Upgrading from late 2013 MBP - is the 2020 Air worthwhile?

[TorontoSS]

Hello - I'd like to get your views on this. I have an old MBP 13 inch - the late 2013 version. It has 2.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 8MB RAM. i didn't use it much over the years as i went for my iPad more. But writing on the MBP is so much better than the keyboard on the iPad. i think being stuck at home has made me realize this.

Anyway - i'm looking for a few MacBook and the new Air looks good. I don't know much about this stuff any more. But i was wondering how it would compare with the MBP i have. I would look to get the one with an i5 processor (either 512gb or upgrade the 256gb to the i5 from i3).
I basically do things like use word, excel, go on websites. nothing strenuous. i've considered trying to video edit but i don't see that actually happening since i've never done it. I want to write basically.

My question here is - is that still a decent upgrade from a late 2013 MBP to a MacBook air 2020? or even a 2018 MacBook Air (if i see one on the refurb store!) I note some of the good features from the new operating system don't work not his old machine (like extending screen to iPad).

Thanks!

 

[s1lv3r]

I'm also considering this, but I have a 2014 MBP.

Did you reach any conclusion?

 

[TorontoSS]

I did! Because I bought an i5 MacBook Air. I honestly thought that my MBP is fast still. And frankly it’s not doing bad. Compared to my 1 and a half year old work Lenovo (which is a hybrid) it’s much faster. So I was surprised with just how zippy the air is for me.

I should note I don’t do video or photo editing. I use Word, YouTube and safari so I’m not a heavy user by any means. But it’s awesome for me.

it is definitely faster than my MBP.

 

[dborja]

IMHO, for the work that you describe, the MBAir would do fine. The base I3 might even be ok although I'd go ahead and shell out the $100 to go to an I5. I'd also stick with the 2020 MBAir because of the keyboard.

My MBAir is mostly to let me work in the kitchen or backyard doing word processing (MS Word), spreadsheets (MS Excel), checkbook work (Banktivity), VPN, MS Remote Desktop, Zoom, Web browsing and, sometimes, run virtual machines (VMFusion). My heavy lifter is an I7 iMac. The fans tend to kick on high only when I run virtual machines - which makes sense. I don't turn on my camera when on Zoom and I don't notice the fan going crazy. Sidecar works great with my MBAir and 10.5" iPad Pro, BTW!

Of course, YMMV. I've gone through four MBAir generations and they have served me well in this capacity.

 

[Audit13]

I'm still using a slightly flaky mid-2014 13" and love the retina screen in comparison to my early 2015 13" Air.

Until my 2014 Pro or 2015 Air can't do something I need to do, then I'll upgrade.