Out of curiosity, for your needs would you miss the extra power, connections and dual external monitors option the 14” having?
Also which MBA spec you got?
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If you're on the fence: Here's why I chose the 14" M1 Pro MBP over the M2 MBA
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Also which MBA spec you got?
Had you read it properly, Your “one guy, who says he has both” is a girl, who said she “owns both a MBP 14” and M1 MBA”. I never claimed to own a M2 MBA - I stated I own 2 devices
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This is easily the most ridiculous thing i'll read today. So there's that.
how does weight and thickness compare? I have a 16 inch m1 its much thicker than the air.
Seems like base model MBA is the best value point for it. If you spec up a couple of things between SSD, RAM, and extra GPU cores, you are knocking on the door of that 14” MBP price point. At that point the decision comes down to really only 1 true factor: is the MBA portability absolutely worth more to you than all of the increased features of 14” MBP, fans and killer screen chief among them (for a person like me, at least).
That’s really what it comes down to.
That’s really what it comes down to.
I don't think the M1 14 is much thicker or heavier than the air. You can compare spec on Apple site, but personally it's best to compare them physically at the store. Personally I don't notice much of difference between my MBA M1 and MBP M1 14, carrying around in my backpack. Of course if you only carry just MBA vs MBP without any stuffs in your backpack, you will notice the weight difference, 2.8lbs air M1 vs 3.5lbs pro M1 14. Is 0.7 lb too heavy? With all the stuffs I have in my backpack, I don't notice if MBA or MBP in my backpack. For the current sale price on the MBP M1 14, it's a better value than the air M2 with a similar spec.
unless, of course, the M2 air is what you want, which then makes it the better value.
The slimmest part of the M1 MBA wedge is thinner but overall the M2 MacBook Air is thinner and a little bit lighter.
If it what you want, then there is no need for value comparison.unless, of course, the M2 air is what you want, which then makes it the better value.
sure there is; i weigh the options, my needs, and then decide what to get. that's when i know 'what i want'.
I guess we all have different value matrix. For me, $$$$, features, performance, and portability. The MBP 14 fell short on portability, but not much to MBA. Everything else MBP 14 got the lead.
as you say, 'we all have different value matrix'. for me: features, performance, portability, mixed with need.. and desire.
For me, the most important considerations when trying to decide between the M2 Air and the 14" M1 MBP were - adequate horsepower, extreme portability, battery life, lap-ability, and battery life.. And did I mention battery life? I need a laptop that has enough power to do my daily tasks, which include running VS Code, web applications and database applications hosted locally, a Parallels VM running Windows 11, and many concurrent tabs in Chrome and Safari. And it needs to be able to do it for an 8 hour day away from a power cable. I spent nearly 2 weeks doing a side by side comparison between the base 14" and the M2 Air (10/16/1Tb), and came to the conclusion that the M2 Air ran all of those tasks without breaking a sweat. It *never* gets even slightly warm to the touch. It's feather light -- it feels nearly identical to my iPad Pro 12. The battery lasts friggin forever. I've worked unplugged for 10 hour days and still had 30% battery left. The 14" screen gave me blinding headaches after 5-6 hours of use. I've never been sensitive to PWM screens before, but the one in the 14" made up for lost time. I also prefer the look and feel of the M2 Air over the thick and retro bar-of-soap look of the MBP. In fact, the first time my wife saw the Pro, she looked at me and said "man, that thing is thick and ugly! What was Apple thinking?" And I agree, the slab sides of the Pro are not exactly aesthetically pleasing. They could have lopped off a fair bit of thickness by going with a mDP port instead of HDMI. Anyway, I ultimately went with the M2 Air -- I don't need native support for 2+ monitors. My second monitor is my iPad Pro using Sidecar. I don't need the ability to render 4/8K video for hours at a time. I have a very nice usb-c adapter to pull in SD card data from my cameras and hook to HDMI monitors, which is arguably easier to carry when needed than lugging around the MBP all of the time with the .01% chance I'll need any of those extra ports.
If you NEED the sustained horsepower of the MBP, then by all means get the MBP. I don't and likely won't. I'd wager that 98% of MacBook buyers don't either. If saving 2 minutes of processing time when processing the one video a year you import is worth the weight and battery life sacrifices that come with the 14", then by all means, man up. If having the most powerful laptop you'll never actually fully utilize makes you sleep better at night, you do you. If you absolutely have to be able to plug in two monitors into two thunderbolt ports, rather than using a single plug Thunderbolt dock with 2 outputs, then you have no choice but to buy the 14". But if you browse the web, import some photos every few months, edit docs using Word, video conference, watch YouTube and maybe stream some movies every once in a while, then you don't need the 14".. I can assure you that the M2 Air is MORE than up for the task.
For me, the M2 Air met every single one of my high priority needs, and will easily meet every single tertiary need, both now and in the future. I didn't feel the need to go buy a Ford F350 for the once every three year occasion where I wanted to make a lumber run in a single trip, when I could own a more daily practical vehicle and make 2 runs instead.
If you NEED the sustained horsepower of the MBP, then by all means get the MBP. I don't and likely won't. I'd wager that 98% of MacBook buyers don't either. If saving 2 minutes of processing time when processing the one video a year you import is worth the weight and battery life sacrifices that come with the 14", then by all means, man up. If having the most powerful laptop you'll never actually fully utilize makes you sleep better at night, you do you. If you absolutely have to be able to plug in two monitors into two thunderbolt ports, rather than using a single plug Thunderbolt dock with 2 outputs, then you have no choice but to buy the 14". But if you browse the web, import some photos every few months, edit docs using Word, video conference, watch YouTube and maybe stream some movies every once in a while, then you don't need the 14".. I can assure you that the M2 Air is MORE than up for the task.
For me, the M2 Air met every single one of my high priority needs, and will easily meet every single tertiary need, both now and in the future. I didn't feel the need to go buy a Ford F350 for the once every three year occasion where I wanted to make a lumber run in a single trip, when I could own a more daily practical vehicle and make 2 runs instead.
Well said. The size difference is significant in actual use. It's not a matter of lifting more weights, bro, either. The Air is just so darn portable.
Even if the Air and the Pro were priced the same for 16/512, that would still be reasonable to me.
One is thinner and lighter but lower specs, the other is higher specs but thicker and heavier. Neither is objectively better value. It depends on personal requirements; power or portability.
One is thinner and lighter but lower specs, the other is higher specs but thicker and heavier. Neither is objectively better value. It depends on personal requirements; power or portability.
That's odd - I am in the UK and cannot find a MBA M2 16/512 on Costco at all, let alone for that price.
I was sold on the m1 14 mbp but this has me rethinking getting the m2 air especially with them being discounted now. I do light photo/video editing here and there as the most taxing thing. Otherwise everything would be a breeze on the m2 air compared to my 2014 15” mbp.
I don’t do 2 monitor set ups. I would like an hdmi port for when I rarely plug my a7rii in for streaming/recording but that can be solved with a dock as I don’t do this often.
I travel with my 15” but I can say I don’t like taking it off my desk when at home. I just never want to lug it around the house because of the fans, heat, etc. I know even the 14” would be an improvement. But the air seems so much better.