2020 MacBook Air i5/8/512 vs. 2015 MacBook Pro 13 compared

[Lomity]

Just wanted to share my experience moving to the new MBA.

• Only 0.7 lbs. lighter but feels like a lot more. The contoured shape and smaller size make this significantly more comfortable to hold & carry around.
• Display
  • Brightness: At first it seemed pretty dim. After turning off True Tone & auto brightness, perceived brightness seems quite a bit higher to me.
  • Brightness seems similar to my old MBP. Specs are similar @ ~380 nits.
  • Colors are quite fine. Overall display quality seems similar or maybe slightly better than the old MBP but I don’t have it any longer for a direct comparison.
  • Tried it outside in the sun & it’s usable.
  • Text isn’t as crisp as another 15” PC I have with 4K but higher resolution displays consume more battery so there's always a tradeoff. Wish the iPad Pro displays could be used.
• Speakers
  • Similar to & slightly better than my 11” iPad Pro. Highs are more clear with the speakers facing up vs. the sides of the iPad.
  • Much better than the old MBP or other PCs with downward facing speakers which are muffled.
  • Little bass. No fullness like a bluetooth speaker but clear & quite ok. Much better than other laptops I have used.
• Keyboard
  • Excellent key pressure & feel. I really like it.
  • Keys are not wobbly like my old MB with less light bleed. Overall a big improvement to me.
• Thermals & performance
  • Heard the fan come on once when installing Office. Barely audible.
  • Bottom was warm for the first couple hours while indexing & installing Office but nothing concerning. I have been using it all evening, including Excel, Music, Safari, YouTube with no issues & little heat.
  • I don’t do games & may occasionally edit a 1080p video but haven’t tried yet. Otherwise system works great with no lag or stutters.
• The magic touchpad is a huge upgrade to me. I really dislike all the others with the CLICK of the physical switch. Feels much more refined.
• Touch ID is really convenient for logging in & signing in without entering passwords. Face ID would be even better but no complaints.
• The webcam is poor as others have said. Good enough for work video calls but very grainy. Wonder if the real challenge is to make a 1080p camera that will fit in the very thin bezel…
• Sidecar is great. If you hover over the green dot on any window you can select “Move to iPad Pro 11”. Brilliant!

Overall I think this is going to be a stellar upgrade from the old MBP for my use case. Extremely pleased so far.

 

[throAU]

Agreed 100% and I made the same move from a 2015 MacBook Pro 13.

I've been happy so far as well.

I'd also add - I do still have the 13" MacBook Pro 2015 in the house (GF now has it). The new air is slightly smaller in all dimensions - width, length, and height. Plus the taper.

Another thing I've noticed - it defaults to "like 1440x900" resolution compared to the older machine which defaulted to "like 1280x800".

It's the same native panel resolution (2560x1600) so for an apples to apples comparison vs. the Pro - set it to "like 1280x800" as it is 2:1 scaling in both instances, not some non-integer scaling factor like it ships with by default.

I'm using it in the default "like 1440x900" for more space and performance using that is fine so far. I've also hooked it up to a 4k display and nothing averse to report there either - both in open mode as a second display and in clamshell mode.

Despite the ongoing "16" hot and noisy with external display" thread - I haven't noticed that with the 2020 air!

 

[ChrisBos]

Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking about picking up this same 2020 Air, also moving from a 2015 13” MBP. What model 2015 did you come from? Trying to figure out the jump from an early i5 2.9/8/512

 

[CheesePuff]

What do you think about performance?

 

[Lomity]

throAU - thanks! Switching to native 1280x800 made a big difference. Text is much more crisp now.

Re performance, it's great for everything I do. Again, however, I have not tried editing video or any CPU intensive tasks yet. Brief update I have noticed the machine runs warm when using Zoom. No performance hit, not hot, just warm (no concern).
[automerge]1586883222[/automerge]

Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking about picking up this same 2020 Air, also moving from a 2015 13” MBP. What model 2015 did you come from? Trying to figure out the jump from an early i5 2.9/8/512

2015 13" i5 2.7/8/512 (I think it was 2.7)

 

[Spectrum]

I'm also considering the 2020 i5 or i7 Air to replace a 2014 3.0Ghz i7 16GB 13 inch MBPro.
On paper it looks great (particularly because it has regular function keys!) but I'm concerned by the throttling caused by the low spec cooling solution, and whether the computer will last for 6-7 years like the current 2014 MBPro model has for me. I'd need 16GB and a 1TB SSD, so this is going to be quite pricey.
Any thoughts?

 

[Adelphos33]

Thanks guys. I have been seriously considering this Air to replace my MacBook pro 15". I am looking for a machine that will last four or five years. Given some of the concerns about heat, I was wondering if the upcoming MacBook Pro 13/14" would be a better fit for me. However I don't want a Touch Bar, and for my uses (Office, mail, photos, remote log-in into a Windows Machine), a MacBook Air seems like it would fit the bill for a while. I am thinking at least i5 (maybe i7) with 16G RAM...

 

[KPOM]

I'm also considering the 2020 i5 or i7 Air to replace a 2014 3.0Ghz i7 16GB 13 inch MBPro.
On paper it looks great (particularly because it has regular function keys!) but I'm concerned by the throttling caused by the low spec cooling solution, and whether the computer will last for 6-7 years like the current 2014 MBPro model has for me. I'd need 16GB and a 1TB SSD, so this is going to be quite pricey.
Any thoughts?

If you want it to last 6-7 years I’d suggest waiting a few weeks for the updated MacBook Pro. The thermals and CPU are a lot better for more intensive tasks. The Air is a solid computer, but the Pro will have more staying power.

The base 1.4GHz i5 Pro is faster than the i7 Air. And that’s before the Pro gets the Ice Lake chip. That will increase when the Pro is updated.

 

[Spectrum]

If you want it to last 6-7 years I’d suggest waiting a few weeks for the updated MacBook Pro. The thermals and CPU are a lot better for more intensive tasks. The Air is a solid computer, but the Pro will have more staying power.

The base 1.4GHz i5 Pro is faster than the i7 Air. And that’s before the Pro gets the Ice Lake chip. That will increase when the Pro is updated.

Yeah...I just don’t like the touch bar and have no need for 4 USBC ports. Even now, USBA and HDMI are still far more useful (to me). As is the MagSafe and SD card reader on my 2014. It really is a great Mac, but bother me that it is entering its 7th year of life soon...
In terms of sustained performance, the MB air seems to manage around 2GHz sustained correct? This isn’t actually that much lower than the base clock speeds of the 13 “MBPro. So...will the latter actually be any faster?

 

[KPOM]

Yeah...I just don’t like the touch bar and have no need for 4 USBC ports. Even now, USBA and HDMI are still far more useful (to me). As is the MagSafe and SD card reader on my 2014. It really is a great Mac, but bother me that it is entering its 7th year of life soon...
In terms of sustained performance, the MB air seems to manage around 2GHz sustained correct? This isn’t actually that much lower than the base clock speeds of the 13 “MBPro. So...will the latter actually be any faster?

Anything that requires sustained CPU power will be faster in the 13" Pro. If pushed to the limit (2, 3, or 4 cores running constantly), the Air tends to top out between 1.5 GHz if all 4 cores are running, and around 1.8GHz if 2 cores are running. The 13" Pro can sustain all 4 cores around 2.8-3.0GHz, though when done so, it sounds like it's about to take off in flight.

For everyday tasks you likely won't notice much difference. However, if you run 4K video that does not use the H.265 content (for example, YouTube uses VP9), the 13" Pro will be better since the CPU has the brute force to process the content running at maximum Turbo Boost. The Air processor will stutter since the CPU won't boost as much.

 

[throAU]

Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking about picking up this same 2020 Air, also moving from a 2015 13” MBP. What model 2015 did you come from? Trying to figure out the jump from an early i5 2.9/8/512

My 2015 was the i5 2.9, 8 gb, 512gb like yours