Odd couple: Apple launches its biggest desktop and thinnest laptop

The world’s most valuable company released its latest MacBook Air and Mac Studio on the same day. Here’s how what appears to be an odd pairing stacks up, and which Apple computer is right for you.

Odd couple: the MacBook Air 15-inch and the big Mac Studio might be the perfect combination for working at home and on the fly.

One of Apple’s lightest laptops and bulkiest desktops may appear an unlikely combo. But the world’s most valuable company released its latest MacBook Air and Mac Studio on the same day, and there may just be a method to its madness.

When Apple retired its hefty 17-inch MacBook in 2011, it was a sad day. That computer was a beast and perfect for spreading out your work across the screen.

And during the dark days of Covid-19 lockdowns, prices for the 10-year machines spiked on eBay as people wanted portable big display setups at home.

Thankfully, Apple is back making big computers, and this extends to its svelte MacBook Airs. I got my hands on a 15-inch model, in the new sky blue colour. What also arrived on my doorstep was Apple’s desktop door stopper, the Mac Studio with new M3 Ultra chip.

So how did these two computers work together as I used them for my daily workflow? Let’s find out.

Why two computers?

Having two or even three computers may seem a bit excessive – even naff – or just like you’re showing off.

The reality is, modern work is fluid – even as more employers order staff back to the office. For myself, I travel a lot for work. Most of the time, I like my laptop ready to go, so I don’t have to think about it.

Apple has introduced a new colour, Sky Blue, in the latest MacBook Air range.

Then in my home office, I have a desktop, which is always on so I can log in if need be – say there is urgent breaking news – in a heartbeat.

The beauty of cloud-based working is, it doesn’t really matter what machine you use. As soon as you log on, everything you need is there. Like a good boy scout, it’s always good to be prepared, and these are professional tools.

I also find having a designated home office set up gives me more focus compared with working on a laptop at a kitchen bench. Both the Studio and new MacBook Air can also run Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI offering.

MacBook Air 15-inch

This may be the best travel computer in Apple’s line-up. Normally, I travel with the bigger MacBook Pro 16-inch. With my eyesight, I enjoy the bigger screen, but it’s 600g heavier at 2.1kg. It can also be tricky to whip out in airport security, and if you’re flying in economy, and the person in front of you reclines their seat, you can become very crunched indeed.

MacBook Air can now support up to two external 6K displays.

The MacBook Air 15-inch, which is priced from $2099, is slightly smaller, with a diagonal screen measurement of 15.3-inches versus 16.2 inches on the Pro. Just under 2.5 centimetres, but noticeable enough when travelling.

Photographers and videographers may prefer the heftier Pro – for the rest of us, even those like myself who do basic photo editing, the Air does the job.

The new MacBook Air features a M4 chip with a 10-core GPU and support for up to 32GB of unified memory. If that sounds like a mouthful, it means it’s about two times faster than the M1 model, which Apple launched in late 2020.

It also has about 18 hours’ battery life. I haven’t had mine on the charge for a few days and have flown from Melbourne to Sydney and back, using Qantas Wi-Fi all the way, as well as been hot spotting off my phone on VLine trains, and not much of a dent has been made in its battery life bar.

The new MacBook Air 15-inch in Sky Blue beside the MacBook Pro 16-inch in Space Black.

This is an advantage of Apple’s ARM processors, which it started making five years ago, and which rival Microsoft incorporated into their Copilot+ PCs, which they launched last year. The chips are more like those in mobile phones, allowing all day, or most of the day battery life.

A let-down is that it has only two usb-c ports, versus three on the MacBook Pro, and no built-in card reader.

Performance 

Apple says web browsing is up to 60 per cent faster when compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and more demanding tasks get up to 2 times faster performance. It depends on your internet connection speed, but pages do load faster, and most people will notice this.

For other everyday tasks, such as spreadsheet calculation, Apple says performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 1.6 times faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1. While Video editing is about twice as fast as MacBook Air with M1 chip. I don’t have a M1 or Intel-based Mac to validate this performance – but I have been slow lodging my tax return, and Excel performance was quick.

The new MacBook Air can also support up to two 6K external displays, as well as its own liquid retina display.

MacBook Studio

MacBook Studio is a whopper of a computer, by modern standards. The one with the M3 Ultra chip, that’s sitting on my desk, weighs 3.64kg – three times the weight of the Mac Mini, which is also made from and looks like a block of aluminium.

Mac Studio with a multiple display set up.

But it’s big for a reason. Apple says it’s the most powerful personal computer that it’s ever made. It is capable of running large language models with over 600 billion parameters entirely in memory, thanks to its advanced GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory.

Most people won’t need that, or at least think they will need that power. But jobs are changing dramatically, following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Apple has recently launched a campaign about people not only upgrading their devices, but future proofing themselves for a few years, and this while I don’t need to run large language models, who knows what I’ll be doing in 2027. I might even grow my beard back.

Bottom line, there is nothing worse than shelling out thousands of dollars, the Mac Studio starts at $6,999, and finding you need more grunt in a couple of years.

The Mac Studio also comes in a cheaper model, with an M4 chip, which starts at $3499. For that money, you get 39GB of unified memory, and 32-core GPU versus a 60-core GPU in the M3 Ultra model.

Big brother: the Mac Studio (right) beside the smallest and cheapest Apple computer, Mac Mini.

For those who don’t need that much power but a machine that can handle most tasks and run Apple Intelligence, the Mac Mini is a good choice, starting at $999. The Mini has a 10-core GPU and comes with up to 32GP of unified memory.

Both the Studio and Mini need an external display, which needs to be bought separately. If you want an all-in-one solution that will perform most tasks, there are the colourful iMacs which start at $1999 and also have a 10-core GPU.

A slight annoyance with the Mini is the power switch is at the bottom of the computer, meaning you have to lift it up to turn it on and off.

Verdict

Having the most powerful computer Apple makes as a desktop workhorse makes sense for visual artists and digital content creators. Even a journo like me who wants to upload pictures and videos in a flash, saving precious time. For most people, though, the Mac Mini or iMac will do the job, and you’ll save thousands of dollars – it’s just a gamble of how your work will change in the next few years.

The MacBook Air 15 inch is the best travel computer for most people. The MacBook Pro 16-inch is better suited for more demanding tasks, but it’s almost double the price, and if you can afford to pair it with a Mac Studio, you’ll have the best of both worlds.