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M2 MacBook Air or M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14” dilemma

M2 MacBook Air vs M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14”

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Quite simply, the form factor of the M2 Air is superior to the MBP.

There’s no argument. It’s far nicer to pick up and hold the M2 Air. It’s a thing of beauty too.

So, ultimately, there’s no debate if form factor is your number one desire.

If you want to play new games and do a ton to heavy work the the MBP is right for you. But for me, and millions others, the M2 Air is a beast and is unquestionably nicer to pick up and carry around.
 
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erasr said:
Quite simply, the form factor of the M2 Air is superior to the MBP.

There’s no argument. It’s far nicer to pick up and hold the M2 Air. It’s a thing of beauty too.

So, ultimately, there’s no debate if form factor is your number one desire.

If you want to play new games and do a ton to heavy work the the MBP is right for you. But for me, and millions others, the M2 Air is a beast and is unquestionably nicer to pick up and carry around.
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I disagree - the m2 air feels cheap to me, bends on the bottom, covered in finger prints, the 14" feels like a reliable computer that will stand the test of time with durability and screen quality. I mean, you are buying a screen from 2013 - OG retina generation
 
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erkanasu said:
I disagree - the m2 air feels cheap to me, bends on the bottom, covered in finger prints, the 14" feels like a reliable computer that will stand the test of time with durability and screen quality. I mean, you are buying a screen from 2013 - OG retina generation
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Agreed.
 
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erasr said:
Quite simply, the form factor of the M2 Air is superior to the MBP.

There’s no argument. It’s far nicer to pick up and hold the M2 Air. It’s a thing of beauty too.

So, ultimately, there’s no debate if form factor is your number one desire.

If you want to play new games and do a ton to heavy work the the MBP is right for you. But for me, and millions others, the M2 Air is a beast and is unquestionably nicer to pick up and carry around.
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I agree. The form factor and build quality on the M2 MBA are incredibly nice. It's a solid little machine, and everything I wanted out of it, I'm getting. More, even. It's exceeded every expectation.

For my mobile needs and wants, it's perfect. I'd have different demands if I were going to use it primarily at one or two locations (say home and work). That's where limitations like not being able to connect more than one external monitor would come into play.

If I were forced to list things I didn't like about it, I suppose they'd be: notch, small screen, inability to connect more than one external monitor. But I knew all those going into the purchase, and for a device I'm primarily using while traveling, they're not a big deal.
 
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Ditto. I bought the M2 Air strictly to use as a iPad replacement. I don't do any editing or what not. I use it mainly to watch youtube videos. Once you get over the fingerprint obsessions, the midnight is gorgeous.

Main reason why I gave up on my 14" (trust me when I say I had MANY of them. I think I went through 7-8 since it first came out. Took a small loss everytime I sold one), the battery life wasn't that good.

Even though reviews constantly pegged the 14" as having 1 or 2 hours less than the Air, it just drained so quickly and i had no idea why when I used it like I used my current M2, just Youtube videos.
 
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lcs101 said:
I considered the 14" for a bit, but as tax free weekend in my state only covered laptops $1500 and lower, that made for an even bigger gap in price. I couldn't justify the $500+ more for the Pro as compared to the 16/512 Air M2 I ordered (as well as IMO a less portable laptop). It probably would have been different if I regularly watched videos on my laptop (and without headphones).
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Wait... How did you get that to work? The MBA 8/512 is $1499, Even with the 8-core GPU, the 16/512 would be over the $1500 cap.
 
ctbear said:
An update if anyone is interested -

While I was still deciding, Bestbuy had another price drop on the MBP to bring it down to $1699 (and I got my order price matched). It was a no-brainer at that point so I returned the MBA.

However...

Once I started using the MBP more heavily and not split between two machines, I noticed I would get minor eye strains after ~2 hours. I didn't think it would happen but apparently my eyes didn't like the PWM settings. This really sucks since I never had this problem with any other screens (including multiple iPhones and Android OLED screens). But all the hardware advantages mean nothing if I can't comfortably use the machine.

I need a computer for an upcoming trip very soon so I checked to see if there's anything in stock I could buy. Fortunately my local Apple store has the base midnight MBA in stock, so I bought that and will be returning the MBP.
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I read in other thread in MR, that M2 MBA is flicker free. So probably its display is more eyes-friendly than MBP. I am also considering between the two.
 
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lcs101 said:
As assumed above, education discount
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Ok, cool. I have a couple orders in that took advantage of the state sales tax holiday, 16/256 (I would have to slim down my storage use for that) and 8/512 (which matches my current config). Will cancel one or both in the next day or so. Really wanted 16/512 or 16/1T but the cost difference is significant.
 
I doubt most of the people in this thread could make the fans spin on the M1 Pro, let alone push the M2 to it's limits.

The base model M2 is suitable to most of the MacRumors user base.
 
SeenJeen said:
I doubt most of the people in this thread could make the fans spin on the M1 Pro, let alone push the M2 to it's limits.

The base model M2 is suitable to most of the MacRumors user base.
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The problem is that the base M2 Air is FUNDAMENTALLY flawed by its inclusion of an incredibly slow SSD by 2022 standards (further exacerbated by the lack of memory swap abilities due to the limited 8GB RAM); especially in a premium laptop retailing well over $1000. But yes, it will definitely do pretty much anything and everything you throw at it...
 
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I almost didn't do it: I opened the MacBook Air and I'm equally, if not even more smitten.

The Midnight color is gorgeous. Display and speakers are adequate and even impressive. I do personally miss the taper not having had a MacBook Air with one, but the feel in hand and on a lap is second-to-none. It's easier on the eyes, more portable, and honestly has some benefits over the M1 Pro MacBook Pro.

It does help that I have admittedly grown to enjoy Apple's Liquid Retina calibration, which makes colors eye-popping and skews on the warmer side which I prefer. The lack of ProMotion is more apparent than I expected, but that's one feature that doesn't matter to me even if not having it on the Air does make scrolling feel slower.

I'm used to purchasing the best Apple product possible rather than necessarily getting the one I want, and now the lines are blurring where I'm not sure which that is. I've envisioned replacing my previous MacBook Pro with a MacBook Air that offers better performance, and this might be it. There have been Apple products that I loved in use even if they're lacking in specifications, and I'm already liking this MacBook Air to the point it could still change my entire workflow.

Edit: my impression of the display and speakers is surprisingly favorable thus far. This is an extremely well-built laptop that will thrill many everyday consumers, and feels even more mature than the M1 Pro MacBook Pro in some ways.
 
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Has anybody put the two screens side-by-side to see what the difference in usable real estate is, e.g. how much more data is presented on the 14" Pro vs the MBA?

I've got an MBA M1 at the moment and I really want a larger screen, but I'm not sure if the 16" is a bit overkill. I can't find any side-by-side comparisons of usable resolution and real estate between the 14" and MBA though... has anybody found one, or done it?
 
erkanasu said:
I disagree - the m2 air feels cheap to me, bends on the bottom, covered in finger prints, the 14" feels like a reliable computer that will stand the test of time with durability and screen quality. I mean, you are buying a screen from 2013 - OG retina generation
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Nonsense. I feels high end and generally is the best form factor if you’re mobile.

It’s a thing of beauty. Slim, light, cool new design and that’s why so many people are wanting this new Air. It’s the ‘perfect’ MacBook in some ways.

Powerful, capable, stunning.

The only major thing it lacks vs is the obvious horsepower for huge tasks and quality of display. But for me, form factor trumps those things.
 
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erasr said:
Nonsense. I feels high end and generally is the best form factor if you’re mobile.

It’s a thing of beauty. Slim, light, cool new design and that’s why so many people are wanting this new Air. It’s the ‘perfect’ MacBook in some ways.

Powerful, capable, stunning.

The only major thing it lacks vs is the obvious horsepower for huge tasks and quality of display. But for me, form factor trumps those things.
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enjoy your machine bro - glad you love it.
 
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RobM_ said:
Has anybody put the two screens side-by-side to see what the difference in usable real estate is, e.g. how much more data is presented on the 14" Pro vs the MBA?

I've got an MBA M1 at the moment and I really want a larger screen, but I'm not sure if the 16" is a bit overkill. I can't find any side-by-side comparisons of usable resolution and real estate between the 14" and MBA though... has anybody found one, or done it?
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I have -- that was one of my major considerations before deciding on which laptop to keep. I always run my MacBooks with the display set at Scaled -> More Space, and comparing website renders showed that the 14" DID show more, but not significantly more, than the M2. We're talking maybe 2-3 lines of extra text at the bottom. Not enough of a difference to really make me prefer one laptop over the other.
 
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MacBook Air form factor is the best

But the MacBook Pro has so much going for it

If the MBA had everything but performance, ports, and fans, then I would get the MBA in a heart beat
 
Side-by-side the MacBook Pro is the clear winner. The display looks markedly better with much higher contrast, and the speakers sound more encompassing.

Yet, when we put the MacBook Pro to the side the Air is a perfectly capable everyday machine.

The most surprising difference: Safari can feel almost twice as quick on the MacBook Air.

Granted, we're talking a difference of roughly a fraction of a second since both are quick. The M2 chip has improved processing for web pages, which leads to nearly 2x the performance in web browsing benchmarks that does translate into real-world results.

The trackpad and keyboard are also comparable, although there may be slightly more key travel on the Air.

Effectively, casual users will be better off with the Air.

Portability is also honestly closer than expected. The Air is unmistakably thinner, but I don't think there's a large enough difference that would dissuade me from using the 14" MacBook Pro other than not wanting to be as overly OCD with the Air if I was to transport it.

I'm facing a similar dilemma that I would with the latest iPhone's where the PWM on the 14" Mini LED display is causing me migraines and headaches that become more apparent when switching between the two. Perhaps not as debilitating as on iPhone due to the significantly higher PWM rate of 15Hz, but still an issue that I was optimistic about prior to trying the computer.

Otherwise, the MacBook Pro would clearly win. But at the same time the Air is perhaps a better casual web browser, and still feels more like it wants to be picked up and moved.

Anecdotally, the MacBook Pro battery feels like it would last around eight hours whereas I feel like I could get the full quoted ~ 18 hours of the Air.

This could be a perfect computer with a flicker-free OLED display, even if the Liquid Retina has an amazing color calibration. I'm not overly concerned about sustained performance, although I would consider configuring a CTO with 512GB/16GB of RAM for the occasional use of any pro apps.

So, the Air still remains a consideration and it's entirely possible in the future I may forgo the ports and better speakers on the Pro to have an Air even if I was to stick with the Pro now. They're both well-built, and I'd have to give an edge to the Pro in a direct comparison for feeling like it justifies its higher price tag for the right consumer. I'm not convinced of my decision yet, so I may end up keeping the Air for its flicker-free display out of concern for migraines.
 
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If you want to drive an external 5k/2k widescreen monitor at 3840 x 1620 HiDPI, you need a Pro or Max M1. If you have no need to do this, I'd opt for the M2 Air. Form factor is way better and even though the screen isn't quite as nice or large as the 14" in the MBP, "the rest" is just way better package overall IMO.

Source: have both in the household.
 
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