The launch of Apple’s new MacBook Air was highly anticipated, mainly for two reasons: its long-awaited redesign and the introduction of the M2 processor, the next generation of Apple’s M-series chips. As expected, reviews of the M2 MacBook Air have been favorable, with Macworld’s Jason Cross calling it a “success” and “a delightful everyday computer for most users.”
But praise for the MacBook Air was overshadowed by reports of reduced performance. Article after article warns of a “flaw” in performance, “severe” throttling and how it “can’t handle the heat,” and video after video demonstrates what’s supposedly wrong with the new laptop. This may make some people question whether it’s worth their money and wonder what Apple was thinking.
Here’s the thing: we’ve been here before, folks. Back in 2020, when the new M1 MacBook Air was introduced, it made headlines for its incredible speed improvement over Intel chips, as well as the throttling needed to maintain an appropriate temperature under more intensive workloads. In fact, heat has always been a problem with the MacBook Air even before Apple’s silicone.
It’s the same story, different year. Why is it news again? Why didn’t Apple fix the problem? The answer is simple and lies in the purpose of the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air has no built-in fans. It’s a passively cooled machine, meaning it doesn’t use special hardware for active cooling. This was done purposefully by design so that the MacBook Air could be thinner than the MacBook Pro. If the MacBook Air starts to heat up, it will reduce performance to maintain an appropriate operating temperature. This is another aspect of the MacBook Air that has been designed.
The MacBook Air is also Apple’s most popular laptop because it’s the company’s most affordable. Its price appeals to what we’ll call “casual” users, those who spend most of their time online, using productivity apps like iWork or Microsoft Office, streaming audio and video, or for entertainment or online meetings , and other productivity tasks that everyone does with a computer. The most stressful work probably involves using apps like Photos, iMovie, GarageBand, or some other consumer-level creative software for short periods.
If you’re using a MacBook Air and you’re taxing the CPU all the time and you’re getting frustrated with it, you know what? You’re using the wrong tool for the job.
The MacBook Air handles these tasks without any problems – it’s as fast as the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the same M2 processor. It’s what most people should buy – throw in the Air’s redesign and feature set, and we think it’s a better value than the 13-inch Pro. If I’ve just described what you do on a daily basis, the MacBook Air is a better value for you. (There’s a separate performance issue with the MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 256GB SSD, which is a head-scratching design decision but unrelated to throttling concerns.)
That’s not to say the MacBook Air doesn’t throttle. That does it. But what makes it throttle? Tasks that “casual” users do not perform regularly. For example, one report of severe Air throttling involved exporting Canon RAW 8K video. Do you know what creates 8K Canon RAW video? Cameras priced over $4,000. Do you know who works in 8K Canon RAW video? Video professionals. Do you know what Macs they buy? MacBook Pros.
The MacBook Air is not a high-end work machine, even if it has a fast processor.
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The MacBook Air throttles when performing CPU-intensive tasks, which are often performed by users doing “serious” work, often in a professional environment. This is by design. If you’re using a MacBook Air and you’re often rendering 8K RAW video, or creating long high-resolution videos in Final Cut Pro, or making music professionally, or doing anything that puts a lot of CPU load all the time and you’re getting frustrated with it, you know what ? You’re using the wrong tool for the job. You must be using a MacBook Pro.
If you instead insist that Apple fix the MacBook Air, ask yourself, if you’re willing to spend on equipment to create the content you want, why are you skimping on a MacBook to get the job done?
Titles that grab you
Many of these reports that use flashy headlines about the problem actually state that you have to do something atypical for the average user to get the MacBook Air to slow down. But there are also plenty of reports glossing over the fact that you probably won’t render a 60-minute 4K video in Final Cut Pro while you have 20 tabs open in Safari and sorting through your database with a FileMaker Pro collection of 10,000 gems. And when they gloss over that, it seems like it’s a problem that affects everyone.
As someone who works in the media, I recognize that we are in a battle for your attention and some media outlets are more likely to exaggerate in their headlines than others. (And yes, Macworld is guilty of this too. I hear it in your emails and tweets.) But most outlets make it clear in their content who the intended user is for the MacBook Air.
The fanless MacBook Air is by design – Apple doesn’t skimp on anything. Its target user is “the rest of us”, everyday users with productivity tasks that need to be done. The MacBook Pro is for users who demand processing power. Get the right Mac for what you want to do.
14-inch MacBook Pro (2021)
RRP: £1,899 (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD); £2399 (10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
Read our full 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021) review.
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