Advice needed: MBA 24GB vs MBP 16GB for specific use

[awriter]

ANSWER: For my purposes, yes. I write for a living, and while Mac dictation and voice control have come a long way, they aren't robust enough to properly edit, revise, and correct documents. They are great for simple tasks, however, like dictating this message – although even in this situation, it is difficult to correct mistakes that would be easily rectified using Dragon. While I can function largely hands-free with Dragon, I am forced to intervene manually almost constantly with Voice Control.

 

[ChrisA]

Mac dictation and voice control have come a long way, they aren't robust enough to properly edit, revise, and correct documents. They are great for simple tasks, however, like dictating this message – although even in this situation, it is difficult to correct mistakes that would be easily rectified using Dragon.

I wonder how Dragon's IOS version compares. I'd like to find something better than Apple's dictation but not willing to set up and run a Windows VM.

I guess I could install the free trial.

Dragon has been around for a long time.

 

[awriter]

My hope is that Voice Control will continue to improve, and after a while I won't need to bother with the virtual machine. Until that happens, however, this is the best solution I can think of that doesn't involve buying a PC. Dragon Anywhere might be good (I haven't actually tried it), but then you're stuck doing everything on your phone, and I couldn't maintain my workflow that way.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Hello all!

I plan to replace my 2014 MacBook with a new M2 model. I will be using it for standard-issue stuff (Office for Mac, Safari and other browsers with multiple tabs open, iTunes, etc.) but also sometimes running Windows 11 in a virtual machine under Parallels 18. In the vm, I will be running Dragon Professional 16 dictation software and MS Word. I am a journalist, and basically use the vm to dictate articles while doing everything else on the Mac side.

I also use my MacBooks well beyond the point where they are supported, so I would like to get a 1TB SSD. Given the use of the vm, would I be better served by a MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM or a 14" MacBook Pro with 16GB? With 1TB of storage, the prices are almost exactly the same.

(One more detail: The version of Parallels I use only allows me to give a maximum of 8GB RAM to the vm, but I could upgrade to a version that would allow me to give it more, if necessary.)

Well the Macbook Pro's display is vastly better than the Air's. And it also has more ports. But the Air is lighter and since you're just doing writing you don't really need the M2 Pro

I guess it'll come down to if you think you need the extra ram for your VMs.

From my experience I got the Macbook Pro even though I didn't need it, because I wanted the display. The display was just too good that I wanted it.