MacBook Air 2020 Core i7 1.2Ghz, or MacBook Pro 2020 13-inch Core i5 2.0GHz?

[loyking]

Considering between getting a MBA 2020 with the following specs

• 1.2GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
• 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
• 1TB SSD storage

Versus

MacBook Pro 13-in 2020 with the following specs

• 2.0GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
• 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
• 1TB SSD storage

Doing mostly photo-editing in Lightroom Classic, Apple Photos and occasionally some home videos with iMovie

The MBP is slightly more expensive (including AppleCare which is 10% more) versus the MBA. For that money though, I can get:
1) two extra thunderbolt 3 ports
2) P3 Display versus sRGB display
3) Touchbar (not sure if this is an advantage) over Function Keys
4) ? better thermal architecture from what I have read
5) Faster clock speed (Core i5 though, versus Core i7 in the MBA)

The dimensions and weight are similar for both machines with the exception of thickness (uniform thickness versus tapered and about 100g weight difference)

Would appreciate your advice!

 

[nill1234]

Get the i5 on the MBA if you choose the MBA, but if you spec the MBA to 1 TB it isnt that much cheaper, so i would get the MBP 10th gen. Dont get me wrong i own a MBA i5 and its awesome, i use it mainly to code on it and watch netflix. It was a cheap alternative to use XCode but i also have a windows desktop with a ryzen 8 core and a 1080 graphics card, so i dont need much power and storage in my portable device.

 

[DanSilov]

If you have the money, get the MBP. It's better suitable for sustained load, and has much better thermals.

 

[rambo47]

For graphics apps the MacBook Pro is the better choice. It's the graphics card that will make the difference with video editing.

 

[deeddawg]

Doing mostly photo-editing in Lightroom Classic, Apple Photos and occasionally some home videos with iMovie

You really don't need the MBA i7 for that, plus since the MBA is essentially aimed at brief bursts of CPU rather than sustained CPU usage, that further lessens any benefit from the i7.

For photo editing - unless you're doing CMYK related work, nearly any output medium for your photos is going to be sRGB colorspace -- which the MBA screen supports -- and thus P3 wide gamut isn't really of any benefit. Plus you're talking about a 13" screen. If you're doing pro level color critical work I'd expect you'd be working on a large external display anyway.

Touchbar vs function keys - I dislike touchbar and much prefer fn keys. I also use clamshell mode and an Apple Magic Keyboard -- with fn keys on the macbook I get a consistent experience rather than the discontinuous experience with a touchbar mac.

Extra ports - it's more that you get ports on each side than it is quantity of ports. Not really a big deal IMHO, you get used to it fine.

Wedge shape of MBA is a bit nicer IMHO, but again personal preference.

In summary - the MBA in an i5 config will do the job fine. So will the MBP. Key difference will be when you do a batch operation such as building 1000 previews or exporting a few dozen RAW conversions. MBA will take a little longer and you'll likely hear the fan a little more - but in my experience the quad core allows the MBA to remain responsive & snappy doing other stuff while LR handles the processing.

 

[SO8]

I have a 2020 MBA quad core i7 and use Lightroom Classic for photo editing. It is ok but tbh underwhelming speed wise compared to my 2017 dual core 3.5 Ghz i7 MBP. Geekbench shows the older dual core MBP as slower than the quad core MBA ... but it certainly doesn't feel that way round to me.

Both machines have 16Gb of Ram but the MBA has the quicker Ram.

I moved from the MBP due to the constant burning when using it on my thighs - it got stupid and there is none of this with the MBA.

I would love another 10th Gen MBP but have held off due to the heat issues and the possibility of an ARM MBP in a couple of weeks.

 

[lambertjohn]

If you have to have an Air, why not just wait for the ARM Airs to be released before you buy anything? I think the 10th is the big announcement.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Considering between getting a MBA 2020 with the following specs

• 1.2GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
• 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
• 1TB SSD storage

Versus

MacBook Pro 13-in 2020 with the following specs

• 2.0GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
• 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
• 1TB SSD storage

Doing mostly photo-editing in Lightroom Classic, Apple Photos and occasionally some home videos with iMovie

The MBP is slightly more expensive (including AppleCare which is 10% more) versus the MBA. For that money though, I can get:
1) two extra thunderbolt 3 ports
2) P3 Display versus sRGB display
3) Touchbar (not sure if this is an advantage) over Function Keys
4) ? better thermal architecture from what I have read
5) Faster clock speed (Core i5 though, versus Core i7 in the MBA)

The dimensions and weight are similar for both machines with the exception of thickness (uniform thickness versus tapered and about 100g weight difference)

Would appreciate your advice!

I don't think the i7 MBA makes sense relative to the i5 MBP - the price difference is small enough that the added capability of the MBP makes it something of a no-brainer. I recently posted a similar inquiry, though between the i5 MBA, and wound up ordering the MBA as it was ~$250 less. (Even if it's likely I'll return it based on what Apple announces on Tuesday.)