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Buying a New MacBook Air (or waiting)

S

SueEsponte

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 25, 2015
22
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Okay, so, it's (way past) time for me to pick up a new laptop.

I'm currently considering a 13" MacBook Air (M3) or a 14" MacBook Pro (M3).

I don't actually need guidance on which to choose between them. At the end of the day, I'm not sure the value of the Pro is necessary for my needs. For the extra cost, I get a slightly larger screen and some extra ports and a few other bits here and there. The smaller screen is fine for me and, while not essential, the HDMI port is certainly nice. But, I may just bite the bullet and get it regardless. I'll decide eventually.

For perspective, I'm currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). It has a 2.8 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5. It's ancient, I know. Anything I get at this point is going to be a huge gain over what I'm using. My old Pro is (not surprisingly) frustrating slow, especially when editing in apps like Pixelmator Pro and iMovie. I should have bought a new computer a couple of years ago but, for no reason in particular, just didn't.

So, here's the unexpected question: After waiting so long for a new computer, is there any value in waiting until Spring 2025 for the next round of MBs to come out with the M4 chips? I'm sure some of you are thinking "end the pain and just get a new computer." I get that. I've read that the M4 chips will be geared more towards AI processing but is it really worth holding out for or will it, like most other chips, just be another incremental improvement over the last chip?

Any constructive thoughts are appreciated.
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
I'd at least wait for another 2 weeks or thereabouts, since there's relatively strong rumors that the new M4 MacBook Pros will be out around November 1st.

Then make a decision about getting that, an M3 MB Air or wait for the new M4 Airs whenever they will materialize...probably 1st half of 2025...
Click to expand...
It sounds like the OP has already established that the MBP is overkill and not worth it for them.
 
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I'd say hold out a few weeks just on the off chance that Apple does a twice-in-one-year refresh on the Airs and goes to M4 this year. But if not, it's not like the M3 model is a poor choice - the 15" is my primary computer and it's not missed a beat once.

And yeah, I have a 2013 13" Pro for light use and it's slow as a dog any time I start stressing the CPU - I can't imagine trying to still put up with it as a daily. Whatever you get you'll be very pleased with.
 
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The 14" M4 MacBook Pro will be revealed by the end of the month so you might as well wait for that and see what it looks like / what the pricing is like. That may be worth it over the M3 MBA (not expected to be refreshed with the M4 chip until the spring) since it has a better screen, better speakers, active cooling, and the HDMI port.
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
I'd at least wait for another 2 weeks or thereabouts, since there's relatively strong rumors that the new M4 MacBook Pros will be out around November 1st.

Then make a decision about getting that, an M3 MB Air or wait for the new M4 Airs whenever they will materialize...probably 1st half of 2025...
Click to expand...

Now, that's interesting! At around the same pricing for a Pro with an M4 chip (I know it will be more than the current Pro), it makes the Pro a bit more compelling. Do I think I absolutely need it? Nah. But, for a couple of weeks of patience, it might be worth holding out.

joeblow7777 said:
It sounds like the OP has already established that the MBP is overkill and not worth it for them.
Click to expand...

True...but for an M4 chip...it might make me re-think it, even if not necessary. At least, at that point the price gap starts to make a little more sense. I'm still not sure it's enough to convince me but, clearly, I'm not in a rush.

Mitthrawnuruodo said:
Yeah, but the MBP with non-pro chip is still a contender, as far as I understand, and there will (probably) be an M4 MBP any day now. (Possibly the one that leaked.) And if so I'd still look at that before deciding. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks -- I'm thinking it won't kill me to wait a few more weeks at this point.

GMShadow said:
I'd say hold out a few weeks just on the off chance that Apple does a twice-in-one-year refresh on the Airs and goes to M4 this year. But if not, it's not like the M3 model is a poor choice - the 15" is my primary computer and it's not missed a beat once.

And yeah, I have a 2013 13" Pro for light use and it's slow as a dog any time I start stressing the CPU - I can't imagine trying to still put up with it as a daily. Whatever you get you'll be very pleased with.
Click to expand...

The only reason I think it's been livable is that I have a Dell laptop (work computer) I can use for all of the...administrative stuff...I need to do. Plus, I've got 2 extra 20" screens I hook into for routine surfing and work. The iMovie and photo editing stuff I do, however, has been increasingly painful. This is the first time I've kind of thrown my hands up over using it. Not bad for a 10yr old laptop to be honest. I've always kept my computers for a while but, really, don't expect them to last more than 3-4 yrs.

Aka757 said:
The 14" M4 MacBook Pro will be revealed by the end of the month so you might as well wait for that and see what it looks like / what the pricing is like. That may be worth it over the M3 MBA (not expected to be refreshed with the M4 chip until the spring) since it has a better screen, better speakers, active cooling, and the HDMI port.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it can't hurt to wait and see, right?

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I appreciate it.
 
Sue, I'm in exactly the same position with the same model as you. It's getting creaky and slow. I'm going to wait a month, not only for the reasons discussed above but to see what might turn up in Black Friday deals....
 
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SueEsponte said:
Okay, so, it's (way past) time for me to pick up a new laptop.

I'm currently considering a 13" MacBook Air (M3) or a 14" MacBook Pro (M3).

I don't actually need guidance on which to choose between them. At the end of the day, I'm not sure the value of the Pro is necessary for my needs. For the extra cost, I get a slightly larger screen and some extra ports and a few other bits here and there. The smaller screen is fine for me and, while not essential, the HDMI port is certainly nice. But, I may just bite the bullet and get it regardless. I'll decide eventually.

For perspective, I'm currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). It has a 2.8 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5. It's ancient, I know. Anything I get at this point is going to be a huge gain over what I'm using. My old Pro is (not surprisingly) frustrating slow, especially when editing in apps like Pixelmator Pro and iMovie. I should have bought a new computer a couple of years ago but, for no reason in particular, just didn't.

So, here's the unexpected question: After waiting so long for a new computer, is there any value in waiting until Spring 2025 for the next round of MBs to come out with the M4 chips? I'm sure some of you are thinking "end the pain and just get a new computer." I get that. I've read that the M4 chips will be geared more towards AI processing but is it really worth holding out for or will it, like most other chips, just be another incremental improvement over the last chip?

Any constructive thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...
How much RAM is your MacBook Pro from mid 2014? I'm pretty sure it is 8GB. How much RAM do you need? There are rumors saying that the M4 Macs will have 16GB ram as standard. I would wait until the M4 Macs come out in a month or so if I were you to see what they offer and make a decision then.
 
At this point I would wait a bit to buy ANY Mac. If the new MBP & Mini & iMac coming in a few weeks have double the base RAM, that will surely impact discounts for all other MacBooks, because there will be a much better baseline.
 
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I am not sure if M4 will be on 2nm TSMC node or that will be M5?? Personally since you have waited this long I would wait as long as possible and get the latest m series Mac.

A lot of people will tell you to save money and buy an older m3, m2 Mac but I personally say buy a MBA over a MBP but get the latest chip with middle specs vs older chip Pro. Newer chips always bring a variety of upgrades to the GPU and CPU and decoders. If you buy the latest today but maybe lower specs or a air over a pro you will have a device that will last you longer and perform better and maybe even be much better in battery life and performance even over something like an m1 or m2 MacBook.

However, M2 and above I don't think you can go wrong. I would NOT buy an M1 laptop or desktop period. It was an amazing chip when released but it is aging now.

If you wait for say m4 or m5 you will most likely be extremely happy and you will be able to keep it as long hopefully as your last Mac. If you buy an M3 then m4 comes out super soon and then M5 comes out the next year you will feel like you have an older device than it only being a year old. If you wait and buy the latest it makes more sense as someone who seems to keep their Mac for a while. Timing on buying a Mac can make a big difference as all of us Mac owners know. Time it right and get the latest gen you can get and you will be able to keep it longer. I think due to Covid and supply chain disruptions during that time and for a while afterwards that it disrupted Apple's m series cadence and now we are getting a lot of new gens of m chips all at once. This will even out after a year or so which is another reason I would wait.

For example I got my M2 MBA maybe 6 months after release. Then a year later m3 came out and greatly lowered resale value of my M2 and now M4 will be out next year for MBA most likely it will further deteriorate resale value. If you buy an M4 then M5 and M6 will be a more regular 18 month cycle for MBA's most likely which will stabilize the secondary market. Probably not an issue for you since you keep your devices longer but something to consider as well.

No matter what you do, I highly recommend trying a MacBook Air unless you really need a Pro for one big reason that you won't understand until you try-NO FANS on the newer airs is really amazing. Having a nice size laptop you can throw pretty much anything at it and it barely heats up and NEVER runs any fans so you don't ave to worry about blocking vents. I don't know how you use your laptop but no fans is a game changer specially when you consider no degradation in performance is pretty amazing. Just try an air for a week and see if you like it before you try a Pro. If you buy a Pro you will keep it most likely but you may not need it. If you try an air and like it then you will be happy and save money but if you don't then you can get a Pro and see the differences and make an educated choice. If you buy the Pro first it will be very hard to consider an Air but you should buy both and test them within the return period. This is the only way to know what works best for you IMHO.

Good luck!!
 
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If you need one now, I would ensure that you buy one with 16GB RAM. Buying a laptop with 8GB in 2024 will drastically reduce its useful lifespan, in my opinion.

If you do need one now and can’t stretch to a model with 16GB, then personally I would just look for an M1 Air. These can be had for very cheap (Walmart, Apple Refurbished, Best Buy, if you are in the US anyway). And an M3 with only 8GB is not going to have a drastically longer useable lifespan, so why pay more?

Otherwise I would wait for M4, which is rumoured to start with 16GB at the baseline.

May also be worth seeing what Apple launch in a few weeks, you never can be 100% sure what they will release and even if they only do update the Pro’s, it may still effect some of the deal prices for the Air as it comes to the end of it’s refresh cycle.
 
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I had a laptop very much like yours (it was a late 2013 15" rMBP), and was forcibly moved to an M2 15" Air last fall. The Air is nicer in every way than the old laptop, even though I didn't really feel any dire problems with the old one. I doubt that moving to an M3 or M4 would make all that much difference to me.

I'd say, look for an Air with 16GB memory minimum, and buy when you find a deal you like. I doubt that it will matter much whether your new computer is 75% faster vs 70% faster, or whatever the numbers work out to be; M4 will almost certainly be a relatively small incremental improvement over M3. I would be astonished if there was anything really significant there.
 
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Question attaching to OP's one, M4 vs M3, talking Air's and 8 vs 16 GB apart (hopefully they will make the latter a standard), would the M4 be more aimed at increasing the Ai capabilities or would it bring a general increase in performance which would make it worth to wait to spring to eventually upgrade to M4 Air rather than get an M3 now?

In my case I won't use the laptop for work but since I am on both Air and Mini from 2015 I have to upgrade at least one of the two since my editing (LightRoom and PhotoShop) is not feasible any longer on the Air and got slow on the Mini, I can stretch it a few more months, I would upgrade the Mini to a Studio and the Air to either an M3 or wait for an M4 but if difference lies mostly on Ai I can start and upgrade the Air to an M3.

Thanks
 
Giuanniello said:
Question attaching to OP's one, M4 vs M3, talking Air's and 8 vs 16 GB apart (hopefully they will make the latter a standard), would the M4 be more aimed at increasing the Ai capabilities or would it bring a general increase in performance which would make it worth to wait to spring to eventually upgrade to M4 Air rather than get an M3 now?

In my case I won't use the laptop for work but since I am on both Air and Mini from 2015 I have to upgrade at least one of the two since my editing (LightRoom and PhotoShop) is not feasible any longer on the Air and got slow on the Mini, I can stretch it a few more months, I would upgrade the Mini to a Studio and the Air to either an M3 or wait for an M4 but if difference lies mostly on Ai I can start and upgrade the Air to an M3.

Thanks
Click to expand...
M4 will be faster and not only for AI. May be worth watching this video which contains the benchmarks (either projected or M3 Air vs. M4 iPad Pro which has already been released)
 
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SueEsponte said:
Okay, so, it's (way past) time for me to pick up a new laptop.

I'm currently considering a 13" MacBook Air (M3) or a 14" MacBook Pro (M3).

I don't actually need guidance on which to choose between them. At the end of the day, I'm not sure the value of the Pro is necessary for my needs. For the extra cost, I get a slightly larger screen and some extra ports and a few other bits here and there. The smaller screen is fine for me and, while not essential, the HDMI port is certainly nice. But, I may just bite the bullet and get it regardless. I'll decide eventually.

For perspective, I'm currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). It has a 2.8 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5. It's ancient, I know. Anything I get at this point is going to be a huge gain over what I'm using. My old Pro is (not surprisingly) frustrating slow, especially when editing in apps like Pixelmator Pro and iMovie. I should have bought a new computer a couple of years ago but, for no reason in particular, just didn't.

So, here's the unexpected question: After waiting so long for a new computer, is there any value in waiting until Spring 2025 for the next round of MBs to come out with the M4 chips? I'm sure some of you are thinking "end the pain and just get a new computer." I get that. I've read that the M4 chips will be geared more towards AI processing but is it really worth holding out for or will it, like most other chips, just be another incremental improvement over the last chip?

Any constructive thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...
hdmi port is main point here./ if you need it, Pro, no, Air.
 
SueEsponte said:
Okay, so, it's (way past) time for me to pick up a new laptop.

I'm currently considering a 13" MacBook Air (M3) or a 14" MacBook Pro (M3).

I don't actually need guidance on which to choose between them. At the end of the day, I'm not sure the value of the Pro is necessary for my needs. For the extra cost, I get a slightly larger screen and some extra ports and a few other bits here and there. The smaller screen is fine for me and, while not essential, the HDMI port is certainly nice. But, I may just bite the bullet and get it regardless. I'll decide eventually.

For perspective, I'm currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). It has a 2.8 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5. It's ancient, I know. Anything I get at this point is going to be a huge gain over what I'm using. My old Pro is (not surprisingly) frustrating slow, especially when editing in apps like Pixelmator Pro and iMovie. I should have bought a new computer a couple of years ago but, for no reason in particular, just didn't.

So, here's the unexpected question: After waiting so long for a new computer, is there any value in waiting until Spring 2025 for the next round of MBs to come out with the M4 chips? I'm sure some of you are thinking "end the pain and just get a new computer." I get that. I've read that the M4 chips will be geared more towards AI processing but is it really worth holding out for or will it, like most other chips, just be another incremental improvement over the last chip?

Any constructive thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...

MacBook m1 at Walmart right now $649 great price.
 
I have a M3 MBA - only complains I have is that it is too big, and I miss the the design-team at Apple that could do smaller Macs - with Joni Ive. But they are not designing the M4 either, so the clumpsy MBA it is these days.
So if you need the Mac now, buy it, if you don't, wait fir the M4.
Only you know your timeframe.
 
Lioness~ said:
I have a M3 MBA - only complains I have is that it is too big, and I miss the the design-team at Apple that could do smaller Macs - with Joni Ive. But they are not designing the M4 either, so the clumpsy MBA it is these days.
So if you need the Mac now, buy it, if you don't, wait fir the M4.
Only you know your timeframe.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that the MBA is too big before!
 
joeblow7777 said:
I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that the MBA is too big before!
Click to expand...
Lots of people would like a 12” MacBook replacement. Probably not enough to make it worthwhile but there is definitely at least a niche. Under 1 kg is ideal.
 
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What are the chances that apple releases the MB air with a M4 chip before x-mas? They could get 5 weeks of MBP sales with the newly released ones but then also capture the x-mas shopping season with a more consumer oriented MB air.
 
andiwm2003 said:
What are the chances that apple releases the MB air with a M4 chip before x-mas? They could get 5 weeks of MBP sales with the newly released ones but then also capture the x-mas shopping season with a more consumer oriented MB air.
Click to expand...
Why would they have just upped the base specs of the M3 MBA and release the M4 5 weeks later? The M4 MBA will come out in the Spring, a year after the M3. Just as the M4 MBP came out in the Fall, a year after the M3.
 
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