WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.640 I like small phones, small cars, even small people. 00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:12.800 And so when Apple announced their largest ever 15 inch MacBook Air at WWDC, I wasn't 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:18.760 confident it would connect with me. At first glance, this looks like a longer and wider version of the M2 model they launched 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:23.040 last year. And I mean, it basically is, so ho hum. 00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:29.040 And yet, I think this is a really big deal, and I'm not talking about the size. 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:33.040 Alright, that's great. 00:00:33.040 --> 00:00:36.200 Apple has never made a large consumer notebook like this before. 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:40.580 If you wanted to get more screen real estate on the go, you would have to pay up for a 16 00:00:40.580 --> 00:00:45.680 inch MacBook Pro. At $2500, it's almost double what this costs. 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:51.760 I guess the closest analog to this from Apple's history would be the 14 inch iBook from 2002. 00:00:51.760 --> 00:00:55.180 But you didn't really get much from that bigger screen because it had the exact same 00:00:55.180 --> 00:00:58.640 resolution as the smaller 12 inch iBook. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:03.600 So everything on screen just appeared bigger, there wasn't any room to roam. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.460 This MacBook, however, has a higher resolution, and therefore much more real estate. 00:01:08.460 --> 00:01:12.560 So you can fit more documents, webpages, premiere tracks, and more of the photos you're editing 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:18.440 on the screen at a time. If you're a big multitasker and you're on the go, this is great. 00:01:18.440 --> 00:01:23.080 I should note one thing though, unlike the MacBook Pro's on the MacBook Air's, display 00:01:23.080 --> 00:01:30.440 scaling is on by default. For the absolute clearest image, use this setting. 00:01:30.440 --> 00:01:35.560 Many many years ago, back in high school, I used a 15 inch Acer laptop, and I remember 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.920 after graduating making another one of my size policies. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:45.820 No laptop bigger than 14 inches, they were really big, thick, and ponderous back then. 00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:49.540 This isn't, and so I might need to recalibrate my views. 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:56.620 This Air is very thin and light. At 3.3 pounds, it's only half a pound heavier than the smaller Air. 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:02.380 But crucially, it's a full pound and a half lighter than a 16 inch MacBook Pro. 00:02:02.380 --> 00:02:06.860 It's even lighter than the 14 inch model, and that means that despite its size, it's 00:02:06.860 --> 00:02:10.660 not clunky. I'm actually surprised at how portable it is. 00:02:10.660 --> 00:02:14.700 Many backpacks and laptop bags are designed for laptops with this screen size. 00:02:14.700 --> 00:02:19.220 So when I put my smaller MacBooks in, I'm always aware of them shifting about. 00:02:19.220 --> 00:02:22.820 This fits much more nicely into those spaces. It's just right. 00:02:22.820 --> 00:02:27.140 The 15 inch model is a sliver thicker than the smaller one. 00:02:27.140 --> 00:02:32.140 That makes it sturdy. When you hold up a laptop this big from one corner like this, more force is being put 00:02:32.140 --> 00:02:39.380 on the opposite corner. Cheap plastic Windows laptops flex and creak when I do this, but look, I don't feel bad 00:02:39.380 --> 00:02:44.900 at all. But weirdly, despite its extra size, Apple has not specced more battery life. 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:49.100 Their claims for both models are still 18 hours of video playback. 00:02:49.100 --> 00:02:53.460 But in my usage at the office, I was able to stretch the battery over 12 and a half hours 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:57.540 of screen on time. It's not up to Apple's claims, but it is very good. 00:02:57.540 --> 00:03:01.900 Along with the bigger screen, you get a bigger trackpad with very good palm rejection. 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:06.060 But you also get more space for heat and sound. 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:09.660 Last year I complained about the decrease in performance of the M2 MacBook Air because 00:03:09.660 --> 00:03:15.740 of its compromised cooling. They use a heat shield and an air gap, and it's used here too. 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:19.300 But because of the greater surface area, the impact is less. 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:24.060 In my DaVinci export test, the 15 inch model is much closer in performance to the fan cooled 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:28.020 Touch Bar M2 MacBook Pro than the smaller Air. 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:32.380 I still believe some thermal mass would go a long way for both the M2 Air's performance 00:03:32.380 --> 00:03:39.580 over longer periods. The chip isn't hot enough to really push the cooling of the Pro model, but it is enough 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:43.140 to saturate the cooling of these two. 00:03:43.140 --> 00:03:47.620 Now though, instead of worrying about a 10 plus minute workload, I'm happy to say that 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:55.540 this will last longer. Maybe just don't push it in multi hour gaming sessions. 00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:59.620 The speakers take advantage of the increased space as well, sounding a lot fuller compared 00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:09.780 to the tin cans on the other M2 models. 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:13.180 These are not as bassy as the speakers found in the expensive Pro models, but they are 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:17.940 very good. And it's nice that Apple took the opportunity to upgrade them as well. 00:04:17.940 --> 00:04:21.500 My biggest criticism, however, is with IO. 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:25.740 With all this extra space on the body here, I think Apple could have added another Thunderbolt 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:31.780 port on the right side. Would be especially handy for people who rely on the studio display's criminally short 00:04:31.780 --> 00:04:36.700 included cable. Better still, I think they should add an SD card reader, like the MacBook Air's used 00:04:36.700 --> 00:04:44.340 to get back in the day. Because I think this specific laptop is perfect for photographers. 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:48.600 Photographers don't use the HDR offered by the XDR display, but they do want more screen 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:54.540 real estate. Photographers don't want to lug around heavy equipment, but they do want a laptop. 00:04:54.820 --> 00:05:00.740 Photographers don't do sustained loads, but they do need more memory. Which at 24 gigs, this has. 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:05.460 Even if you are a photographer, this amount of RAM is very hard to justify. 00:05:05.460 --> 00:05:14.300 You better be processing 100 megapixel RAWs. The price for this fully upgraded model with a terabyte of storage, for example, is $2,100. 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:17.340 You're going to need to shoot a lot of weddings to pay for it. 00:05:17.340 --> 00:05:21.260 Everyone else should take note of the recalibration of MacBook Air pricing. 00:05:21.260 --> 00:05:28.740 This smaller base M2 Air gets a $100 decrease to $1,100, and this starts at $200 more. 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:34.020 At $1,300, this is priced identically to the older style 13 inch MacBook Pro, with the 00:05:34.020 --> 00:05:40.380 touch bar, which they still sell. If you're thinking, well why would I get the Air if it's the same price as the Pro, 00:05:40.380 --> 00:05:46.740 be careful. This lacks the better screen, higher performance, and IO that the real MacBook Pros have. 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:51.140 And besides, the Air has the same 10 core GPU upgrade as this anyway. 00:05:51.140 --> 00:05:56.860 There were reports that falling laptop sales forced Apple to suspend M2 chip production, 00:05:56.860 --> 00:06:00.260 and clearly it was enough for Apple to push the prices down. 00:06:00.260 --> 00:06:05.180 With the exception of the M1 model, which is still $1,000, the same price it was introduced 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:13.060 at almost three years ago. And to my fellow Canadians, our dollars doing pretty bad, so we only get a $50 price drop 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:16.140 on the small MacBook Air. Ouch. 00:06:16.140 --> 00:06:20.620 This new pricing does change the calculus a bit when it comes to buying a MacBook. 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:24.220 If you have always wanted a large MacBook, or have been spending the last many years 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:29.020 paying up for a way too powerful Pro, this is a dream come true. 00:06:29.020 --> 00:06:32.580 It'll be everything you hope for, and more. 00:06:32.580 --> 00:06:37.660 As for how to spec it, well if you do very light tasks like web browsing and office stuff, 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:41.960 I'm still willing to recommend the base model, but just barely. 00:06:41.960 --> 00:06:46.260 But my tests showed significant performance differences between the base and fully loaded 00:06:46.260 --> 00:06:51.020 RAM configs. So that upgrade does contribute to a performance boost. 00:06:51.020 --> 00:06:57.140 I like this, and I'm really surprised I do. It breaks down my 15 inch laptop policy. 00:06:57.140 --> 00:07:00.780 Even like the starlight color, it's a hard laptop to fault. 00:07:00.780 --> 00:07:04.580 But would I spend my own money on it? 00:07:04.580 --> 00:07:09.420 Ugh. I think I'm still a small laptop person. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:12.620 Even though this is big, it's still too big. 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:17.260 For me. 00:07:17.260 --> 00:07:22.140 Thanks for expanding this Mac Address. If you're a big laptop fan, give this video a like. 00:07:22.140 --> 00:07:29.340 And if you're a small laptop fan, you might as well subscribe. I am curious in the comments below what the most ideal laptop screen size is for you. 00:07:29.340 --> 00:07:29.840 Comment below.