Agreed, but also the SSD.
If I could only have one I would probably choose a 4 TB SSD over 32/64 GB RAM, but it would be a tough choice.
That said, I am not super happy about having less than half the amount of RAM I got used to almost a decade ago.
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Why Pick a MBA over a MBP?
- Thread starter Rodneyp
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Agreed, but also the SSD.
If I could only have one I would probably choose a 4 TB SSD over 32/64 GB RAM, but it would be a tough choice.
That said, I am not super happy about having less than half the amount of RAM I got used to almost a decade ago.
If I could find a reputable store that could install a thermal pad, and assume a limited warranty for at least a year, then I might be interested.
its funny cause i have almost the same workflow as you, bunch of chromium apps and 30-40 tabs open, using around 50 out of 64gb of ram, and some folks in this thread has called me lazy management 🤣So I run W11 in Parallels, I use Visual Studio 2022, I run 3 browsers with 15-20 tabs each, and I run Teams and a dozen other apps. I find having >=32GB of ram a must. Right now I'm running 64GB of ram and:
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So an Air wouldn't work well for me.
But MOST people out there aren't going to be doing what I'm doing. 24GB of ram, or even 16GB of ram is PLENTY. Just watching Netflix (or streaming app here), chatting with friends, gaming, video editing, coding, server management, file management - Air is beyond plenty.
Just trying to assist ---- An Air will do 95% of what people need. For the 5% that need more, they know already and won't be asking this question for the most part.
For me? I want the ability to do the above if I need to. I want the slightly better screen. I want the CPU cooling so when I need something heavy done, I can do it. But what I do has to be in the extreme minority of most users here, even video editors. We have plenty of videos on Youtube of heavy hitter streamers using an Air to easily video edit and even develop.
I miss the Air's portability and lightness.
Has anybody here noticed marked differences between the feel of the Pro versus the Air keyboards.
The Pro 14+16 keyboards are more rigid, while both Airs have a clickier and bouncier feel, almost like the iPad smart keyboard.
It's a personal preference. I can see some people preferring the Pro keyboard, but I find the Air keyboards much less fatiguing and pleasant to type on. A big difference.
I'm assuming it has something to do with the way they are encased.
The Pro 14+16 keyboards are more rigid, while both Airs have a clickier and bouncier feel, almost like the iPad smart keyboard.
It's a personal preference. I can see some people preferring the Pro keyboard, but I find the Air keyboards much less fatiguing and pleasant to type on. A big difference.
I'm assuming it has something to do with the way they are encased.
During my thesis work i had 150 tabs open with 8gb of ram. The only thing suffering at that point is when i tried to open lightroom for my hobby edits or davinci resolve. If I didn’t multitask, 8gb ram kept excellent with 150 tabs across 3 browsers, ms teams, word/excel, adobe pdf tiff converter. Just no room for hobby lightroom and davinci at that point.
Million tabs opening is a passive RAM use and doesn’t require more RAM. While having VMs and containers open require more RAM, because your other system is the same system as yours trying to run in parallel. Basically if you have 16 gb, you don’t want to end up having 4 systems with 4gb, that is when 32/64 comes in handy.
Also photoshop lightroom on big panos and layering edits lag on 16gb of ram and no difference in smoothness between 32/64.
Only rare cases need 32/64 gigs of ram.
The MBP is so heavy it reminds me of a corporate Dell laptop.
While the MBA reminds me of the original MBA that Steve Jobs took out from an envelope.
While the MBA reminds me of the original MBA that Steve Jobs took out from an envelope.
I've used both machines and personally prefer the MBAir keyboard. The Pro keyboard also feels cramped after using the Air. Not sure it is smaller but it feels smaller.
They are the exact same keyboard - but - they feel completely different. The air feels bouncier and clickier. The pros feel more solid, with a more solid dampening when pressed down. It's probably due to the construction surrounding the keyboard. I prefer the Air by far for the keyboard at leat.
not enough context, when was this. how long did you have these 150 tabs open for, how large was each tab. was this m1 or intel mac.
when i was working with only 8gb of ram, i used nexus lexus more often than west law for my legal research, reason being nexus used 1/3 less memory than latter. this was back in 2015, so no idea if its still the same today.
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It was in 2020-2021. rMBP 13 2012 and M1 Air - both did equally well on this with 8GB of RAM, though intel mac overheated on reddit.
I would have these tabs open for couple days - issue would be returning from sleep takes a couple seconds longer with so many.
I have no idea how large is each tab since i stopped tracking this data from long time ago - you could say our forum + any website that i would open to research and youtube.
I used nexus lexus only as a webapp and it didn't give me any issues, though can't comment on desktop app if they have any.
Fun fact: My 16GB/512gb M1 Pro 14 is slower and laggy when compared to my M1 Air 8gb/512gb. Luckily fixed by updating to the latest Monterey - still testing.
Just for fun, try out the latest MBA 15(order like bare bones base) and see how it works for you. I am thinking about swapping my M1 Air 512GB 13 inch with very base MBA 15. Try it out versus your 64GB system(just make sure both run the same OS version) and decide from there how bad the base version is. You can always return it after the test.
Thin + light + cool/silent running + larger display = happy. That's all it was for me.
thats where the discrepancy lies, couple days of that many tabs open is fine, however i strongly believe if you keep that up for couple of weeks or even a month, since thats the normal time it takes to properly cite and draft thesis in my major, thats when the mac will start acting up.
on my mba with limited ram during grad school, if i don't watch the ram pressure it will completely freeze the system and i would lose tons of work.
I'll say this, coming from someone who opens up CPU IHS's to slather on liquid metal and stuff, the thermal pad mod for an M2 MBA is the cheapest, most easy and reversible modification ever. Literally a torx screwdriver and five minutes of your time.
Bottom heat is whatever as it's about 20W peak, just don't game with it in your lap.
The main concern would be battery health long-term, as your bottom plate would likely radiate more heat towards the battery. This is the main moral concern because you might want to warranty-replace your battery based on health % and cycles, and you can remove the thermal pad before turning it in, but the pad just might be the reason on why your battery aged fast in the first place.
The benefits overall are also worth discussing. I'd say, unless you're actually doing things that hard-throttle your macbook (rendering while leaving it clamshell on a table for example), why do it? Bursty workloads won't see a benefit, it's gaming and long rendering that sees upsides, and in the latter case maybe you could in practise just let it render for longer and be fine with it. A passively cooled low-tdp ultraportable is not good as a designated render-machine anyway.
If you don't think you'll need the extra performance and are unlikely to use the extra ports (HDMI/SD Card), then the 14-inch is a waste of money. Incidentally, 14-inch MacBook Pros have the worst battery life of all Apple Silicon Macs (though, still better than any x86 Mac or PC). So, it's really a matter of where your priorities lie. If you want to get the best performance bang for buck, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is probably your best bet. If you care about battery life and portability first and foremost, get a MacBook Air. In either case, be mindful of the fact that you cannot add internal RAM or storage after configuration time, so get as much as you think you'll need over the next 5-10 years at the time of purchase or else you'll be pulling your hair out later on.
Not true. I tested a laptop cooler with both the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Air and got significantly improved results. Others have done the same.
Much more info here: My Cinebench Throttling tests M2 vs M1 MacBook Airs
Edit: Here is my testing which is linked in the above thread but I thought I would call it out explicitly.
How hot does your M2 MBA run? Doing what?
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I get you. The debate then is what qualifies as "doing much" or being "significant". But @wrcousert can decide that for themselves given your data!
If you ever find the time, test with a fan pointed towards the keyboard. Though it may be impossible to reproduce the exact same testing-conditions now much later.
I thought it was interesting that I could get close to an M2 13” MacBook Pro with a $20 laptop cooler. But I’ve literally never used it again after that test.
I thought I liked the Pro keyboard better at first, but over the last week as I’ve used both computers I realize I actually much prefer the keyboard on the 15 inch air.
Keys have a better travel feel, and it’s bigger which feels much more comfortable to type on than the 14 inch pro
After almost two weeks with both the 15 air and 14 pro I decided to keep the air, and the keyboard is one of the reasons.
I think price and design. I want to start video editing and more creative workflows. I have a base spec M1 MBA and I'm thinking that just a 16gb upgrade would suffice. I'm looking at M2 Air at 16gb and 512gb, using the EPP store this is £1,550. The "comparable" 14" Pro is £2,019. Nearly a £500 difference, which begs the question, is it good value?
This is what I am thinking. For quite a bit more money yes you do get the m2 pro chip, probably the same SSD speed, better screen, more ports and active cooling.
Does this add up to 33% more value? Not so sure!
The reason I got the M2 MBA and subsequently, the 15" MBA over the MBP, is because I don't need all the extra ports. I don't care about watching movies on a laptop because I have an 85" 4K tv for that purpose. I am not an audiophile and don't have a need to have MBP type speakers in my laptop, as I have the 2nd Gen HomePods to give me better sound when needed.
While it is true I could have spent close to the same money and gotten the MBP, it wouldn't have been a good personal value for me, as I wouldn't have used most of the highlighted features and that would have been wasted money.
While it is true I could have spent close to the same money and gotten the MBP, it wouldn't have been a good personal value for me, as I wouldn't have used most of the highlighted features and that would have been wasted money.
At work we just received two new MBA 15". Honestly, they look nice. However, we tested it with a dock, and two monitors, and nope, doesn't work.
So, for me, the MBP is the winner for me, because of dual monitors...
So, for me, the MBP is the winner for me, because of dual monitors...