M2 Air 8 Gig to M4 Pro MBP 24 Gig

[magicschoolbus]

I'll admit it; I purchased the wrong computer. You may have seen my posts defending Apple's 8gig/512 15 MBA - but truthfully, the more and more time I spend on it with editing documents, streaming, doing some trading, etc.. I really wish I purchased a different computer.

I know the MBA is out there with the M4 and 16 gigs of ram; but truthfully, I want to make sure I don't have to purchase anything for a while. Right now the trade in value on my laptop can get me a M4 Pro MacBook Pro for 1400$ with 24 gigs of ram and 512 storage.

I am assuming this would be a significant jump; but wanted to check in.

Last time I purchase a base model of anything.. I always regret it.. sometimes, you should just get what you want.

 

[raythompsontn]

I purchased the wrong computer

No, you didn’t. You purchased what served your needs at the time. Don’t kick yourself over the decision.

trade in value on my laptop can get me a M4 Pro MacBook Pro for 1400$ with 24 gigs of ram and 512 storage

That is a fairly good deal and is probably worth pursuing. But it is your money, not mine. My only suggestion is to go with 1TB storage for the long term possession.

this would be a significant jump

It might for some tasks. For mail, documents, web surfing; maybe not so much. There are some apps that will benefit significantly, other apps you would not know the difference.

 

[magicschoolbus]

I upgraded yesterday and got the MacBook Pro M4 Pro chip with 24 Gigs @ 512 (storage has never been an issue for me and if I am doing hard workloads like that I do have a SanDisk Extreme SSD) - I am very happy with my new computer. Its a bit overkill for what I need and I do miss the form factor of the Air in some regard, but moving down from a 15 to a 14 inch in width makes up for the added weight. This is the perfect computer! In absolute love with it. Also the screen! As someone that owns both a Mini LED and OLED TV - I personally think Mini LED is the way to go for computers due to the everchanging environmental brightness that it can overcome (do you really need pure blacks on a 14 inch screen??idk..). Really happy with this thing.

 

[bellflyer14]

I also went from a 15" MBA to a 14" MBP M4. For a while I had FOMO on the 15" screen, but the 14" is just so nice with the Mini LED, and after a while, you forgot about the screen size difference. I am very happy with my MBP

 

[cjsuk]

The 14" MBP screen is much better than the MBA one. Much much better. Almost worth it for that.

 

[dizmonk]

I upgraded yesterday and got the MacBook Pro M4 Pro chip with 24 Gigs @ 512 (storage has never been an issue for me and if I am doing hard workloads like that I do have a SanDisk Extreme SSD) - I am very happy with my new computer. Its a bit overkill for what I need and I do miss the form factor of the Air in some regard, but moving down from a 15 to a 14 inch in width makes up for the added weight. This is the perfect computer! In absolute love with it. Also the screen! As someone that owns both a Mini LED and OLED TV - I personally think Mini LED is the way to go for computers due to the everchanging environmental brightness that it can overcome (do you really need pure blacks on a 14 inch screen??idk..). Really happy with this thing.

Glad you are happy with the switch. I tried the Air and while it is a great machine, I'm much happier with the Pro. For me, the Nano screen, improved speakers and brightness levels are the key additional features. Enjoy your machine.

 

[NeonNights]

The 14" MBP screen is much better than the MBA one. Much much better. Almost worth it for that.

Objectively, it's true, but I sometimes envy my wife's 15" M4 MBA versus my 14" M4 Pro MBP. And the wife hasn't complained about the MBA display; it's still a huge upgrade from her previous 6-year-old HP laptop. The MBA display is still of high-quality, if not MBP-level.

I am looking forward to Apple redesigning a lighter 16" MBP late 2026.