Apple’s all-new, sleek M2 MacBook Air is here, but for most people, the previous model may still be the better buy.
Apple's older M1 may be TOO good
The M2 MacBook Air is Apple’s first Apple Silicon-era laptop for regular people. It’s been completely redesigned around Apple’s own ARM-based chips, features a new flattened shape, a smaller bezel-less display, and a MagSafe charging port. And yet the previous M1 MacBook, which was essentially the old Intel-era model with a new Apple chip inside, is still superior in some ways and a lot cheaper.
“For casual users, the M2 chip won't really make a huge difference for day-to-day tasks unless you need extreme improvements in professional workflows,” Sudhir Khatwani, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Money Mongers, told Lifewire via email.
The old M1 MacBook Air has one key advantage over the new one. Because it was originally built around inefficient, hot Intel chips, it does an excellent job of cooling things down. Combined with Apple’s ultra-cool, ultra-efficient M1 chip, which is a fan-optimized version of the chips inside iPads and iPhones, the result is a machine with nearly all-day battery life, zero need for a fan, and that virtually never got warm, let alone hot.
