The Mac -- is back!

Most of last year I used an ancient MacBook Air as my main machine.

It’s the classic wedge-shaped one, with an older Intel chip. Circa 2014, I think.

It drove me batshit crazy.

With just 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, it choked almost daily when I opened a new browser tab, and simultaneously ran out of storage space, so it couldn’t be upgraded whenever Apple released a macOS update.

Yes, I admit I have a chronically bad browser tab addiction. And the overstuffed storage definitely affected its performance. And for … reasons … clearing space proved nigh-impossible.

So all year I carefully monitored the prices of Apple’s newer MacBooks, especially the 15-inch Air, which I coveted highly. I wanted to spend the least amount possible, and my one nonnegotiable was 16GB of RAM. Unfortunately, most of the bargain-bin machines shipped with just 8GB, which I knew was inadequate for running millions of browser tabs and Apple Intelligence.

Finally, a 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD popped up for $750 on Best Buy in late October. Although I wanted the bigger screen, the $750 price tag was too good to pass up and I snagged it.

It’s turned out to be — by far — the best computer I’ve owned in years, and I can’t extoll its virtues highly enough.

The industrial design is gorgeous. The build quality rivals high-end jewelry. It’s crazy-light, yet powerful enough to run tons of tabs in Chrome and Safari, plus a bunch of other apps. The screen is plenty big and vibrant, and battery life seems never-ending. I’m very much in love with it.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say Apple’s current lineup of Macs is the best in the company’s history — even better than the golden era of Steve Jobs.

The industrial design is the best ever, and Apple silicon changed the game with insane performance and stunning battery life.

Anyway, this is all a long-winded way of saying I’m not surprised by the news that Mac sales are far outstripping rival Windows PCs!

Also in today’s newsletter:

• Today’s the day in Apple history that Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone. I was in the audience, covering the launch for Wired News, and there was a palpable sense in the Macworld crowd that we were witnessing history. It was electric.

• If you run Docker and are getting malware warnings on your Mac, don’t worry — it’s a glitch.

• Spigen makes high-quality Apple accessories, and the company’s new AirTag clones are going for just $12 apiece if you buy a four-pack. This looks like a good deal, as does this AirFly sale.

• We hands-on review a new super-slim, 15-inch portable display from Espresso, and find there’s a lot to like.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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Today’s poll

Results from yesterday’s poll: Do you like customizing your iPhone?

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