Hope you enjoyed this vid! If you want to see the first 14 things I did on this MacBook, click here: ua-cam.com/video/xccYLpaFn4k/v-deo.html And to see me unbox this MacBook, click here: ua-cam.com/video/M-QvxjybiSk/v-deo.html
Hey quick info though, speaker grills on macbooks have been fake for the past 5 years. The speaker are usually closer to the wrist area, the speaker grills are aesthetic only, small crevasses with a drop of ink to simulate depth. Having them or not doesn't make a difference.
The fact that you find M2 air is faster than MacBook Pro in some scenarios and that it didn’t need ram as much as Windows shows that you put efforts in your comparison. Many other reviews are lousy in this respect, they only did comparison on benchmark.
Umm... its a pretty useless "advantage"... especially considering they negotiated the increased efficiency which came with the IPC increase as they clocked the M2 higher (and the M2 is technically still a M1) Btw, many showed the single core performance is better on M2 than M1, so i dont even get what you are saying since it doesnt make sense
While I liked this review as well, there are good reasons for why benchmarks are preferred by most reviewers. It's not just the convenience. If you just pick tasks at random you can end up with very misleading results. One example is saying that the M2 "easily outpaces the M1 Pro for some pro tasks, such as Photoshop", which Ella says in this video. That isn't really true. Both because the advantage of a slightly faster single threaded performance is small compared to the disadvantage of not having active cooling (small gains of a few seconds in light work vs big gains with medium to heavier workloads), and because Photoshop now is being optimised to take more advantage of GPU-acceleration. "Yeah, well most people just do light work in Photoshop". Not true. Most people don't use photoshop, but of the people that do, most would benefit from the extra performance of the 14"/16". ArtIsRight has done very extensive testing of this, and I've seen the same results in my own usage when I've compared the machines. The M2 is slightly faster on light tasks (often 2-3 seconds, which is trivial anyway), but can be 10 minutes slower with heavier workloads. A second here and there, for example when loading Google earth, is totally insignificant. But if you have to wait 35 minutes to export a project instead of 10 minutes. Well... That's A LOT. The same is true for compiling code. This machine will do just fine with Photoshop, but I would definitely recommend the 14" instead if you buy it for that specifically.
@@IageF this will also apply for music production. as a musician myself, i bought a MBA M2 for music production due to being “the cheapest macbook at a reasonable price”. i was wrong. 4 days later my MBA while running Garageband and Bias FX for a Neural DSP amp sim got pretty hot after 15min of usage. she mentions that it doesn’t get that hot and will make your palms sweat, but, 40°C it’s pretty hot considering that after 14 days with my new 14” MBP hasn’t even got warm. i just returned the MBA and paid the extra money to get the pro. best decision i’ve made.
@Daniel I wish it would have Micro LED, but its "only" Mini LED an you can literally distinguish each local dimming zones Not that the display is bad... its fkin awesome and great, but the local dimming zones can get noticable especially in the dark!
I just bought mine because of your review. You did not get too technical on specs we don't understand. Thank you for focusing on features that matter to most consumers!
This could be the best review that I’ve seen on the M2 MacBook Air. It covers all the key areas of a new computer purchase in a clear and concise manner, with a nice sprinkling of opinions/recommendations interspersed throughout. There’s so much FUD being spread about the slower base model SSD, particularly from some other UA-camrs and publications who seem to be forgetting (or not caring) who this device is really designed for. After watching this video, I feel reassured with choosing the base model and that my fairly light needs won’t be affected. Thank you 🙏
The fact that she had not one, but three other laptops!!!! Including the upgraded M2 MBA that everyone says you need to upgrade to. This girl has it going on!!!
100% agree, one of the best reviews out there, answered all my questions as they arose in my head and I was clear by the end that I fall in the “most people” category :) Tysm!!
I watched like 30+ videos on the MacBook Air compared to the 14” pro and by far this is the best video on UA-cam! Also, the multiple tabs being open, 8GB ram vs the upgrade and 4k video rendering on both- nobody discussed it like you did. You just made this an easier purchase decision!
Yours is the best review of the M2 MacBook Air I've seen. I sold my 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro and bought a base model M2 MacBook Air midnight. I've used Apple and Windows laptops for 25 years (I started with a PowerBook 145), and the M2 Air is by far the best laptop I've ever owned. My main is a 27-inch 5K iMac, and the Air is an auxiliary, mobile machine. I rarely used the MacBook Pro, but now I look for reasons to use my Air, even when it's on my desk next to my iMac. It's lightweight, thin, beautiful, and so comfortable to use. And I really don't understand the uproar from everyone about fingerprints. I never wipe mine down. I'm looking at it right now and it looks great. Once in a great while, I might notice a smudge. I rub it with my finger and it's gone.
Think this is my first comment to any video on youtube - ever (and i'm a 36 year old IT Specialist, using youtube every single day). I just had to give you a virtual high-five. This is a great and honest review. You can always get something bigger, better and faster, when it comes to tech. But in reality you rarely really use all theese ekstra horsepower. I love how you are being realistic about the use-cases, and and i love the format of your review and the videoediting. Great job! You've got a new follower! :)
normal usage for 3 -4 hrs. .. ate up only 35% battery and still lots of battery to use . just got mine few hours ago and fully charge 100% Now Ella's videos on mac are my "Go-To" anything apple
I was about to cancel my order of MBA M2 because of lots of negative reviews from you tubers. Your video made it clear this suits perfectly for my needs. Thank you.
this review was actually really helpful, as a student i dont understand what bench mark scores mean so the real life comparisons to test how fast the airbook is compared to the pro was so much easier to understand! Especially as a Windows user my whole life the comparison to the i7 chip also gave great perspective.
Excellent, Ella! Finally someone who presents and explains the performance for daily tasks. I wish there would be someone who could show us how this new machine works in usual music production cases with Logic Pro X... no benchmarks, just tracking mixing mastering with our usual plugins. I wish Apple could give me one for testing and presentation here in Central Eastern Europe... but it never will happen. I hope I can afford 14 or 16 MBP with next gen M2 Pro chip, and I can fill this gap on UA-cam.
Finally I bought an M1 Max Mac Studio on huge sale (about 1500EUR). Base model. All I can say is that it’s hard to give it any task to make it sweat. It really depends on the plugins CPU usage how far you can go. Be careful with storage decisions, as this new encryption/partition withccraft killed two external SSD-s. Whether this ismintentional, or it’s simply sensitive to hubs and firmwares, or the whole ecosystem is in its infancy, I do not know. Store and archive rarely used and/or important things on NAS, and use internal storage for everything you really use on Mac’s own internal SSD + leave at least 10% buffer or more on it. Everything else shall be backed up daily. Yesterday, out of the blue Ventura told me: The disk you attached was not readable by this computer. It messed up its GPT structure during the night for fun. Unacceptable. APFS was not reliable, HFS was not reliable, NTFS failed twice but managed to save, exFat comes next. Time time time. Knowing Apples moral, I can imagine this is intentional. Secondly, it’s ridiculous they still not allow us to enhance storage with a very simple and cheap NAND flash card they could sell like hot cake. Although the physical slot is there. Not even for high price. Some IT guys hacked it, so it it absolutely possible with proprietary NANDs you csnnot buy easily, but Apple holds it back to be able to sell new stuffs every year. Sustainability, environment friendly. 😢
Great review. Thorough coverage but still in a brief and light feeling video. Been watching m2 air coverage since launch and have a solid understanding of it, but your review seems to be the most condensed yet still digestible version of all the weeks of videos out there. Overall very well done 👍
I was trying to sell this to my girlfriend. I tried five videos in a row, all dudes, fail fail fail fail fail. I was like "only a woman can do this properly" and voila first click, Ella nailed it.
Wasn't a good comparison due to the Cheaper Chrome book which is designed for donations schools. Nor did you mention TSMCnm running on the M2 chip. Every manufacturer has different optimization an chrome books are known as hand me downs. Try a higher Ryzen CPU which beats the M2 in Multi Core , and in some comparations also in single core. Depend of the Chip model. Intel still stuck @10. Not many biased people as yourself talk/mentioned this.
This is genuinely one of the best laptop reviews I've seen. Really balanced perspective, straight to the point and you cover and compare exactly what features you'd want/need out of a laptop. I had the choice between three MacBooks from my work (I've never used a MacBook before). This really helped me in deciding what to get! Thank you! Earned a sub.
@@asaminakahara4247 M2 16gb version! So far I’m still really happy with it. Perfect for what I need. I don’t run anything “heavy” on it. I’m a cybersecurity researcher, so I have lots and lots of tabs, word processing and the genera business tools like slack, notion and mail. All work absolutely fine and i can go about 10 hours without charging m
@@Jackaniel because budgets exist and generally, when buying equipment, you have to justify it (at least I did in this case). Hard to justify a 2k purchase to a technical team when a 1k will do the job
You’re the most professional and competent reviewer I’ve ever seen incredibly detailed without being excessively technical. This is exactly the information I was looking for because I would’ve bought the wrong machine. Thank you so much.!
Thanks for this video. There is a lot of noise around the M2 Air. It's really good to see it reviewed through the lens of "normal" usage and compared to the other offerings.
Your reviews are SOOO GOOD !!! And prioritise REAL WORLD scenarios and task - even huge youtubers in tech world really miss the point sometimes, but you never dissapoint..like how you talked about the single core performance and how most tasks on the web which a lot of people to for their work or free time - that is soo important. As a web developer myself I love single core performance, the m2 air was a noticeable jump from my old m1. Thank you :)
What a super and balanced review! It makes a refreshing change from all these tech chaps giving entry-level Apple products a hard time. I have a 14 inch MacBook Pro and to be honest, it's wasted on me and I'm starting to travel again, so the air is probably a better fit and I'm pleased to see that the entry-level machine, for everyday tasks, is not as bad as everyone's making out. Thanks Ella!
please don't downgrade man. I have the 14 inch pro and it's better in literally every way, not kidding. sure it's heavier but it really isn't that bad for travelling.
some people don't care about price to performance ratio. that's not necessarily the be-all end-all metric, and "performance" is a metric that can be swayed. I would say interoperability without a history of jarring bugs is far more important, and most of apples products just work, which IS valuable. she doesn't need your validation, she knows plenty about computers.
@@marksangria jarring bugs? And she clearly doesn't know a great deal about computers, she didn't mention whether the ram was duel channel, what the speed of the ram was or what the ram timings were. I don't know who gave you the narrative that other companies products don't work compared to apple, as this is far to the contrary. In fact apple often does not include support for many things which people want, not to mention their operating system, compared to windows 10, or a custom iso is abysmal in comparison.
At 1050 right now from Best Buy and extended returns, most people should tee out base m2 before jumping to M1 Pro or upgrade m2. You’ll realize most tasks can be done on it and if you needed a pro you would already know you needed one.
Excellent work actually doing the test of the most common uses for a laptop rather than just relying on benchmark tests. I was all but ready to purchase the 14" M1 Pro since most reviewers are claiming it to be the better device but the hardest I push my laptop doing is running lightroom for my photography and now I'm wondering if the MBA would be the better choice.
This was the review I was looking for, thank you! I watched a lot of M2 reviews, but I never heard that the M2 was faster than the Pro when it comes to browsing. Also love that you tested the tasks an air user would usually do and not only showed us rendering benchmarks. I really enjoyed the video and how you explained everything :)
@@marlonmalave7098it really all depends. I’m a software developer, and MBP would probably give at least some marginal performance benefits over the MBA for me. However, I want to take my computer everywhere and work away from power outlets, so the lighter more compact form of the MBA and longer battery life are also clear benefits.
I am also wondering which laptop to buy. Whether it is AIR M 2 16 GB 256 GB SSD / or M2 Pro 16 GB 256 GB. I will use it mainly for browsing, but I work with many tabs. they say that: when you work a long time on it. it starts to heat up, and loses performance. also said: For browsing with 15-20 tabs. 8 GB of RAM is very little and it is good that it is at least 16 GB (for browsing in Chrome) Can I get how things stand with you and your opinion if you have practice while working. I watched the video and more videos, but I still can't figure out about multitasking - browsing which model would be better
@@CreatedbyEllaYT I am also wondering which laptop to buy. Whether it is AIR M 2 16 GB 256 GB SSD / or M2 Pro 16 GB 256 GB. I will use it mainly for browsing, but I work with many tabs. they say that: when you work a long time on it. it starts to heat up, and loses performance. also said: For browsing with 15-20 tabs. 8 GB of RAM is very little and it is good that it is at least 16 GB (for browsing in Chrome) Can I get how things stand with you and your opinion if you have practice while working. I watched the video and more videos, but I still can't figure out about multitasking - browsing which model would be better
As someone who's been researching MBA videos the last couple days...I wish I found this video first. Thorough and comprehensive review, yet digestible! Loved the presentation throughout the whole video; the subtle changes between shots were such a nice touch! Subbed and will be looking to your tech reviews as one of my first go-to options in the future :)
Well, let me just say, Ella, you and your reviews were outstanding. They were comprehensive, easy to understand and thorough. I made a FOOLISH mistake - mostly because I was forced - into taking a Dell Inspiron Laptop as my purchase before heading on a European business trip ... 7 weeks in total. I could not find a M2 configured as I wanted it and was assured the Dell would EASILY have enough power to get through a transatlantic flight with time to spare. 8+ hours I was told. NOPE. Barely 3. Then the case started to split on the right side, near the hinge. Finally, on returning I tried to get Dell to service it. 2 times they said they were coming and they did not - having me cancel 2 days of apppointments. So, I took it to Best Buy, where I bought it. They said it would be at least 10 days and I was about to leave for Europe again. I could not be without a laptop. Fortunately, they have a PAID LOANER policy. So, I took a MB Air M2. Let me say, I LOVED IT. Today, sadly I had to take the Paid Loaner back because the Dell was back and ready. I wanted to keep the Air but it wasn't equipped as I would want it. After I loaded everything, once having the Air, the next day I did my own rookie test to see about what kind of battery life it would deliver. For me, with CP24 streaming non-stop and working as I nornally would, it gave me a solid 13 hours. Not the maximum I was told but nothing to complain about. I will sell the Dell and replace it with a MB Air M2 - probably 8Core with 16GB ram and 512MB or 1TB drive. I was waffling about an MBPro - having had one for more than a decade - but I think the Air does all I need. Having listened to your reviews I think I am better informed on what I will buy. I don't do video's and stuff like you. I need the longevity and relative speed. I'd like to ask you a few more questions before I do make the purchase. Again, I want to state that your 2 videos I was were TOP NOTCH and thorough. What a great job you did. You should be so proud of the quality of your worlk. BRAVO ELLA!
Omg! It’s so crazy how much research and data you have on all these machines. And each test was so thorough and you showed activity monitor, supporting images and thermal testing. Absolutely amazing video and informative!
Really excellent review. I think most casual users that want a Mac get caught up and confused by reviews that talk about video editing and high end work loads, Yada, yada, yada. Your review is definitely more appropriate for casual every day use. Nice job and appreciate you taking the time to go over everything. 😃
In my opinion, the M2 MacBook Air makes sense for regular User’s which the Base Model is enough. When you want to upgrade the SSD or RAM, you should take an eye of the Pro 14 inch.
I was on Apple's pricing page and starting to just barely bump the specs up and decided a base model 14" Pro with M1 was about the same price so I went with that. Made sense when needing 16GB of RAM and about 1TB storage.
The best review that actually covers a lot of useful real world comparisons. I like how you showed the multiple tabs at use, and mentioned web development does not need heavy compiling which this will suffice.
After watching countless MacBook videos, I was still confused. Your video, with its real-life use cases, made everything clear 🙌 Thanks so much for helping me make my decision! ❤
This is the most accurate review, i have been using the m2 air base model for the last 2 months, and it’s been a great machine for all my work files, editing scripts, reading, and web development.
@@martinezdecapIt supports one single external monitor. Some people use dual or triple monitors for their home computer. So these are great for connecting to one screen and using it like a desktop at home, but you need a more expensive computer to use multiple monitors.
Enjoyed the video, I went with the 13" base MacBook pro m2 for gaming it does not throttle even when playing for long periods and 8 gb's is fine if you mostly single task.
I can tell you took your time studying and testing the laptops...Most reviewers just show benchmarks....But you explain and showed everything step by step...Thanks and GREAT!! Video Ms Ella....You have a new subscriber:)
This is a useful review. What sets this one apart is that you’ve highlighted what the M2 Air CAN do rather than what it can’t do. There’s been so much hysteria that’s confused potential buyers, imo.
This is the most comprehensive and one of the most down to earth videos I've ever watched for computer review and comparison! You should really be proud of yourself! I think @dave2d would be proud as well :) you guys should definitely do a collab video at some point! Very similar vibes to your presentation styles! Thanks again!
As most people have stated, this is one of the best review videos I have seen. You do a very good job at making sure to note that this isn't a Pro model and compare very unbiased. Thanks!
Ella, I really enjoyed this video! It's the first time I've watched one of your tech videos, you've earned a new subscriber. Specifically I'm relieved to hear your opinion that the base M2 Air will be more than satisfactory for my needs. I ordered one a week or so ago and it will arrive tomorrow but I've kinda been second guessing my choice to not upgrade the SSD. So few reviewers give the base model much love but I'm not a power user and figured I'd be ok just using it for internet and videos. Your review makes me feel better about my choice. Thanks and looking forward to more of your videos, peace! ✌️
From the bottom of my heart, THANKS for making this video! I have been struggling for weeks to know which MacBook should I buy. Excellent information, new follower!
Very thorough and in depth. I really appreciate all the time and work you put into your reviews. Your channel just keeps getting better and better. Thank you!
Thank you for the fantastic review! You’ve definitely made it easier for me to pull the trigger on this computer. I wish that all reviews were this concise, engaging and easy to follow. Well done.
Thank You for this video! 😊 Everytime when I worry about the performance of the M2 Air, videos like these remind me that it’s still miles ahead of what Intel has to offer
One of the best review I have seen. I was very confused with the new mac products that which one is best for me. And now I found the answer. Thank you.
I was literally STRESSING about buying a macbook thinking I'm NEVER GOING TO CHOOSE. This is the best review I've seen and feel I know what i'm finally going to buy.. spending 1k or so is not easy for a lot of us. I wanted to be informed about MY personal best choice. My current macbook is 2013 13" Pro... old I know, but she's had a good ride and it's going on 10 years that I used her which is amazing! But also my fan is constantly on and can't get through an hour of casual browsing with it overheating and with memory being an issue lately as well I couldn't download Adobe apps I need. I use it for everyday tasks, work, school, searching the web, art, designing, nothing extremely crazy. I know what I can and can't afford so it's refreshing to get some insight from this video as far as performance and live comparisons- less about hyping up the late$t and greate$t. THANK YOUU I'm also going to save some money on what I initially thought I want so thats cool :)
Best review hands down. Objective on temperature and throttling in particular . these 2 areas found other reviewers responding “emotionally”. Love how she threw in that little fan to appease those who were hung up on throttling.
HI! Thank you for the review! I just got the base model of MacBook Air M2 a few days ago. I have watch a lot of reviews about ppl suggesting to buy the 16 GB option instead of the base model, which made me a little insecure at first. But after watching your video,I feel relieve with my choice! I really love my new laptop and it's surprisingly fast compared to my previous windows laptop.
As much i like how thin and light the M2 Air is... coming from a 2009 and 2010 15" MacBook Pro, the 3 part Unibody models... the M2 Air feels very fragile. I mean... even my 16" M1 Pro feels MUCH LESS ROBUST than my 2010 machine (idk if its due the thinner aluminium or the smaller size, at least i hope it just feels less robust but isnt) Idk if you have experience with older MacBooks, but i was throwing my 2009 and 2010 models around... they got squeezed heavily inside my backpack in school days, my 2009 model even bent a bit and had a permanent curvature... I could not imagine doing ANYTHING i did with my 2009 model to the 2021 M1 Pro at all... it would just destroy screen, bend it instantly or even make HDMI port or SD card slot unusable. The M2 Air feels even less robust. They are nice looking machines, but older Macs were nice looking AND robust. The "new" design is pretty much like older Macs... but it is definately not as robust!
I’m concerned about sound quality. I tried to listen closely to what you provided but didn’t seem enough to discern. The Pro just sounded louder. I’ve used my iPad Pro to listen to this. I have ordered the Air M2 and I guess I’ll find out when I receive it. I’ll be playing music to aid in piano practice. The music is classical and of course, much different to Pop. As for the rest, it is more than sufficient for my needs. All in all, you did an excellent job!
I have the unpopular 13 inch m2 MacBook Pro …. Let me say the bigger battery, better stock gpu, and the active cooling make it worth it for me for sure. The only thing I lose out on is the nicer screen but I actually don’t really like the cutout designs on a laptop personally
Thank you so much Ella! I just purchased an M2 8GB 512GB for simple video editing for my UA-cam channel but had decided to take it back for one with 16GB. This video is very timely because now I feel like I should go for the Pro.
Best video I’ve seen on the M2Air, great review and superb info. A level approach rather than all the sensationalist SSD noise from other reviews. Such a capable machine which is a good and bad thing. Good in that we all benefit, bad in that people tend to blur the use case for the device and do things it’s not really designed to do (but can do, because Apple silicon is so good). Your review was really clear in this regard and focused on what it actually should be used for.
Watched your videos on the M2, ordered one today and just returned from the Apple Store with it in hand. My needs have changed now that I'm retired and I think this would work great for me. Thanks for your concise reviews.
This is a very honest and much more realistic review. I got my M2 air the other day, it’s my first mac and I absolutely love it so far. I got the 10c/16/1tb model as whatever laptop I ended up with, I want to keep it for a long time. I ordered a windows laptop as well as it was nicely spec’d and more familiar to me. But within the first hour I knew it was being returned. I’m very glad I didn’t listen to all the negative press when it first came out. This is a very nice and very well built laptop
@@Og_AkhilRjn why the hell do I want a heavier and thicker MacBook? I’m not doing heavy duty video encoding. The single core burst speeds on the air beat the 14 pro, it has better battery life then the pro as well and still cheaper then the pro.
@@Og_AkhilRjn I was opting for the larger 67 watt charger which its extra without the spec bump, really wasn't much more to just spec it with the 10 core. I can see from your previous comments you have a bit of a hard on for this machine. Sorry its out of your price range
I'm a computer science student as well. Which should I choose? What would you suggest choosing between the M2 Pro and M2 Air. I work with visual studio code, do some photo and video editing, and create websites and use an external monitor. Is the fan truly necessary, and do you think the M2 air is a better option than the pro?
Thank you for showing how most interactive tasks are faster on the MBA. The heavy emphasis on 4K video editing by others is not helpful to many potential MBA users. We don't produce videos. You are among the few addressing our use case.
2:12 I wouldn't call it "one of the best laptop screens by a long shot". It is a good screen, and that's about it. Since last year, Samsung's OLED panels have started appearing in Windows laptops like the ZenBook S 13 OLED, ZenBook 14 etc. They have higher refresh rate, higher peak brightness (600 nits), are colour accurate, OLED of course and such.
Brilliant review? I’ve been trying to decide if the base specs would be enough for me and your realistic comparisons really help! It seems most YT reviewers forget that even ‘light video editing’ is a niche use case at best
Loved the way you compared M2 to Pro 14 with normal user daily tasks. It's so relevant to the most of the people like browsing the internet with many tabs opened.
not so sure... photo editing is for example NOT faster (at least done in real world). I mean sure if you work on a single image and have only one program open probably its like 10% faster (but you wont notice it... same with browser speed!). Its anyways a useless comparison if we are for real - The M2 Air is heavily overpriced, especially upgraded to 16/512, let alone the 10 GPU cores version. I held M1 Air, M2 Air, 14 and 16" M1 Pro/Max machines in my hand. Aswell a 14" windows convertible for a week to test if i am fine with 14" (I would... as Tablet/touchscreen only, but not for notebook usage) The 14" Pro model isnt much bigger, its just slightly heavier but SO MUCH BETTER. I even took the 16" model already longer ago and i would say there are basically 4 good options: - M1 Air base model... still best value! - M1 Pro 16" base model... best value in the higher end, another option probably Max version if performance/32GBRam+ is that needed - M1 Pro 14" base model... little bit cheaper than 16" and still a SUPERB NOTEBOOK... its just the tiny 14" screen - M2 Air 16/512 at absolute least if you pay already 1300$+ for this overhyped machine. base model is just not anywhere close to worth it (and the 8GB Ram will end its usability pretty soon!)
This is the best video with detail I've come across. So much detail and real world results instead of assumptions. I'll be buying an M2 Air. Thank you!
Not been a mac user for sometime but I wanted a backpack laptop that was super light and needed good battery life So I picked up the bottom of the range one And it's perfect for this use case! Many power users will actually like this as a secondary throw in bag travel device
bingo, the m2 air is a beast, if i needed to heavily edited something i use my mpb docked at the house. the macbook air is a great travel companion. the base level mba beats half the market and at a great price
Best every review. I bought MacBook Air 2 M2. I used it only simple tasking & I am DJ just used to run DJ software. It works perfect. Very fast, No issues
While it’s true that the Pros sound much better than the Air, the speaker grills tend to collect quite a bit of dust and dirt over time which is hard to clean. So I’m actually quite happy with them gone. And if I want the best sound, I use my hi-fi headphones anyway.
Upon my consideration of upgrading to this new M2 MacBook from my old laptop of which is to be an 2015 MacBook Air, it has come to my attention of that overall upon seeing your review of that I would be happy to upgrade to a newer model, as of areas of battery, speed, and display
I just bought the M2 Air, 10 core gpu 512GB (that was the only available config in stock at Worst Buy and since then I have struggled with whether or not I should have just gotten the 14" M1 Pro. I've watched at least 40 or so videos and this video has convinced me I made the best choice.
I like your macbook reviews. You've covered almost all of the relevant points about this MBA. I think the review can be used as a buyer's guide for this laptop.
So typically laptops and pc's decline in performance over time. Is the lifespan of the M2 Air going to be reduced due to the lack of fan. Ideally i would want 5 or so years out of it and i am really wondering whether the Pro M2 (when it's available) might be a smarter move for the sake of longevity.
I bought mine to have a portable editing machine that worked seamlessly with my home office solution. Biggest benefit in the M2 Air to me was the ProRes accelerator. My M1 Mini only has the H.264 accelerator, so you could feel it chugging when I had 4 layers of ProRes in my timeline. The Air breezes through it, provided I'm working off an NVMe over thunderbolt. There's an odd slowness when playing off a USB 5Gbps SSD, but that project is in DVCPRO. That likely explains the 'spin up' speed. Editing on the Mac Air alongside the LG Dual Up is seamless, and I am loving Universal Control. The last project I wound up using the Air instead of the PC with a 2060 KO because that GPU kept hard crashing with 3 monitors and lots of ProRes clips.
Thank you for a great review. I find it’s a refreshing change hearing that someone doesn’t need to upgrade RAM. it seems people can really trust you, as most people out there aren’t using an air to render videos. I don’t even know what rendering means, and I found I was second guessing myself a lot when I saw other reviews (I have the 512 ssd one though). With honest and straight forward review, I did not. Thank you!
Loving the review thanks! I still prefer the starlight color though :p. I can’t wait to see decent ARM SoC for windows laptops to see how they’d compete against apple silicon
Hi, Ella! Greetings from Spain. Thanks again a great, detailed and honest video. You are mentioning that among other things, after a month of use, you are, among other things, happy with the M2 MBA keyboard. I’ve heard some reviews about the keyboard and trackpad of the M2 MBA, being worse and feeling cheaper compared to the M1 MBA (the last one, coming from a petty reliable source: Snazzy Labs). They've been saying that the typing experience is worse and it feels more like a downgrade compared to the M1. I come from a 2012 MBA and, I was hesitating between the M1 and the M2 MBA. After seeing some reviews, specially yours, I made up my mind and I ordered the M2 MBA (15GB/1TB). The reason I choose it over the 14" MBP was ultraportability, and the fact that I basically do Word, PowerPoint, videoconferences, watch movies, etc. (never do photo or video editing). Also, MagSafe was a must for me. Anyway, going back to my main concern: for my work, I do a lot of typing on a daily basis, so I got a little worried and started thinking whether I made the right choice. Could you shed some light on that issue, please?
I have the new Air and the 14“ Pro to compare. While they do feel different, I don’t find the Air feels cheap at all. Typing and clicking feel great to me. But I guess this is very subjective, so maybe go to a store if you can and try it out for yourself?
She keeps going back and forth between a dark blue/light blue shirt and it's making my brain explode repeatedly. But this is by far the most informative and useful review I've seen.
I love this review! I’ve been searching everywhere for quality reviews on the new MacBook Air bc I’ve been trying to decide if I should invest in it or not, and this is by far the most practical, thorough, and easy to understand one I’ve found!! Thank you so much!! :^)
This M2 MBA base model is fantastic. The Midnight color is 🔥 Remember, the M2 MBA base model is ideal for the casual user. There are no power users who would even consider working with an air. Great job 👏🏽
Hey, can you tell me about your experience with the MacBook Air m2 midnight? I’m planning to buy the m2 version in midnight but I’m scared you will notice the fingerprints to much, can you tell me if the fingerprints are noticeable? Can you also tell me if the color around the usb c connections quickly disappear? thanks in advance for answering my questions.
Hope you enjoyed this vid!
If you want to see the first 14 things I did on this MacBook, click here: ua-cam.com/video/xccYLpaFn4k/v-deo.html
And to see me unbox this MacBook, click here: ua-cam.com/video/M-QvxjybiSk/v-deo.html
I think alienware x17 r2 is better than apple macbook pro
Ella I need you
Hey quick info though, speaker grills on macbooks have been fake for the past 5 years. The speaker are usually closer to the wrist area, the speaker grills are aesthetic only, small crevasses with a drop of ink to simulate depth. Having them or not doesn't make a difference.
What you will use for Video making?
Uh-oh, I'm in your comments...🙀
The fact that you find M2 air is faster than MacBook Pro in some scenarios and that it didn’t need ram as much as Windows shows that you put efforts in your comparison. Many other reviews are lousy in this respect, they only did comparison on benchmark.
seriously
Umm... its a pretty useless "advantage"... especially considering they negotiated the increased efficiency which came with the IPC increase as they clocked the M2 higher (and the M2 is technically still a M1)
Btw, many showed the single core performance is better on M2 than M1, so i dont even get what you are saying since it doesnt make sense
While I liked this review as well, there are good reasons for why benchmarks are preferred by most reviewers. It's not just the convenience. If you just pick tasks at random you can end up with very misleading results. One example is saying that the M2 "easily outpaces the M1 Pro for some pro tasks, such as Photoshop", which Ella says in this video. That isn't really true. Both because the advantage of a slightly faster single threaded performance is small compared to the disadvantage of not having active cooling (small gains of a few seconds in light work vs big gains with medium to heavier workloads), and because Photoshop now is being optimised to take more advantage of GPU-acceleration. "Yeah, well most people just do light work in Photoshop". Not true. Most people don't use photoshop, but of the people that do, most would benefit from the extra performance of the 14"/16". ArtIsRight has done very extensive testing of this, and I've seen the same results in my own usage when I've compared the machines. The M2 is slightly faster on light tasks (often 2-3 seconds, which is trivial anyway), but can be 10 minutes slower with heavier workloads. A second here and there, for example when loading Google earth, is totally insignificant. But if you have to wait 35 minutes to export a project instead of 10 minutes. Well... That's A LOT. The same is true for compiling code. This machine will do just fine with Photoshop, but I would definitely recommend the 14" instead if you buy it for that specifically.
@@IageF this will also apply for music production. as a musician myself, i bought a MBA M2 for music production due to being “the cheapest macbook at a reasonable price”. i was wrong. 4 days later my MBA while running Garageband and Bias FX for a Neural DSP amp sim got pretty hot after 15min of usage. she mentions that it doesn’t get that hot and will make your palms sweat, but, 40°C it’s pretty hot considering that after 14 days with my new 14” MBP hasn’t even got warm. i just returned the MBA and paid the extra money to get the pro. best decision i’ve made.
@Daniel I wish it would have Micro LED, but its "only" Mini LED an you can literally distinguish each local dimming zones
Not that the display is bad... its fkin awesome and great, but the local dimming zones can get noticable especially in the dark!
I just bought mine because of your review. You did not get too technical on specs we don't understand. Thank you for focusing on features that matter to most consumers!
This could be the best review that I’ve seen on the M2 MacBook Air. It covers all the key areas of a new computer purchase in a clear and concise manner, with a nice sprinkling of opinions/recommendations interspersed throughout. There’s so much FUD being spread about the slower base model SSD, particularly from some other UA-camrs and publications who seem to be forgetting (or not caring) who this device is really designed for. After watching this video, I feel reassured with choosing the base model and that my fairly light needs won’t be affected. Thank you 🙏
The fact that she had not one, but three other laptops!!!! Including the upgraded M2 MBA that everyone says you need to upgrade to. This girl has it going on!!!
agree
100% agree, one of the best reviews out there, answered all my questions as they arose in my head and I was clear by the end that I fall in the “most people” category :) Tysm!!
so basically you were looking for a review that told you what you already wanted to believe lmao
@@gradyparsons6678 no it’s not. It’s much faster than any M1 model.
I watched like 30+ videos on the MacBook Air compared to the 14” pro and by far this is the best video on UA-cam! Also, the multiple tabs being open, 8GB ram vs the upgrade and 4k video rendering on both- nobody discussed it like you did. You just made this an easier purchase decision!
What did you choose and how has it been?
Same question
Yours is the best review of the M2 MacBook Air I've seen. I sold my 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro and bought a base model M2 MacBook Air midnight. I've used Apple and Windows laptops for 25 years (I started with a PowerBook 145), and the M2 Air is by far the best laptop I've ever owned. My main is a 27-inch 5K iMac, and the Air is an auxiliary, mobile machine. I rarely used the MacBook Pro, but now I look for reasons to use my Air, even when it's on my desk next to my iMac. It's lightweight, thin, beautiful, and so comfortable to use. And I really don't understand the uproar from everyone about fingerprints. I never wipe mine down. I'm looking at it right now and it looks great. Once in a great while, I might notice a smudge. I rub it with my finger and it's gone.
Think this is my first comment to any video on youtube - ever (and i'm a 36 year old IT Specialist, using youtube every single day). I just had to give you a virtual high-five. This is a great and honest review. You can always get something bigger, better and faster, when it comes to tech. But in reality you rarely really use all theese ekstra horsepower. I love how you are being realistic about the use-cases, and and i love the format of your review and the videoediting. Great job! You've got a new follower! :)
normal usage for 3 -4 hrs. .. ate up only 35% battery and still lots of battery to use . just got mine few hours ago and fully charge 100%
Now Ella's videos on mac are my "Go-To" anything apple
The battery sure does last. I was using mine for about 7 hours and used maybe 25% Outstanding!
I was about to cancel my order of MBA M2 because of lots of negative reviews from you tubers. Your video made it clear this suits perfectly for my needs. Thank you.
@@povohackWhat?
Give us a review from your 1 year usage
this review was actually really helpful, as a student i dont understand what bench mark scores mean so the real life comparisons to test how fast the airbook is compared to the pro was so much easier to understand! Especially as a Windows user my whole life the comparison to the i7 chip also gave great perspective.
Excellent, Ella! Finally someone who presents and explains the performance for daily tasks. I wish there would be someone who could show us how this new machine works in usual music production cases with Logic Pro X... no benchmarks, just tracking mixing mastering with our usual plugins. I wish Apple could give me one for testing and presentation here in Central Eastern Europe... but it never will happen. I hope I can afford 14 or 16 MBP with next gen M2 Pro chip, and I can fill this gap on UA-cam.
Did you ever find out? Im also stuck on this exact point
Finally I bought an M1 Max Mac Studio on huge sale (about 1500EUR). Base model.
All I can say is that it’s hard to give it any task to make it sweat. It really depends on the plugins CPU usage how far you can go.
Be careful with storage decisions, as this new encryption/partition withccraft killed two external SSD-s. Whether this ismintentional, or it’s simply sensitive to hubs and firmwares, or the whole ecosystem is in its infancy, I do not know. Store and archive rarely used and/or important things on NAS, and use internal storage for everything you really use on Mac’s own internal SSD + leave at least 10% buffer or more on it. Everything else shall be backed up daily.
Yesterday, out of the blue Ventura told me: The disk you attached was not readable by this computer. It messed up its GPT structure during the night for fun. Unacceptable. APFS was not reliable, HFS was not reliable, NTFS failed twice but managed to save, exFat comes next. Time time time. Knowing Apples moral, I can imagine this is intentional.
Secondly, it’s ridiculous they still not allow us to enhance storage with a very simple and cheap NAND flash card they could sell like hot cake. Although the physical slot is there. Not even for high price. Some IT guys hacked it, so it it absolutely possible with proprietary NANDs you csnnot buy easily, but Apple holds it back to be able to sell new stuffs every year.
Sustainability, environment friendly. 😢
Great review. Thorough coverage but still in a brief and light feeling video.
Been watching m2 air coverage since launch and have a solid understanding of it, but your review seems to be the most condensed yet still digestible version of all the weeks of videos out there. Overall very well done 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was trying to sell this to my girlfriend. I tried five videos in a row, all dudes, fail fail fail fail fail. I was like "only a woman can do this properly" and voila first click, Ella nailed it.
Wasn't a good comparison due to the Cheaper Chrome book which is designed for donations schools. Nor did you mention TSMCnm running on the M2 chip.
Every manufacturer has different optimization an chrome books are known as hand me downs. Try a higher Ryzen CPU which beats the M2 in Multi Core , and in some comparations also in single core. Depend of the Chip model. Intel still stuck @10. Not many biased people as yourself talk/mentioned this.
@@Misael8924 that's not a Chromebook. That's a Windows laptop.
I really love how your review gives examples that are actually applicable to many people in their daily lives
This is genuinely one of the best laptop reviews I've seen. Really balanced perspective, straight to the point and you cover and compare exactly what features you'd want/need out of a laptop.
I had the choice between three MacBooks from my work (I've never used a MacBook before). This really helped me in deciding what to get! Thank you! Earned a sub.
ik im late but what did u decide on?
If they paid it why not choose the most expensive?😂
@@asaminakahara4247 M2 16gb version! So far I’m still really happy with it. Perfect for what I need. I don’t run anything “heavy” on it.
I’m a cybersecurity researcher, so I have lots and lots of tabs, word processing and the genera business tools like slack, notion and mail. All work absolutely fine and i can go about 10 hours without charging m
@@Jackaniel because budgets exist and generally, when buying equipment, you have to justify it (at least I did in this case). Hard to justify a 2k purchase to a technical team when a 1k will do the job
You’re the most professional and competent reviewer I’ve ever seen incredibly detailed without being excessively technical. This is exactly the information I was looking for because I would’ve bought the wrong machine. Thank you so much.!
Thanks for this video. There is a lot of noise around the M2 Air. It's really good to see it reviewed through the lens of "normal" usage and compared to the other offerings.
Glad it was helpful!
Your reviews are SOOO GOOD !!! And prioritise REAL WORLD scenarios and task - even huge youtubers in tech world really miss the point sometimes, but you never dissapoint..like how you talked about the single core performance and how most tasks on the web which a lot of people to for their work or free time - that is soo important. As a web developer myself I love single core performance, the m2 air was a noticeable jump from my old m1. Thank you :)
What a super and balanced review! It makes a refreshing change from all these tech chaps giving entry-level Apple products a hard time. I have a 14 inch MacBook Pro and to be honest, it's wasted on me and I'm starting to travel again, so the air is probably a better fit and I'm pleased to see that the entry-level machine, for everyday tasks, is not as bad as everyone's making out. Thanks Ella!
please don't downgrade man. I have the 14 inch pro and it's better in literally every way, not kidding. sure it's heavier but it really isn't that bad for travelling.
agree! I enjoy her nuanced discussion and perspective on some things that are missing from most reviews
just don't buy apple, if u understood computers, u would see that the price to performance ratio is terrible, compared to alternatives
some people don't care about price to performance ratio. that's not necessarily the be-all end-all metric, and "performance" is a metric that can be swayed. I would say interoperability without a history of jarring bugs is far more important, and most of apples products just work, which IS valuable. she doesn't need your validation, she knows plenty about computers.
@@marksangria jarring bugs? And she clearly doesn't know a great deal about computers, she didn't mention whether the ram was duel channel, what the speed of the ram was or what the ram timings were. I don't know who gave you the narrative that other companies products don't work compared to apple, as this is far to the contrary. In fact apple often does not include support for many things which people want, not to mention their operating system, compared to windows 10, or a custom iso is abysmal in comparison.
At 1050 right now from Best Buy and extended returns, most people should tee out base m2 before jumping to M1 Pro or upgrade m2. You’ll realize most tasks can be done on it and if you needed a pro you would already know you needed one.
Have to say this is the best and most informative non BS macbook air m2 review I've seen so far!
have to agree, as mba m2 base model user i felt really bad about buying it, also everyone says don't buy black one and yet everyone has one xD
Excellent work actually doing the test of the most common uses for a laptop rather than just relying on benchmark tests. I was all but ready to purchase the 14" M1 Pro since most reviewers are claiming it to be the better device but the hardest I push my laptop doing is running lightroom for my photography and now I'm wondering if the MBA would be the better choice.
So have you made your decision ?
This was the review I was looking for, thank you! I watched a lot of M2 reviews, but I never heard that the M2 was faster than the Pro when it comes to browsing.
Also love that you tested the tasks an air user would usually do and not only showed us rendering benchmarks.
I really enjoyed the video and how you explained everything :)
Glad I could help!
I mean sure, if you totally need the 0,2 seconds faster google earth loading....
@@marlonmalave7098it really all depends. I’m a software developer, and MBP would probably give at least some marginal performance benefits over the MBA for me. However, I want to take my computer everywhere and work away from power outlets, so the lighter more compact form of the MBA and longer battery life are also clear benefits.
I am also wondering which laptop to buy. Whether it is AIR M 2 16 GB 256 GB SSD / or M2 Pro 16 GB 256 GB. I will use it mainly for browsing, but I work with many tabs.
they say that: when you work a long time on it. it starts to heat up, and loses performance.
also said: For browsing with 15-20 tabs. 8 GB of RAM is very little and it is good that it is at least 16 GB (for browsing in Chrome)
Can I get how things stand with you and your opinion if you have practice while working.
I watched the video and more videos, but I still can't figure out about multitasking - browsing which model would be better
@@CreatedbyEllaYT I am also wondering which laptop to buy. Whether it is AIR M 2 16 GB 256 GB SSD / or M2 Pro 16 GB 256 GB. I will use it mainly for browsing, but I work with many tabs.
they say that: when you work a long time on it. it starts to heat up, and loses performance.
also said: For browsing with 15-20 tabs. 8 GB of RAM is very little and it is good that it is at least 16 GB (for browsing in Chrome)
Can I get how things stand with you and your opinion if you have practice while working.
I watched the video and more videos, but I still can't figure out about multitasking - browsing which model would be better
Most thorough and most ‘understandable’ review, in my opinion, as someone who’s not so techy. You covered all answers to all questions I had in mind.
As someone who's been researching MBA videos the last couple days...I wish I found this video first. Thorough and comprehensive review, yet digestible! Loved the presentation throughout the whole video; the subtle changes between shots were such a nice touch! Subbed and will be looking to your tech reviews as one of my first go-to options in the future :)
Well, let me just say, Ella, you and your reviews were outstanding. They were comprehensive, easy to understand and thorough. I made a FOOLISH mistake - mostly because I was forced - into taking a Dell Inspiron Laptop as my purchase before heading on a European business trip ... 7 weeks in total. I could not find a M2 configured as I wanted it and was assured the Dell would EASILY have enough power to get through a transatlantic flight with time to spare. 8+ hours I was told. NOPE. Barely 3. Then the case started to split on the right side, near the hinge. Finally, on returning I tried to get Dell to service it. 2 times they said they were coming and they did not - having me cancel 2 days of apppointments. So, I took it to Best Buy, where I bought it. They said it would be at least 10 days and I was about to leave for Europe again. I could not be without a laptop. Fortunately, they have a PAID LOANER policy. So, I took a MB Air M2. Let me say, I LOVED IT. Today, sadly I had to take the Paid Loaner back because the Dell was back and ready. I wanted to keep the Air but it wasn't equipped as I would want it. After I loaded everything, once having the Air, the next day I did my own rookie test to see about what kind of battery life it would deliver. For me, with CP24 streaming non-stop and working as I nornally would, it gave me a solid 13 hours. Not the maximum I was told but nothing to complain about. I will sell the Dell and replace it with a MB Air M2 - probably 8Core with 16GB ram and 512MB or 1TB drive. I was waffling about an MBPro - having had one for more than a decade - but I think the Air does all I need. Having listened to your reviews I think I am better informed on what I will buy. I don't do video's and stuff like you. I need the longevity and relative speed. I'd like to ask you a few more questions before I do make the purchase. Again, I want to state that your 2 videos I was were TOP NOTCH and thorough. What a great job you did. You should be so proud of the quality of your worlk. BRAVO ELLA!
Omg! It’s so crazy how much research and data you have on all these machines. And each test was so thorough and you showed activity monitor, supporting images and thermal testing. Absolutely amazing video and informative!
Really excellent review. I think most casual users that want a Mac get caught up and confused by reviews that talk about video editing and high end work loads, Yada, yada, yada. Your review is definitely more appropriate for casual every day use. Nice job and appreciate you taking the time to go over everything. 😃
In my opinion, the M2 MacBook Air makes sense for regular User’s which the Base Model is enough. When you want to upgrade the SSD or RAM, you should take an eye of the Pro 14 inch.
Bought the Air because it was so light! I used to own a Pro. I'm never looking back. Comfort, comfort! The Air is more than efficient.
I was on Apple's pricing page and starting to just barely bump the specs up and decided a base model 14" Pro with M1 was about the same price so I went with that. Made sense when needing 16GB of RAM and about 1TB storage.
How do you like it?
I have the M1 16 best laptop ever. I dont understand folks who say its too big, I find it just perfect and the screen is top notch!
The best review that actually covers a lot of useful real world comparisons. I like how you showed the multiple tabs at use, and mentioned web development does not need heavy compiling which this will suffice.
After watching countless MacBook videos, I was still confused. Your video, with its real-life use cases, made everything clear 🙌
Thanks so much for helping me make my decision! ❤
This is the best m2 MBA review! Thanks for considering actual normal peoples' tasks without talking all about video editing and stuff! Subbed!
This is the most accurate review, i have been using the m2 air base model for the last 2 months, and it’s been a great machine for all my work files, editing scripts, reading, and web development.
For most people, it is probably not an issue, but the lack of support for multiple displays is a deal breaker for me.
An ultrabook is not really for desktop battlestation use.
What do you mean?
@@martinezdecapIt supports one single external monitor. Some people use dual or triple monitors for their home computer. So these are great for connecting to one screen and using it like a desktop at home, but you need a more expensive computer to use multiple monitors.
Enjoyed the video, I went with the 13" base MacBook pro m2 for gaming it does not throttle even when playing for long periods and 8 gb's is fine if you mostly single task.
I love how detailed your review is!
Thanks so much!
Very informative and no hype, which seems to affect every other tech UA-cam channel out there. Thank you Ella!
Good job, Ella! I have been following you since 5k subs and you definitely improved your verbal skill so much!
True that!
I can tell you took your time studying and testing the laptops...Most reviewers just show
benchmarks....But you explain and showed everything step by step...Thanks and GREAT!! Video
Ms Ella....You have a new subscriber:)
This is a useful review. What sets this one apart is that you’ve highlighted what the M2 Air CAN do rather than what it can’t do. There’s been so much hysteria that’s confused potential buyers, imo.
I am a web developer. This is exactly the type of review I was looking for. Very informative!
Hey bro, In my religion, mac air m1 16gb vs air 8gb , but I like air 2 so air 2 8g ,is it enough to web developer? In your opinion
This is the most comprehensive and one of the most down to earth videos I've ever watched for computer review and comparison! You should really be proud of yourself! I think @dave2d would be proud as well :) you guys should definitely do a collab video at some point! Very similar vibes to your presentation styles! Thanks again!
As most people have stated, this is one of the best review videos I have seen. You do a very good job at making sure to note that this isn't a Pro model and compare very unbiased. Thanks!
Ella, I really enjoyed this video! It's the first time I've watched one of your tech videos, you've earned a new subscriber. Specifically I'm relieved to hear your opinion that the base M2 Air will be more than satisfactory for my needs. I ordered one a week or so ago and it will arrive tomorrow but I've kinda been second guessing my choice to not upgrade the SSD. So few reviewers give the base model much love but I'm not a power user and figured I'd be ok just using it for internet and videos. Your review makes me feel better about my choice. Thanks and looking forward to more of your videos, peace! ✌️
From the bottom of my heart, THANKS for making this video! I have been struggling for weeks to know which MacBook should I buy. Excellent information, new follower!
Very thorough and in depth. I really appreciate all the time and work you put into your reviews. Your channel just keeps getting better and better. Thank you!
Thank you for the fantastic review! You’ve definitely made it easier for me to pull the trigger on this computer. I wish that all reviews were this concise, engaging and easy to follow. Well done.
Thank You for this video! 😊 Everytime when I worry about the performance of the M2 Air, videos like these remind me that it’s still miles ahead of what Intel has to offer
One of the best review I have seen. I was very confused with the new mac products that which one is best for me. And now I found the answer. Thank you.
Would be nice to see a closer comparison: 8 vs 16 and SSD remains the same 256gb
It´s perfect!!! I bought it last week for code and design.. It´s amazing!!! but if you goona buy it, you should choose 516gm as minimum.
omg, I love the way she speaks.
I was literally STRESSING about buying a macbook thinking I'm NEVER GOING TO CHOOSE. This is the best review I've seen and feel I know what i'm finally going to buy.. spending 1k or so is not easy for a lot of us. I wanted to be informed about MY personal best choice. My current macbook is 2013 13" Pro... old I know, but she's had a good ride and it's going on 10 years that I used her which is amazing! But also my fan is constantly on and can't get through an hour of casual browsing with it overheating and with memory being an issue lately as well I couldn't download Adobe apps I need. I use it for everyday tasks, work, school, searching the web, art, designing, nothing extremely crazy. I know what I can and can't afford so it's refreshing to get some insight from this video as far as performance and live comparisons- less about hyping up the late$t and greate$t. THANK YOUU I'm also going to save some money on what I initially thought I want so thats cool :)
Amazing review - I am still torn between the M1 air and M2 air for programming - but seriously wonderful review - had to sub can't wait for more
Your the first reviewer to point out that you can use the usb-c to charge it. Bravo. You just earned a subscriber.
Best review hands down. Objective on temperature and throttling in particular . these 2 areas found other reviewers responding “emotionally”. Love how she threw in that little fan to appease those who were hung up on throttling.
Better than Linus and MKBHD. You really know what you’re talking about.
HI! Thank you for the review! I just got the base model of MacBook Air M2 a few days ago. I have watch a lot of reviews about ppl suggesting to buy the 16 GB option instead of the base model, which made me a little insecure at first. But after watching your video,I feel relieve with my choice! I really love my new laptop and it's surprisingly fast compared to my previous windows laptop.
Same I was the same boat as you, but I’m glad of my choice cuz my m2 is way faster than my old dell
As much i like how thin and light the M2 Air is... coming from a 2009 and 2010 15" MacBook Pro, the 3 part Unibody models... the M2 Air feels very fragile. I mean... even my 16" M1 Pro feels MUCH LESS ROBUST than my 2010 machine (idk if its due the thinner aluminium or the smaller size, at least i hope it just feels less robust but isnt)
Idk if you have experience with older MacBooks, but i was throwing my 2009 and 2010 models around... they got squeezed heavily inside my backpack in school days, my 2009 model even bent a bit and had a permanent curvature... I could not imagine doing ANYTHING i did with my 2009 model to the 2021 M1 Pro at all... it would just destroy screen, bend it instantly or even make HDMI port or SD card slot unusable. The M2 Air feels even less robust.
They are nice looking machines, but older Macs were nice looking AND robust. The "new" design is pretty much like older Macs... but it is definately not as robust!
I got it, and then returned for the macbook pro 14 for a few more hundred. definitely worth it
@@ip5799 Why’d you returned it?
It’s not necessary for 95% of people.
I’m concerned about sound quality. I tried to listen closely to what you provided but didn’t seem enough to discern. The Pro just sounded louder. I’ve used my iPad Pro to listen to this. I have ordered the Air M2 and I guess I’ll find out when I receive it. I’ll be playing music to aid in piano practice. The music is classical and of course, much different to Pop. As for the rest, it is more than sufficient for my needs. All in all, you did an excellent job!
I have the unpopular 13 inch m2 MacBook Pro …. Let me say the bigger battery, better stock gpu, and the active cooling make it worth it for me for sure. The only thing I lose out on is the nicer screen but I actually don’t really like the cutout designs on a laptop personally
M2 Macbook Pro 13 inch screen is not good?
Thank you so much Ella! I just purchased an M2 8GB 512GB for simple video editing for my UA-cam channel but had decided to take it back for one with 16GB. This video is very timely because now I feel like I should go for the Pro.
can i have that wallpaper ? please
just ordered my m2 air and then saw this review; feeling so freaking good about the purchase :D
Best video I’ve seen on the M2Air, great review and superb info. A level approach rather than all the sensationalist SSD noise from other reviews. Such a capable machine which is a good and bad thing. Good in that we all benefit, bad in that people tend to blur the use case for the device and do things it’s not really designed to do (but can do, because Apple silicon is so good). Your review was really clear in this regard and focused on what it actually should be used for.
Watched your videos on the M2, ordered one today and just returned from the Apple Store with it in hand. My needs have changed now that I'm retired and I think this would work great for me. Thanks for your concise reviews.
This is a very honest and much more realistic review. I got my M2 air the other day, it’s my first mac and I absolutely love it so far. I got the 10c/16/1tb model as whatever laptop I ended up with, I want to keep it for a long time.
I ordered a windows laptop as well as it was nicely spec’d and more familiar to me. But within the first hour I knew it was being returned. I’m very glad I didn’t listen to all the negative press when it first came out. This is a very nice and very well built laptop
Wait what? You got the specd up model for what? Why didnt you get an 14inch???
@@Og_AkhilRjn why the hell do I want a heavier and thicker MacBook? I’m not doing heavy duty video encoding. The single core burst speeds on the air beat the 14 pro, it has better battery life then the pro as well and still cheaper then the pro.
@@1BadVan i understand but why spec it up so much the 10c dont make any sense like literally dont do shit in the body 🤣
@@Og_AkhilRjn I was opting for the larger 67 watt charger which its extra without the spec bump, really wasn't much more to just spec it with the 10 core. I can see from your previous comments you have a bit of a hard on for this machine. Sorry its out of your price range
uff.. never heard about your channel and first time it was recommended by the YT algo. I'm glad it did! superb video! thanks a lot!!!
I'm a computer science student as well. Which should I choose? What would you suggest choosing between the M2 Pro and M2 Air. I work with visual studio code, do some photo and video editing, and create websites and use an external monitor. Is the fan truly necessary, and do you think the M2 air is a better option than the pro?
Any update what did u choose cuz I am in the same confusion now ? Thx in advance
Thank you for showing how most interactive tasks are faster on the MBA. The heavy emphasis on 4K video editing by others is not helpful to many potential MBA users. We don't produce videos. You are among the few addressing our use case.
2:12 I wouldn't call it "one of the best laptop screens by a long shot". It is a good screen, and that's about it.
Since last year, Samsung's OLED panels have started appearing in Windows laptops like the ZenBook S 13 OLED, ZenBook 14 etc.
They have higher refresh rate, higher peak brightness (600 nits), are colour accurate, OLED of course and such.
A review on The Verge said they only got 360 nits during testing for that Zenbook.
OLED screen with PWM? No thanks
Brilliant review? I’ve been trying to decide if the base specs would be enough for me and your realistic comparisons really help! It seems most YT reviewers forget that even ‘light video editing’ is a niche use case at best
Loved the way you compared M2 to Pro 14 with normal user daily tasks. It's so relevant to the most of the people like browsing the internet with many tabs opened.
not so sure... photo editing is for example NOT faster (at least done in real world). I mean sure if you work on a single image and have only one program open probably its like 10% faster (but you wont notice it... same with browser speed!).
Its anyways a useless comparison if we are for real - The M2 Air is heavily overpriced, especially upgraded to 16/512, let alone the 10 GPU cores version. I held M1 Air, M2 Air, 14 and 16" M1 Pro/Max machines in my hand. Aswell a 14" windows convertible for a week to test if i am fine with 14" (I would... as Tablet/touchscreen only, but not for notebook usage)
The 14" Pro model isnt much bigger, its just slightly heavier but SO MUCH BETTER. I even took the 16" model already longer ago and i would say there are basically 4 good options:
- M1 Air base model... still best value!
- M1 Pro 16" base model... best value in the higher end, another option probably Max version if performance/32GBRam+ is that needed
- M1 Pro 14" base model... little bit cheaper than 16" and still a SUPERB NOTEBOOK... its just the tiny 14" screen
- M2 Air 16/512 at absolute least if you pay already 1300$+ for this overhyped machine. base model is just not anywhere close to worth it (and the 8GB Ram will end its usability pretty soon!)
Pro 14 has native support for dual external monitors and has extra ports. That makes it the better against the M2 MBA in my books
This is the best video with detail I've come across. So much detail and real world results instead of assumptions. I'll be buying an M2 Air. Thank you!
Not been a mac user for sometime but I wanted a backpack laptop that was super light and needed good battery life
So I picked up the bottom of the range one
And it's perfect for this use case!
Many power users will actually like this as a secondary throw in bag travel device
bingo, the m2 air is a beast, if i needed to heavily edited something i use my mpb docked at the house. the macbook air is a great travel companion. the base level mba beats half the market and at a great price
Best every review. I bought MacBook Air 2 M2. I used it only simple tasking & I am DJ just used to run DJ software. It works perfect. Very fast, No issues
I really have grown to like the look of the bezels on the m2. It looks like an ipad and i like it
Of all tech youtubers I follow, you are definetely my favorite one. What a HUGE hard work you put in your videos!!!
While it’s true that the Pros sound much better than the Air, the speaker grills tend to collect quite a bit of dust and dirt over time which is hard to clean. So I’m actually quite happy with them gone. And if I want the best sound, I use my hi-fi headphones anyway.
Interesting!
This might be the best macbook review ive watched. Thanks!
It is important to note, that the 256GB 8GB M2 Air will have the drive wear more quickly, as the swap memory is fairly intensive on the drive.
An external ssd might help no?
Seriously? This is by far the most thorough and best review I've seen of anything. Great job! 🙌✨
Great video for the intended target users of the M2 Air. This thing does everything a casual user require in flying colors.
Yes it does!
First time I’ve come across one of your reviews. I’ll certainly be coming here for reviews first from now on. Great job.
Upon my consideration of upgrading to this new M2 MacBook from my old laptop of which is to be an 2015 MacBook Air, it has come to my attention of that overall upon seeing your review of that I would be happy to upgrade to a newer model, as of areas of battery, speed, and display
Man that’s a confusing comment.
too wordy
@@reignofmo pretty sure it’s translated
@@StephenLai the translation isn’t the problem
@@reignofmo haha
I just bought the M2 Air, 10 core gpu 512GB (that was the only available config in stock at Worst Buy and since then I have struggled with whether or not I should have just gotten the 14" M1 Pro. I've watched at least 40 or so videos and this video has convinced me I made the best choice.
Enjoy what you got man.
I like your macbook reviews. You've covered almost all of the relevant points about this MBA. I think the review can be used as a buyer's guide for this laptop.
thanks!
i like how thorough this video is and Ella explains it to me really well even though im kind of dumb i still understand what she's saying
So typically laptops and pc's decline in performance over time. Is the lifespan of the M2 Air going to be reduced due to the lack of fan. Ideally i would want 5 or so years out of it and i am really wondering whether the Pro M2 (when it's available) might be a smarter move for the sake of longevity.
I bought mine to have a portable editing machine that worked seamlessly with my home office solution. Biggest benefit in the M2 Air to me was the ProRes accelerator. My M1 Mini only has the H.264 accelerator, so you could feel it chugging when I had 4 layers of ProRes in my timeline. The Air breezes through it, provided I'm working off an NVMe over thunderbolt. There's an odd slowness when playing off a USB 5Gbps SSD, but that project is in DVCPRO. That likely explains the 'spin up' speed. Editing on the Mac Air alongside the LG Dual Up is seamless, and I am loving Universal Control.
The last project I wound up using the Air instead of the PC with a 2060 KO because that GPU kept hard crashing with 3 monitors and lots of ProRes clips.
Thank you for a great review. I find it’s a refreshing change hearing that someone doesn’t need to upgrade RAM. it seems people can really trust you, as most people out there aren’t using an air to render videos. I don’t even know what rendering means, and I found I was second guessing myself a lot when I saw other reviews (I have the 512 ssd one though). With honest and straight forward review, I did not. Thank you!
Even rendering videos are better on the new air than a lot of last gen macs too though. This new air is pretty kickass
This was so comprehensive yet concise. Amazing review with great comparison to alternatives. Keep doing what you're doing!
Loving the review thanks! I still prefer the starlight color though :p. I can’t wait to see decent ARM SoC for windows laptops to see how they’d compete against apple silicon
Just got mine, The speakers sound way better than my 2020 13" Macbook Pro. Def like it way more. Wayyy more desktop real estate.
Hi, Ella! Greetings from Spain. Thanks again a great, detailed and honest video. You are mentioning that among other things, after a month of use, you are, among other things, happy with the M2 MBA keyboard. I’ve heard some reviews about the keyboard and trackpad of the M2 MBA, being worse and feeling cheaper compared to the M1 MBA (the last one, coming from a petty reliable source: Snazzy Labs). They've been saying that the typing experience is worse and it feels more like a downgrade compared to the M1. I come from a 2012 MBA and, I was hesitating between the M1 and the M2 MBA. After seeing some reviews, specially yours, I made up my mind and I ordered the M2 MBA (15GB/1TB). The reason I choose it over the 14" MBP was ultraportability, and the fact that I basically do Word, PowerPoint, videoconferences, watch movies, etc. (never do photo or video editing). Also, MagSafe was a must for me. Anyway, going back to my main concern: for my work, I do a lot of typing on a daily basis, so I got a little worried and started thinking whether I made the right choice. Could you shed some light on that issue, please?
I have both right now. The keyboards and trackpads feel the same to me and a bit superior to my MBP 16 2021.
I have the new Air and the 14“ Pro to compare. While they do feel different, I don’t find the Air feels cheap at all. Typing and clicking feel great to me. But I guess this is very subjective, so maybe go to a store if you can and try it out for yourself?
@@wsw5404 It's very reassuring to hear that. Thanks for sharing your experience.
She keeps going back and forth between a dark blue/light blue shirt and it's making my brain explode repeatedly. But this is by far the most informative and useful review I've seen.
I love this review! I’ve been searching everywhere for quality reviews on the new MacBook Air bc I’ve been trying to decide if I should invest in it or not, and this is by far the most practical, thorough, and easy to understand one I’ve found!! Thank you so much!! :^)
This is definitely the best review I’ve seen on the M2 Air.
This M2 MBA base model is fantastic. The Midnight color is 🔥
Remember, the M2 MBA base model is ideal for the casual user. There are no power users who would even consider working with an air.
Great job 👏🏽
Which one is it? The midnight one that’s $1199??
Hey,
can you tell me about your experience with the MacBook Air m2 midnight?
I’m planning to buy the m2 version in midnight but I’m scared you will notice the fingerprints to much, can you tell me if the fingerprints are noticeable?
Can you also tell me if the color around the usb c connections quickly disappear?
thanks in advance for answering my questions.