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M2 MacBook Air or M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14” dilemma
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I picked up a 14" MBP base model when the sales finally came around again (Best Buy). I was in the same boat as you but as others have mentioned... a similarity spec'd m2 MBA (512 ssd, 16 gb ram) was close enough to the base MBP so I went for it.
I am coming from a 12" rMB. I enjoyed the form factor and lightness for many years but the not so great battery, keyboard, one port, it being 6 years old now... I was ready to move on.
Last year when the new 14" MBP was announced I liked everything but the thicker design. However, pictures / videos don't really do it justice as I find it thin / portable enough for my uses. I went a few times in person to get a feel for it just to be sure.
This is also my only computing device besides my iPhone. It's a personal justification for me but I felt I could splurge a bit with the 14" MBP vs. m2 MBA despite not using this machine to its full potential. I don't own multiple devices like an iMac, iPad, etc.
Yes, the m2 MBA is nice looking especially with the midnight color. However, after using this machine for two weeks side by side with my rMB I am keeping the MBP. The extras you get with the 14" MBP compared to the m2 MBA were worth the extra $$$.
I am coming from a 12" rMB. I enjoyed the form factor and lightness for many years but the not so great battery, keyboard, one port, it being 6 years old now... I was ready to move on.
Last year when the new 14" MBP was announced I liked everything but the thicker design. However, pictures / videos don't really do it justice as I find it thin / portable enough for my uses. I went a few times in person to get a feel for it just to be sure.
This is also my only computing device besides my iPhone. It's a personal justification for me but I felt I could splurge a bit with the 14" MBP vs. m2 MBA despite not using this machine to its full potential. I don't own multiple devices like an iMac, iPad, etc.
Yes, the m2 MBA is nice looking especially with the midnight color. However, after using this machine for two weeks side by side with my rMB I am keeping the MBP. The extras you get with the 14" MBP compared to the m2 MBA were worth the extra $$$.
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Beautiful macs, I wish theyd bring an updated form factor of the 12” back.
Since you have both side by side, do you think that it would be worth while having both? (14” for mostly at your desk, or deliberate planned trips; 12” for tossing it in a bag and taking anywhere?
I agree. Maybe in the near future we'll get an "M" one.
I will be selling the 12". I don't have a reason to keep both machines around. I used both back and forth these past two weeks to really be sure I was ready for the bigger and heavier footprint. It's been great, highly recommended.
Oh, that old bar game! I don’t know how many times I’ve lost money playing that at the bar, the old “which of these two objects is 2-3mm bigger” game!
Just as many times as everyone else in the world has. Which is just as many times as people (who aren’t in say a space capsule) have been inconvenienced, distressed or otherwise disadvantaged because their laptop was less than 1/4” thicker than some other laptop.
Practically, that is a truly negligible difference in terms of a pragmatic analysis which seems to be the point of the discussion. Sure, a thorough and detailed comparison would include all specs, but — disregarding the “Princess and the Pea” types (somewhat more conspicuous around here) — the importance of the “contrast” of this particular spec would be way, way down on list of priorities in any common and rational assessment.
Other than for hustling rubes in some bar-table scheme, of course. 😂
I'll probably get slated for this but Im considering trading in my 14" MacBook Pro for the new M2 Air. While the pro is a nice machine its probably overkill for my usage. The only things I might miss are the mini LED screen (although I have an iPad Pro 12.9 which I tend to take with me if I travel) and the better speakers, easily resolved by using headphones. The reason for trading in would be for the increased portability (although the weight difference is approx the weight of a can of coke it feels a bit too bulky to take with me on trips) and longer battery life
Well, I've always enjoyed having something thicker to hold onto. Perhaps that's why I prefer the new MBP series over the old one.
I wouldn't trade in my 14" MacBook Pro at all...Sell private party if anything
Do you have need for the features that the 14" MacBook Pro has and would be sad not having those in the M2 Air? If so, get the 14". If not, get the Air. These are two very different classes of machine and if you don't have need for the hardware differences that set the 14" apart, then it's probably not for you.
If you actually read the thread you would see the OP is happily using their 14” lol
Oh im not trading in with Apples programme!
Still not decided definitely whether to trade in at all, have an Air on order and will try before I buy just to make sure the decision is the right one for me
I had this thought for a fraction of a second -- my use case is around portability. I plug it into 1 monitor and I don't even use the laptop screen when I'm at my desk. I use it when I travel and for that use case I want it light with a long battery life. I placed an order for the M2 MBA and I'm not looking back.
The 14“ MacBook is also portable and not really heavy. You can use it anywhere and enjoy the great screen and performance. Get it instead of the Air.
I had an air before I got a pro and I can say for sure I noticed the weight difference.
I'd echo that. I had a Pro before the 2020 Air I currently have and much prefer the weight and form factor of the Air. So much so that if was part of the reason I returned my MBP for a MBA.
Half a kilogram is a very noticeable difference if you're carrying it in a backpack or sitting with it on your lap. Plus it's noticeably thicker which to me made it less comfortable to use on a table.
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Are you a data analyst? I’m doing a Python data analyst course at the moment.
I haven't decided what I want to be yet
It's part of a "Medical Informatics" master, and we've been doing some simple machine learning. My laptop's been doing a great job.
Thank you. I am in search of a monitor that may compensate for the display limitations of the MacBook Air. According to Ross Young, a 27-inch mini-LED (XDR) Apple Studio Display is rumored to be released this year.
I did. I went to get the base Apple refurbished M1 Pro 14inch a couple of days ago. I was in the market for a MacBook and I was seriously considering the M2 MBA. Now that I gotten my M1 Pro MBP, I feel like it is a substantial upgrade over my ageing 2015 MBP. It’s a once in a lifetime upgrade for me and I’m glad I went with the M1 Pro.
from Apple's website:
- M2 MacBook Air: 0.44" (1.13 cm) 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)
- M1 MacBook Air: 0.16–0.63" (0.41–1.61 cm) 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
- M2 MacBook Pro 13": 0.61" (1.56 cm) 3.0 pounds (1.4 kg)
- M1 MacBook Pro 14": 0.61" (1.55 cm) 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)
- M1 MacBook Pro 16" 0.66" (1.68 cm) 4.7 - 4.8 pounds (2.1 - 2.2 kg)
I had a look at both next to each other in the Apple Store today and the designs of the M2 Air and 14" Pro are pretty similar. You do notice the extra weight of the 14" Pro if you pick it up so I'd say it will certainly be less comfortable to carry around and use on your lap/couch than the Air.
The screens on both looks pretty simialr to me in terms of colour quality though obviously the 14" one is better but browsing websites generally looks pretty similar. Performance wise in terms of launching apps and general browsing there's nothing between them. If anything I'd actually say the M2 actually seems a bit snappier in general use browsing websites (maybe the faster single core CPU helped rendering pages or it just happened to have a better WiFi connection) but there's no much in it. Both are noticeably faster and snappier than my i3 Macbook Air as you'd expect.
Personally having seen both I'd still go for the Macbook Air (with 16Gb/512Gb) as it suits my requiements for a laptop better mainly because of the better battery life and lighter form factor.
Also, I can confirm the Midnight colour is an absolute fingerprint magnet! All the customers were commenting about this to the staff there! The Midnight Airs in store looked horrible and showed fingerprints up in a way that none of the other colours did.
I guess models in a shop being handled by dozens of customers are probably the worst case scenario but personally I'd still go for Space Grey or Silver
The screens on both looks pretty simialr to me in terms of colour quality though obviously the 14" one is better but browsing websites generally looks pretty similar. Performance wise in terms of launching apps and general browsing there's nothing between them. If anything I'd actually say the M2 actually seems a bit snappier in general use browsing websites (maybe the faster single core CPU helped rendering pages or it just happened to have a better WiFi connection) but there's no much in it. Both are noticeably faster and snappier than my i3 Macbook Air as you'd expect.
Personally having seen both I'd still go for the Macbook Air (with 16Gb/512Gb) as it suits my requiements for a laptop better mainly because of the better battery life and lighter form factor.
Also, I can confirm the Midnight colour is an absolute fingerprint magnet! All the customers were commenting about this to the staff there! The Midnight Airs in store looked horrible and showed fingerprints up in a way that none of the other colours did.
I guess models in a shop being handled by dozens of customers are probably the worst case scenario but personally I'd still go for Space Grey or Silver
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