Apple’s launch of the new MacBook Air was highly anticipated, mainly for two reasons: its long-awaited redesign and the introduction of the M2 processor, the next generation of Apple’s M-series chips. As expected, reviews of the MacBook Air M2 have been favorable, with Macworld’s Jason Cross calling it “a hit” and “a delightful everyday computer for most users.”
But the MacBook Air’s accolades have been overshadowed by reports of accelerated performance. Article after article warns of “deficient” performance, “severe” acceleration, and how it “can’t handle the heat,” and video after video demonstrates what’s supposedly wrong with the new laptop. It might leave some people wondering if it’s worth their money and wondering what Apple was thinking.
Here’s the thing: We’ve been here before, folks. In 2020, when the new MacBook Air M1 was introduced, it made headlines with its impressive speed improvement over Intel chips, as well as the acceleration it needed to maintain an adequate temperature under more demanding workloads . In fact, heat has always been a problem with the MacBook Air even before Apple’s silicon.
It’s the same story, different year. Why is it news again? Why didn’t Apple fix the problem? The answer is simple and lies in who the intended user of the MacBook Air is.
The MacBook Air has no built-in fan. It’s a passively cooled machine, meaning it doesn’t use any special hardware to actively cool it. This is done on purpose by design so that the MacBook Air can be thinner than the MacBook Pro. If MacBook Air starts to heat up, it will throttle performance to maintain an appropriate operating temperature. This is another aspect of the MacBook Air that is designed.
The MacBook Air is also Apple’s most popular laptop because it’s the company’s most affordable. Its price appeals to what we call “casual” users, those who spend most of their time on the web, use productivity applications such as iWork or Microsoft Office, stream audio and video in real time for entertainment or for meetings in line and other productivity tasks that everyone does with a computer. The most stressful work probably involves apps like Photos, iMovie, GarageBand, or some other consumer-level creative software for short stays.
If you’re using a MacBook Air and you’re hogging your CPU all the time and you’re feeling frustrated, you know what? You’re using the wrong tool for the job.
The MacBook Air handles these tasks without a problem: it’s as fast as the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the same M2 processor. It’s what most people should buy – add the redesign and feature set of the Air, and we think it’s a better value than the 13-inch Pro. If I just described what you do every day, the MacBook Air is a better value for you. (There is a separate performance issue with the 13-inch MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with a 256GB SSD that is an interesting design decision, but unrelated to the acceleration issues.)
That’s not to say the MacBook Air doesn’t accelerate. It does. But what makes it speed up? Tasks that “casual” users don’t usually do. For example, one report of the Air’s severe acceleration involved a Canon 8K RAW video export. Do you know what Canon 8K RAW video produces? Cameras priced over $4,000. Do you know who works on Canon 8K RAW video? Video professionals. Do you know which Macs they buy? MacBook Pros.
The MacBook Air is not a high-end work machine, even if it has a fast processor.
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The MacBook Air accelerates when doing CPU-intensive tasks that users who do “serious” work often do, often in a professional environment. This is by design. If you’re using a MacBook Air and you’re often rendering 8K RAW video, or producing long hi-res videos in Final Cut Pro, or making music professionally, or doing whatever it is you’re doing that’s pushing the CPU all the time and frustrating you, guess what? You’re using the wrong tool for the job. You should be using a MacBook Pro.
If you insist that Apple fix the MacBook Air, ask yourself if you’re willing to spend on equipment to produce the content you want, why skimp on the MacBook to get the job done?
Headlines that hook you
Many of these reports that use flashy headlines about the problem actually point out that you have to do something atypical of a casual user to get the MacBook Air to speed up. But there are also many reports that overlook the fact that you probably won’t render a 60-minute 4K video in Final Cut Pro while you have 20 tabs open in Safari and are sorting through your FileMaker Pro collection database. of 10,000 precious stones. And when they overlook it, it seems to be a problem that affects everyone.
As someone who works in the media, I’ll admit, we’re fighting for your attention, and some outlets are more willing to exaggerate their headlines than others. (And yes, Macworld is guilty of this too. I’ve heard about it in your emails and tweets.) But most outlets make it clear in their content who the intended user is for the MacBook Air.
The fanless MacBook Air is by design: Apple doesn’t overlook anything. Its target user is “the rest of us”, everyday users with productivity tasks to do. The MacBook Pro is for users who demand processing power. Get the right Mac for what you want to do.
14-inch MacBook Pro (2021)
RRP: £1,899 (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD); £2,399 (10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
Read our full 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021) review.