Choosing new laptop

[jimmybcool]

Hi all,

I have a 2016 Macbook Pro 13,3. It has been a good machine meaning it does the few tasks I require of a laptop. The one flaw for me is battery life. I get about 3 hours if I sit and use it and it's nearing empty. I am also leery of changes coming in MacOS moving towards the Apple M1-M2 chip sets. So while it is still working for me I think I want to get ahead of the curve and get into one of the newer laptops now. BTW I am also leery of potential conflict with China in the near future at which time buying any electronics may be difficult but let's not stray into politics.

Primary use of it is email, surfing the net, streaming sports events. I do travel so it needs to be rugged. I don't need very many ports and the 4 thunderbolt ports on my current model have never all been in use. In fact I don't know it I've ever used 2 at a time. I have 500 GB storage now and it's about 2/3 full.

I am looking at either the book Air with M2 and 512 GB for $1500, or the Pro 13 with the same storage at the same price. I am confused why anyone would want the Air model when it's only half a pound weight difference and it seems all the other features are stronger in the Pro. Also wondering why the 14" starts $500 more and I can't see what advantage it offers.

Lastly - seriously Apple is offering $140 trade in on my 2016 model? How can that be?

Anyway I may jump in as soon as ordering today so any advice would be gratefully accepted.

 

[xraydoc]

Hi all,

I have a 2016 Macbook Pro 13,3. It has been a good machine meaning it does the few tasks I require of a laptop. The one flaw for me is battery life. I get about 3 hours if I sit and use it and it's nearing empty. I am also leery of changes coming in MacOS moving towards the Apple M1-M2 chip sets. So while it is still working for me I think I want to get ahead of the curve and get into one of the newer laptops now. BTW I am also leery of potential conflict with China in the near future at which time buying any electronics may be difficult but let's not stray into politics.

Primary use of it is email, surfing the net, streaming sports events. I do travel so it needs to be rugged. I don't need very many ports and the 4 thunderbolt ports on my current model have never all been in use. In fact I don't know it I've ever used 2 at a time. I have 500 GB storage now and it's about 2/3 full.

I am looking at either the book Air with M2 and 512 GB for $1500, or the Pro 13 with the same storage at the same price. I am confused why anyone would want the Air model when it's only half a pound weight difference and it seems all the other features are stronger in the Pro. Also wondering why the 14" starts $500 more and I can't see what advantage it offers.

Lastly - seriously Apple is offering $140 trade in on my 2016 model? How can that be?

Anyway I may jump in as soon as ordering today so any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Display is better on MacBook Air M2 as compared with the 13" MacBook Pro M2.
Webcam is better on MBA M2 as compared with the 13" MBP M2.
Speakers are better on the MBA M2
MBA M2 is a slimmer, lighter machine.
13" MBP does not have a MagSafe charging port.

I'm honestly not sure why anyone would want the 13" MBP M2 unless you're really after the Touch Bar.

The 14" MacBook Pro has an M1 Pro processor which is significantly faster than the M2 on everything but single core CPU benchmarks. The SSD is faster. The memory bandwidth is wider/faster. The display is far superior (mini-LED XDR). It can be had with a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU, and up to 32GB of RAM. The 14" MBP with M1 Pro supports two external monitors versus just one on the M2. And the 14" MBP can be configured with the M1 Max processor for up to 32 GPU cores, 4 external displays, up to 64GB of RAM, and 2x the memory bandwidth of the M1 Pro.

 

[ilikewhey]

Display is better on MacBook Air M2 as compared with the 13" MacBook Pro M2.
Webcam is better on MBA M2 as compared with the 13" MBP M2.
Speakers are better on the MBA M2
MBS M2 is a slimmer, lighter machine.
13" MBP does not have a MagSafe charging port.

I'm honestly not sure why anyone would want the 13" MBP M2 unless you're really after the Touch Bar.

The 14" MacBook Pro has an M1 Pro processor which is significantly faster than the M2 on everything but single core CPU benchmarks. The SSD is faster. The memory bandwidth is wider/faster. The display is far superior (mini-LED XDR). It can be had with a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU, and up to 32GB of RAM. The 14" MBP with M1 Pro supports two external monitors versus just one on the M2. And the 14" MBP can be configured with the M1 Max processor for up to 32 GPU cores, 4 external displays, up to 64GB of RAM, and 2x the memory bandwidth of the M1 Pro.

single core burst, sustained single core 14inch is better

 

[Technerd108]

You said that you travel? Then less weight would be better for that. The 13" pro model would be roughly the same as you have now with a much better M2 processor. Your biggest complaint was battery life which is significantly better with the M2 air or M2 Pro 13".

My opinion would be why would you get the 13" Pro? It doesn't offer any real advantages unless you like the Touch Bar and old design. The 14" is in another class altogether but doesn't seem to fit your use case. However the screen on the M1 14" Pro is very nice, it has great speakers it has multiple ports but it is heavier than the 13" Pro and 13.6" air. The 14" base model is also on sale for $1599 at a few sites. For that price it is a great value for pro users.

If I were you I would buy a M2 Air and see if you like it. A few reasons. The M2 air has a modern design like the M1 MBP. It has a brighter and better screen than the 13" pro. It has great battery life. It is very portable and light while still feeling very solid. It is very fast and it doesn't have any fans to produce ambient noise. While some people make a big deal about the fact it doesn't have fans and it throttles for what you use it for that would never happen and most of those negative opinions are for extreme use cases the M2 air was not designed for.

Honestly I think your choices would be an M2 Air or M1 14" MBP. Both would be excellent devices that are well built and will serve you for years. Battery life on the air would be better than the MBP 14". MagSafe is on both models. Cost is roughly the same when configured with 16gb ram and 512gb ssd. Yes the 14" is faster in terms of sustained heavy workloads and has double the memory bandwidth and a faster ssd and more GPU cores but and the really big question is will you actually use or need any of that and I suspect the answer is no. So the real differences you would notice are weight, battery life, screen and speakers. The screen and speakers are better on the 14" while the weight and battery life are better on the M2 air and the screen and speakers on the M2 air are very good.

Don't get caught up in all the hype around M2 air and why you should just buy the 14" MBP. Look at how you use the computer and what matters most to you. I would go to an apple store and look at the 14" and M2 air 13.6". See how they look, feel and sound. That will help you more than what anyone can write here.

 

[jimmybcool]

Thanks. I did not know the screen was better on the MBA 13 than the MBP 13. Honestly speed of processor isn't that critical to my use. If I am actually doing much that needs power I'll use the desktop which is also getting long in the tooth. Wow. 2015 Core intel i5. Man I really don't want to replace both. I think reading the info you guys have provided I am probably well served with the MBA. Question is does the M2 do anything more than the M1 and do I need to upgrade? I'm thinking probably good with the M1.

 

[xraydoc]

Thanks. I did not know the screen was better on the MBA 13 than the MBP 13. Honestly speed of processor isn't that critical to my use. If I am actually doing much that needs power I'll use the desktop which is also getting long in the tooth. Wow. 2015 Core intel i5. Man I really don't want to replace both. I think reading the info you guys have provided I am probably well served with the MBA. Question is does the M2 do anything more than the M1 and do I need to upgrade? I'm thinking probably good with the M1.

Does the M2 do anything more? No, not really. Just a bit faster and more efficient. For those that already own an M1 machine, there’s little to be gained by upgrading. If you’re looking for a bargain, then going with an M1 machine will make a solid upgrade over virtually all Intel-based MacBooks. If you want the newest, the M2 MBA has all the current tech and design features. If you need performance, the M1 Pro and M1 Max machines are still at the top of the performance chart (with exception of the M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio, but that’s not a laptop of course).

 

[jimmybcool]

Thanks. I save money knowing all this. All I need is the MBA 13 with the M1 chip and 512 gb storage and I should be good for another 6-7 years. Going online to order now.

 

[jimmybcool]

Ordered. It is delivered Oct 4th per the net. Guess we'll see. Gives me time to search for a decent case for it.

 

[Technerd108]

Thanks. I save money knowing all this. All I need is the MBA 13 with the M1 chip and 512 gb storage and I should be good for another 6-7 years. Going online to order now.

If you don't mind no magsafe, less bright screen and the same design with thick bezels then you will save some money.

Personally just the redesign is enough for me to get the M2 air and the extra horsepower is an added bonus.

But either way any m series chip will be a huge change for the better in terms of performance and battery life.

 

[ilikewhey]

Thanks. I did not know the screen was better on the MBA 13 than the MBP 13. Honestly speed of processor isn't that critical to my use. If I am actually doing much that needs power I'll use the desktop which is also getting long in the tooth. Wow. 2015 Core intel i5. Man I really don't want to replace both. I think reading the info you guys have provided I am probably well served with the MBA. Question is does the M2 do anything more than the M1 and do I need to upgrade? I'm thinking probably good with the M1.

m1 is more than enough, m2 is essentially a overclocked m1 that heats up faster, if i didn't need more ram, i would've happily kept using the m1 mba. you can easily just the m1 mba in clamshell mode with a monitor and keyboard + mouse.

 

[xraydoc]

m1 is more than enough, m2 is essentially a overclocked m1 that heats up faster, if i didn't need more ram, i would've happily kept using the m1 mba. you can easily just the m1 mba in clamshell mode with a monitor and keyboard + mouse.

Agreed. If the M1 supported two external displays, I'd still be using it. That was pretty much my main reason for upgrading to an M1 Pro MBP instead. I do have one app that runs much better with the M1 Pro's extra graphics and CPU cores, but it's my least frequently used app.