the best MacBook money can buy

The M2 or M3 MacBook Air 15" with 16gb of unified memory and 512gb of internal storage is a fantastic configuration of MacBook and in my opinion the best money can buy right now. I use this thing for pretty much everything I do at home and on the go. In this video I highlight some of my favorite aspects about this machine and usage cases I have for it!

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the macbook in question: 0:00-1:11
the iPhone of toothbrushes!: 1:11-2:32
a web surfing dream: 2:32-4:06
productivity monster: 4:06-6:35
creative capability! 6:35-10:16
great media consumption: 10:16-10:54
desktop alternative: 10:54-13:25
final thoughts: 13:25-14:52

[CountableNewt]

I have an M2 15" MacBook Air with the 16GB/1TB config and I use it for development, 3D modeling, and UI and graphic design, zero problems here, even when running local AI models like stable diffusion and llama3 8B

Don't let people tell you you can't do this stuff on these lower-end machines, they're beasts

As for storage usage, I have all of my iCloud data including photos, the entire codebases of multiple applications, and multiple AI models and I'm using about 200GB, do with that information what you will.

[toasti]

The m2 pro and m1 pro macbook 14 pros are also phenomenal even 3 years later. I bought my m1 pro macbook pro with 16/512 for 1200 about 6 months ago, and have been loving it ever since I bought it

[slivka_]

Imho MacBooks are supposed to look and feel sexy and light, and the Pro just doesn’t feel that good for me. It feels like a brick, very unappealing. Could get used to it of course, but why? The 15” air has a nice big screen and is thinner and looks better (for me). I don’t need the pro features, so the Air is where it’s at

[jrich]

My 13” 2020 M1 Base MacBook Pro is still a beast !! Blazing fast, still amazing battery life and don’t need anything more !

[Michelangelo]

The 16/512 M3, either the 13 or 15 inch, is definitely the sweet spot. Power, portability, and now its a stock configuration. Education pricing brings it down to $1399/$1599 USD respectively, and there will almost surely be more deals at authorized sellers over the summer for back-to-school. Its an excellent device that will last awhile.

[saisathya]

I am a Graphic Designer and a Photographer from India who works on multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom Classic, Figma and Canva, also I am planning to start learning video editing using Adobe's Premier Pro or Davinci Resolve and motion graphics using Adobe After Effects.

Currently, I am using an AUS ROG Zephyrus G14 from 2020 with 16 gigs of memory and 1 TB of storage (this is the base model btw which has a Ryzen 5 4600 HS CPU and a Nvidia GTX 1650 ti GPU).

I usually have multiple apps running and this is how it might look on average:

1. Photoshop
2. Illustrator
3. Figma (along with Photoshop on rare scenarios)
4. Lightroom Classic (sometimes along with Photoshop)
3. A browser (2 different ones like Brave and Firefox sometimes),
4. Apple Music,
5. Windows file explorer (4 to 5 tabs),
6. A communication app (like Slack or Teams) and
7. Notion.

So now can you tell me whether a person like me can get away with a decently specced Macbook Air (like a 15-inch model with 24 gigs of memory and 1 TB of storage) instead of a much more powerful Macbook Pro?

[Sonderax]

Brought a M2 15" air with 16gb of Unified memory and it's been perfect. Have a 1tb portable SSD for any work i do. Edit photos and short videos on it perfectly fine. For my first mac it's a great introduction to MacOS.

Glad it came out when it did as i was about to spend far more then comfortable on a 16" Macbook pro which at the time would have been perfect but as of now would be total overkill.

I defo am missing out on some features as somebody who dislikes the iPhone (hate IOS) but the mac is making me want an iPhone for improving tasks and features which i'd use regularly

[dustinnguyen]

This and the new M3 MBA 13" 16gbram 512gb model are both the best for most people honestly.

[Hammy]

I wholeheartedly agree with this verdict! I came back to the Mac over a year ago when I purchased a M2 MacBook Air 13 after spending about four years with a ThinkPad. I wish I could have waited for the 15 inch version. I also went with 24GB RAM as I was constantly running out of RAM on my ThinkPad but if I was doing it again I would either save the money and get 16GB or spend the money on the 1TB storage instead. This MacBook Air is the best daily driver laptop I’ve ever owned.

[smolrandom]

The only thing with the 15" is that if your college has small ass chair trays or if you do work in an economy seat tray, anything above 13/14" can be a struggle.

[AbhishekBiswas]

Completely agree with the revieq Noah. I got a M2 MacBook Air with 24gb RAM and 1 TB ssd and that too for just £1600 from the Apple Refurbished Store in the UK

[JeadilsonBezerra]

Traded a base 15” MacBook Pro M2 for a second hand base M1 Pro 14”. Although the size difference is minimal somehow the 14” fits better at my backpack than the 15”.

[Annette_Hons]

Is the 15” that much better than 13”? I currently have a 13” M1 MacBook Air and I want to upgrade to M3 but having a hard time deciding between 13 or 15”. I def don’t need a pro model, I’m just a basic user, I also have an external monitor I use when I want more screen space, but that limits me to my desk, and I don’t use it that often.

[stevemcclure]

I was SURE you were going to say a MacBook Pro! I really like the 15" MacBook Air and am looking at that model and actually the MacBook Air M1 from Walmart :)

[akin]

With the refurbished M1 MacBook Pro 14 available for less than $1300, there is no excuse to get the MacBook Air for professional use.

For non-professional use, the M1-M3 Air are all excellent options with 16GB of RAM. You can get a $20 dongle for extra ports if you do photography as a side hobby and need an SD card port.

[raspberryland_]

At first thinking about the 15 in MacBook Air seems like a steal.. but then you start to add at least 512gb and 16gb of ram… it is just inches away from a 14 in MacBook Pro which is way better in almost every aspect despite being slightly smaller… if Im spending that much already, I might as well get the 14 in MacBook Pro, , just my humble opinion 😊

[stanford]

I recently went to check out the macs and I honestly can't get over how smooth the refresh rate is on the pros. If they put 90Hz at least on the macbook airs then they will be the bests laptops money can buy

[GarminPro]

I have a 15 inch macbook pro from 2018. I def think i like the 15 inch form factor.

[michaelmanus]

If I could find a fault, it would be the lack of memory management overall by Apple for their MacOS and Safari. Since the M series chip, many have voiced 'concern' about the issues with the consumption of memory and the lack of releasing memory for other apps, etc. However, for casual day-to-day use, I have to agree (save for Safari) with your take on the Air. I went from a 2015 MBP with the magic choice of 16/512. It served me very well for years. I opted later to try the M1 Mini 1ith the same options and well, wonderful machine but memory was a serious problem I finally ended up with a Studio Max M1 64 gigs RAM as I do some photo edit work. If I had to get a laptop as an addition, I would go with the Air for much of the reasons you give. Noah, as awlays, enjoy your videos.

[djswoll]

Agreed! Just upgraded my 13” M2 16gb 512 ssd to the 15” M3 16gb 512 ssd. Bigger screen, light form factor and what no one talks about, bigger area to rest your wrists.