Apple Store advised (my mom) M3 MacBook Air over the M2. Ideas/Advice?

Question

An Apple Store salesperson today recommended the new M3 MacBook Airs to my mother, because "The M3 MacBook Air will last longer than the M2".So how true is that? This salesperson has brilliantly/unwittingly struck at my mother's pet peeve, since her previous 2011 MacBook with outdated Safari and Chrome can no longer display online banking webpages properly.I'd think that the M2 and M3 being the same family would still have roughly the same long-term lifespans, for the sort of light home-office work of the sort my mom needs at least 5+ years. Is the M3 really more future-proof as the Apple Store salesperson claims?The other issue I have is the small nonupgradable 8 GB memories in both base models. Curiously, the base models are $100 different, but the M2 + 16 GB upgrade costs even more than the base M3. Maybe the pricing will change again in a few months, but my mom needs a replacement computer this month!

k310 · Accepted Answer

They are both fine. I got an M2 mini with base disk and memory. The ancient 27 inch iMac had a 7200 rpm terabyte disk and more memory, IIRC, and this $600 computer laps it in every way. ( The display quit and I may yet have it fixed ) A great reason for modular computers. I've had a lot of mini's over time. I store all I can on external SSD's. (Sneakernet is the fastest network of all, but I don't currently use it)
Most people do prefer all in one's of course. I stopped using the 2010 or so MBA. Still works. The iPad Pro is my laptop, with keyboard, trackpad and third party mouse. I use it for musical scores and showing off photos from the Nikons pretty exclusively. Size and portability matter. For these two uses, a laptop configuration is less suitable for me.
Desktops and laptops are still hundreds of times more efficient and useful to me than any mobile OS.
Even with the gamut of goodies.
If your mom upgrades so infrequently, it's like cars. The newer model will obsolete later.
My phone and some other systems fell off support, and can't get software upgrades. (Other than Linux, of course)
I suspect that's the rationale, even if the M series all seem interchangeable. Or maybe it will run out of horsepower later, as software gets even more demanding.
I doubt that she'll need to count cores and GPU's.

sircastor · Answer

The computer will work for a long time, but in terms of updates, the M2 machines will stop being updated before the M3s - but that difference is just a year or so I think.Depending on how much fiddling you/she wants to do with it, you may be able to use OpenCore Legacy Patcher to install a newer version of macOS on her 2011 machine, and keep using it. It can breath some new life into an old MBP or MBA.

al_borland · Answer

They&rsquo;ll both likely work for a long time. The M3 will probably get an extra year of releases over the M2 at this point, just because it&rsquo;s a year newer.They&rsquo;ll both easily get 5 years, but no computer is &ldquo;future proof&rdquo;, especially not ones using an SOC that can&rsquo;t be upgraded over time. It might be good for a decade, but eventually a future will come that will demand an upgrade for one reason or another, unless she uses it offline (making security a non-issue) and gets very lucky with it never having an issue once parts are no longer available.

pestatije · Answer

apple is taking advantage of your mums inflexibility...if it must be an apple and it has to last longer (not because hardware failure but engineered obsolescence, as it happened with the 2011 model) take the newest model

gregjor · Answer

> outdated Safari and Chrome can no longer display online banking webpages properly
Banks and many other companies have moved on from 2011-era web standards. 13 years seems a good run for a laptop — cars and washing machines rarely last that long.
> The other issue I have is the small nonupgradable 8 GB memories in both base models.
Macs manage memory efficiently. 8Gb should be more than enough for web browsing and typical work.

adastra22 · Answer

The M3 does in fact have some software-visible architectural improvements over the M1/M2 (new GPU capabilities, and I believe some new instructions). This does mean that Apple is likely to sunset support for the M2 sooner than they might otherwise do.Normally this is just an upscales tactic, but I'd be inclined to believe it this time.

nashashmi · Answer

Anyone who doesnt buy new equipment regularly and comes in to the store is tried to upsell the most premium stuff. That&rsquo;s what they are doing here. The premium stuff has the greatest profits.

solardev · Answer

Does your mom even need a Mac? How about a high end Chromebook?

behnamoh · Answer

M3 will receive one more update, that's all.

JojoFatsani · Answer

He obviously meant it will be useful longer in terms of functional obsolescence.Your mom will do Word and Facebook on an M2 happily for five years, but you knew that.

Apple Store advised (my mom) M3 MacBook Air over the M2. Ideas/Advice?

apple is taking advantage of your mums inflexibility...if it must be an apple and it has to last longer (not because hardware failure but engineered obsolescence, as it happened with the 2011 model) take the newest model

Anyone who doesnt buy new equipment regularly and comes in to the store is tried to upsell the most premium stuff. That’s what they are doing here. The premium stuff has the greatest profits.

Does your mom even need a Mac? How about a high end Chromebook?

M3 will receive one more update, that's all.

He obviously meant it will be useful longer in terms of functional obsolescence.
Your mom will do Word and Facebook on an M2 happily for five years, but you knew that.