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2020 MacBook Air - worthy upgrade from early 2015 13” MacBook Pro?

A

Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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I have a early 2015 MacBook Pro with 8 GB ram that has performed well. I have been waiting for an updated MacBook with a bit lighter weight. My main use is basic browsing and mail, Office apps, photos, and remote login to an Office machine for work (very important these days).

All of the recent MacBook Airs seem to perform worse on the high end of the usage spectrum than the MacBook Pros - will this be different? I don’t code or use Photoshop or video editing, so it seems like maxed out Air (i7, 16G RAM, 512 storage) should last me several years and fit my needs. Frankly my other option would be a Windows machine
 
For what you're using the laptop for, I wouldn't recommend spending the money. The only thing you will gain is a lighter laptop and TB3. On a daily basis, you wont notice any difference in performance at all IMO. The 2015 Macbook Pro is still a great machine. I personally use a 15 inch 2015 for relatively heavy tasks (Photoshop, Ableton, Pro Tools and Illustrator) and hook it into a personal studio setup. Aside from that, I use a 2015 MBA for live performances and never seem to run into an issue.

As I said, if you're just itching for an upgrade by all means go for it. I wouldn't have recommended last years Air, but this year seems to make a bit more sense with the addition of quad core processors. Best of luck!
 
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You will get touch id, better keyboard, lower weight, faster processor, faster graphics, much longer battery life,... I would say go for it, but if I can say, save on the i7 to i5.
 
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If it is i5 and 16Gb ram so yes, it will be twice as fast CPU wise and 4x in iGPU performance. Even with throttling!
+ slightly better screen with ThueTone, FAR MORE better speakers (not even comparable), Touch ID, T2 chip, slightly better camera, faster SSD and 7 years ahead of macOS support with all newest features like sidecar!
And if it is important to you, 25% LESS WEIGHT (1,58Kg vs 1.25Kg), less footprint and thickness!
I will upgrade to this config. Definitely.
 
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My 2015 MacBook Pro 13, 512GB will be used at home as a desktop replacement. It still function well but is too heavy to carry around. I just ordered a MBA 2020 i5 256 to replace my 2015 MacBook 12" retina for business purpose. It is lighter and good battery life. By the way it also supports sidecar with my iPad Air 3.
 
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To me, the biggest difference is ports.

USB-C is just too neat. I can unplug one cable from my gaming laptop and into the Air and get power, display out and three USB-peripherals. So I'm very eager to get Air.
 
souko said:
You will get touch id, better keyboard, lower weight, faster processor, faster graphics, much longer battery life,... I would say go for it, but if I can say, save on the i7 to i5.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should wait for the smaller MacBook Pro...
 
Hmmm, im not sure upgrade machine will give you "significant performance", except you will do various multitasking with tons of process. im still enjoy running xcode/android studio using mba air with 8gb ram, play music, chating dan open a few document and also multi tab in browser. :D

i think need vs want will make you confuse lol. save your money for next year, maybe buy new product will be a good idea and saving alot of cost for 5 years (minimum).
 
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