I would never allow myself to do this. You're spending close to $2k with tax more than an Air costs simply to get a bigger screen, even though the M1 Air does everything you need it to do. This is exactly why Apple will NEVER produce a 15" Air model.
It doesn't do everything I need it to. The processor can handle the sessions, but the lack of ports makes it impossible to use, other than for editing. I tried two different hubs, but You just can't get past the limitations of the 2 t-bolt I was confused as to why Apple put sufficient ports on the mini, but not the MacBook Pro. I need to connect an audio interface, which needs a dedicated T-port. Magsafe acts as a failsafe. If power runs down, I do not need to disconnect anything. Hubs advertise pass through power, but using the Air, I was compromised. Hubs are a compromise in terms of heat, power draw and bus speed. I need one of the t-ports for iLok. And one more for UAD Processing. If I choose to record without UAD going in, I can use the third t-bolt for midi interfaces. That leaves an SD card for my camera, but also to store samples. I used my 17" for years. Very satisfied. One ethernet, firewire 800, one T-2, and three usb-2's, not to mention an express card which was adaptable. To go from that flexibility to two t-bolts, with one needed for charging? The M1 Air is an incredible machine. Put the same chip in a 15" laptop, with the same ports as the Mini, and I would have purchased. 13" just doesn't cut it. !5" would have been a compromise. Interesting thing is that I just saw a thermal comparison between the 14" and the 16". And as you'd expect, the 14" runs hotter with increased fan noise.
What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? He stated the M1 Air does everything he needs. He bought the Pro basically for a larger display. A $2k outlay for a larger display. A Lamborghini is "way more powerful" than a Toyota Corolla as well, but if you never go past 35 mph...who cares?
My point was that Apple clearly isn't interested in making a larger display on a lower model, and this is exactly why. They extract $1,500-2,000 extra from people by forcing them into a Pro when they don't need it. Why would they offer a 15" Air for a lower price?
If (lack) of fan noise is important, I'd go for the 16". I had the 16" for a few days and never heard them once, although if I really put my head against the chassis I think I heard them once. Have just done my first Handbrake encode on the 14" this morning and they've come on almost immediately and are very audible - i.e. Intel MacBook levels.
Worth clarifying that the chassis doesn't seem to get hot like the Intel Macs do. I seem to remember the 16" did get slightly warm, so is it possible that part of the cooling approach on the larger machine is to make less use of fans and more use of the chassis to dissipate heat?
As more info comes out, there is a clear choice. 14” does NOT suffer performance drops. If you need ease of portability, definitely go with the 14”. You will NOT see a performance drop. However, you WILL experience increased heat, fan noise, and less battery life. Consider the fact that it will still far exceed the Intel variants.
On the other hand, if heat, fan noise and battery life are more important issues than ease of portability; then hands down; the 16” is the choice. And keep in mind, the 16” is nearly two pounds lighter than the 17” i7, and has virtually the same dimensions as the 2014 15”.
One more thing to note. The SSD on the 16” is faster.
Check out this comparison.
14” and 16” unbinned M1Pro.