There’s only one MacBook worth buying right now
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.
The Air to the throne
Last week Macworld published its review of the 15-inch MacBook Air, and it’s fair to say that we’re fans. The new laptop drew praise for its big bright display and awesome battery life, and duly received a 4.5-star rating and an Editor’s Choice award. Consider it recommended, with our compliments to the chef.
But the funny thing about Apple’s erratic approach to Mac refreshes–new models appearing when the company feels like it rather than to any kind of identifiable schedule, and in dribs and drabs rather than updating the whole line at once–is that one good release can make the rest of the product line suddenly seem unappealing. Right now, in fact, all roads lead to the 15-inch MacBook Air.
Take the 13-inch MacBook Air, for example. Unlike its larger sibling, this model gets a choice of processors, with Apple currently selling both M1 and M2 configurations. You might find the M1 option appealing, given that it’s still a fast chip and will save you some money, but after a recent price cut, the starting price is only $100 less than the M2 model, and you’re getting an older design and slightly smaller screen with thicker bezels. (Apple refers to both as 13-inch laptops, but the M1 model is actually 13.3 inches, while the M2 is 13.6 inches. For that matter, the 15-inch Air has a screen that’s 15.3 inches. These are hard times for statistical pedants.) Is $100 enough of a saving to justify picking a laptop with 18 months less future-proofing? We’d say not.
So the M2 config is a better choice than the M1. But again, there’s a more expensive alternative that makes more sense. The 15-inch M2 Air starts at $1,299, and that extra $200 buys you a significantly bigger screen, a better processor with 10 GPU cores rather than 8, better battery life (an extra 92 minutes in our tests), a bigger trackpad, and a superior audio setup with an extra two speakers. Again–and maybe this is deliberate on Apple’s part, in a calculated incentive for upselling–the sensible choice is to spend a little more.
But then again, the MacBook Pro models also suffer in comparison with the newest Air. The 16-inch Pro is vastly more expensive; the 14-inch Pro is still a lot more expensive while offering a smaller screen, and the less said about the 13-inch Pro, the better.
All of this reminds me of the emotional rollercoaster that is the iPad range. In 2020 we reviewed the latest iPad Air and said it was “the best iPad for most people.” But over the course of the next 16 months, Apple cannibalized the Air’s market from various directions with excellent updates to the 10.2-inch iPad, the iPad mini, and the smaller iPad Pro. By the time 2022 rolled around, the Air had been relegated to the runt of the litter–before a new update made it the best choice once again. The whole process is exhausting, and confusing for customers who don’t know if a better alternative will shortly make their new device almost obsolete.
Apple seems wedded to its secretive and idiosyncratic release schedule, and it’s unlikely that we’ll see a more predictable system–new versions of every Mac in the spring, new versions of every iPhone and iPad in the fall, for example–in our lifetimes. But the company would do well to consider the advantages of such an approach. Customers would feel more secure in their choices, for one thing, and could make the best decision for their needs and budget. (Yes, of course, sales would tail off in the month or so before each update… but Apple could predict that, and build that into its logistical planning. The sales would still happen, just at a different time.) Mind you, it would be a nightmare for reviewers, so maybe we should forget the whole thing.
Foundry
Reviews corner
- 15-inch MacBook Air review: The best is still the best, just bigger.
- Mac Studio (M2 Max) review: Re-filling the need for speed.
- Beats Studio Buds + review: Better than AirPods (but not AirPods Pro).
Trending: Top stories
Apple’s Vision Pro strategy is looking a lot like the iPod.
Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit is the first real step to fixing Mac gaming.
Dan Moren discusses three WWDC software announcements that hint at new Apple home gear.
The fake eyes have it: Apple’s Vision needs some refinement, reckons the Macalope.
The first M2 Ultra Mac Pro benchmarks are seriously impressive.
If you have an iPhone 8 or iPhone X, you should probably sell it now.
The first M2 Ultra Mac Pro benchmarks blow away the best Intel models.
Intel has responded to the Apple silicon Mac Pro with its own ‘Ultra’ chips.
A Huawei ‘Vision Pro’ trademark might block the sale of Apple’s new headset in China.
The new Mac Pro is labelled as “Product of Thailand,” and nobody is sure why.
The rumor mill
Apple is already testing a faster 15-inch MacBook Air with an M3 chip.
What does the MacBook Air’s price cut mean for the iPhone 15?
Podcast of the week
The Mac takes center stage on this week’s episode of the Macworld Podcast! We have a new 15-inch MacBook Air, a new Mac Studio, the unveiling of macOS Sonoma, and more!
You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Software updates, bugs, and problems
Apple’s new Mac Pro already has an issue with its expandable storage.
And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Twitter or on Facebook for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.