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M2 Air for fulltime coding vs 14" Pro
- Thread starter Dave13
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Overall, while I love the new design and look of the MBA, I think the MBP offers more bang for your buck. You get a mini-led display that has faster refresh rates and more screen real estate then the 13" The 14" offers the ability to handle sustained loads without worrying about heat, and the M1 Pro is faster then then M2 so you have that going for you as well.
I think overall, the 14 will server you better imo
I think the Mac Book Pro is a better choice for the workload you list. You mention a number of a number of applications like database servers and multiple containers that will likely require more than the base Air's 8 GB configuration, and potentially upgrading to 512 GB of storage. When you price out an upgrade to an Air to 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage, the price is beyond that of a 14" MPB based model if you buy from Amazon ($1599) or other 3rd parties.
FWIW, I just did a similar comparison and just upgraded to a 14" MBP base model which came with 16 GB or memory, 512 GB of storage, and a very nice display. I am moving from a M1 Air with 8 GB or memory and 256 GB of memory. The MBP is heavier and a little bulkier, but the display is much nicer and the resource slowness I had before has disappeared.
PS. Good luck on the Digital Nomad thing. My wife and I are at retirement age and are looking into it since we still like to develop and want to travel a lot more before we can't.
FWIW, I just did a similar comparison and just upgraded to a 14" MBP base model which came with 16 GB or memory, 512 GB of storage, and a very nice display. I am moving from a M1 Air with 8 GB or memory and 256 GB of memory. The MBP is heavier and a little bulkier, but the display is much nicer and the resource slowness I had before has disappeared.
PS. Good luck on the Digital Nomad thing. My wife and I are at retirement age and are looking into it since we still like to develop and want to travel a lot more before we can't.
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From someone that has an M2 MacBook Air and loves it dearly and would take it over a 14" M1 Pro any day, I think for most people, the 14" really is better bang for buck. I just travel enough and value the portability more than the bang for buck.
Yup. Apple changed the default behaviour to do that about 5 years ago. However, with the recent MacBook Pros, they changed the pixel density to match. With the Airs they did not.
M2 MacBook Air: 2560x1664 at 227 ppi. Looks like resolution 1470x956. This is not a 2X scale.
M1 Pro MacBook Pro: 3024x1964 at 254 ppi. Looks like resolution is 1512x982. This is an exact 2X scale.
To most casual users, the M2 MacBook Air's text looks great. However, if you're a coder looking at tiny fonts all day, you may not agree.
On the flip side, tho, if you get the M1Pro you might always wonder if you are carrying around a chassi with a big fan every day for no reason.
never occured in my mind, ever 😂
the weight difference is literally less than a pound.
😂 That's right. Plus the weight of all those mini-LEDs, HDMI and SD card slots!
I assume you were kidding... ...but in case you were serious, then coming as someone who has both machines, I can assure you that lugging around the 14" M1Pro is no hardship. The M2 Air is lighter but nothing like as much Apple's marketing implies. I handed my M2 Air to a friend who is laptop shopping for a new Mac and his first response was literally "Gosh, why is it so heavy?". He currently has an older 13" MacBook Pro.
The Air is lighter and thinner - there is no doubt about it. But if you compare both side by side it is not nearly as much as you might think from all the advertising.
I actually disagree with this line of thinking a lot. I had a 14" M1 MBP and it felt heavy to me.
Almost a pound on a device that weighs just over 3 pounds is almost 1/3 of the weight which is pretty significant. Also it is not spread out over a large area so it feels more concentrated. It is also thicker.
I think it really matters if you just plop the laptop on a desk all day or if you actually travel with it and use it in various locations and positions. If you just set it on your desk the extra pound doesn't matter that much but if you use it on your lap for any significant amount of time then it does.
I already conceded for the OP the Pro machine was better suited for his needs. That being said 90% of what he can do on the 14" base model MBP can be done on the M2 MBA and if you have been an Apple user for more than a couple of years you have dongles from your previous MBP that only had thunderbolt ports. I have one from my 13" MBP and it has HDMI and sd card reader.
1769 single core, Multi-Core Score 9969 M1 MBP 14" 8 core,
1899 Single-Core Score 8743 multi-core M2 MBA
I won't even start about the screen. Let's just say all Mac screens are nice.
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not to mention the m2 mba isn't a true retina 2x. the lower ppi on the m2 mba makes a difference productivity workflow that values perfect retina.
M2 MBA specs, Liquid Retina display
- 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology;1
2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with
support for 1 billion colors - 500 nits brightness
- Wide color (P3)
- True Tone technology
M1 MBP specs,
Liquid Retina XDR display
14.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;1 3024-by-1964 native
resolution at 254 pixels per inch
XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range)
1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
XDR brightness: 1000 nits sustained full-screen, 1600 nits peak2 (HDR content only)
SDR brightness: 500 nits
Color
1 billion colors
Wide color (P3)
True Tone technology
Refresh rates
ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz
When you break down the differences they are not as huge as you make it. 30 psi difference? Same 500 nits SDR on both. Basically you have a higher contrast ratio and higher refresh rate and the 30 pixels per inch are the only differences.
I am not saying they are insignificant but the MBA has a really nice screen for what it is.
MBA screen is nice but it's not a 2X scale, which can affect small fonts (coding) and other languages (eg. traditional Chinese).
For me it doesn't bother me, but I don't code and I don't type in Chinese. However, I've seen a few complaints from some coders. That said, I suspect the M1/M2 MacBook Air far outsells the M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro even for coders.
All I was saying is that it is still a Retina screen but I am used to Windows laptops with large screens and 1080p so any Mac screen looks good to me. A lot of coders use gaming laptops with 1080p screens and I don't see them complaining about it but what do I know. Lol, I am not a coder. So I will concede your point. I also have no idea about Chinese type fonts.
I went to Google translate and typed this in, for an English to traditional Chinese translation:
Korean words and traditional Chinese fonts benefit from high pixel density.
And got this:
韓語單詞和繁體中文字體受益於高像素密度。
So, even if you can't read it, you can understand how a proper 2X scaled Retina screen may help. Ironically though, I'm typing this post on a 30" Apple Cinema HD Display, which isn't even Retina. It's about 101 ppi.
It looks great on my 2X scaled Retina 5K iMac though.
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Fair enough. My fitness program must be working as I just don't notice the extra pound in weight as much as some.🏋️♂️ 😜
Just to be clear though, it's not a line of thinking, it is personal daily experience of using them side by side. One is the main computer that I use for work, the other is a personal device that I use for everything else.
--
And, in other posts, I have been a staunch defender of the M2 Air. In my case I have the "crappy one" with the "slow" 256GB SSD and "paltry" 8GB RAM. The truth of it is that the M2 Air has been a stunning machine for me. The performance on most daily computing tasks is the same as my M1 Pro. In actual use, I can't tell them apart for email, web (lots of tabs), MS Office, Photos, video editing etc.
I am sure that someone can devise a torture test on YouTube and show me benchmark numbers to prove a point, but the truth of it is that the M2 Air is more computer than most 'normal' people need. In actual use the M2 Air is phenomenal - yes, even the 8GB/256GB pariah version!
I am not trying to critisize your personal experience just saying that mine is different. I had a 14" MBP before I got the M2 MBA and I don't think the weight of a device in your lap and how it feels over time has anything to do with how fit you are??
I see so many people(not saying you) post about how they lift weights or are in shape and so the difference in weight between the MBP and air is insignificant or insinuating that you must be weak(other words could be inserted here but could get me I trouble) if it bothers you and on and on without considering people are not just talking about transporting the device from one point to another.
I also think the 14" and 16" MBP are the best Pro laptops Apple has probably ever made. They are seriously amazing in every way. I am not trying to bad mouth people who own them, I just think that with the performance of the M2 MBA not everybody actually needs a Pro laptop anymore and their are tradeoffs to either.
Actually that font looks great on my M2 MBA and I don't see any pixels. I love Japanese and Chinese characters personally, they are like written art IMHO even though I can't understand them.I went to Google translate and typed this in, for an English to traditional Chinese translation:
Korean words and traditional Chinese fonts benefit from high pixel density.
And got this:
韓語單詞和繁體中文字體受益於高像素密度。
So, even if you can't read it, you can understand how a proper 2X scaled Retina screen may help. Ironically though, I'm typing this post on a 30" Apple Cinema HD Display, which isn't even Retina. It's about 101 ppi.
I actually agree the ~227 ppi of these machines is decent, even with non-2X scaled resolutions. I have a 12-inch MacBook and it's nice. But 2X scaling is just a little bit better, and I can understand how some coders would want this, especially if they're the type to have code all over the screen in tiny fonts.
BTW, the reason I use my 30" Apple Cinema Display is because of the SIZE of the fonts. I think 101 ppi (or 201 ppi for Retina) is perfect for a desktop with my work habits and seating distance. I find the default font sizing of my 218 ppi Retina iMac is just a touch too small. I tried scaling the resolutions to compensate, but there were two issues. 1) The scaling options Apple offers are too big a jump from the default. The bigger fonts are so big that it negatively affects screen real estate too much. And 2) On the iMac I can see degradation of the text quality, even at my not-so-close seating distance.
yes they are, same way you think .7lb of difference is pretty significant.
as for the 500 nit argument, https://www.getvivid.app/
I'm using an M2 MacBook Air and absolutely love it. I also have an M1 MacBook Pro for work and although I love it, I prefer the Air + 11 inch iPad Pro as a second screen when needed.
My development is mainly iOS development but I also do game development too as a hobby. I also use Blender, Logic, Final Cut, Motion, Affinity Suite, and sometimes Houdini.
This machine handles it all fine. I personally love it. The machine is far more powerful than people realize.
My development is mainly iOS development but I also do game development too as a hobby. I also use Blender, Logic, Final Cut, Motion, Affinity Suite, and sometimes Houdini.
This machine handles it all fine. I personally love it. The machine is far more powerful than people realize.
I think we are in violent agreement here my friend
. At the end of the day this is a subjective thing. I was kidding about the weight lifting - but it was simply to emphasize that I just don't think of the 14" as too heavy because a) a 1LB difference isn't much IMO, and b) I came from a 16" 2019 Intel MacBook Pro which was a beefy so and so. Anything feels light after that.I do fully agree that on the forums people get really hung up on performance specs and power. The fact is that most computer users would be happy with an 8GB MacBook Air M1 right now. It's a snappy, performant machine that literally handles everything 'most' people need to get done on computer, and will do for years to come. YouTubers do real harm here with their headline seeking clickbait performance comparisons. It's especially harmful because they assume everyone needs an 8K RED RAW video editing capable machine for their daily life, whereas the truth of it is that almost no-one else pushes their machines that hard regularly. Even if you did need to do that every now and then, you could. And you would spend the extra 5-10 minutes it takes to render to go grab a coffee!
The M2 Air (8GB/256GB) is extraordinarily fast. It exceeds my expectations so much that I realize the 14" M1 Pro is overkill for me most days which is why I always weigh in on these discussions.
You prefer the screen on the MBP and I get it. It is a great screen. My point is the screen on the air is too. Obviously it is not the same and if you prefer the Pro you have your reasons just like I prefer the screen on the air.
It is just that so many people have said the screen on the air is utter garbage in comparison to the Pro and I just don’t think that is a fair comparison.
And using a third party app to get a higher SDR brightness is also not a fair comparison. I would have reservations about using SDR in higher brightness for extended periods of time because it was not designed for that and since mini led is a new tech there is no way to know if it would cause damage by overheating the screen, etc.
Also why do you need more than 500 nits? I have had many laptops over the years and I like bright screens and I never even use max brightness on my Mac. Maybe 2/3 in bright environments.
I guess if you are in direct sunlight it would help but I would move my position?
Heck I have a Lenovo and it has a 400nits display and I don’t turn it up all the way?
In the end all of these things are completely subjective and based on personal preference.
I respect your personal preferences.
I just get bothered when people try to bash things they don’t own based on their personal preferences.
And I will admit at times in response to other people’s arguments when trying to bash something I have responded in kind which I shouldn’t have.
The screen on the M2 MacBook Air is very good, and better than most coding machines in use today.
The screen on the M1 Pro MacBook Pro is even better, but for many people those improvements are unnecessary.
The screen on the M1 Pro MacBook Pro is even better, but for many people those improvements are unnecessary.
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Folks who say the the M2 Air display is garbage don't know what they are talking about. It's bright, color accurate. Sure the 14" MBP has better specs, but unless you have them side by side under specific conditions that showcase the 14" M1 Pro (i.e. not normal every day use) they are a both beautiful crisp Apple displays. The most noticeable thing when they are side by side in normal use (not some display torture test by some wannabe cinephile YouTube reviewer) is the screen real estate. Using the default settings, the 14" feels a bit bigger and the M2 Air a bit smaller. It's noticeable, but not a big deal.