Curious about whether 13" MacBook Pro or MacBook Air for 2020 upgrade?

[drumguy1975]

Hello everyone,

I need some opinions as to which new computer to get. I currently have a 2010 13" MacBook Pro that still runs well, but is clearly slowing down and getting old. Over the years, I've upgraded the memory to where I'm currently running 10GB as well as a 1TB SSD.

I mainly use it for web browsing, Pages and Numbers files, Photos and every so often I make some longer videos using iMovie of our vacations. I also use it alot for audio as I work for a trivia company so I play music for that once a week.

If my current machine can last until both the Air and the Pro are upgraded to the new keyboard, then I have a choice to make. Which machine should I go with? I think that I'm also going upgrade the SSD to either 512GB or 1TB. Also, with what I'm using it for, do I really need to upgrade the memory or should 8GB be enough? I don't think that I can afford to upgrade both the memory AND the storage.

If it looks as if the Air will take awhile to be upgraded to the new keyboard, then my decision is made and I'll go with the Pro but if they are both at the same time or relatively close, there's a choice to make.

Thanks for any help!

 

[revmacian]

Hello everyone,

I need some opinions as to which new computer to get. I currently have a 2010 13" MacBook Pro that still runs well, but is clearly slowing down and getting old. Over the years, I've upgraded the memory to where I'm currently running 10GB as well as a 1TB SSD.

I mainly use it for web browsing, Pages and Numbers files, Photos and every so often I make some longer videos using iMovie of our vacations. I also use it alot for audio as I work for a trivia company so I play music for that once a week.

If my current machine can last until both the Air and the Pro are upgraded to the new keyboard, then I have a choice to make. Which machine should I go with? I think that I'm also going upgrade the SSD to either 512GB or 1TB. Also, with what I'm using it for, do I really need to upgrade the memory or should 8GB be enough? I don't think that I can afford to upgrade both the memory AND the storage.

If it looks as if the Air will take awhile to be upgraded to the new keyboard, then my decision is made and I'll go with the Pro but if they are both at the same time or relatively close, there's a choice to make.

Thanks for any help!

I am currently using a 2019 base model MacBook Air and it comfortably handles my workload.. which is almost identical to your listed workload. The exception is audio.. I'm hearing impaired and don't do anything involving audio. I will mention that the MBA does drop some frames in iMovie, but the exported video is fine.

With the dropped frames in iMovie, and the uncertainty of audio work, I would have to recommend the MacBook Pro.. but you should be fine with upgrading the SSD alone - Catalina takes up ~20GB so I feel 256GB should be the minimum.

FWIW, I have both the 2019 MBA and 2017 MBP, both with butterfly keyboards, and neither of them have shown any sign of keyboard problems.