Go for nearly base M1 air or maxed specs air?

[watchmainspring]

I got my wife an "open box" m1 air from Best Buy and she doesn't want it. M1 with 8g/512 SSD.


I am still waiting for my own M1 air and Apple has not shipped it. 2TB with 16gb ram.

Should I keep hers and cancel my order? I'd save like $1000.

I already have a 16" MacBook Pro (32gb/5500m/2tb) that is for gaming with an eGPU. I would use the air for web browsing, traveling, working on presentations, writing, some basic iphoto stuff.

- I do LOVE to keep tons of windows and apps open and do not want to feel I need close things to optimize performance.
- I have 350gb of files (media library)

Thanks

EDIT 1/9/2021: I tried migration assistant and there just isn't enough space for my files. Going for the more expensive model.

 

[Rck1984]

In my opinion for web browsing, working on presentations, writing and basis photo editing you can easily get away with 8GB/512GB. Its not my $1000, but I'd keep it in my pocket and perhaps close a few windows/apps once in a while instead.

 

[watchmainspring]

In my opinion for web browsing, working on presentations, writing and basis photo editing you can easily get away with 8GB/512GB. Its not my $1000, but I'd keep it in my pocket and perhaps close a few windows/apps once in a while instead.

Yeah I suppose thats worth $1000. What about space? 350gb of family photos, media etc and then add on what I accrue in the future plus apps and the OS.

 

[Rck1984]

Yeah I suppose thats worth $1000. What about space? 350gb of family photos, media etc and then add on what I accrue in the future plus apps and the OS.

Honestly, I would put those family photos on a separate SSD drive and/or cloud storage.
That would save a lot of space, and even counts as a backup for when your device decides to stop working.
In the M1, the SSD is soldered. When the device stops working, there is no easy way to access that SSD anymore.

That said, I don't know how much apps you usually install, what kind of media you keep etc... but 512GB should be pretty manageable, especially with some external storage.

 

[velocityg4]

The 16" MBP can already do everything you mentioned. I'd take back the Air, cancel the order for the other and save the money.

Alternatively, if the MBP 16 really is just for gaming. Sell it, build a gaming PC, keep the open box MBA and cancel the order for the other MBA.

 

[watchmainspring]

The 16" MBP can already do everything you mentioned. I'd take back the Air, cancel the order for the other and save the money.

Alternatively, if the MBP 16 really is just for gaming. Sell it, build a gaming PC, keep the open box MBA and cancel the order for the other MBA.

Yeah this probably makes the most sense. I like having a desktop and a Computer I can take to work and using on the couch. I have an egpu with great modern warfare performance so gaming rig not necessary.

 

[watchmainspring]

Honestly, I would put those family photos on a separate SSD drive and/or cloud storage.
That would save a lot of space, and even counts as a backup for when your device decides to stop working.
In the M1, the SSD is soldered. When the device stops working, there is no easy way to access that SSD anymore.

That said, I don't know how much apps you usually install, what kind of media you keep etc... but 512GB should be pretty manageable, especially with some external storage.

I already have cloud but I do like backups. I used to have a computer that used external storage and I hated it. External is great for backup but if you're moving around it's really annoying not having access to files.

 

[Rck1984]

I already have cloud but I do like backups. I used to have a computer that used external storage and I hated it. External is great for backup but if you're moving around it's really annoying not having access to files.

Well, that 512GB gives you 476.8GB of 'real' storage, minus approximately 15GB for MacOS.
That leaves you with 461GB for applications, photos etc.. I cannot decide if that is enough or not. Personally I would make use of cloud/external for these type of things, but that is a decisions you gotta make yourself.

I would keep that grand in my pocket and grab the 8GB/512GB, especially if its a complimentary device and not your primary.

 

[watchmainspring]

Well, that 512GB gives you 476.8GB of 'real' storage, minus approximately 15GB for MacOS.
That leaves you with 461GB for applications, photos etc.. I cannot decide if that is enough or not. Personally I would make use of cloud/external for these type of things, but that is a decisions you gotta make yourself.

I would keep that grand in my pocket and grab the 8GB/512GB, especially if its a complimentary device and not your primary.

Yeah that's a good point; thanks.

 

[playtech1]

I know what I would personally do, which is keep the top-spec Air and enjoy the extra memory and storage.

It's almost certainly not the most cost-efficient approach, but I also doubt I would regret it unless I didn't get much use out of the Air.

Personally I find the 2015 15 inch MBP a little big for toting around the house (same size as a 16 inch I believe) so a 12 or 13 inch Mac has been my daily driver for years.

 

[watchmainspring]

I know what I would personally do, which is keep the top-spec Air and enjoy the extra memory and storage.

It's almost certainly not the most cost-efficient approach, but I also doubt I would regret it unless I didn't get much use out of the Air.

Personally I find the 2015 15 inch MBP a little big for toting around the house (same size as a 16 inch I believe) so a 12 or 13 inch Mac has been my daily driver for years.

Thanks this is my plan now. I tried migration assistant and my media files, backup documents and apps took up too much space. 512Gb is the hard drive I got FIVE years ago in my XPS 15. 1TB should be the bare minimum for premium products.

 

[TrueBlou]

I’m unusually happy with the 512GB. I’m a bit of a hoarder of data/photos/documents/all kinds of crap. But I decided to do things a bit differently this time around.

I rarely actually *need* access to everything I normally store, the bulk of it is just there for the most part - not counting the 100 and odd TB of data I store on my server. I’m not getting that on a laptop anytime soon

Anyway, with 2TB of iCloud storage I may as well use, I’ve gone for the optimised storage approach for files and photos, which I normally don’t.

I also use a separate external NVME for things like storing my virtualised Win10ARM and so on.

All of that taken into consideration, I have just over 350GB of free space on the 512GB Air, and double that on the external NVME. Sure, it means I have to drag a tiny wee external drive with me, but I always have had one stuffed in my bag anyway, so no different there.

That some things are not physically stored on my MacBook doesn’t bother me either. I’m never in a situation where I can’t get access to cloud storage, either WiFi or connected to my iPhone.

Of course, when I’m offering advice to people, I always say get as much storage and RAM as you can - it never hurts. I’m just offering up my, strangely satisfying experience with less storage than I’d normally have.

 

[watchmainspring]

I’m unusually happy with the 512GB. I’m a bit of a hoarder of data/photos/documents/all kinds of crap. But I decided to do things a bit differently this time around.

I rarely actually *need* access to everything I normally store, the bulk of it is just there for the most part - not counting the 100 and odd TB of data I store on my server. I’m not getting that on a laptop anytime soon

Anyway, with 2TB of iCloud storage I may as well use, I’ve gone for the optimised storage approach for files and photos, which I normally don’t.

I also use a separate external NVME for things like storing my virtualised Win10ARM and so on.

All of that taken into consideration, I have just over 350GB of free space on the 512GB Air, and double that on the external NVME. Sure, it means I have to drag a tiny wee external drive with me, but I always have had one stuffed in my bag anyway, so no different there.

That some things are not physically stored on my MacBook doesn’t bother me either. I’m never in a situation where I can’t get access to cloud storage, either WiFi or connected to my iPhone.

Of course, when I’m offering advice to people, I always say get as much storage and RAM as you can - it never hurts. I’m just offering up my, strangely satisfying experience with less storage than I’d normally have.

Thanks. I've tried the external storage thing and it wasn't for me. I already carry around too much stuff and I go to work 5 days a week.

 

[TrueBlou]

Thanks. I've tried the external storage thing and it wasn't for me. I already carry around too much stuff and I go to work 5 days a week.

Aye, I can see that becoming bothersome. One of the advantages of working from home for the past decade, I don’t have to commute anywhere near as much as I used to.... That and I can go to work in my jammies if I feel like it My boss (me) is a bit of a slave driver though, he’s a total pain in the butt