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dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 26, 2010
1,079
676
I had a 15" Air, sold it, and went to the M3 14 MBP. I returned that and re-ordered a new 15" Air for one reason. The form factor. The 15" M2 is just so comfortable to work on, carry, and see. The combination of the larger trackpad, more spacing between the keys, and the thinness and weight distribution makes the Air a far more pleasant experience for me. Working for hours a day on a laptop I want as much comfort as possible. I do miss the old Air wedge design but the M2 is by far the best experience I've had.
 

vanc

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2007
485
150
but the screen and the speakers
The MBA 15's speakers are actually quite good. I also own a MBP 16 with M1 Pro. They both sound really good.

Here is a quote from digital trend review.
Both laptops have six-speaker sound systems with force-canceling woofers. They support the same technologies as well, meaning that you’re likely to get the same excellent sound from both that’s among the best you can get in a modern laptop.

While the 15-inch MacBook Air is surprisingly competitive, the 14-inch MacBook Pro does offer more bass, providing a more robust sound profile. But really, both sound amazing.
 

LeeW

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2017
4,331
9,421
Over here
but the screen and the speakers

I considered that in the Apple store when the 15" first came out. The reality is that the MBP has a better screen and sound. So much better that it matters? No, was my view. It depends on your workflow, of course, but I suspect the difference becomes an edge case that only truly matters to a few people.

As the OP says, the comfort alone, if you're "working" on a laptop for long periods, makes the 15" the star buy.
 

dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 26, 2010
1,079
676
Thanks for sharing. I have a 15 inch MacBook Air and I was thinking of switching to the 14 inch MacBook Pro. Glad I saw your post. I might just keep the 15 inch air.
I also felt like my hands were more cramped on the 14" keyboard. As another poster said the screen and sound are better on the 14 but they are more than adequate on the 15. I didn't realize that my general practice of working (mostly writing and surfing) in a coffee shop for hours would be much more comfortable on a design that is more spread out (e.g., the 15).
 

Zest28

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2022
2,525
3,846
Anyone can make claims. Can you actually back those up?

$1299 Asus Zenbook 14:
- Same Intel chip as the Acer Swift Go 14
- OLED display
- 32 GB RAM
- 1TB SSD

A M2 MacBook Air in a similar configuration (Apple cannot go to 24GB RAM however) costs $2100 with an inferior IPS display.

1703072678522-png.2326930


1703072186069-png.2326928
 
Last edited:

redheeler

macrumors G3
Oct 17, 2014
8,577
9,166
Colorado, USA
The other day I went to see a 15" MacBook Air in the Apple Store and found the display PPI disappointing. I always run the display at native res and everything on the Air screen is too big, the same is true on my 16" Intel Pro but since the Air screen is an inch smaller that makes it worse. The Apple Silicon Pros have a near-perfect PPI, element are not too small and not too big, but I've no reason to spend $2,500 to replace a three-year-old computer that still works for me.
 
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G5isAlive

Contributor
Aug 28, 2003
2,810
4,810
$1299 Asus Zenbook 14:
- Same Intel chip as the Acer Swift Go 14
- OLED display
- 32 GB RAM
- 1TB SSD

A M2 MacBook Air in a similar configuration (Apple cannot go to 24GB RAM however) costs $2100 with an inferior IPS display.

1703072678522-png.2326930


1703072186069-png.2326928

Interesting Engadget has different results, giving higher scores (except multi core) in all the benchmarks to the MBA, where the MBA smokes the Zenbook in 3DMark Wildife extreme (8,139 versus 4,827) as well as the MBA have a longer battery life in the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery benchmark (16.5 hours versus 12.75). They also complement the industrial design of the MBA over the Zenbook.


But your point remains, that screen is hot. And if I were in the market for a PC I'd be tempted.
 

ctjack

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2020
1,418
1,452
Still prefer to work on and ergonomics of m1 air. Mbp 14 gives wrist cramps due to edge after a long day. It is also less portable and chunky.

For basic tasks, mba all day. But if you have to tap into power, MBP is easily a faster machine. Screen is just a cherry on top.

But my next purchase will be a single specced up Air (13 or 15), while i ride it out this time with what i have (m1 air and mbp 14).
 

GMShadow

macrumors 68020
Jun 8, 2021
2,062
8,458
Interesting Engadget has different results, giving higher scores (except multi core) in all the benchmarks to the MBA, where the MBA smokes the Zenbook in 3DMark Wildife extreme (8,139 versus 4,827) as well as the MBA have a longer battery life in the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery benchmark (16.5 hours versus 12.75). They also complement the industrial design of the MBA over the Zenbook.


But your point remains, that screen is hot. And if I were in the market for a PC I'd be tempted.

To be fair that's the 14" MBP with M3 they're using. That said, it's a more fair comparison as the Air still hasn't gotten it's M3 update and those Intel chips are brand new.
 

Surfsalot

Suspended
Mar 18, 2023
2,049
2,024
I considered that in the Apple store when the 15" first came out. The reality is that the MBP has a better screen and sound. So much better that it matters? No, was my view. It depends on your workflow, of course, but I suspect the difference becomes an edge case that only truly matters to a few people.

As the OP says, the comfort alone, if you're "working" on a laptop for long periods, makes the 15" the star buy.
well the screen is what you look at, light bleed, grey blacks and less brightness is a big diff imo
 
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Agincourt

Suspended
Oct 21, 2009
272
328
Wait... do people just... buy and sell laptops just for the sake of it?!

I've got an old MBP 16 intel from 2019 and not once did I seriously consider selling it for severe markdown for some laptop I've never used before... and then buy the old one back! You had to have lost ~$600 USD at least doing this over the last year, + $1300 for the original 15 MBA.

God I'd love to have enough money to do this!
 

G5isAlive

Contributor
Aug 28, 2003
2,810
4,810
To be fair that's the 14" MBP with M3 they're using. That said, it's a more fair comparison as the Air still hasn't gotten it's M3 update and those Intel chips are brand new.

Dang right you are, my apologies no misdirection intended. The article talks throughout about the MBA design etc, I didnt notice they benchmarked the MBP. Odd. I think you are being generous to be fair to include a machine that has not been released yet lol. Anyway, like I said, if I was in the market for a PC that would be tempting, thanks for pointing it out.
 

Tuck_

macrumors member
Sep 25, 2023
61
227
Honestly I still think my 2014 MacBook pro has a phenomenal display. I've seen the 14 pro's display at the store. Maybe I'm blind but I'm not sure the minor difference is worth the huge increase in price. At least, not alone. Taken with the ports, speaker, and slightly larger screen (than the 13) it's a bit more compelling.
 

ctjack

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2020
1,418
1,452
Honestly I still think my 2014 MacBook pro has a phenomenal display. I've seen the 14 pro's display at the store. Maybe I'm blind but I'm not sure the minor difference is worth the huge increase in price. At least, not alone. Taken with the ports, speaker, and slightly larger screen (than the 13) it's a bit more compelling.
Old macbooks still have decent displays (early retina models) and on top of that it is hard to be impressed by the store model - I mean i looked at a studio display for $1500 and didn't feel anything special.

I am sure if I brought it home then I would be able to nitpick the difference. At least that is how I know that MBP14 screen is better - only because i keep it against old 1080P 24" screen, 27" 4K LG, M1 Air 13.3 and those 3 do not come close to MBP14.
 
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Surf760

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2017
131
168
I would love to scale down from a 16” MBP to the 15” Air, but I cannot seem to get my wife’s 13” M2 Air to display at the native resolutions of my big ultrawide external monitors. On the other hand, my 16” pro has no issue at all with it.
 
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