It is my understanding in reading the M1 forum, that those in need of heavy sustained workload would benefit from the fan on the MBP. I have no personal use experience with the M1 MBP.If I will ever need the fanThat is the the only thing making me think about the MBP at this point.
I'm wondering if that will somewhat change during the summer months.You'll benefit from the fan if you run sustained high-utilization workloads such as with video editing. For routine web browsing, productivity apps, etc. the fan will likely never turn on. I went with the MBP because I plan to run FCP on it.
I had both as well, and I decided in favor of the MBP. There's more than just the fan. You also get:
- Significantly better screen. Not only higher brightness, but also better black level and contrast ratio. This was very noticeable to me after using both.
- Touch Bar. This is a pro for me, a con for others. But I love the Touch Bar.
- Bigger battery. Lasts about 30% longer than the MBA at similar brightness.
- Better microphone. Very noticeable from all the YouTube comparisons I watched on this.
- Better keyboard. Debatable, as some prefer the MBA, although I've really grown to love the tactile feedback from the MBP keyboard.
- Better speakers. Also debatable, as some say the MBA speakers are louder, but according to Apple they are better quality. I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference.
It's hard to imagine what kind of enterprise development is going to stress an M1 to need a fan. I've built dozens of open source projects on my M1 MBA and it barely heats up. Java and Javascript/Typescript are going to use even less in most cases. You need 100% load on all performance cores for minutes to even start seeing any throttling and the GPU probably isn't going to be a factor. Battery life might be a slight consideration but I easily get over 10 hours when doing development and more if I'm using an external monitor with the MBA in clamshell mode.It is a hard decision. I write code once in a while for POCs, I am an Enterprise Architect. Code is mostly Java / Springboot / NodeJS
The battery and the fan are a ++ for me on the MBP, the absence of the Touch Bar and form factor are ++ on MBA.... money is not a consideration on this decision at all. Right now I am typing this on the MBA.
The screen, honestly I see no difference for my use...completely satisfied with the MBA as far as screen goes.
--for me, I love the MBA's tapered design for typing--
Hey it wasn't like it was a short post.You had to sneak that in there right before I could hit 'Post Reply', didn't you ?
Totally agree.I dont know if it was unit specific, but the Pro versus the Air I had was very noticeable with screen and speakers.I definitely could tell the difference in loudness and intelligibility of the speakers, so perhaps these do vary. The screen was simply better on the pro, but again, I dont know if that is unit variability. Sent the Air back.I had both as well, and I decided in favor of the MBP. There's more than just the fan. You also get:
- Significantly better screen. Not only higher brightness, but also better black level and contrast ratio. This was very noticeable to me after using both.
- Touch Bar. This is a pro for me, a con for others. But I love the Touch Bar.
- Bigger battery. Lasts about 30% longer than the MBA at similar brightness.
- Better microphone. Very noticeable from all the YouTube comparisons I watched on this.
- Better keyboard. Debatable, as some prefer the MBA, although I've really grown to love the tactile feedback from the MBP keyboard.
- Better speakers. Also debatable, as some say the MBA speakers are louder, but according to Apple they are better quality. I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference.
I'm wondering if that will somewhat change during the summer months.
During summer, it’s common I work at 25+ degrees outsideI can't really see how it would. I mean, in my house and office the temperature is always on low 70s (70-73) during the winter or summer (sometimes goes to 69 at night during the summer).... I don't see anyone really seating outside on 100+ degrees for a few hours working under the sun...under a shade yes, but then the temperature still is comfortable.... that of course is my opinion.