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buckingham2015

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 13, 2015
53
51
California
I’m finally considering upgrading my 2014 15” MBP. I love this machine, it’s still great for 90% of my use cases.

After almost 7 years, it’s getting a little banged up, and the screen is having some issues.

So I’m looking at swapping it for an M1 MBA, probably an 8gb/512gb or 8gb/1tb.

I mostly browse the web, edit photos, and do some light programming. So to be honest even my current laptop is more than good enough.

It would be nice to be able to actually use it on my lap without scalding my legs though.

I’m wondering if any of you made a similar swap, and what your experience has been.

Do you miss the screen real estate?
 
I just made the same move and replaced my 15" Macbook Pro from 2015 with the base 8gb RAM 256ssd macbook air.


I use the laptop almost always attached to a 27" thunderbolt display so I did not notice the reduce screen real estate. I am happy my purchase. The M1 Air never gets hot while watching youtube, is much more portable and it feels snappier while use in it.


I use my laptop to browse the web, some e-mail and Word, so nothing really demanding.


The battery is outstanding also and its a pleasure to use the new M1 Air in bed ot watching tv.


Sorry for my english.
 
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I would choose 16GB ram before 1TB storage. I did take both though, but without a bootcamp partition, 1TB storage is crazy Overkill for me.
 
I would choose 16GB ram before 1TB storage. I did take both though, but without a bootcamp partition, 1TB storage is crazy Overkill for me.
I hear you. I have thousands of photos and I’m constantly deleting things to make room for storage, with 512gb atm. 1tb would be a dream.

I do have an external drive, but not having to lug it around would be fantastic, not to mention editing in Lightroom off an external HDD leaves a lot to be desired in terms of performance.
 
Go for 1 terabytes if you need lots of storage. I don’t think you’ll need it, but if you need it, go for it! It shouldn’t scald your legs if you’re just watching YouTube or basic web browsing, after all, it’s M1!
 
I would choose 16GB ram before 1TB storage. I did take both though, but without a bootcamp partition, 1TB storage is crazy Overkill for me.
I agree with the 16GB. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade. While 8GB is probably fine for now, if the OP keeps his/her new laptop anywhere close to as long as 7 years, the 16GB will be very helpful. Can't imagine in 2026 that 8GB will be sufficient for much of anything.
 
I would choose 16GB ram before 1TB storage. I did take both though, but without a bootcamp partition, 1TB storage is crazy Overkill for me.

I own a 16GB/1TB M1 Air. However, I previously owned a 8GB M1 air, and I pushed it daily to around 20GB of system ram usage totally fine. And the experience was perfectly smooth. And it still only said like 50-60% memory pressure.

When the storage runs out, well... your out of storage and need a dongle.

When the ram runs out, it simply doesn’t care.. you can use (3) times that 8GB of ram totally smooth.

So 256GB would be the limiting factor of your system. Neither are upgradeable. But only one will hit a wall, and it is NOT the system ram, that’s for sure.
 
I own a 16GB/1TB M1 Air. However, I previously owned a 8GB M1 air, and I pushed it daily to around 20GB of system ram usage totally fine. And the experience was perfectly smooth. And it still only said like 50-60% memory pressure.

When the storage runs out, well... your out of storage and need a dongle.

When the ram runs out, it simply doesn’t care.. you can use (3) times that 8GB of ram totally smooth.

So 256GB would be the limiting factor of your system. Neither are upgradeable. But only one will hit a wall, and it is NOT the system ram, that’s for sure.
I know how swap memory works and what it does. It is impressive how much my 8GB machine can handle, but virtual machines and other heavy stuff gives it tunnel vision. It might be faster on M1, but still a lot lot slower than ram. My old 2009 machines with 24GB ram is hole lot snappier, than my 8GB 2014 machine, even with a 3x slower ssd. I has been upgraded in steps and I could clearly feel the difference, even between 16 to 24GB. But 24GB is also enough to rarely use swap at all, so I would hardly see much difference if any going to 32GB. If you plan on connecting a high-res external screen, you also have to account, that it will need its share of ram for video memory.

Neither is good to run out off and depending on peoples need, they have different priorities, but at least storage can be externally attached even at full speed. So I would still take 16GB ram over going from 512GB to 1TB for my use. But preferable I would have been more comfortable with 32GB ram and 1TB ssd, to really match and exceed the specs of my old machines feeling and like an upgrade. But 16GB + 1TB should keep me going for a long time, and then down the line I might get a second machines, since I normally have two computers and currently this new MBA is set to replace both.
 
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I just switch from a 2017 i5 MBP 13" to a M1 Air 16GB/512...I'm kicking myself in the @ss wondering why I didn't do this sooner. WAY faster.
 
I guess my bigger question is around going from a 15" screen to a 13" screen. I'm seeing mixed messages from people on how big an impact that has for things like coding and photo editing.

Any thoughts from anyone else who has made that transition?
 
Will say that I just got my M1 MacBook Air yesterday. Upgraded from a 2013 13" MBP and I'm loving it. Blazing fast and does everything with ease.

Felt bad because I knew the MBP was still great and going strong. Just started grad school though and didn't want my notebook to randomly fail in the middle of a semester. That annnnnd I didn't want white bezels and keyboard on the next MBA. Plus, refurbished 16GB/512GB for under $1300 was the final kicker. Good luck with whatever you pick!
 
I just switch from a 2017 i5 MBP 13" to a M1 Air 16GB/512...I'm kicking myself in the @ss wondering why I didn't do this sooner. WAY faster.
I'm coming from a 2016 i5 and just picked up a M1 Air 16GB/256 and the speed is amazing. The battery life is even crazier!
 
is there a visible difference in brightness between the 2014-15 15" and the M1 Air?
it seems to be 400 nits vs 350 nits, but in practice is it visible?
 
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