M1 MacBook Air folks - what do we think about the new MBPs?

[usagora]

I have no intentions of buying one, but I was still very thrilled to see what they'd come up with. Of course, I come to the forum after watching the event and am greeted by the usual flood of negative Nancies nitpicking about this or that, but I think they will sell like hot-cakes. But for my use, the M1 MBA is perfectly adequate and also smaller/lighter, so it's a no-brainer for me to keep it.

 

[Moyapilot]

I’ve been waiting for the MBP release as my old MBP died. I’ve been using my iPad Pro for about a year now.
The new MBP looks nice but I really don’t need that much computing power. Leaning towards buying a MBA.
The only thing that is tempting is the screen on the MBP and 1000 nit brightness.
MBA owners….how do you feel about your screen (400 nit)?
Would I be disappointed with the screen after using an iPad Pro for so long now?

In the cloudy NorthWest I haven't found the 400 nits to be an issue at all. Pretty much never seen the autobrightness hit 100% even. But I use the MBA inside, and take only my phone or ipad outside in the direct sun, so your mileage may vary.

I've had almost ever generation of ipad pro, and have the M1 11"....in a normally lit room, there is equal IMO. Color is just as nice and deep, nice calibration. Really the only plus on the Ipad Pro screen is the 120hz when scrolling a web page, thats it. But thats just me, and maybe I got a better than average MBA screen.

 

[xraydoc]

The new MacBook Pros look amazing, and if I was in need of that kind of power, I'd pulverize every one of you to get to the front of the line...

However, my M1 MacBook Air (8core/8core/16GB/512GB) is way more than sufficient in terms of speed for my laptop needs for at least the next couple years. In fact, it runs desktop duty 75% of the time connected to a dock and a 32" 4K display, and does it amazingly well. And on the go, you can't beat the thinness, silence and light weight. And the MBA will run very happily off a near-weightless 20w USB-C charger, too.

I don't really video edit -- maybe a 30 second clip here and there. I take a few personal photos and occasionally touch them up with Pixelmator Pro. 95% of what I do is office-type stuff. The M1 MBA does all that and does it blazingly fast. Word & PowerPoint won't run any better for me on a 32-core, 64GB M1 Max. And as a mobile device, the new MBPs are bigger, heavier and likely louder than the svelte MBA.

I have no doubt the M1P and M1M processors are beasts, and if someone gifted one to me, I wouldn't hand it back, but the power would be totally wasted on me.

Now, if Apple were to release an M2-based 12" MacBook, then we'd have something.

 

[trevpimp]

I think the new pros are awesome with BIG POWER but when I think of how secure I am with the M1 air price to performance ratio I think nothing suits me more than the air.

Don't get me wrong if I had $3,500 for a MBP I would take the ticket in a heartbeat

 

[Markgnyc2]

I would love one of the new MBP's, they look awesome and they will be amazing. However, I wouldn't get any more use out of them than I would from my M1 Air. I just can't justify the investment. A year later the M1 Air is still awesome and I get all of my work and tasks done easily.

 

[zoltm]

The only thing I want from the new Pros to make it into the Air is the brighter screen

Me too, that Promotion Mini Led display is the only thing that I want from the MBP.

 

[Exfactor]

I may update to the Pro. I had a MacBook Pro for 10 years as I was planning to update a year ago. But after hearing about Apple's move to arm chips I decided to wait for the next major pro update. However, around July my 10 year old MacBook Pro started to freeze at start up and I just couldn't do anything with it, anymore. So I needed a computer ASAP. So I purchased a base model air and have fallen in love with it. I love the weight, battery life, speed and the fact it has no fan. It was a major upgrade over my pro. Its the best computer I've ever had.

However, considering that I do have the base model and need more storage I'm thinking about upgrading. However, I'm conflicted if I will get another air with 16GB and 2TB of storage or a maxed out MacBook Pro 14 inch.

 

[Abstract]

That is according to Apple's specifications. According to Apple, the Air has 1 more hour than the 14-inch Pro for Apple TV app movie playback. The Air has up to 15 hours of wireless web while the Pro has only 11 hours, and this is much more significant.

Yes. I wish Apple would keep the new MacBook Air models starting at $999. Those prices tend to go up a lot here in Brazil, so it makes a difference in the end.

But price is only part of the story. Regardless of price, there is the fact that the new Pro is heavier and has worse battery life than the Air. This is the non-monetary price of performance. All this CPU and GPU power causes the laptop to weigh more and to last fewer hours away from a power outlet. As I do not need all this power, I much prefer having a light laptop to carry around and that will last as long as I wish it to.

I do not really care how Apple calls the laptop. I think there is a lot of overlap between the Air and the entry level 13-inch M1 Pro. They could be merged into a single model. Perhaps Apple releases a 14.2-inch Air next year to replace them both.

That simply dismisses the needs of people who need more power but also want portability, especially if this isn’t their primary machine.

What Apple needs is simply another model, and either an M1/M2, or an M1 Pro with a different mix of performance and efficiency cores (4:4 like the regular M1) to maximize/prioritize battery life in the Air. They’re already doing that with the current 8-core M1 MBA and 8-core M1 Pro. Apple could do the same with the 10-core M1 Pro. ??‍♂️

 

[skaertus]

That simply dismisses the needs of people who need more power but also want portability, especially if this isn’t their primary machine.

What Apple needs is simply another model, and either an M1/M2, or an M1 Pro with a different mix of performance and efficiency cores (4:4 like the regular M1) to maximize/prioritize battery life in the Air. They’re already doing that with the current 8-core M1 MBA and 8-core M1 Pro. Apple could do the same with the 10-core M1 Pro. ??‍♂️

I suppose the M2 will bring some more power, but not so much. Of course it would be ideal to have both power and portability. It is not easy to reach a balance between power, portability and battery life. The new MacBook Pro focuses on power, apparently sacrifices some battery life, and a lot of portability.

 

[Abstract]

I suppose the M2 will bring some more power, but not so much. Of course it would be ideal to have both power and portability. It is not easy to reach a balance between power, portability and battery life. The new MacBook Pro focuses on power, apparently sacrifices some battery life, and a lot of portability.

They just need to stick with a 4:4 mix of cores for their MBA line, and a 6:2 mix for their Pro line (base 14” has 8-core).

Apple can’t really make something more powerful and portable without making a new laptop line that uses a 10-core M1 Pro with a 5 performance and 5 efficiency cores AND has a bigger battery than the MBA.

 

[makzr]

I found it very surprising that the battery life of our M1 Airs is greater than the new 14" Pro.. Granted it's only 1 hour by Apple's standards.. but ...

I have a MBA M1 and a 14“ MBP and I stressed battery in the last days. I cannot agree that the MBA has better battery life.
I would even say that the MBP is lasting little longer. It probably depends a little on your workflow.
If you don‘t stress the MBA they‘re equal. If you really work with the machines the MBP seams to be better.

Which is not surprising since the MBP has a large battery (which is the main reason for the increased weight).

 

[makzr]

That is according to Apple's specifications. According to Apple, the Air has 1 more hour than the 14-inch Pro for Apple TV app movie playback. The Air has up to 15 hours of wireless web while the Pro has only 11 hours, and this is much more significant.

Yes. I wish Apple would keep the new MacBook Air models starting at $999. Those prices tend to go up a lot here in Brazil, so it makes a difference in the end.

But price is only part of the story. Regardless of price, there is the fact that the new Pro is heavier and has worse battery life than the Air. This is the non-monetary price of performance. All this CPU and GPU power causes the laptop to weigh more and to last fewer hours away from a power outlet. As I do not need all this power, I much prefer having a light laptop to carry around and that will last as long as I wish it to.

I do not really care how Apple calls the laptop. I think there is a lot of overlap between the Air and the entry level 13-inch M1 Pro. They could be merged into a single model. Perhaps Apple releases a 14.2-inch Air next year to replace them both.

There is a lot of truth in your argument. Performance-wise the MBA and the base 14“ are not that different.

But I suppose Apple will never add the XDR display with 120hz to the Air.
The new MBA will surely stick with 60hz (like the iPads) and maybe keep the regular LCD screen (which could be upgraded to 14“).

I think the main difference between the MBA M2 and the base MBP will be screen and ports.

 

[Quackers]

I think the new ones are brilliant (if a bit boxy) but they are way more than I need and too pricey imho.
Couple that with a really poor trade-in value (in UK at least) and it's a no from me

 

[Spacegray]

I think the new MBPs are great machines.
But for my personal demands (Office, Mails, Social Media, Music, Browsing etc.) the MBA fits better as it still has more than enough power, good battery life and is much cheaper.
It is also the only fanless MB you can buy with the power of a M1 and I really enjoy that silence.

 

[dizmonk]

I think the new MBPs are great machines.
But for my personal demands (Office, Mails, Social Media, Music, Browsing etc.) the MBA fits better as it still has more than enough power, good battery life and is much cheaper.
It is also the only fanless MB you can buy with the power of a M1 and I really enjoy that silence.

Not to mention it is lighter

 

[jdb8167]

My "pro" needs are Xcode and other developer tools. The M1 Max would improve performance for Xcode builds significantly. But to get that would be considerable cost. The fastest benchmark (from this useful XcodeBenchmark) was a M1 Max with 2 TB SSD at 90 seconds. My M1 Air 16GB 8-core/1 TB does the same benchmark in 135 seconds—a 50% performance improvement for the M1 Max over the M1 MBA. (Some results are not in the ReadMe yet but are available in the pull requests.)

To get that performance would cost me $3499 compared to the $1649 I spent on the M1 MBA—more than twice as expensive. The lesser results are the M1 Pro 10-core at 102 seconds and the M1 Pro 8-core at 109 seconds. It is possible that the M1 Pro results would be better with a 2 TB SSD instead of 1 TB but I haven't seen those benchmarked yet.

I'm not sure that a 50% performance increase would be worth the price and the M1 Pro is still almost exactly twice as expensive with the 2 TB SSD as my MacBook Air at $3299.

Things that I like about the new 14" MacBook Air (the 16" is just not something I would buy—much too big and heavy):

• The performance noted above. This would be the main reason to upgrade.
• The screen is very good. Not that the M1 MBA's screen is bad but they are not comparable.
• 120 Hz is going to be great eventually.
• It's not clear but it looks like the battery life should be better when doing development.
• I can get 32 GB RAM (64 GB is probably overkill and 16 GB is a little to small for comfortable development.)

This that I don't like:

• The weight at 3.5 pounds vs. 2.8 pounds—25% heavier.
• The very thick body. I love the MBA tapered design.
• The notch (maybe—I'd have to use it to see if it bothered me).
• The HDMI port and SD card slot are regressions as far as I'm concerned. I would rather have a 4th TB/USB4 port.
• I don't want a fan again. The fanless design might be the best thing about the M1 MacBook Air.

The point is kind of moot for a while anyway since the earliest a new 14" MacBook Air Pro could be delivered would be mid-December.

Edit: Doh! I meant the earliest that I could take delivery on a new MacBook Pro is mid-December. I don’t expect an M2 MacBook Air until spring at the earliest.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I think that's what most average users are holding out for. A redesign, improved screen, improved facetime camera, but not necessarily more raw power or ports.

Can we expect the new MBA to have the same screen as the MBP? Pro motion surely won't come,but same mini led with up to 1600nits brightness? That would be crazy

 

[ChairSpud]

Went to the Apple store yesterday and looked at the new Pro Macbooks, already I knew they were overpowered for my needs but in my hands they're much heavier than I'd like. Glad I looked at them because now I wont pine for one and am totally satisfied with my M1 Air and Mini.

 

[Dwalls90]

Can we expect the new MBA to have the same screen as the MBP? Pro motion surely won't come,but same mini led with up to 1600nits brightness? That would be crazy

I would love ProMotion, but am doubtful that will happen. Same comment on brightness, but I'm sure it will be improved from where it is now. Although Apple seems to always put priority on displays for its products, I think they need to provide differentiation between their models to drive some folks to the more premium Macs.

For what it's worth, I think the brightness on the M1 MBA is pretty good.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I would love ProMotion, but am doubtful that will happen. Same comment on brightness, but I'm sure it will be improved from where it is now. Although Apple seems to always put priority on displays for its products, I think they need to provide differentiation between their models to drive some folks to the more premium Macs.

For what it's worth, I think the brightness on the M1 MBA is pretty good.

Brightness is certainly good enough,tho the reflective and brilliant (what's the opposite of matte again?) Makes is somewhat hard to read.
However I'm talking about brightness for HDR ,movies and media consumptions .
I am probably a big dumbass but the new mbp14 is tempting me for its screen ,as I really want to watch HDR movies lol

 

[Dwalls90]

Brightness is certainly good enough,tho the reflective and brilliant (what's the opposite of matte again?) Makes is somewhat hard to read.
However I'm talking about brightness for HDR ,movies and media consumptions .
I am probably a big dumbass but the new mbp14 is tempting me for its screen ,as I really want to watch HDR movies lol

I'm in the same camp regarding the MBP screen. I'm fine with the base RAM, storage and M1 of the MBA (though "free" upgrades to 16GB and 512GB are welcome), but the ProMotion and brighter screen of the MBP is tempting.

 

[Mentok]

They look nice but I don't need the extra power. I had a 2019 16" before this Air and the only benefit that had was a bigger screen

 

[mr_jomo]

I think the new MBPs are very capable, fabulous specced, nicely designed and even fairly priced high-performance laptops.

But, I'm not buying one - the office work I do 10 hours a day rarely needs more than the 4 efficiency cores on my M1 Air - so I'm good for now ?

 

[workerbee]

They look nice but I don't need the extra power. I had a 2019 16" before this Air and the only benefit that had was a bigger screen

Unfair – the i9 MBP 16” also helps heating the room during winter.

 

[DerDerbste]

Went to the local consumer electronics market today and compared the MBA and 14“ Pro next to each other.
I think the air has more than enough power for my needs, logic and Xcode being the most resource hungry apps I use (both only for private fun stuff, so no huge projects). Anyways, the screen and keyboard on the 14“ really got me thinking. Is it just me or is the keyboard on the 14“ just way better. More travel, just feels a lot more like a real desktop keyboard. And the display: it’s not really the promotion that’s the difference for me, it’s the one inch more. 14” is really the perfect compromise between real estate and portabilty IMHO(ignoring the pros weight). It’s an absolute shame apple has no consumer grade notebook with more than 13 inches. I will buy the mba, 700€ difference is just too much and the mba battery life and value is insane, but I will be envious of that 14” screen until a bigger air hits the stores…