Switch from MBA M1 to 14' M1/M2 Pro ?

[macmus12]

Hello,

I love MacOS and I have moved all my workflow to this system.
I started to choke badly on base M1 tho, with all my open Apps/screens etc..

I would like to move to Pro cause of better HiDPI on M1/M2 Pro with external monitor...

Now is it better to wait for a release of Pro M2 ? Does it come this winter ?
What about screen in MBP 14' ? I heard it's bad and response time is not as good as it should.

 

[LinkRS]

Hello,

I love MacOS and I have moved all my workflow to this system.
I started to choke badly on base M1 tho, with all my open Apps/screens etc..

I would like to move to Pro cause of better HiDPI on M1/M2 Pro with external monitor...

Now is it better to wait for a release of Pro M2 ? Does it come this winter ?
What about screen in MBP 14' ? I heard it's bad and response time is not as good as it should.

Howdy macmus12,

Nobody here knows when Apple is going to update the 14" MacBook Pro. Anything you read or hear is pure speculation at this point. If you need more performance now, upgrade now. Otherwise wait, it *could* be announced this October, or it *could* be announced next spring. Apple may buck the trend, and not announce a new 14" or 16" until next October, nobody on this forum knows. The general rule of thumb, is if you wait, you can always get more performance. However, if you always wait, you never get anything. Good luck!

Rich S.

 

[dizmonk]

Hello,

I love MacOS and I have moved all my workflow to this system.
I started to choke badly on base M1 tho, with all my open Apps/screens etc..

I would like to move to Pro cause of better HiDPI on M1/M2 Pro with external monitor...

Now is it better to wait for a release of Pro M2 ? Does it come this winter ?
What about screen in MBP 14' ? I heard it's bad and response time is not as good as it should.

I can't speak to the specific concerns you've asked about but.... I had been working with an M1 MBA for the past year. Great machine, yet I'm currently testing out the 14 MBP. I really like the extra-screen real estate and the speakers. The keyboard is taking a while to get adjusted to. The battery is much better than I expected and the weight is fine. Obviously, it's not as portable or as long-lasting as either the M1 or M2 MBA but I'm reasonably confident I can get through a full day of work on it.

 

[macmus12]

I can wait another 3-6 months.. but if it's going to be longer then that I really would prefer to update.

The 8 Gig of Ram is really chocking on me .. and the M1 limitation for max resolution is really killing my HiDPI requirements..

The Pro M2 would be best but I think apple instead of realizing MBP14 M2 will release M2 mini Pro to get into that first.

 

[LinkRS]

I can wait another 3-6 months.. but if it's going to be longer then that I really would prefer to update.

The 8 Gig of Ram is really chocking on me .. and the M1 limitation for max resolution is really killing my HiDPI requirements..

The Pro M2 would be best but I think apple instead of realizing MBP14 M2 will release M2 mini Pro to get into that first.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "M1 limitation for max resolution"? These days, almost any GPU is more than capable of running any desktop resolution, all the way to 8K in many cases. I am not aware of the M1 GPU having any limitations that would be fixed by a hypothetical M2 Pro or M2 Max. Now, there are (talked about here: https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/03/apple_m1_drivers/) some limitations on available resolutions to choose, for non-Apple displays. This isn't a hardware limitation of the M1, but rather a limitation imposed by Apple through software. The above link talks about a program that you can use to trick your M1 into thinking you have a supported display, allowing you to pick more HiDPI resolutions than would normally be available.

All of that said, if you are referring to this, a new M2 based system will not help :-( Thanks!

 

[macmus12]

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "M1 limitation for max resolution"? These days, almost any GPU is more than capable of running any desktop resolution, all the way to 8K in many cases. I am not aware of the M1 GPU having any limitations that would be fixed by a hypothetical M2 Pro or M2 Max. Now, there are (talked about here: https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/03/apple_m1_drivers/) some limitations on available resolutions to choose, for non-Apple displays. This isn't a hardware limitation of the M1, but rather a limitation imposed by Apple through software. The above link talks about a program that you can use to trick your M1 into thinking you have a supported display, allowing you to pick more HiDPI resolutions than would normally be available.

All of that said, if you are referring to this, a new M2 based system will not help :-( Thanks!

That basically means you can't get good HiDPI on 5k2k monitors or even on 1440p with betterdisplay SW.

 

[LinkRS]

View attachment 2047198

That basically means you can't get good HiDPI on 5k2k monitors or even on 1440p with betterdisplay SW.

Ah, think I am tracking. You are referring to the external display limitations of the M1 systems. You might be better off with a Mac Studio, or would the iMac display work for you? The MX Pro/Max have better support for external displays, but what resolution are you actually looking for?

 

[playtech1]

I think you will find the current 14 inch MacBook Pro to be an excellent upgrade. It is about as fast as a computer gets and comes with more RAM and storage as standard so hopefully those will no longer bottleneck you if they do on the M1 Air.

On the screen, notwithstanding the poor response time, in every other respect it is exceptionally good. External monitor support is very good assuming you are happy with 2 external displays. For 3 external displays you need the M1 Max model, which is otherwise unlikely to be worth the upgrade.

You could wait for an M2 version, but be prepared potentially to wait until 2023 and for the upgrade to be fairly minimal since the overall design is highly likely to stay the same as for M1. The price seems likely to be hiked from the current model, which you can get quite good deals on.

 

[spiderman0616]

I switched from an M1 MacBook Air base model to an M1 Pro MacBook Pro base model. I had no intention of doing this until my employer sent me a 2021 16" MacBook Pro as my work machine. I knew from that moment that I wanted one of my own, but the more portable model.

Long story short, I took my Air to the Apple Store and traded it in for the M1 Pro 14". I wanted the same basic footprint as my Air, but the power of the 16" Pro, and that's exactly what I got. But there are so many other little nice things that I didn't even buy this machine for specifically that just reinforce my decision. The much nicer screen and speakers, the sustained performance under load, the new design, the new ports, MagSafe. It's all just such a winning package.

I wouldn't recommend this upgrade for most though. I do graphic design, editing, and even game a bit on my Mac, so I do get those fans spinning up sometimes.

 

[Student of Life]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/macboo...b70INT&skuId=6450856#anchor=productVariations

Best Buy has the 14 pro fro 1599. No idea how long it will last but the price is great.

 

[macmus12]

I switched from an M1 MacBook Air base model to an M1 Pro MacBook Pro base model. I had no intention of doing this until my employer sent me a 2021 16" MacBook Pro as my work machine. I knew from that moment that I wanted one of my own, but the more portable model.

Long story short, I took my Air to the Apple Store and traded it in for the M1 Pro 14". I wanted the same basic footprint as my Air, but the power of the 16" Pro, and that's exactly what I got. But there are so many other little nice things that I didn't even buy this machine for specifically that just reinforce my decision. The much nicer screen and speakers, the sustained performance under load, the new design, the new ports, MagSafe. It's all just such a winning package.

I wouldn't recommend this upgrade for most though. I do graphic design, editing, and even game a bit on my Mac, so I do get those fans spinning up sometimes.

i’m mostly not sure about poor response time. They say gaming is very tough due to that issue.
Otherwise i would upgrade right away.

Also being so close to apple event im willing to wait extra few days to see if they show m2pro model.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I can't speak to the specific concerns you've asked about but.... I had been working with an M1 MBA for the past year. Great machine, yet I'm currently testing out the 14 MBP. I really like the extra-screen real estate and the speakers. The keyboard is taking a while to get adjusted to. The battery is much better than I expected and the weight is fine. Obviously, it's not as portable or as long-lasting as either the M1 or M2 MBA but I'm reasonably confident I can get through a full day of work on it.

How does the battery compare with the MacBook Air m1?

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I switched from an M1 MacBook Air base model to an M1 Pro MacBook Pro base model. I had no intention of doing this until my employer sent me a 2021 16" MacBook Pro as my work machine. I knew from that moment that I wanted one of my own, but the more portable model.

Long story short, I took my Air to the Apple Store and traded it in for the M1 Pro 14". I wanted the same basic footprint as my Air, but the power of the 16" Pro, and that's exactly what I got. But there are so many other little nice things that I didn't even buy this machine for specifically that just reinforce my decision. The much nicer screen and speakers, the sustained performance under load, the new design, the new ports, MagSafe. It's all just such a winning package.

I wouldn't recommend this upgrade for most though. I do graphic design, editing, and even game a bit on my Mac, so I do get those fans spinning up sometimes.

How does the battery compare ?

 

[spiderman0616]

How does the battery compare ?

Not as good as the M1 Air, but I went into it knowing that. Apple's advertised differences in the two machines seems pretty accurate in my real world experience. However, I still feel like I have to charge it so seldom that it barely matters. I still put my iPhone and Apple Watch on the charger every night, and my iPad goes on there about every three or 4 days typically. Not so with the M1 Macs I've owned. They seem to never run out of power unless I've been doing a lot of gaming on them, and yes, I do game on my Macs.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Not as good as the M1 Air, but I went into it knowing that. Apple's advertised differences in the two machines seems pretty accurate in my real world experience. However, I still feel like I have to charge it so seldom that it barely matters. I still put my iPhone and Apple Watch on the charger every night, and my iPad goes on there about every three or 4 days typically. Not so with the M1 Macs I've owned. They seem to never run out of power unless I've been doing a lot of gaming on them, and yes, I do game on my Macs.

Nice !
would u mind telling me more about it pls ?
Especially for stuff like browsing ,writing papers,reading pdf…how much better is the air over the pro?
Do u have the 8 or 10 cores ?

 

[spiderman0616]

Nice !
would u mind telling me more about it pls ?
Especially for stuff like browsing ,writing papers,reading pdf…how much better is the air over the pro?
Do u have the 8 or 10 cores ?

Absolutely:

1) I have the base model 14" Pro (I also have the base model 16" from work, but that stays docked on my desk and siloed off from my personal stuff). I also had the base model M1 Air.

2) For the use cases you mentioned, it's wonderful for all of them. The ProMotion HDR screen with an app in full screen view makes everything look clean and clear. The screen that wraps up around the cameras truly IS a good feature that gives you more space on the Pro than on the Air, and I think going back to the smaller Air screen at this point would feel far too cramped for me.

3) It's much nicer to carry around than the Air was, in my opinion. I know people loved that wedge design forever and ever, but I never liked it at all and am glad it's gone. My brain just likes things symmetrical. The Pro (and now the new Air M2) seems a little boxy when you first look at it, but once you get used to the old design being gone, it's just clearly a good design for so many reasons. I will not miss the old Air or old design Pros at all.

 

[dizmonk]

How does the battery compare with the MacBook Air m1?

How does the battery compare with the MacBook Air m1?

Having settled on the 14 MBP and still having the M1 Air, for my use case I'd say the MBP has 85-90% of the battery life of the M1 MBA. I can easily get through an entire workday. It's much better than I expected.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Having settled on the 14 MBP and still having the M1 Air, for my use case I'd say the MBP has 85-90% of the battery life of the M1 MBA. I can easily get through an entire workday. It's much better than I expected.

What an amazing answer thank you !! That’s more than decent indeed

What is your use case again sir ?

 

[dizmonk]

What an amazing answer thank you !! That’s more than decent indeed

What is your use case again sir ?

Keynote, occasional video editing, we, office stuff, nothing demanding.