Phil D.
Puritan Board Senior
A few weeks ago my 4-1/2 year old 16" MacBook Pro (a generous gift) died on me. Literally just died. Turned out the logic board (the heart of the computer) had some kind of random catastrophic failure, something the tech told me has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of happening...
I should probably have been mad enough at Apple to switch to a PC of some kind, but with everything I have synched between my various Apple devices that wasn't a practical option. It definitely would have been quite therapeutic, but not at all sensible...
Over the last few years I've determined that the way I use a laptop doesn't warrant a Pro version of MacBook anyway, so for a replacement I opted for a much less expensive AirBook. Of course the conventional rule is that means a lot less performance. However, to my very pleasant surprise, the new 15" Air is noticeably superior to my older Pro in almost every aspect - speed, display, sound, pretty much everything is appreciably better. For example, my fairly sizable Logos program and library updates and fully syncs in less than 30 seconds, rather than the 20 minutes or more it took on the older Pro. Webpages and programs load in about 1/3 the time (in many cases instantly), etc...
As I've read more about it, this impressive performance is primarily due to Apple's relatively new Silicone processors, the M1 and now the M2. Rather than using adapted Intel chips as they had prior to 2020, the Silicone chips are designed and produced by Apple, which allows for optimization with their OS, with pretty amazing results.
Another thing I really like is that the the efficiency of the M2 allows the Air to be fan-less, as cooling is achieved passively by dissipating any heat through the body of the computer. A downside to this is that if the processor does start to heat up, then instead of kicking on a fan, the CPU is throttled back to keep it from overheating. But in just running basic programs and browsing general web content, most folks such as myself are unlikely to realize any appreciable reduction in performance when this might occur. What I like most about the fan-less design is that it allows the Air to be used as a true laptop. I don't have to worry about blocking any air vents, or having my lap get uncomfortably warm.
Bottom line, I think Apple has hit a sweet spot with the new 15" Air. Size/weight, performance, display, sound and price point, altogether create a new and impressive standard in laptop computers. I expect it will quickly come to dominate within the MacBook market space. And hopefully it will last longer than 4-1/2 years...
I should probably have been mad enough at Apple to switch to a PC of some kind, but with everything I have synched between my various Apple devices that wasn't a practical option. It definitely would have been quite therapeutic, but not at all sensible...
Over the last few years I've determined that the way I use a laptop doesn't warrant a Pro version of MacBook anyway, so for a replacement I opted for a much less expensive AirBook. Of course the conventional rule is that means a lot less performance. However, to my very pleasant surprise, the new 15" Air is noticeably superior to my older Pro in almost every aspect - speed, display, sound, pretty much everything is appreciably better. For example, my fairly sizable Logos program and library updates and fully syncs in less than 30 seconds, rather than the 20 minutes or more it took on the older Pro. Webpages and programs load in about 1/3 the time (in many cases instantly), etc...
As I've read more about it, this impressive performance is primarily due to Apple's relatively new Silicone processors, the M1 and now the M2. Rather than using adapted Intel chips as they had prior to 2020, the Silicone chips are designed and produced by Apple, which allows for optimization with their OS, with pretty amazing results.
Another thing I really like is that the the efficiency of the M2 allows the Air to be fan-less, as cooling is achieved passively by dissipating any heat through the body of the computer. A downside to this is that if the processor does start to heat up, then instead of kicking on a fan, the CPU is throttled back to keep it from overheating. But in just running basic programs and browsing general web content, most folks such as myself are unlikely to realize any appreciable reduction in performance when this might occur. What I like most about the fan-less design is that it allows the Air to be used as a true laptop. I don't have to worry about blocking any air vents, or having my lap get uncomfortably warm.
Bottom line, I think Apple has hit a sweet spot with the new 15" Air. Size/weight, performance, display, sound and price point, altogether create a new and impressive standard in laptop computers. I expect it will quickly come to dominate within the MacBook market space. And hopefully it will last longer than 4-1/2 years...
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