Apple Macbook Air 3 months on

It is now 3 months since I purchased and started to us my Apple Macbook Air with the M2 Chip and with the Ventura Operating system which at the time of writing, 19 May 2023 is version 13.4.  So I thought I would give another update on my thoughts about it.

This is the first laptop that when it arrived did not come with any additional bloatware.  Bloatware is stuff on the desktop, that often hides most of the desktop and comes from the manufacturer (I have experienced) which frankly makes it unusable and the only real solution that I ever found fully works was to re-install Windows, for that is what it was on, with a clean install and start all over again.  Having to do the clean install, means that you spend hours setting things up which means you can't really start using it right away as you should be able to do so.  

With the above, this is also the first laptop where I have not felt the need to change anything to feel comfortable with it.  Comfort of use is important for me as I really don't have the time to make changes to make the system comfortable to use,  I really just want to get on and use it, which I have found that I have been able to use. 

With the hardware,  I have found it to been speedy and able to do all the tasks that I want it to do without any stress at all.  I am really impressed with the M2 Chip and have found that the 8gb of memory more than enough.  As it does not have a fan inside, as most, if not all other laptops seem to have, the only sound that you get from it is the sound of the keys as you type. I have not used the touch pad much, as I like to use a mouse, when I have done so it is good, but I can not honestly compare it with other touch pads as I have explained.

Connecting the printer, the one I use is an HP, one was very easy via the wireless connection and I have found that the printer responds quicker for requests for printing than it did when I have used other laptops in the past. 

I have had to learn about connecting Bluetooth devices,  like for example the mouse and my mobile telephone.  This is not something I had used regularly before which I do now and now that I have made the connection it is no longer a problem.  I did see on websites, that if you do not have another Apple made device there is a slight difficulty with compatibility because Apple wants to make sure it wont harm your device.

Visually it is great, the display I can not fault and watching TV programmes or videos very good and the built in camera is also very good.  The sound quality is the best I have had.

I did struggle with the keyboard at first, now 3 months later, I struggle when I have to go back to using another keyboard as this one seems so easy to use.  I do really like that they keyboard can be lit from under it as that helped me to find my way around as I could see each individual key.

Ventura

Ventura is the current Operation System for the Mac based computing systems and is now on version 3.4 as it was just updated.  The updating of the system is something that I think could be explained better,  as Microsoft Windows tells you what it is doing as it goes along.  It is quite a worry if like me you are a new user and not used to how things are done when the screen goes black and there isn't an explanation as to what is happening.  Having said that I have set things to automatic updating and once they are available the updates are completed in less time than I have experienced with Windows updates.

Using Ventura is very easy and I really like it.  I like the "dock" where you most used things are and you can add or remove things if you don't use them.  The only things that I have added have been my office application and security. 

I have another internet web browser installed,  I rarely use it because I really like Safari which is the pre-installed web browser.  In yet another first it is the only pre-install web browser that I have continued to use without switching to another one.

3 Month Conclusion

You could get a far cheaper laptop than this one and there are plenty of them about.  You can also get lap tops within the same price range if you really wanted to do so.  I continue to look to see if I have made the correct choice and I always come back to the conclusion that I have done so.  Okay I had to use my savings to buy this one, these I am building up again so it really wasn't that much of hardship at the time and what are savings for ?  

For me the most striking thing that I have found is that I have not wanted to change anything, not the hardware or software.  Yes I have deleted some things I do not use and will never use to clear up disk space although looking at it I really didn't need to do that as I have plenty left over unused.

Before I got this, I did ask other users about their experiences with Mac and other Apple products and each one said two things, the were expensive  and yet they were worth the money as they were very very good.  I did not hear a single negative comment and 3 months on I can not give a single negative comment either and that is my 3 month conclusion.