13" M1 mbp over new 14" mbp?

[Eggtastic]

Odd question but wasn't sure if there are many of you in this boat. I have a rMB that I have been waiting to upgrade. 14" comes around and while impressive, 2 grand for a light use laptop doesn't make sense.

I do not want the air, so I figured a 13" m1 mbp would be a good move. Great battery, touch bar (I would use it for sure), cheaper, slimmer, etc.

Bonus question... I am only seeing 2 ports on the 13 mbp m1. I thought I saw somewhere it would have 4?

Thanks

 

[Steve121178]

The old Intel model had 4 ports. You really should consider the Air as its a better machine than the 13" M1 Pro. But if you honestly need the Touch Bar then pick one up. I am not sure why you would buy the 13" M1 pro which looks incredibly dated next to the M1 Air & new MacBook Pro's, but each to their own I guess.

 

[zblomstrom]

I'm in the same boat you are. Upgrading to a 13" M1 MBP from a 2016 rMB with the m7. I couldn't justify the price tag of the new MBP's for my lighter usage.

I personally like the design of the 13" MBP better than the Air and even the new MBP's. I also wanted a laptop with a fan in case I find myself doing something more processor intensive.

 

[darthbane2k]

The old Intel model had 4 ports. You really should consider the Air as its a better machine than the 13" M1 Pro. But if you honestly need the Touch Bar then pick one up. I am not sure why you would buy the M1 pro which looks incredibly dated next to the M1 Air & new MacBook Pro's

Huh?

The Air is a better machine than the M1 Pro?

The M1 Pro looks dated next to the Air? And the new MBPs (with their thick retro design?!) - What in the heck is this advice?!?

 

[Hunter5117]

The M1 Pro looks dated next to the Air? And the new MBPs (with their thick retro design?!) - What in the heck is this advice?!?

Ditto, beat me to it.

 

[Steve121178]

Huh?

The Air is a better machine than the M1 Pro?

The M1 Pro looks dated next to the Air? And the new MBPs (with their thick retro design?!) - What in the heck is this advice?!?

13" has the Touch Bar which is basically now obsolete and was never actually very good in the first place. Although the OP wants it, so he should go with it.

The M1 Air and M1 Pro are essentially almost on par when you look at benchmarks.

The M1 Air has a full set of actually useful function keys and is ergonomically superior thanks to its wedge shape design. It's the better machine.

 

[Steve121178]

Ditto, beat me to it.

For clarification, we are talking about the 13" MBP M1, not the new M1 Pro silicon based MacBook Pro's.

 

[Hunter5117]

The M1 Air has a full set of actually useful function keys and is ergonomically superior thanks to its wedge shape design. It's the better machine.

Basing your opinion of "better' on your own arbitrary, personal likes does not offer someone else much to go on.

OP has stated that they prefer the touch bar and many including myself would agree, its a good feature if you learn how to use it.

And I have owned a couple of MBAs over time and have not found them to be any great ergonomic advantage over a conventional laptop.

Yes, the MBA is pretty close on features and benchmarks and can certainly be found for a few dollars cheaper if thats what the OP would be happy with.

 

[Chargr]

Basing your opinion of "better' on your own arbitrary, personal likes does not offer someone else much to go on.

OP has stated that they prefer the touch bar and many including myself would agree, its a good feature if you learn how to use it.

And I have owned a couple of MBAs over time and have not found them to be any great ergonomic advantage over a conventional laptop.

Yes, the MBA is pretty close on features and benchmarks and can certainly be found for a few dollars cheaper if thats what the OP would be happy with.

MBA and MBP 13 is basically the same unless you want that extra GPU core and the Touch Bar. I recommend going with the MBA\16gb ram option for OPs needs at a lower cost.

 

[Steve121178]

Basing your opinion of "better' on your own arbitrary, personal likes does not offer someone else much to go on.

Then lets not bother asking for advice anywhere on this forum if no one can give their views on things.

The 13" MBP's ridge always dug into my palms after a while. No such problem with the MBA. Definitely ergonomically superior, in my view.

As I stated at least twice, the OP should go with the 13" Pro as he wants the Touch Bar.

 

[darthbane2k]

13" has the Touch Bar which is basically now obsolete and was never actually very good in the first place. Although the OP wants it, so he should go with it.

The M1 Air and M1 Pro are essentially almost on par when you look at benchmarks.

The M1 Air has a full set of actually useful function keys and is ergonomically superior thanks to its wedge shape design. It's the better machine.

Urm..

The M1 Pro has an additional core over the base M1 Air. The fan ensures better performance too. How is the Air the better machine? Because you don't like the Touch Bar? Thats ridiculous. Furthermore the Touch Bar is not obsolete. It continues to work just fine in Mac OS Monterey.

 

[acblue94]

The old Intel model had 4 ports. You really should consider the Air as its a better machine than the 13" M1 Pro. But if you honestly need the Touch Bar then pick one up. I am not sure why you would buy the 13" M1 pro which looks incredibly dated next to the M1 Air & new MacBook Pro's, but each to their own I guess.

Dated? Not quite. The new MacBook's are thick with this bezel. They look dated as in the old MacBook's. Not good looking at all. The 13" MacBook pros are thinner, no notch, and a touch bar. They still look very good. Just because something is new doesn't mean its good looking.

 

[Hunter5117]

Then lets not bother asking for advice anywhere on this forum if no one can give their views on things.

All I would suggest is try to address the OPs question. He stated he did not want a MBA and he liked the touch bar. Basically was a question of if the 13" M1 was a logical choice, not to sway him from his stated preferences.

 

[Hunter5117]

The new MacBook's are thick with this bezel. They look dated as in the old MacBook's.

I was at my cabin for the past weekend where I have my storage of old macs. My first thought was how much the new MBP's look like my old 17" unibody that I have put away for posterity.

 

[darthbane2k]

Then lets not bother asking for advice anywhere on this forum if no one can give their views on things.

Views are one thing. Bogus information is quite the other. The M1 MBP is superior to the M1 MBA - hence one was sold as Pro and the other cheaper as Air. The Pro has an extra core and better thermal management, hence can perform ever so slightly better. Your comment about the Touch Bar is just an opinion.

 

[Steve121178]

Urm..

The M1 Pro has an additional core over the base M1 Air. The fan ensures better performance too. How is the Air the better machine? Because you don't like the Touch Bar? Thats ridiculous. Furthermore the Touch Bar is not obsolete. It continues to work just fine in Mac OS Monterey.

Only the base M1 Air has one less core, the other configs have the same 8 Core CPU & 8 Core GPU the M1 Pro has.

 

[baummer]

For clarification, we are talking about the 13" MBP M1, not the new M1 Pro silicon based MacBook Pro's.

You specifically said "You really should consider the Air as its a better machine than the 13" M1 Pro."

 

[Steve121178]

Views are one thing. Bogus information is quite the other. The M1 MBP is superior to the M1 MBA - hence one was sold as Pro and the other cheaper as Air. The Pro has an extra core and better thermal management, hence can perform ever so slightly better. Your comment about the Touch Bar is just an opinion.

It doesn't have an extra core unless you are referring to the base M1 Air. All other M1 Air configs have the same SoC as the Pro.

 

[Steve121178]

You specifically said "You really should consider the Air as its a better machine than the 13" M1 Pro."

That's because it is.

 

[baummer]

That's because it is.

And yet, you also said: "For clarification, we are talking about the 13" MBP M1, not the new M1 Pro silicon based MacBook Pro's."

 

[Hunter5117]

To the OP. Yes, buying the 13" M1 MBP is a valid choice if your workflow does not involve a lot of really heavy lifting such as video editing then it should work well for you. As mentioned, it has active thermal management aka fans so it can sustain a heavier load for longer time periods without needing to throttle back the processors due to heat. It retains the features of the previous MBP lineup such as the tapered profile and Touch Bar which you said you do appreciate. Yes, for some reason Apple decided to limit it to only 2 TB ports, presumably this was due to the chip design of the original M1 and number of controllers. I know for me the lightness of this laptop is striking, before buying it I was using a 12.9" iPad pro with magic keyboard for my 2nd system and the 13" M1 feels like it is half that weight.

 

[darthbane2k]

To the OP. Yes, buying the 13" M1 MBP is a valid choice if your workflow does not involve a lot of really heavy lifting such as video editing then it should work well for you. As mentioned, it has active thermal management aka fans so it can sustain a heavier load for longer time periods without needing to throttle back the processors due to heat. It retains the features of the previous MBP lineup such as the tapered profile and Touch Bar which you said you do appreciate. Yes, for some reason Apple decided to limit it to only 2 TB ports, presumably this was due to the chip design of the original M1 and number of controllers. I know for me the lightness of this laptop is striking, before buying it I was using a 12.9" iPad pro with magic keyboard for my 2nd system and the 13" M1 feels like it is half that weight.

Good advice, just wanted to chip in - that's not to say the M1 MBP isn't any good at video editing - it is perfectly capable. Just a year ago the industry was lauding its performance (Just go google some old hands-on videos for example), its getting a little unfair wrap now the newer M1 chips are out but that's mainly due to the Apple hype machine.

 

[eilavid]

I bought an Apple refurbished MBP M1 16 GB during the summer, even though these new Pros were right around the corner. But to be honest I have no need for the extra performance from the newest laptops, this M1 MacBook is extremely fast already. I have never heard the fans, even when compiling code. And it's much cheaper, you can easily save 1000$ (compared to the new 14") if you get a refurbished model. It comes with everything in the box too, I don't believe there is even any difference from getting one new.

 

[Hunter5117]

Good advice, just wanted to chip in - that's not to say the M1 MBP isn't any good at video editing - it is perfectly capable. Just a year ago the industry was lauding its performance (Just go google some old hands-on videos for example), its getting a little unfair wrap now the newer M1 chips are out but that's mainly due to the Apple hype machin

Thanks good comment. I meant to mention that, some YouTubers were making a point of editing even 4K video on the M1 MBP and claiming good performance. I know in her unboxing of the new MBPs, iJustine mentioned she had been using the 13" for the past year.

 

[davidg4781]

This is the same thing I'm looking at. I'd love the newer 14" with the more power and really nice display. But I have no need for that power right now. And even if things change, the 13" MBP should be able to get the job done, just a little slower. And I really want to use the TouchBar. I think I'll like it and if I don't, oh well. I don't use Fkeys anyway.

I mean, I'm coming from a 2011 Mac mini that died a few months ago. Anything from the past 5 years would be a big improvement over it.