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Am I crazy for selling my base MBP 16" and getting MBA M1 instead??

sniffies said:
The two things that pushed me to do so:

1. The excitement of M1
2. My vehement hatred for Touch Bar

The one thing I'll probably miss the most:

1. The luxurious screen real estate

I got the MBA M1, 8 RAM, 512 storage (not base, kinda middle of the road).

The apps I usually run (mostly open 3-5 at a time):

Safari
Mail
Messages
Chrome
Keynote
Lightroom
Photoshop
Sketch
Figma
Nova
Pixelmator Pro
Twitter

That's it, I rarely use anything else on my Mac.

So, the question: am I crazy for replacing my MBP 16" with MBA M1? Would you ever do something like that?
Click to expand...
Owning the Intel version of that MacBook Air, I can only speak to the form factor. I love the tapered edge for typing. The keyboard is excellent. The speakers are a huge step up from what I'm used to in a MacBook. It's got a gorgeous, bright display. The battery life is okay but not fantastic (remedied in the M1). It's fast enough but not amazing (also remedied in the M1 in a big way). Honestly the only thing I can think of that the M1 doesn't address is the fact that both USB ports are on the same side, which is sort of inconvenient. Other than the stuff the M1 brings to the table, this is my favorite Mac laptop I've owned in a long time.

The one thing holding me back from selling mine and getting the new Air is that so far I'm a little unsure about Big Sur and how it would impact my workflows (and also I still hate the way it looks) -- and there's obviously no such thing as running Catalina on an M1 Mac.
 
mikethebigo said:
My understanding is it works fine on M1 in translation mode, but they are currently not actively developing a native version of the app.
Click to expand...
And here I was this close to purchasing an M1.
I just got used to the idea that I would use an alternative, for Parallels and a Windows VM. But, not being able to use Citrix Workspace is not an option...
 
I am doing the same. Going from an i9 16" with 32GB RAM to a 16GB M1 Air. No regrets so far at all - everything I do on this computer just feels faster than the 16"...and the battery life is shockingly good. At least 3x the battery I got on my 16".

Archive builds of my Xcode projects are about the same in duration...but the MBP fans kick in at turbo speeds while the air just gets a little warm.

In my case I always preferred the 13" size so the screen wasn't an issue.
 
teecuptech said:
And here I was this close to purchasing an M1.
I just got used to the idea that I would use an alternative, for Parallels and a Windows VM. But, not being able to use Citrix Workspace is not an option...
Click to expand...
Most reviews are showing Rosetta on an M1 is still faster than native on Intel. So, even in translation mode, again it works fine on the M1 and probably better than most Intel Macs. It's just not as much better as it could be with native ARM support.

But if it just bothers you to think that you're running your main work application in translation/emulation mode, then yeah this would be a dealbreaker.

Note that Citrix Workspace does exist on iOS devices, which means there is a version built for and working well on ARM. Perhaps it won't take as much time as we are thinking for them to decide to port that version to the Mac. To be fair I have found the iOS version to be far less robust than the Mac version.
 
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Mellofello808 said:
I really wish they did a 16 inch air.

That is my dream machine.

Especially if they could keep the price reasonable
Click to expand...
That would be my dream machine as well. Apple has to realize that there is a lot of people who looooove big screens but are not pro users. I am one of them.

Or at least make a 16" MBP without the abominable Touch Bar.
 
sniffies said:
That would be my dream machine as well. Apple has to realize that there is a lot of people who looooove big screens but are not pro users. I am one of them.

Or at least make a 16" MBP without the abominable Touch Bar.
Click to expand...
Imagine a 16" screen with the base of the computer designed like the iPad Pro - squared off, thin and light. It would be amazing for work.

Might not do particularly great on bend tests I guess.
 
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I think most people are expecting redesigns next year (look at all that free space inside of the Mini!). I'd really love for them to go with:

Budget: MacBook Air -- current design. Fills a nice niche of an "affordable Apple computer"
Lightweight: MacBook 12 & 14 -- Basically Apple's 'executive ultrabook'. Basically, an updated version of the last design: Touch/Face Id, smaller bezels, OLED? ... so could be 13/15.
Pro: MBP 14 (current size but smaller bezels...) & 16
 
sniffies said:
The two things that pushed me to do so:

1. The excitement of M1
2. My vehement hatred for Touch Bar

The one thing I'll probably miss the most:

1. The luxurious screen real estate

I got the MBA M1, 8 RAM, 512 storage (not base, kinda middle of the road).

The apps I usually run (mostly open 3-5 at a time):

Safari
Mail
Messages
Chrome
Keynote
Lightroom
Photoshop
Sketch
Figma
Nova
Pixelmator Pro
Twitter

That's it, I rarely use anything else on my Mac.

So, the question: am I crazy for replacing my MBP 16" with MBA M1? Would you ever do something like that?
Click to expand...

Depends on how heavily you use the full screen apps and if you use a second monitor.

If I was using ONLY a macbook and heavily for programming, lightroom, etc, a 16" screen is way more useful. My 2019 16" macbook pro from work is still insanely fast, quiet, and has a huge screen.
 
I just pulled the trigger on an M1 air. Ditching my 2019 13" MBP. The only thing Im slightly concerned about is the screen brightness. Does anyone find this an issue coming from the pro?
 
I’m doing this swap and just picked up a M1 MBP 16/1TB. I’m getting rid of my 16” i9 16/1TB.
I have to get used to the much smaller screen but so far I can’t tell the difference in performance using the office suite and heavy web, and lots of video conferencing (zoom, teams, Webex).
Tbh I’m quite impressed that I don’t see any slowdown in anything I’m doing.
 
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sniffies said:
The apps I usually run (mostly open 3-5 at a time):

Safari, Mail, Messages, Chrome, Keynote, Lightroom, Photoshop, Sketch, Figma, Nova, Pixelmator Pro, Twitter
Click to expand...

I'm a UX/UI designer and use the same apps as you (+ XD, Illustrator, Axure, Slack and a few others), and until now my 2014 Macbook Pro 13" was adequate. As long as you don't open huge files in Photoshop (not enough RAM) or batch convert many files in Lightroom (no fan) the new Air is more than enough.
BTW: I will switch to the new M1 Air too. I already bought the 16" Macbook Pro last year, but gave it back bc I couldn't stand the noise.
 
mikethebigo said:
Most reviews are showing Rosetta on an M1 is still faster than native on Intel. So, even in translation mode, again it works fine on the M1 and probably better than most Intel Macs. It's just not as much better as it could be with native ARM support.

But if it just bothers you to think that you're running your main work application in translation/emulation mode, then yeah this would be a dealbreaker.

Note that Citrix Workspace does exist on iOS devices, which means there is a version built for and working well on ARM. Perhaps it won't take as much time as we are thinking for them to decide to port that version to the Mac. To be fair I have found the iOS version to be far less robust than the Mac version.
Click to expand...
Hmm, that means that for me, I'll wait for the next release, hopefully with a design update. I use Citrix Workspace 10-12 hours a day, I understand that translation mode would be sufficient, but I think it would bug me that it is not native on ARM...
 
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azt33 said:
Hmm, that means that for me, I'll wait for the next release, hopefully with a design update. I use Citrix Workspace 10-12 hours a day, I understand that translation mode would be sufficient, but I think it would bug me that it is not native on ARM...
Click to expand...
Interesting. I am curious, with it not being native, would it be a tad 'slower'...
 
I do not think you are crazy however I do not judge people.... 😆

I have wanted a 16 for the past year and have almost hit the buy button for it everyday before the new 13s came out. I went ProM1, 16r, 1tb and I have to tell you it is INSANE! of course one of the main catalysts for me wanting the 16 was the screen size (coming from a 2015 15) but I may be able to make do. I had been thinking within the past year that it would be nice to have a 13 with the 16 power and even considered the maxed intel 13 however it just didn't sit well with me knowing that the base 16 was so much more powerful than even that so I never went that route. This 13 is amazing (and yeah Im not finding a whole lot of use with the Touch Bar but its ok from time to time - mostly when I want an emoji)
 
No your are not :)
In my case i had MBP 16 since April 2020, then something went wrong. Genius Bar messed up the repairs in mid October then they offer me a refund or replacement. Got a new 16 end of October before the announcement of the new ones. I had it for 3 weeks and apple accepted today to return it because i want to buy the Mac with the new silicon.
I love the 16 inch but i always wanted a smaller and cheaper mac that can do editing and now we have it.
The reason i had the 16 inch was the only laptop that can do descent editing.
I think i just got lucky and i don't have to resell it. It will be insane for me not to get the new one and get some money back :)
So now i need to decide Air or MBP. I am leaning more towards the Air as it can handle video editing.
Currently using Premier Pro but use the extra money saved to buy FCPX and call it a day.
Why did you decided with Air instead of the Pro? Screen brightness is going to be a big deal? Having a Fan on the Pro how would that affect the efficiency? Touch Bar, i like it but don't think i will miss it. The Extra battery life on the pro, the Air already have insane battery? Is the £300 extra worh it?
 
it's a significant downgrade in screen size, it just depends if that's important to you or not.
 
sniffies said:
The two things that pushed me to do so:

1. The excitement of M1
2. My vehement hatred for Touch Bar

[...]
So, the question: am I crazy for replacing my MBP 16" with MBA M1? Would you ever do something like that?
Click to expand...
I was in a similar situation.

Last year I replaced my 2010 11" MBA with the - then new - 13" MBP with 2 TB ports.

After a year of use I was fed up with the touch bar. I wanted to like it, or at least find something useful to do with it, but in day-to-day use it's just awful.

So, when the new M1 Mac were introduced I ordered the new MacBook Air, as the real 2010 Air replacement. :)


If you're wondering how the new M1 Air compares with the 16" MBP, here's an article from 9to5Mac about just that:

"Last year I picked up a very expensive computer — a top of the line 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro upgraded to an i9, 1TB of storage, and 16GB of RAM. But I just couldn’t wait to see how these M1 chips actually perform, so I decided to pick up the base $999 MacBook Air to see how it would hold up side-by-side with my 16-inch behemoth. The results are incredible."

9to5mac.com

Is the base MacBook Air M1/8GB powerful enough for you? - 9to5Mac

So I decided to pick up the base $999 MacBook Air` to see how it would hold up side-by-side with my 16-inch behemoth. The results are incredible.
9to5mac.com 9to5mac.com
 
and here I am the only reason I got my 16" was to get the Touch Bar, cause its cool, I love it. and I wanted it the second Apple showed it off. But I've ordered an M1 13" Pro too, it excites me, so I can see why somebody would swap out if they did not need the large screen or the graphics power the 16" currently offers.
 
For what it's worth, I just tried setting up my normal workflow on my wife's MBA and I felt seriously claustrophobic on the 13" screen. I use multiple windows at once and it just felt tight. I kinda remember that feeling, and it was one of the biggest reasons I went with the whale of a 16" computer - I wanted to have adequate screen real estate even when away from the desk monitor.

Just something to consider. It would be tough to go back to that size. I might be able to swing 14" when that comes out though.
 
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