Did you know that if you buy the basic MBA, it is rather impressive and delightful to use?
Despite what many of the bloggers and YouTubers are saying in their reviews.
I have a mac studio and a 16-inch MBP M1, but I wanted something I could use to do light work (email, writing, etc) while I’m out and about, and it is fabulous.
Did you buy the M1 or M2 version?
M2 - ooops, I forgot they were still selling the M1
I’ve updated the subject.
IMO, most bloggers and YouTubers have nothing in common with “normal” users.
I agree with Jason Snell who said “You would have to work really hard to find reasons why you absolutely couldn’t use a MacBook Air to do your job, whatever your job is.” “It’s now the computer for 99% of people.” (Upgrade ep:419)
I didn’t mean to imply that they didn’t. Only that regular people don’t engage in long discussions about ToDo apps or get excited when Apple comes out with a new chip.
Yeah, I watched that video then momentarily regretted buying the basic model.
But then I listened back and noticed he said, that you needed to get 16g ad 512g minimum for the MacBook to last 4 years.
I don’t think that is true for most people.
This review, from the guardian newspaper, is written for a broad audience:
It concludes:
Combined with class-leading battery life of about 16 hours, rapid performance of the M2 chip and a top-class trackpad and keyboard, you have the best premium consumer laptop available.
The only thorn in its side is the price increase to £1,249 or more, which makes the M1 MacBook Air that is still on sale at £999 undoubtedly better value.
But not in a way that helps 
Doh!
Fixed it.
I hope …
I think that Apple will put the pedal down on software to use the M1, M2 and beyond, as less and less people use Intel. I think that anything with only 8gb of memory and/or 256 GB storage will struggle within 3 years, it may not even be that long.
I see things differently. Today, with the exception of sensitive files and current work in process, I keep all my data in the cloud and mainly use web based tools. I think non power users will be needing less processing power and storage in the future.
I’ll message you and admit defeat in five years should my prediction prove wrong. 
You probably have a point about storage, but RAM and CPU determine how well Javascript runs, which has an enormous effect on the presentation of web/cloud based applications. I think that if the trend toward cloud based workloads continues then, ironically, everyday users will benefit from more resources (CPU/GPU/RAM) on endpoint devices and “power users” will see their (relative) requirements decrease. Endpoint requirements between low-end and high-end will converge.
I’ll message you and admit defeat every five years as variations of this prediction have been made and failed to be correct for several decades (But I do think that this time (with presentation code remaining on the endpoint, and endpoints able to manage it (unlike Sun’s JavaStations), there’s much more chance of it actually happening)
I look at high end games and Windows Cloud PCs starting to be run on anything with a decent screen and internet connection and wonder how long until this technology becomes widespread?
Once ubiquitous broadband is available and the cost of remote processing becomes reasonable what would prevent a company like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. from offering a package of computing, storage, communications, and entertainment that users can access from any dumb screen they choose? A small one in their pocket, a 72" one on their wall, or any size in between.
Everyone is looking for sources of continuous income. How about a service that can be sold to virtually every user in the world? Change can occur quickly. Nokia owned more than one third of the world’s mobile phone business on June 28, 2007.
In theory, nothing. In practice, this prediction has failed to materialize every single one of the many times it’s been made over the years. Each time there’s the, “But this time it’s different because…” part of it too 
Honestly though, I think it’s likely that it’ll happen sometime, maybe with the exception of gaming. No serious gamer that I know is terribly impressed with streaming games.
I know. But as I mentioned in another post recently it’s predicted that “72.6 percent of internet users will be mobile only by 2025”. I’ve been wrong a few times in my life but it seems like we may be heading for another disruption in the industry.
Now it’s not helping our wallets, for those of us on M1s or Intels 
Ten years ago, the Apple offered the 2012 Macbook Air with 4 and 8 GBs of RAM.
8GB have been fine for 10 years, for most users, and I think they will be for quite a while to come.
One of the big drivers for increased RAM usage on average user‘s computers used to be internet browsers and their increased RAM usage with modern in-browser web applications but that hasn’t continued.
If I can comfortably type this on a 2019 iPad mini with 3 GB of RAM and 140 browser tabs open (they will, if course, reload) today, a desktop computer with 8GB won’t likely be too bad either soon - even if you do allow for additional headroom and multitasking.
And I will still stand in the parking lot to my work and have nearly no cell tower reception and no WiFI connection point. This is in what is touted as a “high tech” town.
For the immediate future (the next three to five years), cloud storage should still be viewed by the so called mobile users as a secondary resource for data storage. In respect then to the sense for the utility of the low end machine, 256GB is not going to cut it as a useable level for data storage. You will need the assurance that, while mobile, you will never loose access to your data because you loose access to the internet.
Which is not to say that you could accept the low end storage device but supplement it with added external storage while you wait for that eventual utopian dream where the cloud is always available at maximum 6G connection speeds when you travel geographically through what are now literal (and rather common) valleys of access darkness in this regard.
—
JJW
I think that there is an incorrect assumption by many in tech that (for example) on a mobile phone or on a laptop or desktop, that there is always a connection to the internet. This goes for OS providers and those that provide software products. Apps that won’t launch without being able to phone home, sure there’s no point in opening Twitter unless you’re online… unless of course you’re trying to get some information from a DM you need at that point when you’re stood in Dr J’s parking lot.
I think that there is also an assumption that when on WiFi, the connection is effectively unmetered and you can download as much information as you want, macOS included. For many, many people this isn’t the case with Monthly included allowances, monthly caps and/or times during the day when “excessive” use leads to traffic shaping or throttling. Gaming Consoles are the worst for this.
Gets off soapbox
I use chrome for work and often remark to others that it’s like that guest that takes up all the space on your couch when you have them over for movie night