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M5 MacBook Air vs. M5 MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide
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I just replaced an Air with a 14" M5 pro.
The weight and form factor of the Air is so much better. If only the Air had a 120 Hz screen!
However, the Pro is nice too. The fan never comes on except while using a local LLM, and even then it's just a whisper, which is a relief.
A question, though: I still have my "500 nit" air next to my "1600 nit" Pro, both with maxed out brightness - and I can't tell any difference! What's up with that?
The weight and form factor of the Air is so much better. If only the Air had a 120 Hz screen!
However, the Pro is nice too. The fan never comes on except while using a local LLM, and even then it's just a whisper, which is a relief.
A question, though: I still have my "500 nit" air next to my "1600 nit" Pro, both with maxed out brightness - and I can't tell any difference! What's up with that?
nikhsub1
macrumors 68030
Yeah - me either! I can't even discern the 120mhz screen vs the 60mhz screen. Seems some folks really can tell a difference and others, like me, just see no real change at all.
Flight Plan
macrumors 65816
Just having decent health, family, running hot AND cold water, a flush toilet, and fresh produce I can buy, along with meat, poultry, and fish that I can buy and cook...those things really are the "best of what life has to offer".
Me too. In addition to my M1 MBP Pro, I have an M4 iPad. These should last for years.
You knew what he meant, and yet you STILL mocked him. I'd be angry with you, but about 20 other posters roasted you for this or that, so I'm good. 😉
My M1 isn't heavy, and it's nice to have an actual computer with me when the iPad comes up short (which isn't often).
I may replace my M1 MBP with an M6 when they come out later this year or next year. Then they can probably just bury me with it, haha!
We don't track your purchases, but the Neo is probably a great machine. That's probably what I should have.
I'm also bilingual. Windows and MacOS. Windows for gaming and investing.
I may build one more Windows computer in a few years, and then that will probably be the last one.
Fan noise can be so fatiguing!
The table of differences is really irrelevant. The only difference that matters is: PORTS.
The screen brightness test is easily done when you are outdoors with plenty of sunlight. More nits = clearer and you don't have to squint.
We all squint at a certain age 🤣
I squinted investigating the 2000 nit XDR sharpness 🙃
code-m
macrumors 601
Yes, because computers or the type of platform it runs is the number 1 concern for poverty stricken individuals.
I guess the new saying is; computers, food, shelter and clothing. /s
I am unable to afford food and shelter or clothing but I sure can buy a new Mac Neo and run it on love and fresh air. 😝
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nikhsub1
macrumors 68030
What do you do with the machine?
I was on the same situation but I have been looking at the ram consumption and swap disk space used, and it has been increasing. I must upgrade, at least to more ram :/
I believe in manual mode the screen can only do 600/630 nits at max according to notebookcheck. Only on automatic mode with a enough bright light the difference is noticeable. The 1600 is for HDR content, SDR is limited to 1000.
As for screen quality inside it is more difficult to notice the contrast difference. On a side note, the major differentiator for me is the nano option, even when using indoors with low light. The second one is text crispness, I find the Pro screen slightly sharper than the Air. Explanation may come twofold: resolution and (specially) integer scaling on default resolution.
I went for the 64GB version too on the 14", simply because the processor diference offset the price of ram upgrade. I typically have around 20GB free on normal scenarios, but firing Unity, Xcode and VSC it certainly helps keeping the swap at 0.
snipr125
macrumors 68030
Watch any HDR content and then you will notice the difference. Also with the Mini LED, dark scenes will look so much better together with HDR. Display on the MBA is still good though with accurate colours and decent contrast.
Skips over important stuff.
Memory options not listed in comparison. You can get more in the pro.
I'm the text, not enough mention of the lighter weight of the air. If you want lightweight, the air is it.
Memory options not listed in comparison. You can get more in the pro.
I'm the text, not enough mention of the lighter weight of the air. If you want lightweight, the air is it.
well, 48GB might be enough, but I like to play it safe. Who knows what the future will hold for me.
familychoice
macrumors 6502
I have two MacBook Pro's: a 16" Intel I use for work, and just over a year ago I purchased an M4 Pro 14" for music production (hobby).
I've never had an Air before, but the performance and M5 upgrade will knock the socks off my old Intel, and the 15" will be the sweet spot between my M4 14" (great screen, but too small for the day job), and Intel 16" (cumbersome and more screen space than I need).
So really the only option for me was to buy the base Air 15" (£1165) vs MBP 16" (£2,468.97). At over twice the price, with a bigger screen and extra power/features I didn't need, it was a fairly straightforward choice.
The screen on my 14" MBP is absolutely gorgeous and works perfectly for music production (just one window open for Ableton), and I'll undoubtedy notice the difference with the Air 15" (arriving this afternoon), but it's just too small for the day job work (I've tried).
Obviously I'm getting ahead of myself as it hasn't arrived yet (!), but I think the price and screen size of the Air will be 'good enough' for the day job work, and though not as fancy as my MBP 14", will be a pretty hefty jump in performance vs the Intel.
I also like not spending £2.5k. The Air isn't far off what I paid for my iPad 13".
I've never had an Air before, but the performance and M5 upgrade will knock the socks off my old Intel, and the 15" will be the sweet spot between my M4 14" (great screen, but too small for the day job), and Intel 16" (cumbersome and more screen space than I need).
So really the only option for me was to buy the base Air 15" (£1165) vs MBP 16" (£2,468.97). At over twice the price, with a bigger screen and extra power/features I didn't need, it was a fairly straightforward choice.
The screen on my 14" MBP is absolutely gorgeous and works perfectly for music production (just one window open for Ableton), and I'll undoubtedy notice the difference with the Air 15" (arriving this afternoon), but it's just too small for the day job work (I've tried).
Obviously I'm getting ahead of myself as it hasn't arrived yet (!), but I think the price and screen size of the Air will be 'good enough' for the day job work, and though not as fancy as my MBP 14", will be a pretty hefty jump in performance vs the Intel.
I also like not spending £2.5k. The Air isn't far off what I paid for my iPad 13".
I was planning to buy an MBA M5 with a student discount, but I noticed there’s currently a €450 discount on the MBP M5 at my local store. I don’t really need the extra power of an MBP (at least not at the moment) and would prefer the lighter weight of the MBA, but since the price difference isn’t that large at the moment, I’m wondering whether I should get the MBP after all. Any thoughts?
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MBA:
N1 networking
153 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Base MBP:
Older networking
153 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Non-base MBP:
N1 networking
At least 307 GB/sec memory bandwidth
N1 networking
153 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Base MBP:
Older networking
153 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Non-base MBP:
N1 networking
At least 307 GB/sec memory bandwidth