You’ve heard of the Apple iPod+HP line of Hewlett-Packard-branded iPods, but have you heard of the Microsoft Zune+Sun line of Sun Microsystems-branded Zune digital media players? Built on its own RISC-based SPARC processor architecture running Solaris 9, battery life was abysmal.
iTunes for Newton OS left a lot to be desired.
Ars Technica reports the new M2 MacBook Pro’s 256GB SSD is only about half as fast as the M1's SSD.
Sustained disk read speeds run by Max Tech using the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test showed a drop from about 2,900MB/s in the M1 MacBook Pro to 1,446MB/s in the M2 MacBook Pro. Write speeds dropped from 2,215MB/s in the M1 Pro to 1,463MB/s in the M2 Pro, a smaller but still significant drop.
The culprit appears to be the NAND flash configuration. Both YouTubers took the bottom off of the new MacBook Pro and discovered that the 256GB versions use just one 256GB NAND flash chip, whereas the M1 MacBook Pro uses a pair of 128GB flash chips. On drives with more physical NAND chips, SSD controllers use a process called interleaving to read data from and write data to multiple physical chips at once. Use fewer chips, and you can limit your peak performance.
The Pro in Apple's product lines hasn't stood for professional in some time.
Back in the day of translucent plastics and PowerPC processors, Apple used to differentiate its pro line of PowerBooks by crippling the video hardware in its consumer line of iBooks. Starting with 1999's PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard) Apple's PowerBooks could extend their Mac OS desktop to a second display, while all models of iBook were restricted to display mirroring only. This restriction turned out to be superficial; reversible in the iBook's Open Firmware. Which makes sense considering the lowliest iBook contained video hardware superior to the earliest PowerBooks that supported extended desktop. Still the restriction of display mirroring was enforced on all of Apple consumer computers, iBooks, iMacs, and eMacs, until the introduction of Intel CPUs in 2006.
Flash forward to 2020, and Apple is holding back the hardware of its consumer laptops again. This time by limiting external display support of the M1 MacBook Air to a single display, while the previous 2018 Intel MacBook Air supported two external displays. For some the lack of dual external display support could be excused on account of the M1 being the first Apple Silicon to make its way into a Mac. A limitation that was rectified a year later with the introduction of the M1 Pro, and M1 Max MacBook Pros which support two and four external displays respectively.
Flash forward again to 2022, and the release of the M2 MacBook Air shows that limiting the external display capabilities of Apple's entry level laptops in 2020 was not a fluke. You read that right, the new MacBook Air with M2 processor only supports a single external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz1 no matter how much memory you configure it with. If your workflow calls for dual external displays, skip the M2 and go with either the 14 or 16 inch 2021 MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max processors.2
Same as the 2020 M1 MacBook Air.
Either that or an active display adapter like the WAVLINK USB 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station is in your future.
Apple just announced the "all-new 2022 MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip."
Apple's newest notebook comes with a larger 13.6" Liquid Retina display, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three-mic array/four-speaker sound system, in a streamlined chassis that resembles the 2021 MacBook Pro but available in two new mediocre colors.1 At the heart of the 2022 MacBook Air is the new M2 chip which boasts 18% percent faster compute, and 25% faster graphics than the previous M1; while containing the same media engine found in Apple's larger M1 Pro/Max notebooks.
Available in July, the 2022 MacBook Air is the Mac I would get provided you are not a video editor, 3D graphics professional, or need two external displays.2 Just be sure to get a model with at least 512 GBs of storage, 16 GBs of RAM, and in anything but Space Grey.3
Power Adapter
As for the choice between the 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter and 67W USB-C Power Adapter, get the adapter with the higher wattage. The 67W USB-C Power Adapter can charge the 2022 MacBook Air's battery 50% in 30 minutes, and you can always charge another device by way of one of the MacBook Air's two USB Type-C ports.
AppleCare+
I don't buy AppleCare+ for my computers, and you shouldn't either. Unless you need the 24/7 expert technical support from Apple there are better extended warranties out there.
Dongles
You are going to need a USB-C to USB Adapter, but you can do better than Apple's $19.00 option with a single port. Personally I like AmazonBasics USB 3.1 Type-C to 3 Port USB Hub with Ethernet Adapter, but other models with more ports, SD card slots, and video out are also available.
Price
Dongles aside my custom 2022 MacBook Air would cost $$1,699.00. Just don't forget about the $120 off educational discount.
Starlight is just sparkly beige.
On a budget? You can still get last year's MacBook Air; starting at $999.
It is a shame the 2022 MacBook Air doesn't come in the same colors as the 2021 M1 iMacs.