M2 MacBook Air or M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14” dilemma

[UBS28]

The value of any MBA is the stock configuration.

I'm of the opinion that people who buy the stock MBA could use a super old Intel MBP or an iPad. So what is the point of this stock model as people only buy it for "want" rather than "need".

But I agree, go with the base model or go home. Else it gets too expensive for what you get.

 

[jav6454]

I'm of the opinion that people who buy the stock MBA could use a super old Intel MBP or an iPad. So what is the point of this stock model as people only buy it for "want" rather than "need".

But I agree, go with the base model or go home. Else it gets too expensive for what you get.

Anything in add-ons simply puts it straight in the 13"MBP territory or 14"MBP. So it's pointless to try to.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Anything in add-ons simply puts it straight in the 13"MBP territory or 14"MBP. So it's pointless to try to.

Meh. The MBA has a better screen, bigger screen, weighs less, better webcam, better speakers, and more ports (MagSafe 3) than the MBP.

Maybe you're paying closer to the 13" MBP range, but unless you want the Touch Bar, it's basically a worse purchase than the MBA.

I do agree though that if you're paying more/the same for the MBA vs getting into 14" MBP territory, it's a weaker argument for the Air. But the MBA vs 13" MBP isn't really a contest. All you basically get different on the MBP13" is Touch Bar and a fan.

 

[Pug72]

I pondered on getting the MBP when the M2 Air was announced. I was looking forward to the Air as I want a slim & light replacement for my late 2016 MBP that I mainly use for lap browsing.

Then I thought for the money the 14"MBP M1 Pro was better specced.

Then I had a word with myself because I wanted slim & light (and still capable), plus I would have got the MBP when it launched if I liked it enough at the time. I didn't.

 

[537635]

Then I had a word with myself because I wanted slim & light (and still capable), plus I would have got the MBP when it launched if I liked it enough at the time. I didn't.

Pretty much this.

12'' Pro would be really nice. MiniLED, Promotion, but no fan due to size.

Air M2 looks great, for most of scenarios would work like the Pro... except for the display.

 

[ZipZap]

I see posts saying the M2 MBP 14 is a better screen. What are the differences between it and the new M2 MBA?

 

[537635]

I see posts saying the M2 MBP 14 is a better screen. What are the differences between it and the new M2 MBA?

Much higher PPI (pixels per inch), higher refresh rate (120Hz vs. 60Hz), local dimming (has mini LED), smaller bezels, much higher brightness, better ratio for 2X retina resolution in terms of size of UI...

It is, however, questionable, how important these are to individual users, especially since you use the one device and seldom compare.

 

[Isamilis]

I can, and do, lift plenty of weight, thanks. But I don't carry around a computer for exercise. I carry it around the world on airplanes, and up, down and around my four-story house, often with the lid open and something else in my other hand. In those situations, I have no desire to carry extra weight, particularly if the only upside is power and performance that I do not need, at additional cost, to boot.

Agree on this. The problem is not about physical capability, but on how much worthy if I carry extra weight (and size) compare to its benefits.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Depends entirely on your needs.

MacBook Pro: Better screen (Pro Motion 120hz, mini-LED, larger and higher resolution), more I/O, better SoC, better FaceTime camera.
MacBook Air: Cheaper, lighter, slightly more compact, Starlight and Midnight colours.

If you're going to spec-up a MacBook Air to the point where it's in touching distance of a MacBook Pro, then I would suggest that the need for a truly light notebook must be a priority for the buyer, otherwise there really is little sense in that purchase.

 

[Yuukon]

I was facing the same dilemma after the M2 MBA was announced, but my bestie said that I should make a pro and cons list for each device. Decide what's more important to you; do you want a lightweight and thin laptop and sacrifice ports and active cooling, or is it less important for you that it's lightweight? I travel a lot, so lightweight is a priority to me. For ports I'll just bring my dongle, no issues there.

It's a completely personal preference, and you need to take a look at what's important to you, not what the reviewers and the like say. Making a list of pros and cons helped me a ton in making my decision.

 

[537635]

I was facing the same dilemma after the M2 MBA was announced, but my bestie said that I should make a pro and cons list for each device. Decide what's more important to you; do you want a lightweight and thin laptop and sacrifice ports and active cooling, or is it less important for you that it's lightweight? I travel a lot, so lightweight is a priority to me. For ports I'll just bring my dongle, no issues there.

Is active cooling pro or con? Can't really decide. Yes, the machine runs cooler when pushed and there is less thermal throttling. On the other hand there's noise (afaik not an issue with 14, since fans spin down completely), it's the last moving part in the machine, dust buildup (is this actually an issue?)...

 

[Yuukon]

Is active cooling pro or con? Can't really decide. Yes, the machine runs cooler when pushed and there is less thermal throttling. On the other hand there's noise (afaik not an issue with 14, since fans spin down completely), it's the last moving part in the machine, dust buildup (is this actually an issue?)...

For me, having a fan was a con. I like being able to put my laptop down anywhere without having to take the fan outlets into account and risking it overheating. I'm also not a fan of the noise the fans tend to make (my work laptop, for instance, is super noisy and having an M1 MBA has really made me appreciate the silence).

Thermal throttling doesn't really happen until you're 20-30 minutes into a sustained high workload, though. I've had my MBA M1 for nearly two years now and only once did it throttle, when I really, really pushed it. I hardly ever do that, though, so it's a rarity. So I guess when it comes to deciding whether or not you'll need active cooling you'll have to take a look at how hard you push your machine to perform for longer periods of time.

 

[537635]

For me, having a fan was a con. I like being able to put my laptop down anywhere without having to take the fan outlets into account and risking it overheating. I'm also not a fan of the noise the fans tend to make (my work laptop, for instance, is super noisy and having an M1 MBA has really made me appreciate the silence).

Thermal throttling doesn't really happen until you're 20-30 minutes into a sustained high workload, though. I've had my MBA M1 for nearly two years now and only once did it throttle, when I really, really pushed it. I hardly ever do that, though, so it's a rarity. So I guess when it comes to deciding whether or not you'll need active cooling you'll have to take a look at how hard you push your machine to perform for longer periods of time.

I would have to pretty much agree with everything you wrote.

And I do wish for a much thinner and lighter 14 Pro without a fan, but with all the perks like great display, ports on both sides...

 

[Yuukon]

I would have to pretty much agree with everything you wrote.

And I do wish for a much thinner and lighter 14 Pro without a fan, but with all the perks like great display, ports on both sides...

Yeah the lack of ports was very high on my cons list. If they'd added ports to the M2 MBA I wouldn't even have had to make a pros and cons list.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Is active cooling pro or con?

If you're not doing intensive tasks, I would say a con. The fan exists to keep the SoC cool under sustained workloads, so if you're not going to be using it then you're just increasing the chance of getting dust into the system for no reason.

 

[alok87]

so I bought an open box 2017 12 inch MacBook to compare and honestly IO been using it more than my 14 inch Macbook Pro and Macbook Air M1 (16GB/1TB)...

the keyboard click feel is nice....I actually prefer it over the Airs small travel scissor... the display is amazing on the 2017 12 inch... I know many users complain how slow it is but it seems in the final generation of this 12 inch model..they worked out the issues with it being underpowered/keyboard issues...

I use this machine more than my Air due to how light it is and liking the keyboard more....

my only issue is that when I dock it to my magic mouse/4k dell HDR monitor/IPAD Air sidecar/universal control...it started to bog down.... otherwise it does everything I use my 2021 Macbook Pro for... emails, excel, outlook, facebook, youtube...

its the 2017/i3/8GB.... and my M1 Air has 16GB Ram/M1 Pro has 16GB Ram...

if I buy a 2017 i7/16GB of ram...will it fix the slowness? like I said when using it on the couch...its just as snappy as my M1 Air/14 inch M1 Pro....but slows down if I have 20 safari tabs, excel, mail, outlook...starts to lag....so I think I just more ram/power

 

[alok87]

 

[alok87]

 

[alok87]

I wanted to show when docked...it connects perfectly to external 4k monitor/usb dongle mouse/charges up/etc.

It does shutter when scrolling but its only when its docked/undocked it flies

opening safari on my M1 IPAD Air/Macbook Air M1/14 inch Macbook Pro does it shutter/slow down when scrolling

but I'm surprised how well it handles having 20 things open

 

[alok87]

so I bought an open box 2017 12 inch MacBook to compare and honestly IO been using it more than my 14 inch Macbook Pro and Macbook Air M1 (16GB/1TB)...

the keyboard click feel is nice....I actually prefer it over the Airs small travel scissor... the display is amazing on the 2017 12 inch... I know many users complain how slow it is but it seems in the final generation of this 12 inch model..they worked out the issues with it being underpowered/keyboard issues...

I use this machine more than my Air due to how light it is and liking the keyboard more....

my only issue is that when I dock it to my magic mouse/4k dell HDR monitor/IPAD Air sidecar/universal control...it started to bog down.... otherwise it does everything I use my 2021 Macbook Pro for... emails, excel, outlook, facebook, youtube...

its the 2017/i3/8GB.... and my M1 Air has 16GB Ram/M1 Pro has 16GB Ram...

if I buy a 2017 i7/16GB of ram...will it fix the slowness? like I said when using it on the couch...its just as snappy as my M1 Air/14 inch M1 Pro....but slows down if I have 20 safari tabs, excel, mail, outlook...starts to lag....so I think I just more ram/power

I just wanted to see if these “M powered chips” are overkill for 90% of what I use computers for (web browsing with like 20 tabs, streaming Spotify, YouTube, emails, social media (Facebook/Instagram) and of course Microsoft Office (video calls of Microsoft teams, Outlook, Microsoft Excel)

 

[alok87]

IPAD OS is too limiting especially when it comes to Microsoft Office, File management, etc.

No matter how much they try to make it closer and closer to MAC OS… my IPAD Air cannot do what my 12 inch MacBook can.. create a basic pivot table in excel, organize files in different folders

And when it comes to using multiple monitors… Windows blows away Mac OS.. window snapping in so easy and intuitive to just snap an excel window on left of screen and outlook window on right.. I love using Windows OS on a desktop

I think Apple creates the best smartphones, tablets, ultraportable laptops that all get exceptional battery life but the desktop experience with windows is amazing

 

[537635]

IPAD OS is too limiting especially when it comes to Microsoft Office, File management, etc.

No matter how much they try to make it closer and closer to MAC OS… my IPAD Air cannot do what my 12 inch MacBook can.. create a basic pivot table in excel, organize files in different folders

And when it comes to using multiple monitors… Windows blows away Mac OS.. window snapping in so easy and intuitive to just snap an excel window on left of screen and outlook window on right.. I love using Windows OS on a desktop

I think Apple creates the best smartphones, tablets, ultraportable laptops that all get exceptional battery life but the desktop experience with windows is amazing

This is a good point. Software is much more a problem than hardware is. Apple is trying so hard to sell iPads as computers, to make them looks like content creation devices instead of solely content consuming devices. But in these desperate attempts they are only making iPads suitable for like <5% of users (when it comes to creating content).

For everybody else laptop with a mouse/trackpad wins every time. File management, keyboard shortcuts (not just the basic ones), opening a ZIP file, having two windows open at the same time. Everything a bit more complicated seems so forced on iPadOS, while macOS handles it with ease and experience.

 

[jav6454]

I was facing the same dilemma after the M2 MBA was announced, but my bestie said that I should make a pro and cons list for each device. Decide what's more important to you; do you want a lightweight and thin laptop and sacrifice ports and active cooling, or is it less important for you that it's lightweight? I travel a lot, so lightweight is a priority to me. For ports I'll just bring my dongle, no issues there.

It's a completely personal preference, and you need to take a look at what's important to you, not what the reviewers and the like say. Making a list of pros and cons helped me a ton in making my decision.

A big con is the M2 is hotter, much hotter than anticipated. So strike M2 MBA.

 

[LoopsOfFury]

Yeah the lack of ports was very high on my cons list. If they'd added ports to the M2 MBA I wouldn't even have had to make a pros and cons list.

Arguably, they have. They added MagSafe without taking away a thunderbolt port. If you were using one of the latter solely for power, you now have two free thunderbolt ports instead of one.

 

[jace88]

MBA sounds like a better option for you given you value portability. Besides when you're at home you can always use a docking station for more USB ports, bigger monitor, external keyboard/mouse, etc.

For me, I have the 14" M1 Pro and am very happy with it but I acknowledge it's not *as* portable as one of the smaller Macbooks due to the weight/size. I don't carry it everyday so not an issue for me. That being said, in hindsight, given I mostly use it docked at home, the M2 Macbook Air probably would've served me equally well.