MacBook Air M2 or Wait for M3

namvan on 14/02/2024 - 21:23

Hi OzB community,

Would love to get people's thoughts as I am currently sitting on the fence about upgrading my computer. I can't decide if I should get the MacBook Air M2 (which currently has the $240 gift card offer +/- cashback), or wait for the M3 Air given there is speculation it will be released in March.

I am currently using a Macbook Pro 13inch, 2.3 GHz DC Intel i5, 8GB (2017) which has served me well, but currently overheating, randomly shutting down generally slow, and battery performance is very poor (~30min on Zoom, but it's ok when not using an external monitor or simple software). Hoping the new computer will give me a similar longevity.

A bit about my usage:

  • Full-time uni student and work in research
  • Daily usage involves simple programs (Word, Excel etc, Zoom, Videos [lectures/youtube], research programs [i.e. R, SPSS, NVIVO], Anki)
  • Rare usage: Adobe Premiere Pro and Illustrator
  • Heavy laptop usage - minimum of 5 hours a day (7 days a week), but if no class/placement, can go up to 15+ hours/day.

Thank you in advance!

TLDR: Would you buy a Macbook Air M2 now with the $240 gift card, or wait for the M3 Air?

Poll Options

  • 18
    Macbook Air M2
  • 16
    Macbook Air M3
  • 5
    Other
Computing Apple Computer Laptop Ultrabook

Comments

  • ihfree on 14/02/2024 - 21:37
    +4

    6 months of pain waiting for a new device? I’d buy a new device.

    I might consider waiting if I could improve the current situation. I’d try:

    • Clean the fans in MBP 13”
    • Redo the CPU thermal paste
  • Wonderstache on 14/02/2024 - 21:41
    +2

    Get the M2 Air for a better price and you'll be sorted for a long time mate.

  • JIMB0 on 14/02/2024 - 22:14
    +2

    Wait for the M4

    • CrispyChrispy on 14/02/2024 - 22:20
      +1

      Might as well just hold for the M5 at that point

      • JIMB0 on 15/02/2024 - 09:36
        -3

        That's ridiculous. There might not be an M5.

      • LanceVance on 15/02/2024 - 12:40
        +1

        You're all catastrophically wrong…. it has to be the M6.

        • djones145 on 15/02/2024 - 14:07

          M8 is just around the corner!
          followed by the M
          then
          the new M

        • JIMB0 on 15/02/2024 - 16:58

          There'll be a new generation starting with the N1

  • jv on 14/02/2024 - 22:25

    Wait

  • sumyungguy on 14/02/2024 - 22:34
    +1

    Any version of Apple Silicon will more than meet your needs, so comes down to how much you want to allocate.

  • pinchies on 15/02/2024 - 03:02

    If you have times of continuous heavy usage, you may have a better experience with say a used macbook pro m1 or m2, which have a cooling fan for sustained workloads. I experienced a big improvement myself going from 13" m1 macbook air to 13" m1 macbook pro. For me, I have a pair of dropbox and onedrive libraries that are large and shared, and involve a lot of heavy sync which I found was not well balanced on the m1 air.

  • payless69 on 15/02/2024 - 07:55
    -2

    Once Xi is snapping up Taiwan the M3 chip price will skyrocket!

    • bdl on 15/02/2024 - 13:46

      I'd be more worried the effects that RAM and SSD pricing had globally than Apple CPUs

  • jk82 on 15/02/2024 - 08:10
    +1

    That i5 version you've got is absolute garbage in 2024, a jump to M2, M3, even M1 would be leaps and bounds, and enough to serve you for years to come. I'd jump on whatever deal you can get at the moment, the incremental upgrades of the M series aren't worth waiting for.

  • wots on 15/02/2024 - 09:24
    -2

    A very clear don't buy now from macrumors, with explanation https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air

  • LanceVance on 15/02/2024 - 12:43
    +1

    My workload is similar to yours and my work provided me an M1 Air with 16GB RAM. At first I was a bit miffed that they gave me the 'old' model but I can't express enough how much I love this machine. Completely handles anything I throw at it, totally silent and the battery life is epic. Maybe even pick up a used one of those for a significant saving and I'm sure it will do you very well, be sure to get one with 16GB of RAM though.

    • jsediv on 15/02/2024 - 13:12
      +2

      Second this. I have the M1 Mac Air and agree with all these points.
      If you can get a good deal on the M1, you wont be disappointed.

  • iforgotmysocks on 15/02/2024 - 14:40
    +2

    Definitely wait for the M5

  • Ryk on 17/02/2024 - 13:45

    my 2015 intel macbook pro still works fine (16GB RAM). on sonoma the fans spin up if doing a lot. would get the M2 now.

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