Why You Shouldn’t Buy a New 15-Inch MacBook Air
I’ve always loved the idea of a 15-inch MacBook Air. I’ve never been happy with the fact that you had to pay a lot more to get a larger-screen MacBook than you would for a 13-inch MacBook. The 15-inch screen has always been left behind the “Pro” series, while many potential buyers did not need additional power: we just needed a larger screen.
15-inch MacBook Air officially unveiled
Apple’s 15-inch Air, announced this week, seems to be the answer to our prayers. For the first time, you can buy a larger-screen MacBook without having to pay tax on unnecessary power or features. The new 15-inch Air is essentially a bigger version of last year’s 13-inch update: it has the same design language, an M2 chip with an octa-core CPU and a 10-core GPU with up to 24GB of memory, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports (which seems small for a 15-inch machine), a MagSafe charging port, a 1080p webcam, and a P3 color gamut display with up to 500 nits of brightness. It even has the same claimed 18-hour battery life thanks to a larger battery driving a larger display.
In truth, the only improvement Apple made to the 15-inch screen was that it equipped it with a six-speaker sound system with “forced-compensated woofers” as opposed to the four-speaker system in the 13-inch case. . It’s just a big MacBook Air without a big price tag. Apple wants $1,299 for this dream machine, which isn’t cheap, but is a much more attractive price than the big MacBooks of the past. Take a look at the Apple MacBook Pro page , and you’ll see that 14-inch Pros start at $1,999, while 16-inch Pros go up to at least $2,499.
15-inch Air is an expensive compromise
But it’s not all $1,300 picnic. This Air only comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is about the same memory and storage specs you’ll find in a 2023 computer. Again, this might suit your use case: after all, the M2 is powerful, and its design means you can do a lot with a small amount of RAM. But someday 8GB of RAM will stop working and you won’t be able to upgrade the memory yourself. The same goes for storage: if you live in the cloud all your life, 256 GB might be enough. But if you store any photos, videos, or other large files on your Mac, you’ll end up needing an external drive permanently connected to your computer, or you’ll have to deal with constant storage management until you sell your computer.
Of course, you can solve these problems by giving Apple more money. The Air upgrades in $200 increments: you can upgrade the RAM to 16GB for an additional $200 and double the storage to 512GB for a couple hundred more. You can go on if you want: the Air has a maximum of 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, but that top combination costs $2,499.
Let’s say you want to protect your Mac a bit with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Apple will charge you $1699. Not perfect, but still less than what Apple charged for a 15-inch machine. And yet, it might not be the best value for money.
You can get more MacBooks for your money
If you look into a refurbished Apple store ( which you should always do , btw), they currently sell the 14″ MacBook Pro M1 Pro for $1,539 and the 14″ MacBook Pro M2 Pro for $1,699. This MacBook Pro M2 Pro in particular features an even more powerful processor than the new MacBook Air, with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, but both include all of the other benefits that come with Apple’s new MacBook Pros: significantly brighter 120Hz mini-LED display with much deeper blacks, improved internal microphone, HDMI port, SD card reader and optional USB-C port.
And all this, with the same 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage you want in a $1,699 MacBook Air. Of course, you’re sacrificing an inch of screen real estate to get there, so if you’re firm on 15 inches, this might be a moot point. Apple’s refurbished 16-inch MacBook Pros are a bit off the price tag , starting at $1929. However, Swappa is selling 16-inch M1 Pro models starting at $1,442. They start to rise in price pretty quickly, but you can find a 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon for about the price of a 15-inch MacBook Air. (And just because the M1 Pro is older than the M2 doesn’t mean it’s any less impressive. It’s actually more powerful than Apple’s base M2 , meaning you’ll be able to push the “old” chip further than you think.)
The 15-inch MacBook Air is still a great computer
This does not mean that Air does not have any advantages. First, it is very light, weighing 3.5 pounds. It is also brand new, which is always nice when buying expensive equipment. And it’s not for nothing that the Apple Midnight color is really good and not available outside of the MacBook Air line. For a sleek, powerful, efficient and portable MacBook, the 15-inch Air is undeniably a great device.
However, the truth is that it is not the best value for money. When you’re looking to spend around $1,699 on a big MacBook, that money goes a long way, especially if you’re willing to buy something that previously belonged to you. However, if you pull the trigger on Air, be sure to buy it from the Apple Education Store . You’ll save $100 and everyone can use it. After all, aren’t we all students of life?