Review: 15-inch MacBook Air

2023-08-13 15:00:00

Many people criticized Jony Ive and Steve Jobs’ fixation on increasingly thinner and lighter devices, which sometimes compromised usability in favor of design. Well, I wasn’t one of those. I am also fond of portability associated with productivity. The thinner and lighter the equipment and the one that can offer the maximum of functions, the more I am interested.

In that pursuit, I used and still use the iPad Pro a lot, a very smart gadget. With the arrival of the redesigned 13-inch MacBook Air last year, the iPad was even a little overshadowed. An extremely light, beautiful, compact and ultra-powerful computer with an M2 processor, with the advantage of having a slightly larger screen (my iPad is the 11″) and without the limitations of some typical tablet features and software.

I used a MacBook Pro with an M1 Max chip and I confess that I didn’t feel big differences in performance in the one I use for work, even for video editing and statistical software — with the advantage that the MBA is much lighter.

As launch of MacBook Air de 15″, I thought it was worth the test, given the positive experience with the 13″. So I made the investment, but I held on to my 13″ to make sure I wouldn’t regret it — whatever, I just had to sell the bigger one. I’ve had the new MacBook for 40 days and now let’s get to my impressions.

Portability

One of my biggest concerns was precisely the size. Although I was interested in the bigger screen, I had the impression that it would become a bit clunky to use and cumbersome to carry around.

To my pleasant surprise, the 15″ MacBook Air is very light, with a very small difference in weight for the 13″ (1.51kg vs. 1.24kg). At first, the size is a little strange, but a few minutes of use are enough to get used to it.

The size difference between them is also small, which makes it practically the same experience to carry in your backpack. He is quite discreet and does not give the impression that he is wearing a tomboy in public places, such as at a cafe table. One however was for use on planes: in the limited space of the seats, the slightly larger size made a difference (for the worse), but nothing that made it unfeasible to use.

bigger screen

Who doesn’t like more screen, right? It’s really nice to work from home and be able to use two monitors. I even thought regarding buying these portable monitors to test, but I still didn’t have the courage.

The 15″ screen is really useful and functional. Having more space to work without having to carry excessive weight so it’s really great! There is no difference in screen quality compared to the smaller model, and for professional (day-to-day) use, it’s fine.

Performance, usability and battery

In terms of performance, the machines are identical. Same configuration and same performance. The 15″ battery is a little bigger and compensates for the consumption of the larger screen, which technically leaves the two models also tied in this item — although, in the tests I did, the larger one seemed to have a little more battery life, but it might be just an impression or because he is younger (battery still at 100% health).

The usability of the larger trackpad and the space around it helps a lot too. It seems that typing speed and work improves. The extra space on the screen also helps a lot with productivity, improving especially in tasks that require the use of several applications and software simultaneously.

Conclusion

Yes, Apple got it right with the launch of a 15″ MacBook Air. A machine that performed as well as one with the M2 chip and design as modern as the Air deserved a bigger, more interesting screen option for the job.

A single issue that worries me is the company’s release schedule. Could it be that, as some have fancied, the launch of the “M3” chip will occur later this year, leaving the 15-inch MacBook Air (M2) “obsolete” in just a few months? Hard to say, but it’s not a throwaway idea. It would be bad enough for the consumer to have their machine out of date so soon, but Apple doesn’t have a history of worrying too much regarding this…

Anyway, it’s really worth spending a little extra money and having a machine with greater performance and usability.

MacBook Air

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