Add a black or dark grey menu bar and you will soon forget about the notch. That won’t be as easy if the white notch rumours for the 2022 MaxBook Air are true. #yuck
I’m really in a quandary choosing my next laptop. I don’t want a MacBook Air that is not 14” and has a white notch, I’d rather grab a base 14” MacBook Pro. So I guess I have to wait to see if the 2022 MacBook Air will be as disappointing as I fear.
I haven’t heard any rumours of a 14-inch Air. I am expecting it’ll be 13-inch for consumer (and gosh I wish they’d make a 15-inch Air) and then 14-inch/16-inch on the Pro range.
I’ve heard that sort of sentiment a few times but ask why? Is this about specs/price or about weight?
On weight, the difference between the M1 MBA and MBP is 1.29kg bs 1.4kg and not a lot of size difference. The Air is actually thicker, but thanks to its wedge shape does feels thinner. I do suspect that the main difference behind the weight is the extra battery. As I’ve said, killing off the 13" M1 MBP does make a lot of sense since it doesn’t really seem to bring that much to the table.
On specs, I do very much appreciate people who just want a larger screen but don’t need the higher performance that usually comes with the larger models at a cost.
I think a more MacBook Air specced machine with a 15/16" screen at a price point around $2k would be very attractive to many people compared to having to step up to a nearly $4k machine just for the larger screen.
I’m always wary that Apple probably want their customers to spend a little more than spend a little less. They never released a cheap iPhone, they won’t release a low-end MacBook that will satisfy enough people, so many just get the iPhone 13 or the MacBook Pro 14" rather than their slightly cheaper siblings.
Only recently have I subscribed to Dave 2D’s channel, I like his reviews compared to some other vloggers.
KEYNOTE REVIEW.
HANDS-ON WITH THE NEW MACBOOK PROS. His closing note, the purchase decision. “Because it’s Apple and because it’s like the new new from Apple, people are going to be tempted, “I love that, maybe I could use this!”. But truth is these are not cheap, these are professional tools, they’re expensive, and for most people that want this but don’t actually have like a clear and present need for it, you don’t need it. These are just too expensive to pick up as a fun purchase. They’re really cool but they’re tools, that’s all they are.”
^I liked that review. Now that Melbourne has ended yet another lockdown, I hope to get along to an Apple Store and have a look at these new bad boys. I might be keen on the 14" even though I do not need a Pro laptop. If Apple had released new MacBook Airs it would have made it easier for me to choose right now between the two. I don’t actually NEED a new laptop, I’m currently using a 2017 13" MacBook Pro and it works perfectly fine.
OK, finally had a chance to go hands-on with the new MBP at an Apple Store.
It’s insanely nice. It finally feels like a successor to the Retina MBPs from 2013-2015, widely regarded as the best MBPs in terms of everything — ports, keyboard, design.
The display is incredible — even if it’s not HDR all the time, you’ll definitely notice the ProMotion high refresh rate. The notch isn’t worth writing about, you’ll never notice it. Seriously - in full screen mode, when apps hide their menu bars, you can’t even tell the notch is there. Or that there’s display to either side of it. It’s just, black. It’s so black that I had to switch between full-screen mode and normal mode to double check that, yes, there was screen there that goes almost all the way to the top edge.
Would the screen have been better without a notch? Of course. But if the choice was current bezels and no notch, or a notch and tiny bezels, I’d take the notch and tiny bezels. And if it has to have a notch, the way Apple have done it has got to be close to the best possible way; by putting the menu bar into the notched area, it’s a clever combination of giving you more screen real estate without intruding on the screen real estate you already have. Although it’s theoretically possible to have apps display content there in full-screen mode, none of the first or third-party apps I tried out did, probably due to how new it all is. I’m sure eventually some apps will.
The return of MagSafe is brilliant, as is the SD card slot. I could have left the HDMI port, but I’m sure I’ll use it once or twice.
The Verge’s review of the M1 Pro and M1 Max says that if unless you’re doing pro-level photo or video every day, or even every other day, you should save yourself the extra cash and get the M1 Pro. The extra GPU cores in the M1 Max might seem nice, but they chew up battery life even when you’re not using them. Unless you really think you’ll be getting into pro-level photo or video in the next year or so, or think you’ll be connecting more than two 5K displays over the lifetime of your new MBP, what you’re paying for in the M1 Max probably won’t be worth it. (Yes, even for gaming. Apple can compare the M1 Max to desktop-level discrete graphics in their marketing all they want, but the M1 Max isn’t suited for gaming workloads. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is.)
For the first time, I’m tempted by the Space Grey. The Silver is more “traditional”, I know, but Space Grey looks great.
The only reason I haven’t ordered one is because I’m still working out how I want to buy one (aka how do I get one without paying RRP). Besides, I’m in no rush. I’ve waited years for a new MBP that’s worth buying, I can wait another month or so.
I have seem some testing of Windows based games using Crossover on the M1 Max. It is not superb by any means, but they are definitely playable (60fps plus) at a decent resolution and quality settings. It’s not going to compare to a high end dedicated GPU of course, but the fact its possible is a huge plus.
Nice new review.
