The new M2 MacBook Air looks amazing. The images remind us of PixelBook Go, a similarly svelt Chromebook with a touch screen. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, retains exterior design of the M1 and Intel models. In historical context, changing the Air first… that’s something a bit opposite of the way Apple transitioned to Intel from PowerPC.
Pros go last, again. In the Intel transition (2005), the Mac Pro (from the PowerMac) was the first to transition. But in the M1 transition, the smallest machines went first. Although this may feel like a radical departure at macro, the Mac Pro eventually lagged in terms of update frequency, so this is really only the continuation of a trend. This transition is different, yet not so different. It’s all new, yet quite similar to what you knew before. And that’s the general theme.
The Air taught Apple what people actually want, less. And that’s actually a huge deal. Before the Air, I think Apple assumed early adopters would gravitate toward the higher end machines first. Pioneering features of the higher-end Macs included Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, FireWire 400 and 800, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt. In terms of hardware, Apple offered some highly compelling connectivity options. That was the old Apple. Things are different now.
Do we need things to be faster? In terms of external connectivity, many of the upgrades Apple offered centered around connecting to external devices, especially as Apple reduced the internal upgrade capabilities of their systems with that trash can Mac Pro. Suddenly, Pros needed to store things externally. And by Pros, I mean creative professionals, not your friend who thinks they understand photography because the iPhone suddenly has a macro lens.
Creative professionals are no longer Apple’s primary target. Apple didn’t switch to “unified memory” with M1 and that actually happened for most users in 2006 with the original MacBook and MacBook Pro. In the PowerPC days, Macs were advertised based on dedicated graphics. Apple made these concessions for the Mac decades ago, but didn’t publicize them. Now the Air gets a better camera, MagSafe, and larger display. Are you sure you need the cooling fan?
What do most users actually need to do their jobs? I would say for a majority, it’s basic productivity (like Microsoft Office) and web browser. Times have changed, workflows have changed, and hardware optimization has made many of our formerly intensive tasks incredibly easy on M1. And Zoom calls. M1 excels at Zoom calls. M2 should be fine.