Thinking about trading my M2 16” Pro for an Air—13” or 15”?

[Meredithfp]

Splurged on the M2 16” Pro a year ago, when I mostly worked from home. Now I have a new job and commute by bike or transit and that 16” Pro is feeling like a brick.

I mostly plug into a monitor (both at home and work) and before the Pro I had a 13” Air that I was pretty happy with—just thought I’d appreciate the big screen working from the couch. (Turns out I just use my old iPad Pro on the couch most of the time.) Work is mostly docs in the cloud, and light image and video editing in Adobe products.

I could pretty much trade straight across for an M3 Air, but is it crazy to drop in specs? Is a 15” Air noticably more portable than the 16” Pro? If not, I’m inclined to go down to the 13”. I’m sure the Pro vs. Air question has been discussed, I’m just not finding where. I guess I’m looking for the sweet spot for performance and portability.

 

[Torty]

Don’t you get a computer from the company you work for?

 

[StoneJack]

I think 15 will be good for after 16

 

[paulienat]

If you really don't need any extra performance I'd go for an used/almost new Macbook Air M1 to travel and go around and I'd keep the M2 Pro 16.

You'd have all the basics you need on the Air without wasting extra money for the new Air.

I had an Air M1 and it was probably the best laptop I ever had...it was ok for almost everything and superlight and easy.

At the same time when I moved to the M2 PRO 16" I realized some things were on a different level.

Since I had a Mac Pro 2020 I decided to sell the Air M1...and it was a mistake, its still the best for daily tasks.

Also the M2 Pro 16" is replacing my main desktop Mac Pro pretty well and it wouldn't have been that easy with an Air.

I also understand that dealing with two computers is not super comfortable sometimes.

 

[leifp]

As your principal use is docked and you want maximum portability it’s hard to argue for anything other than the 13” MBAir. The size and weight difference between that (which my father has) and your 16” MBPro (which I have) is massive.

Personally, if I didn’t need the added power of the chip in the Pro I’d drop to a MBAir immediately. That said, I always want the real estate, even if I use it docked nearly 99% of the time, so I’d probably go 15” (which my brother has)

 

[Meredithfp]

Don’t you get a computer from the company you work for?

Long story, but no. And I prefer to work on my own machine anyway.

 

[Meredithfp]

As your principal use is docked and you want maximum portability it’s hard to argue for anything other than the 13” MBAir. The size and weight difference between that (which my father has) and your 16” MBPro (which I have) is massive.

Personally, if I didn’t need the added power of the chip in the Pro I’d drop to a MBAir immediately. That said, I always want the real estate, even if I use it docked nearly 99% of the time, so I’d probably go 15” (which my brother has)

What do you need the added power of the chip in the Pro for? Trying to figure out what I might miss about the 16" if I gave it up. Right now the trade for the 13" seems all upside.

Even when traveling, when I'm away from a monitor and the larger screen would be nice, I've run into problems. Too big for my carry-on computer pocket, too big to work with on the plane, etc. I also do a lot of face-to-face interviews for work and the 16" feels obtrusive between me and the interviewee.

But, it's a high-powered great machine. Am I gonna miss that?

 

[Meredithfp]

If you really don't need any extra performance I'd go for an used/almost new Macbook Air M1 to travel and go around and I'd keep the M2 Pro 16.

You'd have all the basics you need on the Air without wasting extra money for the new Air.

I had an Air M1 and it was probably the best laptop I ever had...it was ok for almost everything and superlight and easy.

At the same time when I moved to the M2 PRO 16" I realized some things were on a different level.

Since I had a Mac Pro 2020 I decided to sell the Air M1...and it was a mistake, its still the best for daily tasks.

Also the M2 Pro 16" is replacing my main desktop Mac Pro pretty well and it wouldn't have been that easy with an Air.

I also understand that dealing with two computers is not super comfortable sometimes.

This is helpful. I'm hesitant to have two computers, but curious what about the M2 Pro 16" makes it better as your main machine desktop replacement than the Air would?

I suspect that if I kept them both I would end up not reaching for the Pro, but maybe having them both for awhile would help me figure out what I really need. I was going to trade with Apple, but I could sell it third party later, if I end up not using it.

 

[ascender]

I found the 15" Air way more portable than the 16" MBP in every way other than footprint which is pretty much the same.

If you don't need the power of the Pro or any of the specific features, defining consider the Air.

 

[leifp]

What do you need the added power of the chip in the Pro for? Trying to figure out what I might miss about the 16" if I gave it up. Right now the trade for the 13" seems all upside.

Even when traveling, when I'm away from a monitor and the larger screen would be nice, I've run into problems. Too big for my carry-on computer pocket, too big to work with on the plane, etc. I also do a lot of face-to-face interviews for work and the 16" feels obtrusive between me and the interviewee.

But, it's a high-powered great machine. Am I gonna miss that?

Your workload sounds fine for a MBAir. I had a 16GB M1 Mac mini which choked a bit on my workload. I could probably have gone for an M1Pro chip in my laptop but hoped I’d keep the MBPro for the 7+ years I got out of my 5K iMac. (I use iStat Menus, $10 CAD on the Apple App Store, to measure CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage pressure and it showed me that I needed more GPU and RAM for smooth use on the Mac mini)

To address your question more directly: with the Media Engine in the base M2 now (you had to get an M1Pro for that in the M1 generation and the M3 adds AV1 decode) and 24GB RAM available you should not have any regrets.

 

[formularossa]

I have both the MBP 16" and a MBA 13" (16GB).

I started with the MBP 16" and I never enjoyed using it as a laptop - unwieldy on the lap, awkwardly fit in my backpacks, and heavy to carry. So I got the MBA for emails, browsing, documents, and everyday travel and I'm extremely happy with it. Still in awe of how light and satisfying it is to use.

But I still use my 16" whenever I go on longer work trips - the 13" can feel cramped (I do graphic design work) and the bigger screen is more comfortable to use.

I know it's an extreme luxury to have two MacBooks, but they fit different purposes for me. I did consider the 15" to split the difference, but it doesn't give me the same liberating, ultraportable feeling that the 13" does.

 

[paulienat]

This is helpful. I'm hesitant to have two computers, but curious what about the M2 Pro 16" makes it better as your main machine desktop replacement than the Air would?

I suspect that if I kept them both I would end up not reaching for the Pro, but maybe having them both for awhile would help me figure out what I really need. I was going to trade with Apple, but I could sell it third party later, if I end up not using it.

First of all the connections (hdmi + TB ports) without the need of using an external hub for almost everything, in case of the Mb Air 13 M1.

The MB 15" M3 is little bit better cause it has 2 TB ports but the third TB port on the MBP 16" is what makes the difference in my setup.

Probably the most unique thing of the MBP 16" is the cooling system, even with 70-80% load on the CPU the fan is always silent and very efficient.

Yes why not... you could try keeping both Macs for a while...see how it goes in real life and then decide...if its budget friendly