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Why someone would buy M1 Pro when M1 Air has same specs but much cheaper
- Thread starter muimui
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Great question. Touch bar fans? People who do really heavy video editing or run multiple programs...I could guess they could benefit from the fans built-in?
98% would probably be better off with the Air. Just got mine yesterday and loving it. Just when I thought my laptop keyboard couldn't get better, love the travel on the new keyboards.
98% would probably be better off with the Air. Just got mine yesterday and loving it. Just when I thought my laptop keyboard couldn't get better, love the travel on the new keyboards.
A lot of people have needs that the pro model meets. And some people have had a MBP for years and have gotten used to owning one.
It is so hard to make M1 hot enough, may be 8k video editing with movie long video lol
Honestly, that's why I bought mine. It just seemed like a no brainer to me. Most people do not need a Pro but there is a lot of marketing behind use of the words Pro and Air. In my area way more people use Pros than Airs. With that being said @alphaswift is right some people do benefit from the benefits of the Pro. I have historically only used high end i.e. Professional small and light laptops. Dell XPS 13, HP DV1000, Lenovo Thinkpad 11e, Lenovo X1 Tablet Gen 3, Sony Vaio Flip 14 etc. so the Macbook Pro does not appeal to me because it is thicker than the Air. Also the Macbook Pro does not come in gold.
Battery life was my main reason. Also the brighter screen and the idea of not getting everything you can out of the M1 seems silly to me. I’d rather have the fan so that it can kick in if necessary than not have it. Mine has kicked in a few times.
It’s not THAT much more once you’ve already jumped up to 8 core with reasonable storage on the Air. What, $200/$250 extra for a device you’ll have for 2-5 years? (Without any discounts). If you are worried about that difference I would argue you shouldn’t be looking at top of the line Apple computers anyway. There are other options that can get the job done.
But, for me, mostly battery life. 🔋
It’s not THAT much more once you’ve already jumped up to 8 core with reasonable storage on the Air. What, $200/$250 extra for a device you’ll have for 2-5 years? (Without any discounts). If you are worried about that difference I would argue you shouldn’t be looking at top of the line Apple computers anyway. There are other options that can get the job done.
But, for me, mostly battery life. 🔋
I can't stand the tapered edge of the Air. Looks weird to me. Between that, and liking the Touch Bar, I settled on the MacBook Pro.
I got a Silver M1 base model with the 16GB RAM upgrade last week. I came from a 2016 12” MacBook and chose the Air for the lack of fan and Touch Bar. I don’t need whatever minimal speed benefits a fan may provide. I prefer a silent machine, and I’ve tried the Touch Bar but am not a fan.
After a week of use I couldn’t be happier!
After a week of use I couldn’t be happier!
We replaced all our Macbook Air's at work (2013 to 2015) models (around 60 of them) with M1 Macbook Pro's because the Pro has the extra battery life and the screen is almost 100 nits brighter on the Pro. The staff who have had them like the Touch Bar and find it useful too, especially in PowerPoint where it gives you thumbnails of the slides so can quickly jump.
I was on the fence for a while and ended up getting a Pro for the cooling capacity during hot summers. As it hasn’t become summer yet I’ve been regretting that decision, as the Touch Bar is absolute garbage. I generally use a MacBook for several years, but this one is immediately done for if Apple comes to their senses with the next generation.
Bigger size if you want a 13”. More storage if that’s what you need. Extra RAM if you have a need for 6GBs. Plus, best to ask again in less that three weeks.
I sort of 'get' the Pro - it's not a huge amount extra and there are some minor upgrades in terms of screen brightness, speakers, battery, touch bar (if you like it), performance.
For me the Air still wins though as it's also excellent in all of those categories - the screen is bright, it has great speakers, long battery life and - for me the killer feature - it doesn't have a touch bar!
EDIT: performance, not battery twice
For me the Air still wins though as it's also excellent in all of those categories - the screen is bright, it has great speakers, long battery life and - for me the killer feature - it doesn't have a touch bar!
EDIT: performance, not battery twice
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Larger trackpad and better speakers. If work is paying, these are great to have.
For personal use though, the Air offers far better value.
For personal use though, the Air offers far better value.
I bought the 512 GB 8GPU Air. It's $300 CAD more for a Touch Bar I don't want. I get great battery life on the Air, and I can run all the apps I use and it stays cool. No brainer to me.