So you want to buy a MacBook? You have no shortage of options. If you go directly through Apple, you can choose between air or professional in two different sizes in an apparently endless number of configurations. If you buy from a third party dealer, the problem is only connections. There is a much From MacBooks out there.
Which machine you should buy is entirely with you and your special needs. However, if you have to do sophisticated or specialized work, there is a model that makes more sense than most others. Before today, I recommended the M2 MacBook Air to most people. The combination of price, portability and strength made it not only the best MacBook for most people, but also the best laptop as a whole. (Sorry, PCs.) There were and are cheaper options, but this M2 MacBook Air was simply the best total value on the market.
I don’t think so because Apple just dropped a new MacBook AirAnd it’s my new choice for The Best MacBook for most customers. Here is the reason.
The price is right
Let us start things with what makes the MacBook Air great: the price. The MacBook Air has long been an entry-level machine from Apple and presents a very clear trading-sie $ 999, you get a solid Mac. You could pay more to acquire additional functions and a power boost, but you didn’t have to. A cool Grand was everything they needed.
Apple changed this deal a little with the start of the M2 MacBook Air. Instead of offering it as the entry-level model of $ 999, the M1 of the previous generation kept it at this point and has rated the newer model a few hundred dollars higher. Now the “old” MacBook Air was their entry into the Mac line, and if they wanted the latest MacBook Air, they had to spend more.
Fortunately for consumers, the M1 MacBook Air was great. In fact, it’s still quite great. Although Apple continues to publish new Macs with new chips, publish I argued that the M1 MacBook Air was the best MacBook for most people Only when the M1 replaced the M1 with the now “old” M2 MacBook Air and rated it for 999 US dollars until the beginning of 2024.
The M4 MacBook Air only continues this tradition, but with a little turn. The M4 is brand new and yet the entry -level machine in Apple’s line -up. This 999 US dollar does not bring you the model from last year or the year before: this is the freshest MacBook air you can buy. It doesn’t feel like a compromise, and it just makes it recommended to recommend everyone who is looking for a great MacBook at a reasonable price.
The M4 chip
If the argument were just about money, it would not keep water. Now that Apple has dropped both the M2 and the M3 MacBook from its line -up, these machines will probably be available from other retailers. If the M2 MacBook Air was the best Mac for most people yesterday for 999 US dollars, it shouldn’t definitely Be the best Mac for most people if you can pick it up? This is part of My argument against the purchase of the latest iPad Air all– It is a great tablet, but also the older air, which is now probably cheaper than ever.
Yes, a reduced M2 -MacBook Air is a fantastic price -performance ratio, and I would not prevent anyone from buying it. But I have the feeling that 999 dollars is straight better Value for the M4 MacBook Air. For this price, you will receive the latest chip from Apple -the M4 -, which represents the highest powerful chip in the Laptop setup of Apple. The M4 in the MacBook Air has 10 CPU cores compared to eight in the M2, and the NPU (the chip that is responsible for executing AI tasks) has a 120 GB/s storage ribbon width, compared to 100 GB/s on the M2. The M2 is still a very capable chip, and they won’t notice a big difference between the two like between M1 and M4 (Apple says that the M4 air is up to twice as fast Independent benchmarking of other M4 chips. We will not know exactly how well the M4 Air cuts until the reviewers wrote it through, but it will undoubtedly run better than a chip that came out in 2022.
In addition to the performance, Apple will support the M4 chip almost longer than the M2. I have no doubt that M2 has many years of support, but if it is that Apple finally stops publishing updates for these machines, the M4 will probably receive it for at least one or two additional years – if not longer.
Apple also continues the trend to start each MacBook with at least 16 GB RAM. Previously, the basis of Apple 8 GB RAM, which were not sufficient for simple tasks for more intensive applications – and was not good for their durability. They had to spend an additional 200 US dollar for an upgrade to 16 GB, which completely deleted the value of the MacBook Air. Last year Apple made the decision to start all Macs on 16 GB RAM to start. without Increase the price. Maybe 999 US dollars for a laptop with 8 GB RAM is a difficult pill for swallowing, but for one with 16 GB? It is an excellent value.
The advantages you expect from a MacBook Air
Apple has not broken the shape with the M4 MacBook Air, and that’s a good thing. This design is functionally identical to the M2 and M3 -MacBook -Airs – What does it mean, it is excellent.
The basic M4-MacBook Air is still equipped with a 13.6-inch display “Liquid Retina” with a resolution of 2560 x 1664, a P3 wide color game and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. It weighs the same 2.7 pounds, has the same great speakers and microphones and ships with an excellent keyboard with backlight with touch -id. ((The days of the butterfly stature are long gone.) Like the M3 MacBook Air, this M4 is delivered with Wi-Fi 6e support (a newer generation than the Wi-Fi 6 support of the M2).
You also get MAGSAFE shop, which belongs to the best MacBook functions. I will never understand why Apple has ever freed itself from magnetic chargers, but at least it has corrected itself in recent years.
Various smaller advantages
What the company has changed from previous MacBooks is slightly, but remarkable. First the camera. The M4 has a 12 megapixel camera that should improve the quality of video calls. However, the greater advantage with this higher megapixel number is the addition of the center. This function, inserted on iPad And found on the M4 MacBook ProFollow your face as you move around the frame during the calls. This allows you to go and speak in front of your MacBook Air while you are still in focus.
The M4-MacBook Air is still equipped with two USB-C connections, but they can be found on former MacBook Airs. These ports are Thunderbolt 4Not USB-4, which means that there are higher demands on the minimum speed. This allows the M4 MacBook Air to extend to up to two 6K external monitors.
The colors have also shifted a bit. Gone is the legendary Space Gray option that many know and love, which is not necessarily a “small advantage”. However, the new sky blue color looks Great. Since Apple revised the iMac line with funny new colors in 2021, I wanted it to take over the same with its laptops. This is the next that we have come so far and I hope you keep it with future models.
Older MacBooks are still an excellent value (with a restriction)
Apple has an M4 MacBook Air pre -ordered today, and the machine will be sold on Wednesday, March 12th. But if you have any Interest in an older Mac, I would recommend buying it if you can: As soon as this new MacBook is no longer, the discounts should follow older machines.
Apple does not sell new M2 and M3 -MacBook airs, but it will certainly be outlets like Amazon and Best Buy. If you want to pick up a new MacBook Air for under $ 999, that’s the way to do it. I can imagine that these companies will take these models at least, if not more, $ 100 or $ 200. If Apple sells new M4S for 999 US dollars, these business cannot justify older models to keep older models at the same price. Apple will probably sell used M2 and M3 models in its renovated businessAlso, so keep an eye out there.
As I said above, the M2 and M3 chips are still excellent, and Apple will probably support them for years. No matter which of these three machines you buy, you will feel The functionality of the same way, since the design has not changed, you will receive a modern MacBook experience at a great price.
Check your RAM
My only restriction is to pay attention to the RAM. Your Mac does not work as well as machine with 16 GB RAM, and most likely Apple will drop the support earlier than the models with more memory. These machines are by no means worthless (Apple currently supports all Macs of the M series with 8 GB RAM). However, if you want to buy a new MacBook this year, it is important to prioritize these 16 GB RAM.
