Which Macbook should I pick up?

[Imissmylittle]

I'm considering to buy the Macbook air 2020 10th gen i5, 16gb ram 256gb or Macbook pro 2020 8th gen i5, 8gb ram 256 GB. I'm focusing on "write some stories" and low-time garageband only (I'm satisfied with using my Mac Mini 2014 i5 with 8gb ram), but I'm looking for laptop experience). I have no idea for upgrading the CPU or ram which would more durable.

Besides, how about the amazon renewed MacBook air 2015? (I love the old apple product.)

 

[cdcastillo]

For writing stories and occasional garageband use, I'd go with the air. It is a wonderful machine.

 

[synicalx1]

I think for your use case, the "stock" i5 model (i5/8GB/512GB) would be a good fit. I don't really see where you'd need the 16GB of memory but if you're working with audio then you're probably going to get a lot of benefit out of the extra SSD space in my opinion. The stock models are easier and quicker to get than custom builds as well, if you're lucky you can probably even just pick it up in store.

If you want to use it "on the go" then I'd highly recommend the MBA over the MBP - there isn't a huge size and weight difference on paper, but in practice the Air feels way more compact. You also have the added benefit of getting a 10th generation CPU in the base model Air's vs 8th gen in the base model MBP's which will give you a potentially noticeable performance boost.

 

[Apple_Robert]

For what you described, the new MacBook Air will do just fine.

 

[sixtydashone]

I think I'd rather go with the 16GB in the Macbook Air over the 8GB in the Macbook Pro. External storage drives and SSDs are cheap, so you can stretch the 256GB.

This is assuming the heat/noise horror stories are overblown. I haven't used the 2020 MBA myself.