Thinking of getting the M5 Air 15"

[Cromulent]

I currently have the base M1 MBA 13" (8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage) and I'm seriously considering the base M5 MBA 15" mainly for the bigger screen size. The upgrade in RAM would also be a nice upgrade.

I'll mainly be using it for note taking with an ebook on one side and Apple notes on the other. I'm just curious if anyone uses one for this sort of thing and what your experience has been like. I did think about the iPad Pro but decided that I'd like something else.

 

[1BadManVan]

Sounds like something even your current M1 should handle just fine. But yes, overall the M5 is a huge speed boost, very snappy. I have an M5 13.6" air, upgraded from an M2, main driving factor to that was getting ahead of the price increases that are going to stick around for the long haul.

My secondary laptop is a base M1 MBA, the same as yours, just used for browsing the web and streaming shows while away at work. Still perfectly usable for those tasks, but it definitely has some hiccups when i start browsing between multiple tabs vs using my M5 the same way

 

[Cromulent]

Sounds like something even your current M1 should handle just fine. But yes, overall the M5 is a huge speed boost, very snappy. I have an M5 13.6" air, upgraded from an M2, main driving factor to that was getting ahead of the price increases that are going to stick around for the long haul.

My secondary laptop is a base M1 MBA, the same as yours, just used for browsing the web and streaming shows while away at work. Still perfectly usable for those tasks, but it definitely has some hiccups when i start browsing between multiple tabs vs using my M5 the same way

Thank you. My current M1 can do it but I'd rather upgrade to the larger display so that I can fit more on screen at the same time and obviously the increased RAM will help when browsing with a lot of tabs. I think I'll go for it 😀.

 

[ignatius345]

Thank you. My current M1 can do it but I'd rather upgrade to the larger display so that I can fit more on screen at the same time and obviously the increased RAM will help when browsing with a lot of tabs. I think I'll go for it 😀.

If you're at all on the fence, you could always go into an Apple Store and try your intended workflow out on a 15" Air and see how it fits.

 

[1BadManVan]

Thank you. My current M1 can do it but I'd rather upgrade to the larger display so that I can fit more on screen at the same time and obviously the increased RAM will help when browsing with a lot of tabs. I think I'll go for it 😀.

The larger display is definitely a game changer, i was tempted by it but with how i use my mac (on the couch sitting on the arm rest) i definitely love the portability of the 13". But productivity wise, the 15" is a big step up

 

[CalMin]

My main personal Mac is a 15" Air. I had the 13" MBA for a few months and found it hard to do real work with it - especially when I need to use two documents side by side - which I do a lot. That's not a problem on the 15" Air.

My main work Mac is a 14" Pro - the screen is good enough for now and I keep it because 90% of the time it's hooked to two external displays on my desk. However, my next work MacBook will be a 15" Air.

Yes it is bigger but it's not an issue on the road. The exception might be if you find yourself having to work in a coach-class airline seat a lot of the time. Then again, the 13" isn't really suited to that these days either.