New MacBook Air M2 Chip Pricing guide

FiestaST said:
M2 MacBook Air Review: More Than a Refresh! - Marques Brownlee

Click to expand...
Will have to wait for the official local pricing but as things stand the base 14" Pro is looking like the better proposition. I would have been happy with the base Air had in not been for Apple's SSD nonsense. I cannot justify spending 25K on a laptop knowing full well that it will feel slow in the near future.

Was really looking forward to grabbing one of these.
 
greg0205 said:
Turns out, it's exactly like the price list OP posted...

View attachment 1350054

www.istore.co.za

iStore South Africa | South Africa's Widest Apple Range Online Shop Mac | Free Same Day Delivery

Shop the latest Apple Mac range as well as accessories to go with your new computer at iStore. iStore - The dedicated hub for all Apple products alongside the best Apple experience and exclusive services.
www.istore.co.za www.istore.co.za
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Core is ridiculous. They're not even giving people options in terms of CPU/GPU when bumping up to the 512GB SSD... The 10 Core GPU is useless in this fanless system and the base chip would knock off about R3,000 from the price.
 
R24K i'm fine with, but R30K minimum to get the full speed SSD annoys me a bit. Apple really dropped the ball with the SSD speed on the base model. Might as well spend another R8K on special to get the 14-inch Pro. I'm not sure portability means enough for me to put up with lower specs of the Airs considering the money being spent.

Once the M2 Pro's come out at around R44K then i guess the price performance of the Airs will make sense again.
 
Hush9300 said:
Core is ridiculous. They're not even giving people options in terms of CPU/GPU when bumping up to the 512GB SSD... The 10 Core GPU is useless in this fanless system and the base chip would knock off about R3,000 from the price.
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I don't like the mark up here so I was going to get it overseas, but the price for the 8 CPU/10 GPU is actually "fair". It's the closest in price to what other places have it at. The slow SSD is a valid concern of course, but the Air hasn't seen a refresh in years I'm sure some would spec the Air out fully for looks alone (which I guess is what Apple is banking on) whether it makes sense is of course is another thing.
 
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CeeJayD said:
I don't like the mark up here so I was going to get it overseas, but the price for the 8 CPU/10 GPU is actually "fair". It's the closest in price to what other places have it at. The slow SSD is a valid concern of course, but the Air hasn't seen a refresh in years I'm sure some would spec the Air out fully for looks alone (which I guess is what Apple is banking on) whether it makes sense is of course is another thing.
Click to expand...

Well, it's a beautiful laptop but unfortunately I'm not insane enough to spec it to the rafters for looks alone. I'd have been perfectly happy with the base spec had the SSD been good enough but as it stands Core is forcing me into an illogical scenario of choosing only between Apple's 2 base specs. Maybe in the future they'll have more options...

Edit: If I were to, I would much rather put the extra money into 16GB RAM than 2 extra GPU cores.
 
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The option if you want to stay with the form factor would be
8|8 M2 16GB RAM 512 SDD (noting that 8|10 M2 is not offered yet in SA)--this will set you back R34,499.
For an additional 300g of weight and a few mm, and then adding ports and a way better screen, CPU/GPU and overall performance the base model 14" M1PRO MBP at R38,999 (some sites are discounting this by at least 1K or so, and if you are student or staff (education) then take advantage of the discount (3-5% is still somethine.

I am going to check the 14" MBP this weekend at the stores.
 
Smiley_lauf said:
The option if you want to stay with the form factor would be
8|8 M2 16GB RAM 512 SDD (noting that 8|10 M2 is not offered yet in SA)--this will set you back R34,499.
For an additional 300g of weight and a few mm, and then adding ports and a way better screen, CPU/GPU and overall performance the base model 14" M1PRO MBP at R38,999 (some sites are discounting this by at least 1K or so, and if you are student or staff (education) then take advantage of the discount (3-5% is still somethine.

I am going to check the 14" MBP this weekend at the stores.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they've gone bonkers with the pricing on these M2 machines
 
Hush9300 said:
Well, it's a beautiful laptop but unfortunately I'm not insane enough to spec it to the rafters for looks alone. I'd have been perfectly happy with the base spec had the SSD been good enough but as it stands Core is forcing me into an illogical scenario of choosing only between Apple's 2 base specs. Maybe in the future they'll have more options...

Edit: If I were to, I would much rather put the extra money into 16GB RAM than 2 extra GPU cores.
Click to expand...
I would also prefer the ram. I was guestimating the mac would be 22k and an extra 5k for ram, but as far as I can tell SA doesn't seem to easily import upgraded ram they seem to prefer to buy extra SSD which I definitely don't need.

I don't know how legit Macshack is but I found them while looking for a place I can get 256gb ssd and 16 gig ram.

macshack.co.za

13-Inch MacBook Air M2 South Africa | Mac Shack

The 13-inch MacBook Air M2 takes everything great about the Air and makes it faster, brighter, and more refined. With the M2 chip, a redesigned chassis, and a stunning Liquid Retina display, it's the ultimate everyday MacBook. Shop new and certified pre-owned at Mac Shack, backed by warranty.
macshack.co.za macshack.co.za

They seem to be willing to pre-order custom configurations, but unfortunately I can't get behind the mark ups. I know you guys are probably tired of people complaining about the Core Group, but they priced the Air more than the Pro (13") which is crazy.

Incredible Connection is offering the base model for 24k plus a 2k voucher so in my mind I'm telling myself it's 22k since I need to buy accessories anyway for the thing.
 
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CeeJayD said:
I would also prefer the ram. I was guestimating the mac would be 22k and an extra 5k for ram, but as far as I can tell SA doesn't seem to easily import upgraded ram they seem to prefer to buy extra SSD which I definitely don't need.

I don't know how legit Macshack is but I found them while looking for a place I can get 256gb ssd and 16 gig ram.

macshack.co.za

13-Inch MacBook Air M2 South Africa | Mac Shack

The 13-inch MacBook Air M2 takes everything great about the Air and makes it faster, brighter, and more refined. With the M2 chip, a redesigned chassis, and a stunning Liquid Retina display, it's the ultimate everyday MacBook. Shop new and certified pre-owned at Mac Shack, backed by warranty.
macshack.co.za macshack.co.za

They seem to be willing to pre-order custom configurations, but unfortunately I can't get behind the mark ups. I know you guys are probably tired of people complaining about the Core Group, but they priced the Air more than the Pro (13") which is crazy.

Incredible Connection is offering the base model for 24k plus a 2k voucher so in my mind I'm telling myself it's 22k since I need to buy accessories anyway for the thing.
Click to expand...
MacShack is legit. I’ve done business with them before.
 
Update: I got the MacBook Pro 14" 10|16 16|1TB model (redeemed my vouchers and got additional 5% education discount).
Day 1...going very well. I am so glad I did not go with the M2 MBA (mid spec). weight and form factor are almost neglible for me--for the type of routines I do. Mileage for others may vary.
Smooth, silent and fast...battery life is awesome!
Key here is make sure you are installing M-chip designed apps (native to M Chips); while running through rosetta 2 is not a problem at all (WhatsApp only one doing so right now), native silicon based apps run way smoother and faster.

For Microsoft Teams (now native M-chip is available), use Edge browser and run Office 365 as apps from there--full functionality (I have work and school Office license).

Thanks to all for the guidance! Will update here as I go along.
 
Smiley_lauf said:
Update: I got the MacBook Pro 14" 10|16 16|1TB model (redeemed my vouchers and got additional 5% education discount).
Day 1...going very well. I am so glad I did not go with the M2 MBA (mid spec). weight and form factor are almost neglible for me--for the type of routines I do. Mileage for others may vary.
Smooth, silent and fast...battery life is awesome!
Key here is make sure you are installing M-chip designed apps (native to M Chips); while running through rosetta 2 is not a problem at all (WhatsApp only one doing so right now), native silicon based apps run way smoother and faster.

For Microsoft Teams (now native M-chip is available), use Edge browser and run Office 365 as apps from there--full functionality (I have work and school Office license).

Thanks to all for the guidance! Will update here as I go along.
Click to expand...

Congrats!

What vouchers are these? And what was the final cost to you if you don't mind me asking?

As for O365, is there not a Mac version? I bought Office21 Pro for Mac for personal use.
 
Pho3nix said:
Congrats!

What vouchers are these? And what was the final cost to you if you don't mind me asking?

As for O365, is there not a Mac version? I bought Office21 Pro for Mac for personal use.
Click to expand...

Yea I've been using Mac Office apps for more than a year, even looks better than on Windows. Some MS apps are understandably not there (Visio and PBI to think of two).
 
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Pho3nix said:
Congrats!

What vouchers are these? And what was the final cost to you if you don't mind me asking?

As for O365, is there not a Mac version? I bought Office21 Pro for Mac for personal use.
Click to expand...
I traded my old MBP13” Intel 2012 and MPA 13” Intel 2019. The total retails value for new MBP 14” I got was R48,999. (As advertised). My 5% educational discount and voucher for the trade ins (R15K) brought the price tag cost to me to just above R31K. I used FNB credit to finance the rest.

Hope that helps.

There is now an O365 for M1 chips on AppStore. It auto detects it.

I have set the update channel to current, but I guess you can get preview and dev channels as well that have more frequent update cycles.

Ta!
 
prOd said:
Yea I've been using Mac Office apps for more than a year, even looks better than on Windows. Some MS apps are understandably not there (Visio and PBI to think of two).
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I need to check Visio alternatives for MacOS. I am sure there are a few out there.

Dia is an open source application to try if I don’t get anything.
 
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