APPLE | TECHNOLOGY | USER EXPERIENCE
It Exceeded All My Expectations: Apple’s MacBook Air M2 Is A Beast
I am still thrilled after two months of heavy daily use of my MacBook Air M2.
It’s not always when the new gadget exceeds expectations. But this time, my wildest dreams were just a shadow of the real thing.
I will write here about my experiences with the new Macbook Air M2. As great as the laptop is, there are some not-so-great things, which I also try to highlight to be a bit more balanced and less biased. It isn’t easy, though, because the laptop is the best I have ever had.
I wrote about my ecstatic, throbbing and tortuous wait for the new MacBook M2. I might have been carried away with everything in that article, but judge yourself. Below is the link.
The anatomy of the beast
My MacBook Air M2 is the Starlight version with 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage. Below is the tech spec for those of you who are geekier.
It has an Apple M2 chip with
- 10-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 100GB/s memory bandwidth
Its display is the Liquid Retina display
- 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology;
- 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with
- support for 1 billion colours
- 500 nits brightness
- The wide colour (P3)
- True Tone technology
So, I chose the flagship model with all bells and whistles.
First impressions
The courier delivered the device three days earlier than Apple estimated, making everything feel better. Apple knows how vital these positive surprises are, and even if my rational mind told me that it was a calculation on Apple’s part, my heart started to sing when the courier knocked on the door.
When I unboxed the laptop, Apple’s attention to detail made the experience special. All the wrapping materials, the feel of the box and finally, the texture of the (100% recycled!) aluminium in the enclosure made it feel like a luxury item but a sustainably manufactured marvel.
It was lighter than I thought, and the alluring design and the shiny colour got me looking at it for a few seconds longer. So much so that my wife, watching the rite, rapped out: –’ Open it and don’t stare it like a cow at the new gate.’
Slowly I opened the lid, and there it was, ready and keen in fulfilling all my computing needs, wishes and aspirations.
The first impressions promised a great start to our comradeship.
Moving from my iMac 27" to the new MacBook Air M2
I had a three-year-old 27 “ iMac, my primary tool for heavy lifting. I also had a tiny MacBook 12” as my travel companion.
All my files have been in iCloud for years, so I did not need to worry about transferring local files into my new MacBook.
The new MacBook needed an upgrade to the macOS Ventura that Apple had just released, which took less than one hour.
After that, it was a breeze getting everything from the old iMac to the new Macbook. It was maybe the most seamless transfer I have had so far between an old and a new device.
Apple gets every OS better with these little things that make it easier for users to keep up with the latest stuff without sweating too much.
After a few days, I realised I hadn’t touched my iMac anymore. Divorce was inevitable.
For a moment, I felt sorry for my old iMac, but what the heck, I thought, it was just a machine. And I sold the old lady and did the same with the faithful mistress, MacBook 12". (Disclaimer: I am polygamist only with technology).
I had my iMac and MacBook Air working in parallel for me for less than a week until the buyer came and collected the iMac.
During that time, the speed of the new laptop was unbelievable compared to the iMac and especially to the old MacBook 12".
I had 32 GB memory on my iMac, and when I got it three years earlier, it was the fastest on its line. But MacBook Air made it look like a sloth.
A funny thing happened when I tested how long it would take to edit a video for my customer. It was a 4K video file, a few minutes long. I pressed the export on my new MacBook Air and got the iMac to do the same to see how they both performed.
When I pushed the button on my iMac, I looked back at my MacBook Air. I thought I forgot to press the button because no process was going on. However, it had done the job so fast that I wasn’t even aware of it.
So, I don’t understand any tech bench testing and that jargon, but that little test told me I have a future on my hands.
Workflows are now actual flow
When the renowned psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (1934–2021) created the concept of flow in 1975, Macintosh was already there. I don’t know if he had one, but I am sure that if he were alive today, he would agree that MacBook Air M2 is to the mobile work of what flow is for the creative mind. They are intertwined.
When an operating system, a computer, peripherals and the creative thinker are on the same wavelength, they can surf that wave much faster and farther.
Much of MacBook Air M2’s magic comes from the new macOS Ventura. It is a combo hard to beat.
I wrote an article about the macOS Ventura a few weeks ago. So, I don’t go into those details here. Below is the link to that story if you are interested.
When I wrote about Ventura, I didn’t know how much more Apple silicon means for the workflows. Yes, Intel Macs work fine with the Ventura, and the elegance and smoothness are there, but the Apple silicon makes it fly so high and fast that there is no way back.
For example, the Stage Manager is such a brilliant invention on my MacBook Air that I hardly need my big 27" external screen anymore. And that says a lot.
So, the positives in a nutshell
After two months of heavy daily use, these are the positives I have found. I distilled my observations into six points.
1) Speed. MacBook M2 is insanely fast. It makes OS and the apps fly, and the user can focus on thinking instead of waiting for things to happen.
2) The device is silent. When I had my old iMac, it started to use the fans so loud with video recording that my microphone picked up the hum — not my MacBook Air.
3) The screen is gorgeous. The 13.6-inch screen is the best I have ever seen on a laptop. It has entirely changed my workflow and the way I use the displays. With the Stage Manager, I don’t want to look at my 27" LG anymore. I use it only when I am at my desk as a drawer where I throw files I might need, but the main work is now on my MacBook Air screen.
4) Battery life is finally almost eternal. I had a two days work rush and forgot to bring the charger. I was on the go from meetings to coaching sessions and then working on cafes in between to write my articles. I also recorded and edited short videos for my customers from the coaching sessions. My MacBook did those two days without a problem. When I came home, I still had 13% left juice.
5) Keyboard and the trackpad are brilliant. Writing on this keyboard is a way better experience than with any other laptop keyboard I have tried. I make fewer typos, and the response and feel of the keys are so tactile that my fingers love to write with this keyboard.
6) Design. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my eye, MacBook Air M2 is an example of brilliant industrial design. It is balanced, its finish is gorgeous, and it is luxuriously delightful. And the design is not only the physical aspect of the excellence but also the way the operating system is seamlessly part of the overall user experience — holistic design at its best.
And what Apple missed?
I have seen a lot of articles and YouTube videos about the issues or things Apple missed to implement or did wrong. Here are the three main points I want to highlight.
1) One is the camera. It is not as good as it could be. It’s decent, but for serious work like recording good quality lecture content, etc., the camera does not deliver. Instead, I still need to use my Sony Alpha 6400.
However, the Continuity Camera is available, but as a wireless technology, you cannot shoot 4K videos with your iPhone using it as a continuity camera. So, there is a little bit of salt in this wound.
2) Lack of HDMI port. As a mobile guy, I use screens and projectors all the time and bringing the adapter is a drag, and there is always the danger of forgetting my expensive dongle. However, I will take the slim option anytime if I must choose between a slim design or a thicker laptop with an extra HDMI port.
3) Support only for one external display. It is not a biggie. As I mentioned earlier, the MacBook Air M2 has such a gorgeous screen, and with Stage Manager, I don’t need so many extra displays. This laptop is meant for mobile generalists; you have the Pro models if you need more externals.
In summary
As you have seen, I love my MacBook Air M2. It has started even a new mobile work paradigm with Ventura’s innovative features like Stage Manager, Continuity Camera, and Universal Control.
If you want to have one device to be your constant and reliable workhorse, this laptop delivers.
It might not be everybody’s thing. The M1 Air is still a very tempting and cheaper option, and then the Pro models offer the extra connectivity that serious guys need.
However, for the rest of us, MacBook Air M2 finally made the promise of the first MacBook Air a viable reality. When Steve Jobs announced it in January 2008, it had a fantastic form factor but not the power to deliver.
Now both the innovative form factor and impressive power are in this slim, elegant and uniquely delightful package.
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