I actually think Apple has extended the return period longer than 14 days, so OP might have more time to play with it. So OP, open the dang thing and let us know what you think.Just open it up and try it for yourself. You have until 14 days after Apple stores reopen to return it if you don’t like it.
Why bother if you're not using the extra power? Put the $100 towards upgrading earlier is the more sensible option, that's 1/10 of the price of a base unit!get the quadcore if you have extra $100 but dont expect you can use it for extended usage of intensive task since it doesnt have good fan systems
I don't know, I think in 2020 using most software and macOS, that a dual-core i3 will be too underpowered. for a 100 bucks you get a much more robust machine that will definitely last longer.Why bother if you're not using the extra power?
I just really think it's easy to overestimate how much you will benefit from extra performance, though. Surfing, office productivity, even light photo and video editing will all be fine on an i3 (look at what people were doing with the even weaker 12" MacBook for example). Remember even 2017 MacBook Pro 13" models are dual core, I don't see people warning about struggling with those, despite even more constrained single core performance! Those models are still on sale from Apple refurbished for in excess of $1,000, this is a steal by comparison.I don't know, I think in 2020 using most software and macOS, that a dual-core i3 will be too underpowered. for a 100 bucks you get a much more robust machine that will definitely last longer.
I hate to use the word future proof because its more marketing strategy to get you to overbuy, but a 100 dollar upgrade giving you an i5 quad core as opposed to a i3 dual core - that imo is a no brainer.
I have a 2018 retina MBA, which has an 8th generation core i5, just like the 2019 MBA. I was aware that the machine was underpowered--even by 2018 standards--yet that almost never affected me in real-world usage. (I rarely edit video, tho).
The core i3 in the base model 2020 MBA is 10th generation and is faster than the 8th gen i5 in the 2018 & 2019 models, though benchmarks indicate not tons faster. Also, the 2020 MBA has slightly better heat dissipation according to iFixit teardown, so the fan shouldn't come on as much.
So I expect that the base model will be fine for most users.
That said, anyone who can afford to spend the extra $100 to upgrade the processor to the quad-core i5 should do so. You might not need that extra power today, but your machine will have a longer usable life. And even if you don't NEED the extra power, the computer will probably feel a bit snappier in every day use.
I still like my 2018 MBA. But I ordered a 2020 MBA within a few days of the announcement. I ordered the quad-core i5, 16gb ram and 1TB SSD. But mostly for the keyboard.