How much MacBook is enough MacBook?

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

Okay, so you want a 13-inch MacBook Air. But you probably want some more RAM, right? Maybe a storage bump since you’re hopefully going to have this computer for a decade? Okay, well, at that price, you might as well get the 15-inch Air. It’s basically the same price. But you probably want some more RAM, right? And maybe a storage bump?

The sneaky upgrade path is one of Apple’s most ingenious sales tools — and it applies almost across the board, whether the company is steadily upselling you from a base iPhone to a Pro Max model, a $329 iPad to an iPad Pro, a basic MacBook Air to a super-powered MacBook Pro, or a super expensive keyboard you didn’t even know you wanted.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about the new M3 MacBook Air, whether its base configuration is enough for most people, and where on Apple’s upgrade path it makes sense for most people to stop. We also discuss whether the place to stop is actually at a Walmart, for that much cheaper M1 Air.

After that, we talk about The Verge’s most recent adventure in art project printer reviews and what we’re learning about the ways the web is changing. We also talk about some of the ongoing big news in tech regulation, from a never-gonna-happen TikTok ban story to the first alternative app stores showing up in the EU. We also wonder why Apple hired Jon Stewart when it wouldn’t let him talk to Lina Khan, or about AI or China. It could have just not hired Jon Stewart.

In our third lightning round of the episode, we talk about the return of the blue check on X, the end of Google Podcasts, and the ever-increasing price of Spotify and every other streaming service. Because in tech, everything is always changing… and always getting more expensive.

If you want to know more about the subjects we cover in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with this week’s big gadget stories:

Apple MacBook Air M3 review: small upgrades
The M1 MacBook Air is not only still around, it’s cheaper than ever
Best printer 2024, best printer for home use, office use, printing labels, printer for school, homework printer you are a printer we are all printers
The world needs more gadgets like LG’s briefcase TV
Microsoft is working on an Xbox AI chatbot
Samsung says Bixby’s still not dead

And on regulation:

Jon Stewart on AI, Lina Khan, and the other things Apple didn’t want him to say
A first look at Europe’s alternative iPhone app stores

Is TikTok still TikTok without the algorithm?
Facebook’s new full-screen video player looks a lot like TikTok
The US House banned staffers from using Microsoft Copilot
FCC will vote on restoring net neutrality rules

And in the lightning round:

X’s ‘complimentary’ Premium push gives people blue checks they didn’t ask for
Spotify’s price is reportedly going up again
AI George Carlin case settled as performers demand better protection
OpenAI’s voice cloning AI model only needs a 15-second sample to work
Google Podcasts is gone — and so is my faith in Google