Base M3 MacBook Pro or Base M2 MacBook Air?

[mdhaus72]

My wife is a teacher and I'm looking to replace her laptop for Christmas. She's not a traditional power-user by any means...mostly internet use, lots of spreadsheets, Google Slides, and other things used to teach her high school English classes.

Best Buy has a special on their base M2 MacBook Airs with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB hard drives for $949. Alternatively, I'm wondering if it would be worth the extra $500 or so to upgrade her to a M3 base MacBook Pro, which would give her an M3 chip over the M2, better screen technology, a slightly larger screen, double the hard drive space to 512 GB and two more GPU cores. What do you think is the better deal overall? I can see advantages to both.

Is the M3 chip significantly better in real-world use over the M2? One advantage to the Pro, I guess, is that it also provides her with an extra year of Apple OS support down the line.

Thanks!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Given her workflow, there is no real benefit in spending $500 more. I have a 13" M2 MBA base model I use for work and in the bedroom at night and I haven't had any problems. I still have 200GB left.

 

[lclev]

I am a retired teacher and I created more than my fair share of powerpoint slides and spreadsheets. I would have loved an M3 Macbook Pro. The newer processor plus 512GB in storage makes it a more long lasting laptop for her. Plus more storage is never wasted - I still have all the slides and spreadsheets I created when I taught.

 

[kp98077]

would choose base pro any day esp. on sale now at best buy for 1250. yes 8gb but great laptop overall!