M2 MacBook Air - Why Does Everyone HATE It?

The M2 MacBooks have seen nothing but controversy since their release. But at the end of the day, are they actually good laptops? Why do so many people not like this product? Let's dig a little deeper.

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Are you wondering how the new M2 MacBook Air compares to the M1 MacBook Air? In this video I compare them in everything from form factor, battery life, thermals, performance, and more!

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00:00 Introduction
00:32 Legacy of the M1
01:33 Is the M2 MacBook Air Actually Good?
04:46 The Controversies
06:38 We’re getting sick of this Apple…
08:44 The Future of the MacBook Air
09:58 Should You Buy It?

#macbookair #m2macbookair #createdtech
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[CreatedTech]

Leave a comment down below saying one thing you like, and one thing you DON'T like about this MacBook. I'd love to hear!

[MaxTechOfficial]

You're right, it is a lower value proposition than the M1 Air, especially if you pick up a new one for as low as $850 with a full warranty. The M2 Air is a sweet design with a lot of upgrades, and we've really enjoyed using it for day to day use, but with the higher price and some drawbacks as you mentioned its no longer a 10/10 laptop as the M1 Air was and still is for the price. If you can afford it and can upgrade your SSD and RAM then its a killer machine, but you're spending a lot more.

[florian_d]

I would say the thing is: The M2 MBA is a Great Laptop, but it is just too expensive in comparison to the M1 MBA

[RunForPeace-hkcu]

Tech YouTube hate it and people who were never gonna buy a MacBookair hate it.

[Nhguava]

Short answer: Because reviewers trash on issues, the intended target market would never face.

[xanachocolat]

I am a m2 MBA user and I like it very much. The new design is beautiful and it's very portable so I don't regret buying it

[Criticasparareflexio]

That storage controversy could had been solved if Apple decided to put 512GB of storage as base. The industry is no longer making 128GB modules because they don't make sense anymore in a world where even a couple of games can fill 256GB with no effort, when even phones are shipping with more storage is clear that 256GB is insufficient for today demands.

Like what happened to the car manufacturers and their so called "Component shortage" that was due to them using palaeolithic technology nodes rather than a real problem.

[HwL]

Because youtubers keep making a big fuss on social media were about the ssd being slow, thermal throttles under intensive loads like long graphic rendering etc.. While most of the target audience of this product most likely won't even harness 80% of what even an older M1 chip can do.

[gilead]

After all the reviews and benchmarks, I was happy to order the M1 Air. 512GB storage and 16GB RAM for only slightly more than the base model M2 would have cost. There's no way I'd have bought the equivalent spec M2 for £1750, particularly since it's still weirdly more expensive in the UK than ordering the base spec 14 inch M1 pro from somewhere like Amazon (£1735).

[JustinBoden]

The M1 Air is going to go down in history as one of the greatest value laptops of all time. It's an amazingly efficient chip in a very mature design. The M2 Air is poor value by comparison, particularly because (as you say) the chassis is designed for a 3nm chip. It's just a matter of whether you're happy to wait until 2024 or so for that device.

[Darthwriter]

I've owned the M1 Air (base) and the 14" Pro (base) and now the M2 Air base model, and the M2, for me, is the best laptop of them all. Also, I am honestly sick of all the negative reviews. The M2 Air, for everyday normal-user tasks is excellent. Is the drive slower? In benchmarks, yes. In everyday use, not at all. The screen is excellent (though not quite as nice as the more expensive 14 Pro) and the form factor is great for carrying it everywhere I go. The lighter weight and smaller power adapter is a noticeable thing when I have it with me all the time. The keyboard is tight and comfortable during long use, and the speakers are also good. (Though I normally use my Beats Fit Pros so I don't use the built-in speakers all that much.) The battery time has been truly amazing. Way better than the 14 Pro--by hours--and even better than the M1. Yes it costs more, but lately everything does. Whether it's COVID/War supply issues or just plain greed, it is what it is. And to me, it is very worth it. I can't recommend it enough if you have the means. If not, a refurb M1 is a good choice. Still all the complaints are so overblown. Oh, and the midnight isn't really that much of a finger print magnet compared to the space grey Pro and Air, though I do carry a micro fiber cloth in my bag to wipe it down occasionally as I did with the Air and Pro.

[ndornquast]

100% agree on M2 should ship with 512GB SSD. A) Would negate the serious performance issue of the 256GB version. B) Would help differentiate between still selling M1 and M2 - I think this helps both models). C) Yes.. price difference for Apple is a few dollars; reputations damage is huge. Same arguments could be made to have 16GB minimum for the M2 as well.

[TheAthavanleon]

I am a M1 MacBook Air user - The reason I choose the M1 even though it was a first gen product. I was amazed with its performance and what it had to offer of 1000$ - I spend 1200$ and got the 256 with 16GB RAM... I have been using it for almost 2 years... The reason I would not recommend the M2 are as follows - it start with 1200$ for the slower SSD is not acceptable ( I am a huge apple fan) in the M2 air they drop the ball... Buy the time you update the Air to be decent ( with 16GB of ram and 512 SSD to avoid the speed issue) Its almost 1800 USD... for the I would recommend 14" MacBook Pro... Strictly recommend anyone looking for Air go with M1... or go for the 14" PRO... But if you a person who want a basic laptop for day to day tasks some word processing and media consumption and you want the look of the new - Just go with the base model...

[Shalomrutere]

When I saw the low power mode from Max Tech, I got really relieved. At least the M2 MacBook Air can have reduced performance for much lower temperatures and longer battery life. The ability to control performance has been on windows and lacking in Macs but at least it's on two of them now: the M2 MacBook Air and the 16" MacBook Pro. I just wish it was available for all of them. The low power mode doesn't switch off the Power cores but just lower their clock speeds. That shouldn't be impossible to do even on the M1 MacBook Air. I just hope Apple makes the low power mode available for all Macs.

Concerning the high temperatures on the M2, that doesn't surprise me because the M1 Pro chip in the 14" MacBook Pro reached 106 °C when running Cinebench for long.
As for the storage, these SSDs are definitely of a lower quality. The 14" MacBook pro with the base 512 GB had two nand chips and reached those high 4, 000 MBps yet the 512 GB M2 MacBooks barely reach 3, 000 MBps. I made this observation from those who opened the 14" MacBook Pro.

[steerablechimp]

I held on to an old Intel MBA, waiting on a refresh, hoping for a Retina display, substantially updated internals, etc, which didn’t arrive.
In frustration, and switched to an XPS13 and it was an awesome laptop. Stuck with it for 5 years. Would have switched back at M1 but saw the design refresh on the horizon and held out.
Going from a great i5 windows machine to the M2 MBA, it’s been great.
I’m did spec it 16gb, 512gb since I intend to keep it at least 3-4 years, same as my previous laptops.

[vwood]

A lighter machine with a faster processor, bigger brighter screen, and an additional charging port made the $200 upgrade worth it for me. However, I really miss the tapered design and gold colour of the M1 Air. The M1 Air was sleek and gorgeous, whereas my new M2 Starlight looks ‘meh’.

[chrispatmore]

I just bought the Air M2 15” base model as I need a laptop for when I’m occasionally away from my desktop M1 MacMini. I mainly use it for basic RAW photo processing in Photoshop and page layouts in Affinity Publisher, and it works perfectly well. Having used Macs since 1985, I can’t see what people are complaining about, and their expectations are, frankly, excessive. We managed with machines with a fraction of the power they have now, and could turn out work as good, if not better (creatively) than is being done today. All the complaints sound suspiciously like workmen blaming their tools, to me. Or simply by people who don’t actually use them for any more than running benchmark tests.

[EvoZimsHQ]

I absolutely love the form factor and performance of the M2 Air coming from a 2019 13” MBP. It’s so comfortable and easy to carry around. Got it refurbished and couldn’t be happier especially with the beautiful midnight color. People are just hating.

[user_anthony]

Ignoring logistics of it, the ideal entry config should be 10-12 gb of ram and 512 storage.

Had the m2 air started with that, at 1.2k its well worth the buy over the m1 mba. But of course thats not a nice profit strategy and thus here we are.

But seriously 512 storage is what any user, heavy or light can use and understand. Ram is a bit more technical for the non-techie so i can understand that being a pricey upgrade.

[generalgopnik]

Just bought MBA M1 with 256/16. battery life is impressive and it's fast. The ram never reach the swap, use only for web development and watch youtube. For me for the better speaker, better camera, little bigger screen and new design doesn't justify to pay more for the M2 unless the M2 is double the performance than M1 or better thermal.