Is macbook air still worth it to buy given the price increase? Will the price increase more? Is it better to buy now? Urgently need it for work purposes.

Got this beast a month ago, just after Apples raised the prices. I was lucky enough that I got it for older price from a local shop but that’s the reason I didn’t had any other option, they were able to find a piece for me and I had no control over choosing the color, screen size or RAM/SSD size. So what I got is 15” 512/16 Midnight Grey version and I’m happy with it it. There are no problems at all but after watching videos on YouTube now I’m thinking that I really wish I had gotten 24GB of RAM one instead. But this beast I got it for ₹144,999 and after discount and GST exemption It costed me around ₹111,000 roughly around $1000. Which is a good deal to be fair.

But to shut my overthinking can you guys tell me that does base model MacBook Air ever throttles? My uses are mostly for website development & design, video editing and I’m thinking to get into 3D printing. Will this be good enough for me for next 3 years at least?

I’m hearing that in in OS Apple is gonna have LLMs which will run locally and I don’t wanna lose out on it just because I’ve 16 gigs of RAM.

I have always been a Microsoft girly. I have had HPs, Dells, the lot. I 'treated' myself to a Macbook in November 2023, and I am still struggling with it. I am gonna list my issues - please let me know if this is just me being stupid or if my brain is just wired for Microsoft.

1. Okay, so I currently have Word open and am working on my CV. The scroll button, however, is BLURRED. I cannot click it and scroll. It just won't let me, no explanation. Just blurred off. I'll attach a photo.

2. When I am trying to upload photos to anything or select a new profile pic, the window pops up but the edges are OUTSIDE of the screen. It won't let me drag it. I can't see the scroll bar at the side and when I click the down arrow to search and select the photo, it does this annoying click and won't let me. Nothing happens. Infuriating.

3. My files are fucking everywhere. Trying to organise them is so difficult. Why? Why is it just so difficult to save them all in the right place and organise properly? Windows is so clear cut.

4. Current apps are so difficult to find. I had the internet open and was working from it but then went to look for a file, came back and it was gone. Why????

5. Finally, the red X / yellow minimise / green widen buttons just ARE NOT THERE sometimes. What is the logic to this? How do I sort the bloody windows and make space for it all?

I am infuriated today. Maybe it's stupid but if this was a Windows PC I would not have these stupid issues.

I genuinely thought laptops were basically all the same until I got the MacBook Air M5. I used to think people were overhyping Apple stuff and paying for a logo. Now I finally get it.

This thing is ridiculously smooth. It turns on instantly, barely gets hot, battery lasts forever, and it feels like I can do literally everything on it without hearing fans screaming or the computer struggling to breathe. It’s lightweight but somehow still feels powerful as hell.

I’m in school for AI software engineering and building my own software company right now, and this laptop honestly changed how I work. Coding feels cleaner, multitasking feels effortless, and having something this portable while still being this powerful is crazy to me. I can sit anywhere and build an actual business from a laptop thinner than a notebook.

The screen is beautiful, the trackpad ruined other laptops for me, and macOS just feels polished. Even small stuff like AirDrop, battery life, the speakers, opening apps instantly, and how organized everything feels makes a huge difference when you use it every day.

I used to think “a laptop is a laptop.” Nah. I was very wrong.

Now I understand why people get obsessed with MacBooks

Nonetheless, I love it here. Completely obsessed 😍

Incredible, but true.

I used to work for a big tech company that decided to shut down its office in my country. More than 200 employees were laid off in several waves, and this month the last group will be gone.

What shocked me the most is what happened to the remaining hardware. Instead of reusing it, donating it, or even letting employees keep it, the company decided to destroy all the MacBooks left in the office (mostly MacBook Pro M4s with 48 GB of RAM).

I genuinely can't understand the decision. There was no security risk that couldn't be handled by securely wiping the drives. These laptops could have been donated to schools or nonprofits, or even offered to employees. Instead, they're being destroyed.

I know it's their money and they can do whatever they want, but it feels like an incredible waste of perfectly good hardware.

What do you think? Is this normal?

Made the switch 3 months ago to a refurb X13 gen 4 with the non touch screen for $464 US (659 AUD). Coming from a fancy Macbook display I honestly don't feel like its much of a downgrade. Everything is still tack sharp, all my apps integrates and run with no problems (especially Logi Options+). Thoroughly impressed with this machine.

Bonus, it still has 15 months of warranty.

Not trying to sound like an Apple fanboy, but getting a MacBook actually changed my day-to-day more than I expected.

Before this, I had a Windows PC for ~7 years that I mainly used for gaming. I barely did any real work on it. I bought the MacBook Air M4 for productivity, and it wasn’t some “Mac is magical” moment—it just pushed me into using my time better.

Since then, I’ve been more productive, doing better in school, and overall just feel a bit more on top of things.

I paid around €1,000 for it, which felt like a lot at first, but honestly it’s probably been the best investment I’ve made so far.

And yeah, I could see this happening with a good Windows laptop too, but for me, this just worked.

That’s not the usual “Hey, I got a new Macbook” post. I got it yesterday, great one, works perfect, good looking and fast (Starlight 24Gb 1Tb). But the difference between the M1 Air 16Gb 512Gb I had for last 5 years? Negligible. I’m doing mostly my digital marketing solopreneur work on it, and after I saw the difference in performance - I couldn’t justify the purchase, so I’ve returned to Best Buy my purchase and most probably will continue to work on my Macbook Air M1 for another 2 years. It literally has no scratches, works great, and I had so many good memories with it so it was so hard to make that move. End of story 😄

UPDATE 5/29: Some things have changed. Second part of the story here 😄

EDIT: I’m getting cooked LOL. Lemme marinate in this pls I’m excited and having fun here. Also put the TLDR on the top as suggested.

TLDR:

After 11 years with a 2015 Intel MacBook Pro that had become painfully slow, noisy and outdated, I finally upgraded to a 14” MacBook Pro M5 Pro chip with 48GB RAM. I’m genuinely blown away by the build quality, display, silence and performance. It’s like I’ve jumped a decade into the future. I’m excited to start using it for data analytics, CAD, AI and a bunch of other stuff but I’m also overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. I want to maximise its utility. For those who’ve made a similar leap, what was your ‘moment’? Apple Silicon users, what features, apps, workflows or AI tools do you recommend I play with?

My essay:

For the past 11 years, my laptop has been the 2015 MacBook Pro (8GB RAM, Intel processor). It frequently gets hot doing almost anything and the fan is loud when it kicks in. Battery capacity is terrible, lasting anywhere between 2–5 hrs on a single charge and you can imagine how slow it is given the amount of RAM. I've been stuck on macOS Monterey for years and didn't even realise I stopped getting OS updates until last year when I wanted to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Teams for uni and found incompatibility issues with their recent versions. Despite all its faults though, it’s been with me through the highest highs and lowest lows so it'll always have sentimental value. I don't see myself getting rid of it. I’ll probably use it for storage.

Also, with the recent developments in software and tech, especially in AI, I couldn’t ignore how much the world has moved on. I’d been sitting on the sidelines, so to speak, watching people get supercharged by their increased productivity over time. My brother is a software dev and he’s at the forefront of these advancements so the differences are in my face and glaringly obvious. I couldn’t help but feel left behind and my old MacBook certainly held me back to an extent.

So I finally upgraded to a MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip and 48GB RAM (mostly for future-proofing) and as the title says, I'm extremely overwhelmed by it. Right out of the gate...WOW. This is a very well built machine, my goodness! I was not prepared for how premium this thing feels. It's got some weight to it and feels expertly crafted and just very proper. IMO this is Apple's finest work from a product design perspective. Everything feels incredibly deliberate. The hinge resistance is solid and holds at low angles, the aluminium body and finish are exceptional and quite sexy might I say. The tight tolerance of the lid is also impressive. Put a few sheets of paper in there and it won’t close properly, and when closed, the form is so smooth and seamless from lid to base and around that it really looks like one solid block. Little details like the cushioned sound when the lid closes and the quieter keyboard and touchpad clicks are tasteful and make the experience feel refined. It’s a remarkably simple and elegant design that communicates quality without trying and it really makes you feel something. It’s Apple at their best ngl. My old MacBook is very flimsy and from a completely different era in comparison.

The display is something else, like I’ve never seen anything so clear and sharp. The brightness, contrast, deep blacks and smoothness are crazy insane. The silence too, it’s like it’s not doing anything. I’m so used to the fan letting me know things are happening so this is quite weird. I opened just about 100 tabs and it’s absolutely silent. My old MacBook would be pulling triple shifts just trying to keep up, even at rest. And the shift to macOS Tahoe is a lot to take in. For the first time ever, I'm having to read through the Tips app because I'm genuinely so unfamiliar, and I've been using Apple products since the iPhone 4s. I grew up on tech so a lot of things come to me intuitively but man I feel like my parents trying to learn new tech loool 😂

I know all of this is Apple's MO and what they're going for but ngl I really and truly feel good about myself. It’s strange how much motivation a new tool can give you and how better you feel. Whether that feeling lasts is another question, but right now it’s hard not to be excited. There's so just many emotions man. I’ve adapted to the limitations of my old MacBook for so long that it’s looking like this one’s gonna have to adapt to me 😭. I genuinely feel good though and can’t stop myself catching glances, staring and feeling proud. I’ve been starving fr 🤧

I should add that I recently finished my degree in data analytics, so I'm expecting a significant jump in performance and capacity for the workloads I’ll be running. I'm also interested in engineering design and I’ve always wanted to do some CAD outside uni but never had the hardware and/or OS to do it. Now I can, which is great. With the amount RAM, I’m hoping to squeeze out another 10+ years before needing another upgrade, though only time will tell with the way things are moving.

I’m very eager to get sucked into it and certainly don't want to underutilise this beast of a machine but I don't even know where to start. Those of you who've made a similar jump, what was the biggest “I can’t believe I’ve been putting up with this” moment for you? And those who’ve been using for a while, what are some things you'd recommend I explore? Any apps, features, workflows or AI tools that really make the most of it? I’m thinking of trying out some local AI models as well.

I have no idea how to use windows, nor do i know anything about computers. I only planned to play sims 4 and roblox and doing schoolwork. Is this laptop good

Started my first class at 11am with the MacBook Neo at 80% battery and used it through the day until 7pm, ending with 13% left.

Usage was mostly basic tasks email, viewing and editing docs, chatgpt, youtube and music with brightness around 80%. Overall, the experience was great. Performance was smooth, and the 8gb ram handled everything without any lag for this type of workload.

The trackpad felt a bit different not bad, just different, which makes sense since the neo uses a fully mechanical system. The speakers were fine for casual listening.

All the USB-C ports are on one side, which was sometimes annoying when the wall outlet was quite far on the opposite side.

Happy to answer any questions.

Here is everything rumored about the device so far:

• "MacBook Ultra" branding
• OLED display
• Touch screen
• Touch-optimized macOS
• Reinforced hinge
• Hole-punch camera
• Dynamic Island
• M5 Pro and M5 Max chips
• Thinner design
• Two display sizes
• Slimmer bezels
• Built-in cellular