The 15” MacBook Air Is Perfect. Maybe Don’t Buy It.

The 15" MacBook Air is nearly perfect—but that doesn't mean it's my recommendation for many—perhaps even most...

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I’ve been using the 15” MacBook Air as my every-day laptop for over a month and I think this is the closest Apple has ever gotten to the perfect laptop—but that doesn’t mean I'm going to keep using it; nor should you should rush out to buy one. Lemme cook here. Since the MacBook Air debuted 15-years-ago, it hasn't been offered in a size greater than 13". For a few years there, we had an even smaller version available at 11.6", but never larger than 13 and it... never made sense. The simple reality is that a lot of people want big screens: be it aging eyesight, larger workspace requirements, laptop-only workflows, whatever... and until last month, the only way to get an Apple laptop larger than 14" in size was to spend at least $2,500 for a 16" MacBook Pro that is hulkingly overkill for many that merely seek more display real estate. The option is great for those that need it, but I think more people believe themselves to need it than those that actually do.

[SirGenesis]

I recently bought one (walked in for a surfacelaptop 5, walked out with this) and I love it. I don’t do much, mostly docs and web browsing, but it feels amazing.

[teamvigod]

This review is extremely helpful as I've been waffling between the Macbook 15, Pro 14 and Pro 16. The price apple charges for storage is bonkers. It's hard to buy it because you know just how bad they are raking you for it.

[lenn]

I picked up a 16" Apple refurbished M1 MBP about 6 months ago. Love it!

[nikoma_]

I’ve been using a maxed out 13" M2 Air and haven’t needed my MBP since. I connect an external monitor occasionally as needed. The 13" is so light and lasts so long I always leave the charger at home. It’s a dream. 13" all the way ✅

[PackFan-tvpj]

Thanks for the excellent input. I've got the M1 14" MacBook Pro, and the larger size of the 15" Air was tempting, but I'd be giving up way too much.

[Piketom]

I have a suspicion that most MBA buyers would rather have a little bit of extra portability than a little bit of extra screen space. A good case in point is the University department I work in. Most of our faculty travel extensively for research in the terms they are not teaching. Our IT department has been buying them the 13" Apple Silicon Air for the past few years and I don't expect that to change now that there is a 15" version. If someone needs more performance than the Air, they will get the MacBook Pro. A 13" Air fits in most bags better, fits on most airplane trays better, and is just a little bit lighter.

[bklynrickel]

Bought a 15" MBA and returned it in 2 days. Purchased a 14" MBP M2 with 16gb/1tb ssd refurbished for $2200. I love it for all the reasons you stated in the video. Had I stayed with the MBA it would have cost that much, or even a tad more, to get those same specs. 14" MBP M2 was the sweet spot for me.

[Evie]

As a 14" MBP owner, I wholeheartedly agree. The screen feels noticeably bigger than 13" laptops without the whole laptop feeling big, but somehow not far off from 15" ones when it comes to the screen size. It's definitely a better option than the 15" MBA imo. MBA would've been saved if the base models weren't configured like crap. 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD should be a minimum in 2022. Anything less feels extremely limiting, and I don't recommend it.

[jonglass]

The beauty of the 11" MBA was its size. It was a super-thin wedge that fit where no other laptop could, and was actually better than an iPad Pro. I still use mine because of its portability, and full-on usefulness. Yeah, it can't run my new Adobe CC apps as well, but browsing, word processing, etc. is just fine, and mine has the stock 4GB of RAM, and it's running, I think, the latest OS. In fact the last two OS upgrades made it faster. Go figure.

[DJ.Skyhawk]

Earlier this year I bought an M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14in (16gb RAM, 1TB) for $1700 on Amazon Renewed. It’s such a beast of a machine. I use it for music production and DJ software. I’ve had multiple 12hr off wall sessions with it, producing music, web browsing, and messaging. I know the M2 Pro has some spec bump increases, but I’d say, if you can find an M1 Pro renewed or apple refurbished, definitely put it on your short list. I don’t see myself hitting the limit or needing to upgrade this for 5-7 years, easily.

[aelaan]

Exactly what I would say, Quinn! On point and the right advice to someone considering either. The 15" does have a nicer screen size, but I don't think I can go back from XDR and Promotion.

[SteveDonev]

Hot take: for most people 256 gigs is fine. This isn’t a gaming machine, so you won’t be downloading 100 gig games. Also the average person will be using this for email, YouTube, word processing, maybe excel, and if they are a student also to do homework. How many word files will it take to fill up 256 gigs?

[AlanTheBeast]

Thermal mass doesn't do more to help cooling - it just delays the dissipation of heat.
It can help moderate sudden spikes in heat - that is all - the heat is still "stuck" in the mass and needs to get out.
What is needed is surface area and airflow (or other fluid).

[manendrademel]

Do more laptop reviews please !... and keep the same tone and easy going style.
This review covered alot of things but above all it provided a valuable insight.

Keep it up man 👍. First video I saw in this channel. Subscribed right away

[JeMone]

I bought one yesterday for the purpose of the a bigger screen. I have have the m1 MacBook Pro. 13 inch. But I more screen real estate. I use that everyday. Heck just still use my 2012 MacBook Pro everyday too lol. But I am IN LOVE WITH THIS M2 15 inch already!!! This computer is awesome!!!! I have edited a few videos and done some flyers from it! It does pretty good. I’ll use my m1 MacBook Pro for heavy lifting things if I need to but this 15inch m2 Air is my daily driver now! Buy it!!!! It’s awesome!!!!

[chrism]

$2, 799 in Australia for the 16GB/512GB SSD version. Bullshit.

[Sebbz]

Recently sold my M1 Pro 14 inch and bought a M1 Air 13” 16 GB RAM instead. It was half the price of the M1 Pro 14 inch 😳 I found out I never needed all that power for my light use.

[airops]

I have both the 14" MBP and 16" MBP and they're both just a little too small and big respectively. I feel like 15" would be perfect lol.

[mister_ray]

The MBA 15 is chosen over the MBP for the lighter/thinner form factor. Go with the 16GB memory and 512GB storage for the best performance. A fantastic travel laptop.

[akabane]

I wanted to upgrade from my m1 air 13", I was between the 15" and a 16" for the bigger screen and more power. And everyone recommended me the m1 pro over the m2 so I went for the m1 pro and couldn't be happier. It's sad the 15" is priced the same to a 14" and 16" when you upgrade the specs.