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MBA vs MBP (i5, 256GB, 16GB RAM)
- Thread starter galaxy6
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For me the answer is most likely the MBA. Why? Weight and size differences, but more importantly no TouchBar. I hate that Apple keeps trying to make it a thing when it's clearly a joke.
I cancelled my 2020 MBA i5/16/256 today and ordered the base 2020 MBP 13" with 16GB of Ram. I had the 2016 13" MBP TB and the only thing that I did not love about it was the short key travel. Touch bar does not bother me I rarely use the F Keys on my mini. I feel more comfortable going with a New Pro then the unknowns for me on a MBA. My last MBA was 2011. I have some concerns of the MBA i5 reviews on heat, its probably a lot of hype but for an extra $100 I will stay Pro.
Good move, between the Air and the 13" I think the 13 is the way to go, assuming it cools better. MBA was nice but a little underpowered for sustained workloads.
I bought a MBA with i7, 16gb a few weeks ago and have really loved it. I'm at the very end of my return period, so also naturally wondering if I should get a 13" MBP. It would be more expensive though, like at least $500 more, than my MBA, I think. Honestly I haven't had any issues with my MBA doing my tasks. I've done architectural work in Archicad and even some very light schematic rendering in Twinmotion. I love the size, weight, and battery life. I love not having the touch bar too. I dislike only having thunderbolt on one side of the computer. Having only 2 isn't a huge deal, but having more wouldn't be bad either.
Overall, I bought my MBA to be a very mobile device for most things when I don't have my iMac Pro at my fingertips. But it still wasn't cheap for my config. $500 for what I assume is a better i7 and for graphics that I assume are better than mine (no specs on them, that I could find, especially pertaining to VRAM?) might still be worth it.
BUTTTTT also I still kind of think there's a 14" in the pipeline that'll "reinvent" the Macbook Pro line and that might be worth waiting for since the MBA is pretty darn delightful (my first MBA, actually... always owned Pros).
Overall, I bought my MBA to be a very mobile device for most things when I don't have my iMac Pro at my fingertips. But it still wasn't cheap for my config. $500 for what I assume is a better i7 and for graphics that I assume are better than mine (no specs on them, that I could find, especially pertaining to VRAM?) might still be worth it.
BUTTTTT also I still kind of think there's a 14" in the pipeline that'll "reinvent" the Macbook Pro line and that might be worth waiting for since the MBA is pretty darn delightful (my first MBA, actually... always owned Pros).
I honestly hate having to repeat this everywhere, but it comes down to 3 key things that the Pro does better:
1. It's faster.
2. It's quieter.
3. It's cooler.
The Air was fine, but it was not a replacement for the 2018 13" that I was hoping it could be. Also it wasn't significantly lighter, either.
My take is that unless your need for power is really minimal, the base pro is the better value. The differences in size are completely mute, IMO. The difference in weight is only about 4.8oz. MBA with i5, 256gb SSD, & 16gb ram is the same price as the MBP with 256gb SSD and 16gb ram. Screen on the Pro has 500 nits and a wider color gamut. Ram upgrade on the Pro is only 100$. Graphic processor on the MBA might be a little better. If the base MBA meets your needs, that's probably the way to go. But the $100 difference in a ram upgrade makes the air less attractive, IMO.
Thanks everyone. I'm coming from a 2015 MBA so I really don't care that much about screen brightness/the colours etc. All I want is a Mac that can last the length of my university course and be able to handle running VMs.
Over here the 13 inch base Pro with 16gb RAM is £100 more than the i5 Air with 16gb RAM.
Over here the 13 inch base Pro with 16gb RAM is £100 more than the i5 Air with 16gb RAM.
The air is a horrible purchase, it only has 10watts of available power till it throttles....
Basically spotify makes it get to 90-100c, not a unit thats going to last.
The pro is still better, 2017 onward. I would never buy a MBA after learning about these engineering shortcuts. They have obviously designed it this way to limit its performance. But thermally this is a design that i will have long term negative effects. Beyond board thermal stress, and components being thermally shocked over time, batteries hate heat and it kills them. Ti did a huge study on this, and its not a good thing, if that tiny fan that runs 24/7 failed, had alot of dust etc.... it can cause some serious issues or performance issues.
Basically spotify makes it get to 90-100c, not a unit thats going to last.
The pro is still better, 2017 onward. I would never buy a MBA after learning about these engineering shortcuts. They have obviously designed it this way to limit its performance. But thermally this is a design that i will have long term negative effects. Beyond board thermal stress, and components being thermally shocked over time, batteries hate heat and it kills them. Ti did a huge study on this, and its not a good thing, if that tiny fan that runs 24/7 failed, had alot of dust etc.... it can cause some serious issues or performance issues.
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Does it matter that the ram on the Air is faster than the low end MBP? The high end MBP has faster ram too. Could this be why it’s pricier to update the ram on the Air than the low end MBP?
the MBA’s ram is 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory whereas the low end MBP‘s is 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory.
will this make a diff?
the MBA’s ram is 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory whereas the low end MBP‘s is 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory.
will this make a diff?
Of course it will make a difference. The Processor is also 2 years newer on the MBA and way more efficient. But its up to you, do you need burst processing power or do you need sustained power. Burst is MBA and sustained MBP.
Can anyone tell me the true difference between these configs on a new MBA or MBP? I know the potential to power up the MBP is superior what the MBA can handle, but at these slightly-above-base specs, I'm genuinely curious if the MBA has better 10th gen processing power?
I claim ignorance, I'm not up on what makes one computer more powerful than another. But I'm torn between the MBA and MBP 13". I always assumed I'd get a 14" MBP, but since that's not a thing yet, I'd be fine with the MBA too. I just know people have been disappointed that the new base MBP is still on 8th gen chips, but if I'm reading it correctly, the new MBA is on 10th gen? Is that better? Does it even matter?
For reference: I've been running a 2014 MBA for nearly 6 years now, and haven't run into any issues other than photo editing in Lightroom/PS heating and throttling the computer up after a while.
I claim ignorance, I'm not up on what makes one computer more powerful than another. But I'm torn between the MBA and MBP 13". I always assumed I'd get a 14" MBP, but since that's not a thing yet, I'd be fine with the MBA too. I just know people have been disappointed that the new base MBP is still on 8th gen chips, but if I'm reading it correctly, the new MBA is on 10th gen? Is that better? Does it even matter?
For reference: I've been running a 2014 MBA for nearly 6 years now, and haven't run into any issues other than photo editing in Lightroom/PS heating and throttling the computer up after a while.
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Screwdrivers make horrible hammers too.
Buy the tool for the job you need to do.
Very happy with my MBA - it runs cool and silent most of the time. My usage is low power with occasional brief bursts of CPU - such as exporting RAW photos - then I hear a fan for a minute and go silent again.
You also forgot to mention the MBP is 8th gen CPU vs MBA's 10th gen CPU. Why is that?
@galaxy6 - you need to decide if your usage is going to be CPU intensive or mostly light usage, which also has an impact on spec'd battery life (MBA longer). If you're going to run video conversions or games or other sustained cpu loads, then the MBP is likely a better fit. For safari, mail, photo editing, organization, etc my MBA has been working great. The MBA's wedge shape also gives a different feel than the MBP's squared off nose. Either way, buy from a place you can return/exchange if you wish.
Heat/throttling seems to be a major issue with the MBA, and given the chatter I see related to that, its hard to recommend.
Does The 2020 MacBook Air Have An Overheating Problem? Debate Rages On
The thing I struggle with a bit is so often the focus is on what Intel Power Gadget says rather than focusing on what the end user perceives. Do I hear a fan and/or is the system uncomfortable on my lap? Those are the factors which matter to me.
Granted, I have a sample size of one 2020 i5 MBA. My usage is light-office type stuff, web, mail, and photography. The latter is my heaviest usage and it tends to be extremely bursty -- I make a tweak to an adjustment slider and see the result, a few seconds later make another tweak and see the result. Exactly what the turbo stuff is very good at handling. The only sustained CPU load occurs when importing a bunch of photos (generating previews) or exporting a batch of RAW photos to JPG -- and in both those cases I always launch the process and go grab a cup of coffee.
For this use case I've been extremely happy with my MBA. I dislike touchbar and prefer having the real function keys.
With other uses others may have different experiences. Someone doing bulk video conversion with handbrake probably isn't going to be happy. Same with someone insisting on watching VP9 encoded videos in Chrome at 4K resolution.
EDIT - here's an interesting discussion of 8th vs 9th vs 10th gen CPUs. It's noted that Intel estimates the 10th gen processors increase instructions per clock by 18% - making the 1.1 vs 1.4Ghz clocks much closer in terms of instructions performed per unit time. https://vsbytes.com/i5-8th-vs-9th-vs-10th/
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I think this is something people may not be getting and you’ve hit it right on.
Do you have the i7/16/512 Air? If so, the i5/16/512 10th Gen Pro would be $150 more, not $500. It’s $1799 vs $1649.
I consider myself to be a mostly casual user. I do the normal "casual" things that a MacBook Air would be recommended for. I bought the 2019 13" base pro as well as the i5 Air to try them both out. They were (in my usage) identical in every day tasks, but the pro ran at 30-40 degrees the entire time, and the Air was up in the 90's. Call me crazy, but the high heat and fan usage, worse display, and lack of Touch Bar (which I LOVE), isn't worth it just to have the newer processor. Returned both, bought the 2020 13" base.