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OP, an excellent comparison. May be worth highlighting integrated video differences.

Does anyone know how much ram gets allocated to video?
 
Not just the video card is better. The air has 3733MHz LPDDR4X while the base 13 macbook Pro has 2133MHz LPDDR3

Thanks for pointing that out.

Does it make a difference?
Taking into account that maybe the SSD is slower and would end being the bottleneck?
 
Thanks for pointing that out.

Does it make a difference?
Taking into account that maybe the SSD is slower and would end being the bottleneck?

Its not just 3733 to 2133 its also Lpddr 4 vs lpddr 3. You usually see a nice increase with memory generations But I have no data whatsoever to back that up. I agree that the SSD usually makes the most noticeable difference when it comes to hardware configurations. At least that’s where I notice it most. It’s one of the reasons I wish intel would support new pci spec for faster SSD like AMD has.
 
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interesting, did you drop it? get it wet?

haven't had any problems with my 2016 macbook pro

Nope. Never dropped, and never spilled something over it.
It just happened during one evening, on which I never even took it from my table. And suddenly the screen went black after waking from sleep.
 
Nope. Never dropped, and never spilled something over it.
It just happened during one evening, on which I never even took it from my table. And suddenly the screen went black after waking from sleep.
i assume it was after the 1 year warrant and no applecare.

sorry to hear what happen to you

I know that apple released the 16 inch macbook pro in November 2019. I am hoping that they refresh that 16 inch macbook pro in the ne next few months with wifi 6.

you going to wait or get a new computer?
 
I’m speculating that the Pro has 3x3 wifi compared to 2x2 on the Air, which would typically, I suspect, result in the Pro having 50% better throughput. Even though both are Wifi 5.

That may not actually matter. It depends on your setup.
 
i assume it was after the 1 year warrant and no applecare.

sorry to hear what happen to you

I know that apple released the 16 inch macbook pro in November 2019. I am hoping that they refresh that 16 inch macbook pro in the ne next few months with wifi 6.

you going to wait or get a new computer?

Yep, more than 1 year and no AppleCare.

I'm going to buy a new next month maybe, when lockdown stops.
I'm tempted by the 16", but seeing the amount of problems it has while connected to an external display, I just don't know which Mac to get.
 
It's been interesting reading everyone's perspectives on the growing set of options.

I'm especially happy to see that we have all pretty much agree on what the single best option is for everyone. (kidding)

There are lots of choices along the price continuum, and your sweet spot on that continuum will depend on your preferences and needs, which are different than mine and everyone else's here. Whatever machine and price-point you pick, someone will tell you there's a better option for a few hundred more, and someone else will point out a cheaper option they prefer to your pick.

I think many of us are frustrated that spending more on a MacBook doesn't mean that every aspect and spec of that machine will be better than a machine that costs a few hundred less - e.g. a $1500 MB Pro has slower RAM and previous generation processors than a similarly configured MB Air which will cost a few hundred less. Again, the tradeoff will depend on your preferences - how much do the MB Air's crappy thermals bother you? How annoying do you find the Touch Bar? How much if anything are you willing to pay for a brighter screen with richer colors? etc.

Most Macrumors forum members are pretty well-informed and understand the tech very well (which is why I hang out here - I learn a lot from all of you) (well, most of you). Each of us is smart enough to figure out which machine is the best option for ourselves, or whether it's better to hang on to our trusty 6-year-old MB Pro for a while longer in case something better comes out next fall or winter.

And about that: it's always true that something better is coming along. You can say it's better to not buy a new 2020 MB Pro now because a 14" model with better display tech is coming out in the fall or winter and you might be kicking yourself if you bought the $1800 MBP now. Of course, people who bought the 13" MBP or MBA last year might be kicking themselves now that the 2020 models have the magic keyboard and come with a bigger SSD. And people (like me) who bought a 2018 MB Air might have kicked themselves when the 2019 MB Air came out with a true-tone display, which I like more than I expected I would.

At some point, we each have to decide whether to buy now or wait. Your best choice will be different from mine. I learn from hearing your arguments about the relative merits of different options, even if I don't agree.

Now if you'll excuse me, my 2020 MB Pro was just delivered (3 days after ordering!) and it's time to open it up.
 
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I've decided to go back to reordering the mba with i5/16/256 xD Damn that i cancelled soo now i have to wait even longer. Gonna go to the store tomorrow to test out mbp and mba to doublecheck but i do think that tear shape is to good to pass up given on the go/in the lap usage.
Also this was a really good insight review for those thinking about using it for programming etc:
 
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I purchased an i5/16GB 2020 MBA and was disappointed that, when hooked up to my Dell 4k display, 1080p videos on YouTube (in Chrome. Sorry, but I hate Safari) caused the fans to kick in, and 4k video playback stuttered (and I tried downloading a 4k video and playing it in VLC to eliminate the network being a problem, same result).

I decided to order a 2020 10th gen 13" MBP (i5/16 as well) and see if it would be any better, if it still had the same issues, I'd return it and keep the cheaper MBA. If not, I'd return the MBA since I'm still within the 14 day return window.

The MBP wins. 4k video was buttery smooth and the fans didn't even turn on. Obviously it's $600 more, so I'd expect it to perform better, and I'm not sure how the 8th gen CPUs would compete with the MBA for a more apples-to-apples price comparison. But I think for the money, I'm getting something that's going to last me a lot longer, and if I can keep this two or three years longer than the MBA before upgrading becomes a must, I've come out ahead.
 
I purchased an i5/16GB 2020 MBA and was disappointed that, when hooked up to my Dell 4k display, 1080p videos on YouTube (in Chrome. Sorry, but I hate Safari) caused the fans to kick in, and 4k video playback stuttered (and I tried downloading a 4k video and playing it in VLC to eliminate the network being a problem, same result).

I decided to order a 2020 10th gen 13" MBP (i5/16 as well) and see if it would be any better, if it still had the same issues, I'd return it and keep the cheaper MBA. If not, I'd return the MBA since I'm still within the 14 day return window.

The MBP wins. 4k video was buttery smooth and the fans didn't even turn on. Obviously it's $600 more, so I'd expect it to perform better, and I'm not sure how the 8th gen CPUs would compete with the MBA for a more apples-to-apples price comparison. But I think for the money, I'm getting something that's going to last me a lot longer, and if I can keep this two or three years longer than the MBA before upgrading becomes a must, I've come out ahead.

If you're able, could you try the same scenario using h264ify extension in Chrome?

I'm curious if what you're seeing is that you're getting VP9 codec video, which is software-decoded apparently. Since that represents a sustained CPU load, it would definitely do much better on the MBP w/ 10th gen CPU since it's set up to manage sustained CPU loading.
 
If you're able, could you try the same scenario using h264ify extension in Chrome?

I'm curious if what you're seeing is that you're getting VP9 codec video, which is software-decoded apparently. Since that represents a sustained CPU load, it would definitely do much better on the MBP w/ 10th gen CPU since it's set up to manage sustained CPU loading.
So I tried that extension, and it seems to have helped prevent the fan from ramping up with 1080p, but now 4k isn't even an option in YouTube.
 
So I tried that extension, and it seems to have helped prevent the fan from ramping up with 1080p, but now 4k isn't even an option in YouTube.
Thanks for giving it a try. I don't have a 4K display so couldn't try anything here.

That does seem to confirm that it was a codec thing -- Youtube has these in a VP9 codec, which although the hardware can handle decoding, Apple hasn't enabled it. So it decodes in software. And decoding 4K video in software is going to be a sustained CPU load. Thus you get the behavior differences.

So unless you want to eschew your 4K youtube videos or unless Apple changes their mind, seems like the MBP will be the better choice for your usage.
 
Thanks for giving it a try. I don't have a 4K display so couldn't try anything here.

That does seem to confirm that it was a codec thing -- Youtube has these in a VP9 codec, which although the hardware can handle decoding, Apple hasn't enabled it. So it decodes in software. And decoding 4K video in software is going to be a sustained CPU load. Thus you get the behavior differences.

So unless you want to eschew your 4K youtube videos or unless Apple changes their mind, seems like the MBP will be the better choice for your usage.

Makes sense. And for my uses, I really couldn't care less about 4k YouTube, I was just using it as a test. The MBP just seems like it has more longevity, and if I can go 5 years without feeling the need to upgrade instead of 3 then the premium is worth it.
 
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