Yeah I have an M1 MBA with base 8 core CPU/7 core GPU but upgrade RAM to 16GB and SSD to 256GB back in 2021 when I got it. Honestly notice zero difference in every day tasks and app opening times between it and my M3 Pro MBP with 18GB Ram and M3 Pro chip. What I notice about the M3 Pro is the much better display and speakers, and having USB-C/TB ports on both sides of the computer is very convenient. Apple needs to move one of the ports on the MBA to the other side, especially now they have added MagSafe.Interesting, I upgraded from my 13 M1 Pro to the 13 M4 Pro and went from 16 gb to the max on it hoping to future proof it a bit. I have experienced absolutely no change in speed at all. Only advantage was I no longer get memory errors in Safari or low memory alerts with multiple apps running at work. I wish I would have maxed out memory on the M1 Pro and not upgraded to the M4 Pro.
I really don’t think the processor really matters what makes the difference was the increase in memory.