Apple in July released the redesigned MacBook Air, one of the first machines to feature the second-generation M2 chip. MacRumors videographer Dan has been using the new MacBook on a daily basis, so we thought we'd do a deep dive into his experience for MacRumors readers who might still be considering a purchase. Make sure to watch the video up above to see everything Dan has to say about the MacBook Air, but spoiler alert: We think that this is the best Mac notebook option for most people. It's sleek, compact, modern, and blazingly fast with the updated M2. It's more expensive than the M1 model, but the M2 chip and fresh design are going to be worth it for many people.

Have an M2 MacBook Air? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.

Article Link: Video Review: One Month With the New M2 MacBook Air

For me, the main flaw is not having the two USB-C ports on opposite sides.

Had mine since day 1, 16gb/1Tb and it’s a tiny monster I have to say.
FCP editing is super smooth compared to my old Intel macbook, and I fired up a virtual macOS machine for some client testing, absolutely flies! I kept rebooting the VM just to watch it boot! (4 seconds flat!)
Only downside for me is running an external display, good old windowserver snaffles 100% of the CPU even if you disconnect the display. And running a few games on the external is fine for about 30 mins but it throttles everything back once it gets toasty. For a Mac with no fan it handles the heat generated by 10 gpu cores on full tilt though, I suppose I could’ve gone with the 14” macbook for no compromise here, but the super thin form factor is amazing.

So in conclusion, all those tech experts are just exaggerating this M2 Air's small issues.

WOW! Great review. Loved the example of being on the airplane and using it on a tray. The Mid-Night Macbook Air looks stunning. Agree with Dan, It might be the best laptop on the market.

Dan, fingerprints won't be an issue if Apple Polishing Cloth is used regularly to clean off the fingerprints.

Having had the opportunity to have an M2 Air in addition to my 16" Pro for the last two weeks, I find myself reaching for the Air much more often than the 16" Pro. The Pro certainly has the edge for those instances where Im doing extensive processing, but for most everything else the Air would be my preference...

I love mine. Use it more and more each day. The keyboard is the standout thing for me. Coming from a 2017 MacBook Pro the keyboard is light years ahead.

SamRyouji said:

So in conclusion, all those tech experts are just exaggerating this M2 Air's small issues.

To be fair, exaggerating those small issues drives more clicks.

It’s light but not that light, despite being lighter than everything else.

For those on the fence about colour, specifically fingerprints, space grey is very dark, sleek, but no finger prints.

I'm not sure I understand the criticism from tech reviewers that the base model can't handle 8k Final Cut streams. I get it, it would be awesome if it could, but everyday tasks are the computer's target market. So, I've got no issue with it from that standpoint.

Nonetheless, I do think 256gb is too small because those everyday users do take a lot of photos even if they don't do crazy editing. 512gb should be the base price, and 1TB the 1500 model, but alas, Apple tax....

RAS2MR said:

Having had the opportunity to have an M2 Air in addition to my 16" Pro for the last two weeks, I find myself reaching for the Air much more often than the 16" Pro. The Pro certainly has the edge for those instances where Im doing extensive processing, but for most everything else the Air would be my preference...

Do you still have and use both?
I'm considering the same - I have a 16" M1 Max MBP thats a high spec and never leaves my desk, used for FCPX mainly, and am considering a M2 MBA with (10core GPU, 16GB, 512GB) as a daily portable machine I can use around the house and carry with me for my script writing, planning, emails, and general tasks.....

SamRyouji said:

So in conclusion, all those tech experts are just exaggerating this M2 Air's small issues.

Actually he repeated the same concerns that the early reviewers stated, perhaps less dramatically.

I like the new design and midnight. It’s certainly not the revelation the M1 MBA was, but those leaps aren’t common. Good machine. I’m happy with my mid spec M2 as my daily computer.

I love my 2022 Midnight M2 MacBook Air. It easily handles everything I throw at it with ease. I use an Apple polishing cloth to remove the fingerprints and smudges. It is a beautiful machine.

MacRumors said:

Make sure to watch the video up above to see everything Dan has to say about the MacBook Air,

Writing deserves to be more than just a lost art.

Its very tempting to buy but that insane limit of 1 external display makes it useless to me. I depend on 2 monitors plus open-shell as my setup. The MBP is complete overkill for me. I really hope this limitation is solved in the future.

When all everyone complains about is the color, you know you've got a hit!

My configuration is the M2 with 24GB RAM and a two TB hard drive. Ditto on everything you reported. It's fast, extremely long battery life, excellent monitor, keyboard great, and lightweight. As you reported about speakers. They're not as good as my five year old MacBook Pro.

Enclavean said:

Its very tempting to buy but that insane limit of 1 external display makes it useless to me. I depend on 2 monitors plus open-shell as my setup. The MBP is complete overkill for me. I really hope this limitation is solved in the future.

antiprotest said:

Actually he repeated the same concerns that the early reviewers stated, perhaps less dramatically.

In other words, he didn’t exaggerate the small issues…

I'm surprised that someone hasn't pointed out all the fingerprints on the keyboard especially the space bar. That actually is more of a problem for me than the Midnight color for picking up fingerprints.

MacRumors said:

Apple in July released the redesigned MacBook Air, one of the first machines to feature the second-generation M2 chip. MacRumors videographer Dan has been using the new MacBook on a daily basis, so we thought we'd do a deep dive into his experience for MacRumors readers who might still be considering a purchase.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

Make sure to watch the video up above to see everything Dan has to say about the MacBook Air, but spoiler alert: We think that this is the best Mac notebook option for most people. It's sleek, compact, modern, and blazingly fast with the updated M2. It's more expensive than the M1 model, but the M2 chip and fresh design are going to be worth it for many people.

Have an M2 MacBook Air? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.

Article Link: Video Review: One Month With the New M2 MacBook Air

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I bought the two configurations of the base models of the MacBook Air 2 (256/512) and it just didn't cut it for me. In both base models I found that the computer gave me memory issue when I attempted to do basic tasks like using Drop Box web manager. I often have three/four light writing programs opened and multiple (like a lot of) safari tabs opened, and it didn't do well. I considered updating to 16 gig/512 storage but the cost for that machine was only $150 shy of the MacBook Pro 14inch. I decided to go with the Macbook For 14inch, and I could not be any happier.

I needed a computer that I could take on the go and use for everything.The bigger/better screen and volume alone are worth the extra $150 for the Macbook 14. Also, little things like being able to hook it up to more than one monitor, having ports on both sides, and not needing dongles and considering that the factor is not that much bigger from that of the MacBook Air 2 (besides being slightly heavier,) makes it the perfect machine.

If you care about the size and form factor more than anything else or if you are a very light computer user and can handle the base model of the MacBook Air M2 def go for it. If you need to upgrade, I recommend upgrading to the MacBook Pro 14, best machine if ever had.

One thing to consider was that the MacBook Air did have amazing battery life. You can go almost two days or a day an half without charging it.

I have the exact config as the "slightly modified version" and yes the finger prints are annoying. I just bought a clear hard case and I am fine. That is me I am good with it. Other than that it is an awesome machine.