MBA or MBP for $200 more?

[dmk1974]

With the deals right now, I can get the 2020 MBA M1 base for $850 from the Apple Refurb store. Or for $1050 and student deal, I can get the 2020 MBP M1 for $1050.

Is the MBP really worth the extra $200? Wife mainly uses her '18 MBA for email, browsing, office apps, etc. No graphics design or anything. The few nits and sound improvement on the Pro will not be noticeable to her. And the laptop is used in the house 99% of the time so I don't think the slight difference in battery will be notices. Touch bar - she never used it, but maybe it's worth the extra?

Thanks!

 

[phillies3429]

IMO Air would be plenty for what she is doing. I opted for the MBA M1 and I'm extremely happy with it. Everything is instantaneous and snappy. I'd say save the $200 or spend that money on getting the 16GB RAM version to future proof yourself.

 

[dmk1974]

IMO Air would be plenty for what she is doing. I opted for the MBA M1 and I'm extremely happy with it. Everything is instantaneous and snappy. I'd say save the $200 or spend that money on getting the 16GB RAM version to future proof yourself.

RAM upgrade is a good suggestion. 16 GB MBA is better than 8 GB MBP I think, and right about the same price. Still a rip off to add a lousy 8 GB, but would make it more future proof as you said.

 

[nStyle]

She won't need 16GB at all with that use case...and the Air is plenty sufficient. You can look at comparisions but the M1 does much better than a traditional chip at managing RAM to the point that 16GB is only useful in extremely demanding cases. Touch bar is a downgrade at this point IMO since Apple plans on ditching it (rumored).

Only reason to go with the Pro is if you needed sustained performance under intense loads.

 

[phillies3429]

She won't need 16GB at all with that use case...and the Air is plenty sufficient. You can look at comparisions but the M1 does much better than a traditional chip at managing RAM to the point that 16GB is only useful in extremely demanding cases. Touch bar is a downgrade at this point IMO since Apple plans on ditching it (rumored).

Only reason to go with the Pro is if you needed sustained performance under intense loads.

I don't need it either...I don't think most people who buy a MBA will. The point was as operating systems advance and webpages, apps, programs, etc. advance it would be nice to have that extra headroom IF they were going to spend the extra $200. Could have your investment last a few years longer which is why I ended up splurging for the 16GB model

 

[KaliYoni]

Another way to think about the decision is to consider if the $200 has a better current use for your spouse and you. In other words, perhaps paying off some credit card debt or buying a mesh Wi-Fi setup or moving to a higher speed Internet service tier will benefit you more than a MBP. Or instead of buying Apple Care, put the $200 in the bank. Then you can use the $$$ if repairs are ever needed. And if nothing happens to the machine, you'll have $200 + interest to spend when you look at replacements.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would get the MBA. I see no reason to spend extra on 16GB of RAM. That is throwing money out the window. Don't get caught up in buying for something mysterious in the future. Buy for today. Too many people on this forum love telling others to spend more, especially when it isn't their money being spent.

 

[KaliYoni]

That is throwing money out the window.

Not always. Apple has made it impossible for users to add RAM. So for some people, having the option to expand their usage to more memory-intensive activities (say, creating videos) without being forced to buy a new machine during the lifespan of their current Mac has value.

As well, people who don't buy a new Mac/iPhone/iPad every 1-2 years, as Apple would love all of us to do, might find spending more than the bare minimum to be worthwhile...especially if the "extra' cost is spread over 3-5 years of usage.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Not always. Apple has made it impossible for users to add RAM. So for some people, having the option to expand their usage to more memory-intensive activities (say, creating videos) without being forced to buy a new machine during the lifespan of their current Mac has value.

As well, people who don't buy a new Mac/iPhone/iPad every 1-2 years, as Apple would love all of us to do, might find spending more than the bare minimum to be worthwhile...especially if the "extra' cost is spread over 3-5 years of usage.

More times than not, many people on here reflexively say get 16GB, even though it isn't needed for the person's needs. That is my point. That is bad advice, in my opinion. Computers are not an investment, even though many here treatment them as such.

Even with the OP's wife's very light usage, some here said 16GB, which is a waste of money.

 

[pi=e=3]

Do you ever plan to use it outside/in bright light? That extra 100 nits makes a huge difference.

I've had both, I kept the Pro just for the brighter panel, and the longer battery life.

 

[QCassidy352]

I would get the MBA. I see no reason to spend extra on 16GB of RAM. That is throwing money out the window. Don't get caught up in buying for something mysterious in the future. Buy for today. Too many people on this forum love telling others to spend more, especially when it isn't their money being spent.

To me it depends on how long you plan to keep it. The OP’s wife will be upgrading from a 2018 Mac, so that’s a pretty quick upgrade cycle, and I agree she shouldn’t get the 16 GB RAM. but I was on a 2013 until a few months ago. If I’d gotten 4 GB in 2013, it would’ve been fine at the time but the limiting factor well before the Mac died in 2020.

 

[casperes1996]

Not always. Apple has made it impossible for users to add RAM. So for some people, having the option to expand their usage to more memory-intensive activities (say, creating videos) without being forced to buy a new machine during the lifespan of their current Mac has value.

As well, people who don't buy a new Mac/iPhone/iPad every 1-2 years, as Apple would love all of us to do, might find spending more than the bare minimum to be worthwhile...especially if the "extra' cost is spread over 3-5 years of usage.

This though is also ignoring the fact that $200 worth of computer hardware today is $5 of computer hardware in the future. The extra money may actually get more value when put into the budget for the next device than buying unnecessarily at this time.

My MacBook Pro is from 2014. I'm not saying this as a "buy every year" customer. But if you don't need x now, and you won't need it the next four years, the price of getting x now, may be way more significant than the gain of putting the cost of x towards your next device instead so you can get that next device in five years instead of six. Or whatever the numbers may be.

This is less relevant now, but if you bought the best of the best $10k (today equivalent) computer in 1990. A midrange computer in 1995 might still outperform it in a lot of ways. So buying two midrange models in a shorter time span may be cheaper and a nicer experience than buying one overpowered device

 

[KaliYoni]

Computers are not an investment, even though many here treatment them as such.

Yes. "Investment" is used very loosely in a lot of places, not only here on MR. It's 99.99% likely in the future that a computer will be worth less than you paid for it, so expecting any kind of return on the purchase price is silly.

ignoring the fact that $200 worth of computer hardware today is $5 of computer hardware in the future.

No, because I said the option to do something will be valuable to some. That's separate from the purchase price and the future value of the machine and its components.

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In any case, my general view on this frequently seen question is that maxing out RAM (or anything else) just because anonymous people say you should is not a good move. But the infuriating thing is if you are not on a strict budget, Apple is forcing you to make a spendy decision right up front. That's what opens the door to having to project into the future and to people automatically recommending buying what you can afford not what you need. I agree that's bad for buyers. But let's face it: ever since Woz left Apple, arrogance and hubris have been thoroughly baked into Apple's UI, UX, and hardware design culture.

 

[KennyJr]

MacBook Air:

I just did a resale value check on lowest end 2019 models of each, expecting the Pro to come out on top. As it turned out, the Air's value was ~15% higher.

People say the Air with the wedge shape is better for typing - and - the Air is apparently more comfortable for using on the lap or in bed.

MacBook Pro:

I can imagine emergencies or being on now-and-then vacations where the higher brightness screen could be of real benefit.

And .. The TouchBar is something I'd like to try, I think I'd be one of those people who like it.

The Pro has 10 or 15% longer battery life - But battery life on both is better than just about anything else out there.

The Pro has fan cooling for when the processor is working really hard. Then again, for anyone other than the heaviest users, it's probably not needed.

Amazon Prime day offers $200 off on the Pro - $100 off on the Air (of course the Air is still cheaper).

Tough decision .. I opted for the Pro. I like to be ready for unexpected future events. But that's just me.

 

[GSWForever8]

With the deals right now, I can get the 2020 MBA M1 base for $850 from the Apple Refurb store. Or for $1050 and student deal, I can get the 2020 MBP M1 for $1050.

Is the MBP really worth the extra $200? Wife mainly uses her '18 MBA for email, browsing, office apps, etc. No graphics design or anything. The few nits and sound improvement on the Pro will not be noticeable to her. And the laptop is used in the house 99% of the time so I don't think the slight difference in battery will be notices. Touch bar - she never used it, but maybe it's worth the extra?

Thanks!

Get the M1 Air with student deal. You’ll get free AirPods with it. Best deal I’ve ever gotten!

 

[smirking]

I would get the MBA. I see no reason to spend extra on 16GB of RAM. That is throwing money out the window. Don't get caught up in buying for something mysterious in the future.

Yup. I'm currently test driving an 8GB M1 MBP as a developer. I've had PHPStorm, Parallels, Windows 10 ARM, Photoshop, Firefox, Safari, OSX Mail, and a 3GB MAMP local Web Server all running at the same time while editing RAW photos in Capture One Pro. About the only thing I didn't try yet is to compile a build in XCode at the same time.

PHP Storm was running a bit slowly, but I don't think it was for memory reasons as it was cruising through demanding tasks and stuttering on rote ones.

The extra memory won't hurt, but if someone's trying to save money, I really don't think the extra 8GB is going to be worth it.

This is just a temporary machine for me. When I upgrade to one of the 16" models after they're widely available, I will indeed go for a 16GB as I likely would benefit as I have some demanding tasks, but consider me very impressed at how well 8GB is holding up.

 

[MrGunny94]

Unless you need the active cooling (like almost no one needs...) go for the Air.

This is a stop gap model until the new Air! Honestly I got this base model to test things out but this blows my 16" out of the water in terms of usage/thermals and overall speed.

Especially if you get almost everything Apple Silicon optimised and leave only 1 or 2 nasty apps, the battery will keep on going and the performance is really good

 

[NewUsername]

Spending 200$ extra is an increase of almost 25%, but getting 16GB RAM doesn’t make your computer 25% better by any means. You won’t notice any difference unless she suddenly starts to do Final Cut Pro 8K editing stuff. The MacBook Pro is better than the MacBook Air, but the Air also has its advantages and if you don’t need the fan for extended heavy workloads, you can ignore it.

The only upgrade I got myself is 512GB storage, but storage upgrades are completely dependent on your usage, willingness to use external SSDs and whether or not you use iCloud. If she only uses say 100GB right now, of course you don’t have to spend money on that.

So I would advise to get the base model. But I’m not saying getting 16GB or a MacBook Pro is bad. It’s overkill, but it is objectively a better computer and if you don’t care about 200$ difference, go ahead and get it. Perhaps $200 is a lot for me but it’s alms for you. If not, it’s not worth it.

 

[NewUsername]

To me it depends on how long you plan to keep it. The OP’s wife will be upgrading from a 2018 Mac, so that’s a pretty quick upgrade cycle, and I agree she shouldn’t get the 16 GB RAM. but I was on a 2013 until a few months ago. If I’d gotten 4 GB in 2013, it would’ve been fine at the time but the limiting factor well before the Mac died in 2020.

This is also a good point, but it again depends of the price. When I got a MacBook Air in 2011, you could choose between 2GB RAM and 64GB SSD for 999$ or 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD for 1199$. At these prices, of course I chose the 1199$ model, and this Mac remained usable for quite a few years because I paid 200$ extra.

However, the difference between 8GB and 16GB today is minuscule compared to that, especially on Apple Silicon, and you don’t get any extra SSD storage. So it really depends on what Apple is offering.

 

[Wando64]

The better camera alone is worth $200 in my opinion.
Everything else just makes the point stronger.

 

[bag99001]

This is not a typical 8 gig 16 gig debate anymore. I just edited three multi cam videos for my schools orchestra running Final Cut Pro on a MacBook Air with 8 gigs of ram. No beach-balling. This is a crazy time.

 

[dmk1974]

The better camera alone is worth $200 in my opinion.
Everything else just makes the point stronger.

What is different with the camera? Per the Apple site, they both have:
720p FaceTime HD camera

Thanks to all for the comments. I am getting her that base 8GB MBA. It will be fine for her.

 

[smirking]

What is different with the camera? Per the Apple site, they both have:
720p FaceTime HD camera

I think Wando64 was mistaken. They have the same camera as far as I know.

 

[pshufd]

My daughter wanted a laptop and I asked her what she wanted to do with it and we decided on an M1 16 GB/1 TB - part of the reason is that we could get it the same day instead of ordering it and waiting a month. She loves the laptop - it's light, portable, fast and has insane battery life.

I liked that the Air doesn't have the Touch Bar and there weren't really any other considerations one way or the other. I have thought about getting an Air myself as I'm currently using 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros but I really want the larger screen. I think that I want the 16 inch M1X whenever it comes out and it may not be until 2022 given component and labor issues. I would be perfectly happy with a 15 inch Air if it has 24 GB of RAM or more too.

 

[macguy2021]

I'm in the minority but give me the MBP any day.

Battery life is far better. Screen is marginally nicer. You get the Touch Bar. Some love it, some hate it. I happen to love the heck out of it. It's essential to my video editing workflow, so much so that I doubt Apple gets rid of it. It's polarizing but there are almost as many who love it as those who hate it. Processing power is negligible. Where you see the improvements is in the battery life, pixel density on the screen, and getting the Touch Bar above the keyboard.

Biggest reason for MBP vs MBA in my opinion is battery. The all day and then some battery life of the Pro is addicting.