MBA 2019 vs MBP 2019

[darbsrewop]

I just picked up a MBA 2019 at best buy on sale, I then later found a MBP 2019 for a couple hundred more. I'm debating on which one to keep. I like the thinness of the MBA, but the MBP is a little more powerful. Also, both 8GB RAM and concerned that it might not be enough. I'm mainly going to use it for business use. Excel, email, web, some light video/photo editing (never done that before )

Thanks for the input!

 

[Falhófnir]

If that's your use, you'll be perfectly fine with the MBA, the extra power of the MBP won't even come into it other than maybe for video editing (when you say 'light' I'm guessing no more than 1080p and small projects? The Air will do fine at that). IMO 8GB is plenty unless you're a very heavy multitasker or doing big 4K video edits, the OS manages RAM very well.

 

[tskwara]

Having used both extensively, they are both very fine and capable products. Besides the 2019 MacBook Air 8/256 and 2019 MacBook Pro 8/256 (1.4 GHz), I use well-equipped 2017 iMac Pro and 2018 Mac mini desktops. As a pro iOS developer using this stuff 12 x 7, having access to a fine-grained assortment of tools is nice.

Comparing the MBA and MBP with same RAM (8GB) and SSD (256GB), you can start the comparison on even footing, and then consider the advantages of each that are more important to you.

While the MBA is only slightly lighter on paper, it's geometry (slanted design and gradual tapering) make it feel a little more compact and ergonomic. It has unique character you can get used to and appreciate (like a favorite camera). It will handle practically anything you throw at it. I like that it can use the same charger as my 12.9 iPad Pro, helping with traveling light.

The MBP (1.4GHz) is amazingly fast for only a moderate increase in cost over the MBA. The 2 extra cores make a considerable difference in performance not only for intense tasks, but there's also a noticeable improvement to just about all user interactions and animations. The higher performing graphics is something to appreciate at times when it matters.

So both are great machines, each emphasizing something a little better then the other. MBA for size and MBP for performance. For your use case for business apps both are well suited, with the MBP experience being a little snappier and the MBA being a little more portable. For video editing and photo editing, the increased performance MBP will really shine here. The MBA will get the job done too, but you'll have more time for coffee while rendering your clips.

 

[digger10]

Having used both extensively, they are both very fine and capable products. Besides the 2019 MacBook Air 8/256 and 2019 MacBook Pro 8/256 (1.4 GHz), I use well-equipped 2017 iMac Pro and 2018 Mac mini desktops. As a pro iOS developer using this stuff 12 x 7, having access to a fine-grained assortment of tools is nice.

Comparing the MBA and MBP with same RAM (8GB) and SSD (256GB), you can start the comparison on even footing, and then consider the advantages of each that are more important to you.

While the MBA is only slightly heavier on paper, it's geometry (slanted design and gradual tapering) make it feel a little more compact and ergonomic. It has unique character you can get used to and appreciate (like a favorite camera). It will handle practically anything you throw at it. I like that it can use the same charger as my 12.9 iPad Pro, helping with traveling light.

The MBP (1.4GHz) is amazingly fast for only a moderate increase in cost over the MBA. The 2 extra cores make a considerable difference in performance not only for intense tasks, but there's also a noticeable improvement to just about all user interactions and animations. The higher performing graphics is something to appreciate at times when it matters.

So both are great machines, each emphasizing something a little better then the other. MBA for size and MBP for performance. For your use case for business apps both are well suited, with the MBP experience being a little snappier and the MBA being a little more portable. For video editing and photo editing, the increased performance MBP will really shine here. The MBA will get the job done too, but you'll have more time for coffee while rendering your clips.

I'm making a similar choice to darbs. Hopefully he or she finds these extra questions useful and doesn't feel like I'm hijacking the thread.

As you've used both extensively can I ask your thoughts on real world battery life? Reviews are all over the place.

I prefer the Air ergonomically and think it'll be sufficiently powerful for my current needs (similar to darbs'). On the other hand the Pro's processor might have more longevity it in and, at this point, the MBP is probably offers better bang per buck.

I'm really undecided.

 

[darbsrewop]

This has been extremely helpful. Thanks all! I think I’m going to go with the MBP. Paying a little more for longetivity in this case.

 

[ghanwani]

For me, the Touch Bar was the factor that steered me away from the MBP and to the MBA. I could not get used to the TB. I hope Apple continues to have a non TB offering or I will be forced to move away from macOS.

 

[tskwara]

I'm making a similar choice to darbs. Hopefully he or she finds these extra questions useful and doesn't feel like I'm hijacking the thread.

As you've used both extensively can I ask your thoughts on real world battery life? Reviews are all over the place.

I prefer the Air ergonomically and think it'll be sufficiently powerful for my current needs (similar to darbs'). On the other hand the Pro's processor might have more longevity it in and, at this point, the MBP is probably offers better bang per buck.

I'm really undecided.

Battery life on both MBA and MBP is very good, but really depends on how hard you drive it. While using either for developing in Xcode, I'm mostly reading up on documentation for a new framework and writing related experimental code for test. I've not timed battery life, but never felt the need to get that detailed. When I know some coding is planned in the evening, I make sure to charge up during the day and I'm good for as much coding I want to do in the evening. Those sessions can last 4-6 hours, and both MBA and MBP last the night without issue. When I know most of the evening will be reading, with some compiling and debugging, I reach for the MBA. On the flip side, when I know most of the evening will be compiling and debugging with some reading, I reach for the MBP.

For my needs, battery life is not an issue for either MBA or MBP. I would rate them even for my use case.
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For me, the Touch Bar was the factor that steered me away from the MBP and to the MBA. I could not get used to the TB. I hope Apple continues to have a non TB offering or I will be forced to move away from macOS.

The Touch Bar is interesting and useful for me. It's understandable how some might take issue with it. I do find myself accidentally hitting the escape function, but overall I like it. Recent images of the 16" MacBook Pro show refinements to the Touch Bar area that I think would drive favorable opinion. This includes: 1) A separate physical Escape key (reduced accidental hits); and 2) A separate Touch ID key similar to MBA (balanced with opposing Esc key).

 

[ghanwani]

Battery life on both MBA and MBP is very good, but really depends on how hard you drive it. While using either for developing in Xcode, I'm mostly reading up on documentation for a new framework and writing related experimental code for test. I've not timed battery life, but never felt the need to get that detailed. When I know some coding is planned in the evening, I make sure to charge up during the day and I'm good for as much coding I want to do in the evening. Those sessions can last 4-6 hours, and both MBA and MBP last the night without issue. When I know most of the evening will be reading, with some compiling and debugging, I reach for the MBA. On the flip side, when I know most of the evening will be compiling and debugging with some reading, I reach for the MBP.

For my needs, battery life is not an issue for either MBA or MBP. I would rate them even for my use case.
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The Touch Bar is interesting and useful for me. It's understandable how some might take issue with it. I do find myself accidentally hitting the escape function, but overall I like it. Recent images of the 16" MacBook Pro show refinements to the Touch Bar area that I think would drive favorable opinion. This includes: 1) A separate physical Escape key (reduced accidental hits); and 2) A separate Touch ID key similar to MBA (balanced with opposing Esc key).

In my experience MBA battery life is hands down better than MBP. I could almost never get through a whole day of use with the MBP. With the MBA, I almost never need to charge during the day.

The Touch Bar issue I was having was that of accidentally doing things just because my fingers happened to rest on that area. I'm used to the machine doing things if I press a key, and I tend to just rest my fingers on different places on the keyboard and above without depressing anything. In this case, the Touch Bar would do funny things in apps like Word & Powerpoint and worse, start my video or share my screen during a conference call without any warning in apps like Zoom & Skype for Business. I guess I could have gone in changed the settings for the Touch Bar for each of those apps, but is that really progress? I wanted to vote against the Touch Bar with my dollars.