Air or Pro for very long term programming/stats? First ever Mac.

[cmecmac]

- I'm currently beginner level programming (Python, Web Dev), but will soon be starting to really study extensively (i.e., in the future years my projects will grow)

- I begin a Maths+Stats degree in early 2026.

- I use Chrome very heavily

- I intend to occasionally play FM26 (whilst also having other apps/tabs running)

- I love the 16" Pro, the 15.3" Air is okay

- I intend to keep and use (for the above) for minimum 8+ years



As I understand it, my current workload (easier programming, not yet started the degree, FM26 not yet out) is perfectly fine for the Air, and the Pro would be overkill.

However, of course, will the Air be able to maintain this for 8, 9, 10+ years -- which I assume the Pro would quite comfortably (along with having higher sell-on value later)?


This will also be my first Mac.

Any help much appreciated. Thanks a lot.


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Edit: I believe also the nano-texture display is better for longer viewing sessions? Which would only be possible on the pro.

 

[Bigwaff]

If you don’t foresee needing GPU cores for the bulk of your computing activities, an MBA with as much RAM as you can afford should suffice.

 

[theluggage]

- I'm currently beginner level programming (Python, Web Dev), but will soon be starting to really study extensively (i.e., in the future years my projects will grow)
- I begin a Maths+Stats degree in early 2026.

Rule #1: Work out exactly what you want/need to do then buy the hardware that does it. Nobody can really advise you with the level of detail you give.

An Air is perfectly capable of all sorts of development. Heck, a $100 Raspberry Pi is capable of all sorts of development. The justification for the higher-end Macs is now mainly heavier 4k+ video editing, 3D, AI training, serious photo work etc. so what matters is what you're developing. If you're seriously developing AI you may need shedloads of RAM and a massive GPU (maybe, specifically a NVIDIA one). If you want to develop Windows games you'll realistically need an x86 Windows PC - or, for Steam, maybe Linux with a supported GPU. Robotic control? Well, whatever has drivers for the hardware (that Raspberry Pi is looking good again).

As for the degree - you're unlikely to need anything specialist for Maths & stats (the natural medium for which is the chalkboard), but before you rush out and buy start the course - find out what (if any) software you need, find out what students in the next year are using & see what ideas it gives you for software. I doubt anything you need to do will outstrip the computing power of a MacBook Air in theory, but you want to be sure that the course is Mac Friendly unless you want to be the one coming up with the hacks to run PC specific software on a Mac.

Plus, it's not just the technical side: find out how many miles you have to walk with the laptop in your backpack, whether you've got a safe space to store it, what you can afford... Personally, I'd always go for the larger screen - but it may be that weight/portability is the issue.

However, of course, will the Air be able to maintain this for 8, 9, 10+ years

No, it probably won't. Nor will a PC - Microsoft are getting more aggressive about dropping support for older hardware (and it's not entirely greed - when everything is increasingly web-connected, security and compatibility patches are essential . That doesn't mean that your Mac will turn into a useless brick after 6 years - many people here are still rocking vintage Macs, but that it turns into a bit of a labour of love, and relies on you not wanting/needing to run the latest software, access the latest websites... which, if you're going into software development then you probably will.

If you want a 10 year computer, assemble your own PC tower and run Linux.

which I assume the Pro would quite comfortably

Maybe, maybe not. You don't know what's going to "break" your computer in 3-6 years time, but it won't necessarily be the lack of a couple of CPU/GPU cores (which only help for multi-threaded workloads) or 24GB rather than 32GB of RAM. Could be the lack of a USB-H port or a we-haven't-thought-of-it-yet engine (for what ever bubble takes over from LLMs) or that FM2028 has dropped Mac support... That's if it doesn't just plain wear out/get dropped etc. The 2030 MBP will probably have all of those things plus faster single-core processing (which will speed up everything), larger RAM options, faster SSDs, better display technology etc.

Not trying to be negative here - but with a new computer I'd plan for 3 years and hope for 5/6 years. Esp. when you're probably looking at finishing Uni and a career change in 3 years' time! If you want to sell, you'll get a better return selling it while it's still only 3 years old and can look forward to several years of active support.

For the base MacBook Pro you're getting exactly the same processor as the Air with a slight performance boost because of better cooling, and pretty much the same RAM options - its not going to be night and day faster, or last longer. You're also getting a larger/better screen and more ports which are probably stronger reasons to choose it.

For the MBPs with "Pro" and "Max" processors - I'd say you need specific jobs in. mind to justify the extra price. The extra cores can be night-and-day for some tasks, irrelevant to others.

Again, wait until you outgrow what you have & know what you need before spending money.

 

[cmecmac]

Thank you. Really appreciate your detail.

Rule #1: Work out exactly what you want/need to do then buy the hardware that does it.

I thought I did that!

Nobody can really advise you with the level of detail you give.

What else is there to add that's more relevant than what I already stated? This isn't me being funny, I'm just not sure what else would add any more than 10%. For example, some additional things I didn't state which would add more detail but I don't think would move the needle much, are:

- Weight is not relevant
- I won't be doing 3D/heavy video editing
- I won't be building Robotic arms
- I don't have to walk anywhere with it
- I have safe storage
- I could afford the top-spec M4 if I so chose, but that's not required

Again, wait until you outgrow what you have & know what you need before spending money.

I have, that's why I'm here! I'm currently typing on an ~8+ year old XPS 9560 that works okay for 80% of my day. But I'm getting deeper into programming now and it's consistently recommended to switch to Mac.


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As said, appreciate your reply. I've also found the following 2 deals. What are your thoughts on them?:

1. M4 Air, 16/512, ~$1100
2. M3 Pro, 18/512, ~$1600

Again, main things are keeping it as long as I can while it still being able to handle the increasingly larger demands.

 

[cmecmac]

If you don’t foresee needing GPU cores for the bulk of your computing activities, an MBA with as much RAM as you can afford should suffice.

Thanks for your comment.

I've found these 2 deals, and am trying to think which is a better deal. What do you think?

1. M4 Air, 16/512, ~$1100
2. M3 Pro, 18/512, ~$1600

 

[DaveEcc]

M3 Pro was a bit confusing, as it's not clear if you meant the Pro CPU, or as shorthand for MacBook Pro, just as you mentioned Air as a short hand for MacBook Air... But as you're mentioning 16" in the original post, we can assume you mean the 16" M3 Pro MacBookPro, and not an 14" M3 MacBookPro...

M3Pro MBP:

• More RAM
• More CPU cores, (2 more performance cores, but they're slower...)
• More GPU cores (Geekbench shows a ~50% high graphics score)
• More memory bandwidth (150GB/s, vs 120)
• Better screen
• Better speakers
• One more Thunderbolt 4 port
• HDMI port
• SD card reader
• Has a fan, so can perform sustained workloads better

M4 Air:

• Better webcam (12MP vs. 1080p)
• Lighter (3.3lbs vs. 4.7)
• Higher CPU core speed... many apps will run faster (Single core is ~20% faster, Multi core is just ~5% slower)
• Newer so likely an extra year of support.

In terms of programming, either are overkill, and are comparable speeds unless you're recompiling Chrome the Linux kernel, which are notoriously extra-large, and the sustained load will favour the MBP.

What pushes towards the MBP are the extra RAM and GPU performance as you mention occasional gaming and Chrome (RAM hog) use, and having that extra USB port.

What pushes towards the Air is the single core speed, lightness, and a bit of longer support.

If you take up photography, or use SD cards on a development board like a Pi, having the port in the MBP will be handy, but you can always get an adapter later, but that will eat up a precious port unless you add a dock or hub, and then you start having to juggle add-on dongles.

If you want to use more monitors, the MBPs HDMI may be useful, but newer monitors will work via USB-C too, or you can get an USB to HDMI adapter... however again, you start to run out of USB ports.

 

[Bigwaff]

I've found these 2 deals, and am trying to think which is a better deal. What do you think?

1. M4 Air, 16/512, ~$1100
2. M3 Pro, 18/512, ~$1600

Like you, I tend to hold onto my devices for a very long time... and buy used. I find the used market to be such an incredible value right now with the flood of M1/M2 devices out there. If the deals you listed are within your budget, then you can find outstanding value out there for used M1/M2 Pro/Max MBP w/ 1GB+ storage and 32/64GB RAM configs.

 

[goldmac2006]

If you don’t foresee needing GPU cores for the bulk of your computing activities, an MBA with as much RAM as you can afford should suffice.

Upgrading the storage to 32GB and higher storage at its maximum can also be done.

But you have to order the MacBook Air from Apple.

If you really have to beef it up, get the MacBook Pro. Similar price but you get better display, the cooling needed for programming and engineering apps (even if in case you need to run virtualisation machines), and bigger GPU cores.

I had a friend end up getting the same specced MacBook Pro 14 inch M4 Pro with 48GB RAM as he regretted getting the air, said to me that it throttled too much and wasn’t worth it with his programming and LM studio stuff. He’s a computer science masters student