A few laptop questions

[transphasic]

Hi all, have a few buying questions. I am considering the following:

Option A) MBA M2 with 16GB/24GB, 1TB SDD

Option B) 14" MBP with 32GB, 1TB SDD

1-can the MBA M2 handle photo editing in photoshop? I don't do much video editing, but do a lot with photos, would it hold up well?

2-if the M2 can handle Ps, would it be worth it to spend the $200 or so for the additional 8GB of RAM to increase it to 24GB? 16GB is a minimum, but its a question whether its worth it to pick up the addition 8GB.

3-for my needs, would I be better off with the MBP 14 inch, which is a bit heavier and larger (less portable), or would either machine capably be able to handle Ps, Wor, Excel, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Toutou]

Both have plenty of horsepower for Photoshop, but the display on the 14” is a bit better. The additional 8 gigs of ram shouldn’t be necessary, but could be nice if you plan on having everything open all the time and using dozens of browser tabs at once.

 

[darkanddivine]

Similar to yourself I keep having this debate. I do music which can be processor heavy (virtual instruments) but also RAM hungry (samples.) My hunch is that 16GB plus the extra horsepower in the M1 Pro is a great choice that will last for years. The M2 looks great because of the extra RAM and I don’t need the machine to be lightning fast. It’s hard to predict which of these 2 specs will change in music production, but if I were to guess, I’d say 16GB will be the recommended level of RAM for a while. In overall performance, the M1 Pro still beats M2 in benchmarks, plus the Pro has the added benefits of more ports too. It’s a tough call though and in your case you need to factor in how power hungry Photoshop is & is likely to be.

 

[MajorFubar]

If it has to be a laptop I'd choose the 14" pro for the better screen. Considering you said you're using it for Photoshop, the bigger screen is a must and IMO takes priority over everything else, considering that in terms of performance, both of them will suit you.

But...I think you need to ask yourself how portable do you need it to be, and if the answer is 'not very', the price you're willing to pay for a 14" laptop will buy you a Mac Studio Max whose performance will bury a 14" Pro and will leave you $500-$600 from your 14" Macbook budget to pair it with a nice >=28" 4K monitor. IMO if you're into photos and graphics there's no going back from a >=28" monitor to squinting at a 14" laptop screen, no matter how great it is.

 

[tstafford]

I debated MBP vs. M2 Air as well. Ended up with MBP. At current prices especially it is hard to ignore the performance advantage and superior screen. Downside is weight and battery life. For me the nail in the coffin is the M2 Air's inability to support dual external displays. If I hadn't had that requirement, passing on the Air's portability would have been doubly hard.

End of the day - no bad choice. My advice is MBP as I have not regretted it at all. Said many times it's the best laptop I've ever owned.

 

[Isamilis]

Hi all, have a few buying questions. I am considering the following:

Option A) MBA M2 with 16GB/24GB, 1TB SDD

Option B) 14" MBP with 32GB, 1TB SDD

1-can the MBA M2 handle photo editing in photoshop? I don't do much video editing, but do a lot with photos, would it hold up well?

2-if the M2 can handle Ps, would it be worth it to spend the $200 or so for the additional 8GB of RAM to increase it to 24GB? 16GB is a minimum, but its a question whether its worth it to pick up the addition 8GB.

3-for my needs, would I be better off with the MBP 14 inch, which is a bit heavier and larger (less portable), or would either machine capably be able to handle Ps, Wor, Excel, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Not answering your question. But, have you check in person both machine? I did few weeks ago and found that MBA M2 is not really solid and its design is so-so. It’s like lack of Apple’s “taste”. It may be subjective, but I prefer the MBP 13” design instead. MBP 14” should be similar with MBP 13”.

 

[Fishrrman]

BE AWARE that there is a $400 off sale on just about all MBP 14" units right now, at costco, best buy, and amazon.

So that's what I'd be looking at -- MacBook Pro 14".

Even the base model @ 1,599 is well-equipped with 16gb of RAM and a 512gb SSD.