MacBook Air + Local VM / remote desktop vs MacBook Pro 16

[hipnetic]

I wasn't sure which forum would get the most useful replies to this one, so I'm posting it here, and we'll see how that goes. So I've got a late-2013 MacBook Pro 13 which is starting to feel old and underpowered. I think most of my problem is that I'm fairly close to my 256GB limit and that I only have 8GB of RAM. I do some Java programming using IntelliJ and would like to see better performance there, but I'm also interested in messing around with some video editing (just 1080p).

As a fan of the scissor-style keyboards, I've been tempted to buy a new MacBook Pro 16, but I was always a fan of my previous MacBook Air 13 for it's smaller size and weight, and while I'm not a fan of the butterfly keyboard, I otherwise like my wife's 2018 MacBook Air 13 w/Retina. Of course, the prices are a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro 16, too.

Here's the thing...I work out of my home and pretty much exclusively use my laptop inside of my home. I don't always work in my home office...I often use my laptop in the living room or on the kitchen counter. So it hit me that I wonder if I might be able to have my cake and eat it, too, by pairing a lower-powered/lightweight laptop like a MacBook Air with a desktop computer in my home office and just have a remote desktop connection to it. I'd be wireless, but I'd be inside my house with a fast connection, so I don't think keyboard/typing latency should be a concern. But what sort of desktop computer could I buy (used is fine) that would give me performance similar to (or ideally exceeding) a new MacBook Pro 16's performance? Ideally I'd want it to be an OSX machine, though I'm not entirely opposed to entertaining the idea of using a Windows machine.

Any suggestions? Concerns/issues that I'm not thinking about?

 

[matram]

My own development requires both a lot of CPU and a lot of RAM and in that case something like an upgraded mac mini would be 2700 USD and would still not reach to the level of the 16”. I guess you would have to go to a base iMac Pro at 5000 USD to get the level of performance of the 16”.

A wild idea if your primary focus is RAM and disk. I built a couple of servers based on Intel NUC and VMWare ESXi. These run my build, jira and git servers among other things. Weak i5 CPU but plenty of RAM an disk for under 1000 USD per system.

 

[DJLC]

As an owner of a 2018 13" MacBook Air w/ 16GB RAM....

This is a really pretty machine and it runs very well. I love it except for the fact that the keyboard is beyond annoying. Mine isn't bad enough to warrant replacement, but it's not good enough that I can't complain. Some days it's great; other days it sucks.

Saw one of the new 16" Pros in the store the other day. The keyboard feels just as nice, except slightly thicker and hopefully more reliable.

If I were doing heavy development, I'd want a keyboard I can count on.

 

[hipnetic]

My own development requires both a lot of CPU and a lot of RAM and in that case something like an upgraded mac mini would be 2700 USD and would still not reach to the level of the 16”. I guess you would have to go to a base iMac Pro at 5000 USD to get the level of performance of the 16”.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Mac Mini uses "laptop-style" CPUs, right? If so, yeah, a Mac Mini probably wouldn't be a great choice. Does the iMac also do this? I'm thinking probably so, because it's all built inside of a slim enclosure. How about the prior-gen Mac Pro (trashcan)? I see a wide range of pricing on eBay for those.