Who is this for? I’ll tell you.
If you’re a normal person who needs a Mac for basic stuff, with the extremely rare video/photo editing, get the M2 MacBook Air (but make sure to get the 16 GB RAM/512 GB SSD or above. 256 GB SSD reads and performs slower and the 16 GB of RAM will benefit you in the long run). If you’re someone who will do video editing, play the occasional game and just likes having a good machine, splurge a bit and go for the 14 inch MacBook Pro, which has the M1 Pro Max chip (at the time of writing this review). If you’ll do a lot at once, get the stronger MacBook Pro, beyond 14 inches.
Now… If you’re like me, who would like the assurance of a fan to keep the laptop cool (even though I so far haven’t had it turn on, owing to the well-deserved reputation of temp handling on the Air) when doing basic gaming and the occasional video/audio/photo editing, wants the biggest battery and fastest charging charger available, doesn’t care about the bells and whistles of the Air, likes an established, well-performing (if slightly antiquated) design, doesn’t really use a webcam (now that you can use an iPhone as a webcam on Mac, the webcam is sort of superfluous) and doesn’t mind the Touch Bar, then go ahead and get the M2 13 inch MacBook Pro, which is what I chose, at 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. Sure, you won’t get the upgraded screen and speakers, for example, but what you’re getting still looks and sounds amazing. The keyboard is wonderful to type with, the touchpad is comfortable and the colors look incredible on the screen. No matter what you select, you’ll get an excellent machine.
So yeah. This laptop is a win to me. Sure, I miss out on the extra ports and MagSafe, but I can live with it so long as I have a well-performing laptop that will last for a long time. In summary: most people should get the Air. Pros should get the 14 inch MacBook Pros and above. Specific cases like me can go either way, or compromise in the middle and get the 13 inch M2 MacBook Pro.