With the upgrade the 13” Pro is $200 more with the same quantity of RAM and SSD. But the Pro has a better screen (wider color gamut), also got the Dolby Atmos support and microphone today, and has a faster SSD. Most people won’t notice much difference for everyday tasks, and I have no problem recommending the i5 Air for most people. But the base 13” Pro is still better for some people.
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Refreshed 2020 MBP vs. 2020 Air: what you get for an extra $300
- Thread starter roncron
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The $1799 model got a CPU upgrade. And all models got the better speakers and microphone.
My dilemma now is if you want 16GB of RAM the price difference is only $100 between the MBA i5 ($1,299) and the MBP ($1,399). For the extra $100 you get a better display, better multicore performance, and cooler operation. I do enjoy the wedge shape of the MBA but ultimately it's only a 0.3 lb difference... hmm.
With the few apps that really put effort into utilising it the touchbar is really useful. The problem with it is not enough apps have put that effort on and Apple just don’t make it customisable enough. It should basically be a built in streamdeck where the customisations to the touchbar is endless but as you are stuck with what Apple want you to be able to add or what the developers of an app do it holds it back from its potential
Biggest problem with it for me is that I use my MBP15 in clamshell mode more often than I use it opened up.
With no touchbar on the Apple Magic Keyboard there's no incentive for me to invest any time/effort into learning any touchbar features a developer may include. Had Apple released an external keyboard supporting touchbar, I may have found it more useful, but at this point I'd much rather just have a normal set of function keys for consistency of user interface.
I'm actually surprised they haven't released one tbh. But then maybe that just highlights Apples main downfall, they have ideas that could be really useful but they release them in more a concept stage and then let them stagnate somewhat. We saw it with the Siri where they had a march on everyone else but didn't really push it and now they are behind Google and Amazon in the smart assistant market, we also saw it with the AppleTV where they were in early and then let's it stagnate so now they are well behind Amazon, Google and Roku. And when they get behind no matter how high the quality of their devices are the Apple premium makes it hard for them to become leaders in the market. When they have dominated sectors its usually because they get in right at the start and keep pushing to innovate and with these and the touchbar they didn't do this. More and more people outside of streamers are adding Stream decks or other such devices to their setup and here you have apple who have had such a macro shortcut device built into their MacBook pro's and they could have really pushed it by making it more open to the users to customise and by adding it to the Apple keyboards and also the non-pro laptops but they didn't so we get something that could be useful, that others are showing has a real use with their external devices (and software versions turning phone/tablets into such a device) but they haven't really stood behind it
I received my 2020 MacBook Air April 13 (USA) ,chatted with apple support yesterday may 4, they said I can return it up to 30 days and sent me mailing label via email. Label says please return by May 18. I will have a few days to think about returning it. decisions, decision. I like the brighter screen of the MacBook Pro, but I only paid $1000 for my education discount MBA i5/8gb/256
yeah, when you initiate a return they want it within 14 days - better tactic next time is wait until closer to the end of the return window then initiate the return so you have a longer period.
keep the MBA open and awake - it's going to index stuff with spotlight and Photos seems to want to walk through your entire photo library. Took my MBA a couple days to settle down.
I can't understand why the base Macbook Pro still has an 8th Gen processor, but isn't it now a better buy than the Macbook Air for anyone wanting a 512GB Hard Drive, 16GB Of Ram and an i5 Processor? It now costs $2,449 AUD for the Pro model with this configuration and $2,299 for the equivalent Macbook Air. Literally $150 more gets you a better screen, faster performance and better thermals.
What am I missing?
What am I missing?
Battery life. Function Keys. Wedge shape. Slightly lighter weight. 10th vs 8th gen processor
Many folks don't do sustained CPU loads, so the CPU power rating and cooling system aren't relevant.
Supposedly the 10th gen CPUs do ~18% more instructions per clock, so if true that'd mean the MBA bursts higher than the MBP - which if one's workload is bursty with periods of idle in between would be potentially beneficial.
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I'd be interested if the Air has better battery life. The Touch Bar adds nothing for me. Whether it's there or not doesn't add or detract. I do prefer the Air's shape overall, although the weight difference isn't much.
I'm not sure the difference an 8th vs 10th gen processor makes (Or the faster DDR4 Ram in the Air) but surely with the Pro you will notice less heat, the fans coming on less often and the better screen brightness?
Real world battery life will be interesting, but Apple does list the MBA specs as an hour longer for wireless web and two hours longer for Apple TV app movie playback (11 vs 10 and 12 vs 10), so they think there's enough difference to publish different specs.
With my MBA I notice no heat and it remains silent in my general usage... so I'm unsure what benefit I'd have from the MBP in that regard? (Just measured bottom case at 82F and palm rests at 79F -- I'm using Numbers, Mail, and Safari right now.
As to screen brightness - I haven't yet maxed the MBA's brightness, so again I'm unsure what benefit I'd gain from additional brightness beyond what I use.
All of the above being *my* personal use case.
Folks need to buy the right tool for their needs.
Right, but the MBP chip is higher wattage and has better cooling so still runs faster than the 10th gen in the Air. Less concerned about performance and more about heat really.. I don't use pro applications but do a lot of multitasking with Excel, Safari, Mail, MS Teams and a RDP and if I move between apps frequently the temps on my air get into the 90s with fans at 6,000- 7,000 RPM.
My biggest annoyance with the Air is firing up Mini Motorways (Apple Arcade Game) and the fans running at full blast. The brightness on the Air could also be better. Still a great machine though.
Just now thinking that with the price difference being better than before and the good keyboard, it now might be a good option.
I was gonna to return it until I read MacBook Pro didn't come with new processor unless I want the more expensive model. I on edge honestly about getting the new dell xps laptop as well. It will run me around $1700 but I have amex plat biz and other other discounts that takes price down to $350 off. and dell xps screens are super bright 500 nits as well. I dunno...there is no perfect laptop for right price/balance point!.
I had 2013 MBA air 256/8gb/core i5 and was happy with that as well. I just do basic stuff, word, powerpoint with the kids, internet surfing. Anything is overkill. I still have my late 2012 iMac 27 inch and it runs perfectly well for our needs with home schooling for the kids;
I might hold off as no WiFi 6 is a no go for me. My 2020 iPad Pro has WiFi 6 as well as my iPhone 11 Pro. Very disappointed in Apple here was really looking forward to upgrading my 2016 MacBook Pro.
What has me most frustrated is that the best "bargain" is the base 16". The bargain part being that you can get the factory-configured specs at serious discounts, down to $300 off at around $2100, and you get serious beef for the buck.
When in fact I too would really prefer a 13" form factor. But the thermal compromises are extremely frustrating. By the time you got a solid, updated 13", you're at $1800, which is again $300 away from two extra cores and discrete graphics. And a bigger screen, which I wouldn't even want…
When in fact I too would really prefer a 13" form factor. But the thermal compromises are extremely frustrating. By the time you got a solid, updated 13", you're at $1800, which is again $300 away from two extra cores and discrete graphics. And a bigger screen, which I wouldn't even want…
I agree with you, but the 13" with 10th gen processor at $1800 is a stock configuration and will get discounts too. That will widen the price gap between that one and the 16" (though maybe not all the way back to the $600 difference at MSRP).
if you aren't a power user, I don't think the wedge shape benefits can be overstated: its way more comfortable to type on vs the sharp drop off of the Pro's. butterfly vs scissor keyboard aside
and 2.8lbs vs 3.0lbs. It feels lighter than 0.2lbs. Not to the magnitude of the 12" MB but its noticeable to me.
and 2.8lbs vs 3.0lbs. It feels lighter than 0.2lbs. Not to the magnitude of the 12" MB but its noticeable to me.
The Air has a better GPU capable of driving a 6K display, better battery life, and is a bit lighter, but you are correct that in all other respects the base 13" Pro is better.
I've not been keeping up with wifi advances.
What specific quantifiable impacts to your usage would Wifi 6 provide?
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Many / most folks won't see any benefit from 16GB - and those who would realize a benefit typically already know exactly why they need it.