesthetic.
- 🖥️ The laptop features a larger 13.6-inch display compared to the previous 13.3-inch, includes a notch for the 1080p webcam, and maintains a thin and light form factor.
- 🔑 The Touch ID sensor remains responsive, and the keyboard shows no signs of wear after extensive use.
- 💾 The reviewer opted for 16GB of RAM for future-proofing, skipping storage upgrade due to reliance on iCloud, emphasizing the device's capabilities for multitasking and moderate workloads.
- 🛠️ While capable of handling applications like iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Photoshop, the M2 MacBook Air is better suited for lighter tasks and is not recommended as a primary machine for heavy video editing or gaming.
- 🔋 The battery life is impressive, lasting a full workday on a single charge, and the overall performance remains snappy even after 18 months of use.
- 💰 The M2 MacBook Air offers an excellent price-to-performance ratio, making it a valuable option for users needing a laptop primarily for communication, light work tasks, and everyday use.
- 🏷️ The laptop is also available at discounted prices, with the reviewer mentioning specific deals and strategies for obtaining the best value, including education store discounts.
Q & A
How long has the M2 MacBook Air been out?
-The M2 MacBook Air has been out for about a year and a half, releasing in June of 2022.
What color version of the M2 MacBook Air did the reviewer use?
-The reviewer used the Midnight Blue version of the M2 MacBook Air.
Is the Midnight Blue version prone to fingerprint marks?
-Yes, the Midnight Blue version is a fingerprint magnet even after a year and a half of use.
Did the reviewer experience any paint chipping on the M2 MacBook Air?
-The reviewer experienced some paint chipping on the top of the display due to removing strong adhesive magnets, but the USB-C ports showed only minor discoloration.
What are the other color options available for the M2 MacBook Air besides Midnight Blue?
-The other color options available are a goldish color, Champagne silver, and space gray.
How has the hardware of the M2 MacBook Air held up over time according to the reviewer?
-The hardware of the M2 MacBook Air is still in amazing condition, with no issues reported by the reviewer after almost a year and a half of use.
What is the reviewer's opinion on the new design language of the M2 MacBook Air compared to the old design?
-The reviewer appreciates the new design language of the M2 MacBook Air, which is more squared off and similar to the MacBook Pro, and does not miss the old wedge design.
What are the software experiences like on the M2 MacBook Air?
-The software on the M2 MacBook Air is still snappy and efficient, with no issues reported by the reviewer, and it runs macOS Ventura.
What are the reviewer's use cases for the M2 MacBook Air?
-The reviewer uses the M2 MacBook Air primarily for email, slack, browsing with multiple tabs open, and occasional video editing with iMovie and Final Cut Pro.
What is the reviewer's recommendation for those needing more power than the M2 MacBook Air offers?
-For those needing more power, the reviewer recommends considering the M3 MacBook Pro models or looking at refurbished M2 Pro models.
What is the price-to-performance ratio like for the M2 MacBook Air according to the reviewer?
-The reviewer considers the M2 MacBook Air to have an excellent price-to-performance ratio, offering great value for the money.
Outlines
💻 Long-Term Review of M2 MacBook Air
The speaker shares their long-term impressions of the M2 MacBook Air, which they have been using daily for a year and a half since its release in June 2022. They discuss the laptop's design, hardware, and software, and whether it remains a good choice in 2024 despite the release of the M3 series MacBook Pros. The video is sponsored by Mosul, an Apple unified platform for business. The speaker plans to cover the design's durability, software performance, and the ideal use cases for the M2 MacBook Air. They mention being a perfect user for this laptop, suggesting it suits their needs well, and hint at comparing it to more powerful or affordable alternatives.
🖥️ Design and Hardware耐久性
The speaker discusses the design and hardware of the M2 MacBook Air, noting that despite being a fingerprint magnet, the Midnight Blue version has held up well over the past year and a half, with only minor discoloration around the USB-C ports. They mention a few instances of paint chipping due to strong adhesive magnets but emphasize that this was due to extreme circumstances. The hardware, including the keyboard, trackpad, and display, remains in excellent condition, with the touch ID sensor and trackpad responsiveness still performing as new. They also touch on the design evolution from the traditional wedge shape to a more squared-off, MacBook Pro-like aesthetic.
🛠️ Internals, Software, and Ideal Use Case
The speaker talks about the internals and software of the M2 MacBook Air, mentioning that they upgraded to 16GB of RAM for future-proofing but did not need more storage due to reliance on iCloud. They use the laptop for everyday tasks like email, Slack, and light content consumption with multiple browser tabs open, finding Chrome to be the most memory-intensive application. They also tested the laptop with iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Photoshop, finding it capable but not ideal for heavy workloads. The speaker suggests that for more demanding tasks, one might consider a MacBook Pro with the new M3 chips. They emphasize the MacBook Air's reliability, efficiency, and battery life, making it suitable for users who need a mobile, communication-focused device rather than a high-powered workstation.
💼 Target User and Value Proposition
The speaker identifies the ideal user for the M2 MacBook Air as someone who needs a laptop for everyday tasks like email, communication, and light work, rather than heavy-duty tasks like video editing or gaming. They mention that the laptop can handle basic video editing with iMovie and Final Cut Pro but is not designed for intensive use over extended periods. The speaker praises the MacBook Air for its price-to-performance ratio, battery life, display quality, and build, making it a great value for the money. They also share tips on finding deals and discounts, such as through the Apple education store, and encourage viewers to consider the MacBook Air for its longevity and versatility.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡M2 MacBook Air
💡Midnight Blue
💡USB-C ports
💡Touch ID
💡M3 MacBook Pros
💡Hardware
💡Software
💡iCloud
💡Price to Performance Ratio
💡Education Store
💡Longevity
Highlights
M2 MacBook Air has been out for about a year and a half, released in June 2022.
The reviewer has been using the M2 MacBook Air daily since its release.
The Midnight Blue version is a fingerprint magnet but holds up well over time.
Minor discoloration on USB-C ports from daily use but no significant chipping.
Some paint chipping on the top of the display due to strong adhesive magnets.
Hardware is robust and has not required any special care despite heavy use.
The new design language of the MacBook Air is a departure from the wedge design of 2008.
The keyboard remains pristine with no issues after extensive use.
Touch ID sensor is still extremely responsive and fast.
The trackpad is large, responsive, and has good palm rejection.
The 13.6-inch display is an upgrade from the previous 13.3-inch and is bright enough for various uses.
The reviewer wishes for Face ID instead of just a notch and Touch ID.
The sponsor, Mosul, is an Apple unified platform for business.
The M2 MacBook Air is suitable for everyday use as an email and communication machine.
The laptop can handle light video editing and photo editing tasks.
For more intensive tasks, the MacBook Pro with M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max might be more suitable.
The M2 MacBook Air offers great value for money with a reliable performance.
The laptop is ideal for users who need a mobile device for communication and light tasks.
The reviewer recommends the M2 MacBook Air for its price-to-performance ratio.
The laptop is expected to last 5 to 7 years with proper care.
There are often deals available on the M2 MacBook Air, including on Apple's refurbished store.
The reviewer provides a tip about getting a discount on the M2 MacBook Air through Apple's education store.
Transcripts
so the M2 MacBook Air has been out for
about a year and a half now at this
point releasing in June of 2022 and I've
been using it on a day-to-day basis so
what I wanted to do was give you guys my
long-term Impressions and review of this
M2 MacBook Air in the Midnight Blue
version and see how it's held up from a
design standpoint a hardware standpoint
a software standpoint and see if it's
still a viable option going into 2024
even though Apple just released the M3
the M3 Pro and the M3 Max MacBook Pros
so let's get into my long-term review of
the M2 MacBook Air this video is brought
to you by 9 to5 Mac partner mosul the
only Apple unified platform for business
but more them a little bit later let's
get into this
[Music]
review so I want to break this video
down into a few different aspects I want
to talk about how the design is held up
how the software is held up and then
finally some use cases and who this
laptop is ultimately for because I'm
probably the perfect type of person and
user for this laptop whereas some other
people might need something a little bit
more powerful or maybe even something a
little less expensive in that front
because depending on what you're going
to use it for it is going to solve
problems or you might need a little bit
more at the end of the day but from a
design standpoint again I've had this
since day one so it's almost a year and
a half in terms of age with this
computer and I got the Midnight Blue
version so yes it is a fingerprint
magnet even a year and a half later so
if that's something that's going to be
bothering you every single day then
maybe the Midnight Blue version is not
going to be for you and it still comes
in those three other color ways which is
that goldish color Champagne silver and
then space gray as well it doesn't come
in that new space black color if that's
something that you want now I remember
early on there was a big complaint that
that blue color would chip over time and
I do want to show you that for the USBC
ports themselves again I use those USBC
ports every single day by plugging into
an external display and yes you miss the
USBC ports every once in a while and you
see a tiny bit of discoloration in the
actual USBC ports but again nothing to
write home about and you have to be
really looking for it to see if that
color did get chipped away now you might
notice that on the top or on the back of
the display so basically the top of the
laptop itself there is some chipping of
the paint but that is 100% my fault I
put some adhesive magnets on there that
were extremely strong and to remove them
I had to basically chip away it with
some metal and some basically use my
Apple card and also a ceramic knife to
get it out of there so honestly I'm
surprised that not more paint chipped
off of it but that was a very extreme
situation where I had to remove these
magnets that were so stuck on there it
was unbelievable so in any other use
case where you're not putting magnets or
any other adhesive or even if you do use
adhesive that's a little bit weaker for
lack of a better turn you should be
totally fine from a paint and kind of
finished situation the paint is going to
Remain the way that it is it's still
just going to be a fingerprint magnet
but you shouldn't really need to worry
about the paint chipping overall I just
wanted to give everybody my two sense
and be transparent as to how I got that
chip paint on the top of the laptop but
other than that the hardware is
absolutely amazing I haven't like I
don't really baby this laptop at all it
does sit in the laptops leave my
computer bag but for the most part I
throw it around it's used on the couch
it's used in different surfaces whether
I'm in an office at a Wei work at my
dining table at my desk here so this is
a very mobile laptop you're not going to
need to worry about babying this laptop
too much from a harder perspective from
from a design perspective because it is
meant to be thrown around it is meant to
be used on the go and it's made for the
for that kind of individual and that
kind of user now this M2 MacBook Air was
the first time Apple left the old design
language of the MacBook Air that which I
believe we originally got in 2008 when
Steve Jobs got on stage and removed it
from that manila envelope because we got
that kind of wedge design which is
absolutely beautiful but this is the
first time that Apple kind of got away
from that totally and kind of had a more
MacBook Pro aesthetic which of much more
squared off design and Industrial design
still amazingly thin and still extremely
light wait for what it is but we did get
rid of that ws design which honestly I'm
not missing whatsoever but that is
completely subjective so if you do want
to go with that W design Apple still
sells their mug MacBook Air for I
believe $8.99 or $9.99 which is still a
great price for that computer and then
it kind of round off on the hardware and
design aspect the keyboard is still
pristine I haven't had any issues with
like a missing key or a key being broken
and I type on this thing a lot Yes again
there's going to be fingerprints on
there but I didn't want to clean the
laptop at all before actually filming
this so you guys can see a real life
situation and what it looks like you
know 18 months after it being released
the touch ID sensor is still extremely
responsive it's I don't even know how
how it works so quickly like I just tap
it and it unlocks everything or I tap it
and I'm Apple paying which is kind of
dangerous every now and then but for the
most part everything works exactly as
it's intended a year and a half later
and it should work but I just wanted to
make sure that people are aware that I'm
not losing anything nothing is degrading
over time at least not yet that remains
yet to be seen if maybe 5 years down the
road some things start to kind of break
down but a year and a half later it
still works as if it's brand new so no
worries on that front and then some
other Hardware pieces the trackpad is
still extreme responsive the trackpad
works with ad gesture based controls
extremely well I'm never having
accidental clicks which is great so it
does have a nice Palm rejection because
it is a big surface when it comes to a
trackpad especially compared to other
laptops in the same kind of Market in
the same kind of space from a price
point perspective and then also the
display is still pristine this is the
first time Apple went away from their
13.3 in display and went to a 13.6 in
display it gets plenty bright for indoor
and even some outdoor use it does have
that Notch which houses the 1080p webcam
which was a nice upgrade from the 720p
webcam that we've had had on the MacBook
Air since again probably since 2008 but
I still wish there was face ID like I
love face ID in all my iPad devices and
my iPhone devices Touch ID still works
amazingly well and extremely fast but I
do wish that since we are having that
Notch there which is taking up some
weird space on the screen itself I wish
we are able to actually have face ID on
there which I don't think Apple's going
to be doing anytime soon it's just more
of a design language standpoint because
I don't think they really needed to do
the notch I think they just wanted to
have everything even across the board
moving forward maybe a dynamic island in
the future who knows hey I got interject
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now back to the review so now we got the
design and the hardware out of the way
let's talk about the internals and the
software and ultimately my use case and
why I think I'm the perfect user or at
least a certain type of user that's made
for this MacBook Air and vice versa so I
only upgrade upgraded the ram so I went
to 16 gigs of RAM which I believe was an
extra $200 I did not upgrade the storage
because I don't need it I use iCloud for
everything and the 16 gig of RAM was
just for me to Future proof myself a
little bit so from a software
perspective I use this thing as pretty
much a netbook as an email machine as a
slack machine for not even content
consumption like I'll have maybe 15 to
20 Chrome tabs open I'll have Safari
open on the side playing a YouTube video
signed into my account also have a bunch
of messaging apps open like Telegram and
slack and things like that so I'll be
able to have a bunch of applications
running at the same time but they aren't
super intensive the most intensive one
has to be Chrome because I do get a
little notification from my clean my Mac
X little kind of utility that says like
hey do you want to clear up some storage
because Google Chrome is taking up you
know8 gigs of RAM of your 16 so outside
of that Google Chrome is probably my
most intensive use case now for testing
purposes I have used things like iMovie
and Final Cup Pro and things like
Photoshop and they work to a certain
extent you know I wouldn't probably put
all of my workflow on here but it can
still have multiple layers of 4K it can
still still have a couple of Music
layers and audio layers you're still
able to export relatively quickly
because the M2 Chip is just so efficient
and so powerful that you're able to get
some of that stuff done but you know who
you are if you need a little bit more
horsepower if you need more horsepower
you want to go into the MacBook Pro
lineup you want to get into that M3 the
M3 Pro the M3 Max and see or maybe even
get a refurbished M2 Pro or something
along those lines but again you know who
you are if you're needing this thing to
be your video editing machine if you
need it to be your photo editing machine
if you are actually maybe coding or
rendering games because that is not what
this kind of category computer is for
this is for the person that's on the go
that needs an email computer that needs
a slack computer that needs just a
communication machine something to be
able to maybe run some Excel sheets or
get into the Google workspaces that is
what this thing is this is a glorified
Netbook that is a little bit overpowered
compared to other netbooks of course and
can do a lot of that other stuff and
there's a lot of overlap into the
MacBook Pro Arena but again I'm going to
keep reiterating you know who you are if
you need that 14inch or 16inch maybe M3
Max MacBook Pro but from a longevity
standpoint this thing has not hiccuped
whatsoever now I am glad that I got the
16 gigs of RAM because I think 8 gigs of
RAM might be a little bit on the lower
side but I also think that you can still
get away with it if you do want to go at
the smallest price point which I believe
is
$1,99 for the entry level 8 gig and 256
gig of storage M2 MacBook Air but
everything still works extremely well
like there is no freezing I I don't
think I've even had that like spinning
rainbow of death cursor which is
something that I used to get all the
time with my Intel MacBook Air so if you
just want something that's very reliable
that works that opens instantly that has
applications that work super efficiently
that has amazing battery life throughout
the day because I'll go an entire
workday without charging this thing and
at the end of the day be about 15%
battery so even about 18 months later
the software in Hardware is still
combined to be extremely Snappy
everything works as intended Mac OS anda
kind of even Bridges the Gap even closer
between iPad OS iOS and Mac OS because
everything is a little bit more playful
but everything works as intended as I
mentioned so at the end of the day who
is this computer for like I've mentioned
earlier I'm the perfect use case it's
funny because I actually use my iPad for
my video editing my thumbnail editing
because I I don't know I just just like
it on there a little bit more it is a
Workhorse of a machine and it's kind of
intended for that design work to a
certain extent but for me the mty
MacBook Air is like my slack machine
it's my email machine you know every
once in a while I have a YouTube video
playing you know I have Google
workspaces open I use a lot of Microsoft
Excel when needed and things like that
to make sure maybe all that stuff is
done I use it to like pay my bills for
everyday tasks for personal use and
things along those lines so that is who
this MacBook computer is for and maybe
if you want to do a little bit more like
you are maybe running a small business
and need to do some promotional material
maybe a 1080p video or a 4K video in
vertical a 30 second video edit it can
do that with iMovie and Final Cup Pro
again I wouldn't go crazy with it
because it might slow down over time but
if you do need it to do that kind of
situation and that workflow it can do it
if needed and I will reiterate one last
time you know who you are if you need a
little bit more horsepower go for the M2
MacBook Pro or something along those
lines again go to the refurbish section
maybe a u section as well to get
something a little bit cheaper to get
you a little bit more horsepower moving
forward and that is ultimately who this
computer is for it's for the person that
just needs an email machine it's for the
person that's always moving around it's
for the person that wants a great price
to Performance ratio when it comes to
what you get for Value in terms of money
because to my opinion this is punch for-
punch and pound-for-pound the best price
to Performance ratio tech product out
there you get a very modern laptop that
runs Mac OS Sonoma that can pretty much
accomplish any task from A
administrative standpoint and from an
emailing standpoint and from kind of a
business administration standpoint
you're able to get everything done it
supports pretty much every application
that you would need from that Silo of
use cases this M2 MacBook Air checks off
every single box battery life is great
the display is amazing 13.6 in is just
big enough where you can fit a lot of
applications on there at once the
keyboard is pristine Touch ID works
extremely well the build quality is
amazing like there's nothing really
negative that you can say about this
laptop in my personal opinion but leave
some comments down below about what you
think and again one of its best features
is that price to Performance ratio and
the value that you get for your money
people like to spend money on their
laptops and use it for 5 to six to 7even
years moving forward and that's what
this laptop is going to be able to do
and there's always deals on this laptop
like I saw even the 15-in MacBook Air
the M2 version for $150 on Amazon the
other day I'll leave some links down
below of the best deals that I find
online I've seen this M2 MacBook Air for
$900 which is unbelievable and there's
also the refurbish section on Apple's
website and a little secret if you made
it to the very end if you're in the US I
can only vouch for the US you can go to
the education store and get $100 off
without showing any proof or anything
and then every add-on on top of that I
believe is $20 off so I got the M2
MacBook Air 16 gig version for I believe
under $1,200 if I'm doing the math
correctly because it was $100 off from
the actual price and then $20 off the
$200 upgrade so it definitely was below
$1,200 for the 16 gig version through
the education store so a little secret
for those of you that haven't tried the
education store yet but that will just
about do for this video everybody I
wanted to give you guys my use cases my
personal situation with the M2 MacBook
Air I love the computer I cannot
recommend it enough when people ask me
should I get an iPad or a Macbook for me
personally I love my iPad and I'm biased
towards the iPad I know it's a more
expensive device I know that you can
probably do more or at least have a more
familiar EXP experience on Mac OS versus
iPad OS but for the most part I
recommend the M2 MacBook Air or even the
M1 MacBook Air Sometimes because for the
price you know you get obviously you get
a keyboard you get a trackpad there's no
additional things you need to buy to
make it more of a laptop experience it
runs the latest version of Mac OS and
it's going to last you 5 to 7 years if
you take care of it so I usually steer
people towards a Macbook a because it
will Encompass about 99% of all of your
use cases at that price point and you're
going to be happy along the way but let
me know in the comment down below are
you guys M2 MacBook Air users what are
you guys looking to upgrade to are you
still using an Intel based MacBook Air
which I'm sorry for you if you still are
because I remember having one and it was
terrible compared to the M2 and even the
M1 but I'll leave everything linked down
below if you guys do want to check any
of these actual MacBooks out and see
what the best deals are because I know
holidays are right around the corner and
they going to be some great deals moving
forward but that will do it for this
video Everybody if you made it to the
end leave a little dolphin in the
comments down below so I know you made
it to the end share with me some of your
use cases what do you use your MacBook
for are you on the MacBook Pro side on
the MacBook Air side are you getting
maybe one of these M3 MacBook Pros and
definitely stay tuned because we do have
some M3 MacBook Pro content coming real
soon from Jeff but if you want to watch
some more iOS Mac OS or iPad OS videos
click on one of these videos right here
and until next time I'm Fernando and I'm
out of here everybody
peace MacBook Air best bang for
bck
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