M4 MBA 15" or M4 (base) MBP 14"?

[vac373]

Hello. Which one is the better bang for the buck? The MBP is only $100 more right now.

M4 MBA 15" (16/512) Major plus: bigger display, better footprint (imo)

M4 (base) MBP 14" (16/512) Major plus: better quality display, ports

Use cases: more portable solution (mostly around the house, dont travel much) with basic tasks but some video editing on occasion. I do also own a very capable M1 Max Mac Studio and a M2 11" iPad Pro.

Returning a 13" M4 MBA because I find the screen to be just a bit too cramped.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Teletypewriter]

The M4 MBA 15" display [2880x1864@224ppi, 500 nits] actually uses the same display technology from the 2012-2019 Retina MacBook Pro's. So it's battle tested, and no slouch.

I think the M4 (base) MBP 14" has a brighter screen. It feels like a portable iMac. The resolution matches my M1 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. I sometimes forget which system has a touch panel and which does not !!!

 

[Nismo73]

There’s a comparison thread happening here.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/multitasking-and-working-space-on-14-inch-mbp-and-15-inch-mba.2463573/?post=34069912#post-34069912

 

[CalMin]

My personal choice would be the 15" Air because the bigger display allows me to do more than the better display of the 14". This is personal but I prefer more desktop real estate vs. deeper blacks and more accurate colors. ProMotion doesn't make a difference for me on a laptop (unlike on a phone where it's a must have).

The MBP has a few nice to haves such as SD card slot, more ports and HDMI etc. but I just get more done with a bigger screen, and it's more comfortable with my eyesight as I get older.

Caveat - I am not a graphics or creative pro, so the better colors just don't mean that much to me.