From a 2012 Retina to a new Air

[Nerso]

Hi,

First excuse me for my english, it's not my native language.

I'am currently using a 15" MacBook Pro Retina, the very first version. This is the base model (256gb SSD, 8gb RAM, 2,3ghz i7). I was, or should i say i am pretty happy of this machine. But since a couple of months, i feel this Mac is more sluggish than before. Here is my current usage :

- Safari always open, with a lot of tabs. At work we switched from native apps to web apps, and i can have 8 tabs open just for work, so you can easily add 8 more tabs for personal usage.
- Spark mail client always open with 3 mails acccount.
- Some messaging apps (iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Twitter)

These are the "core" apps i use all day. Plus, like everyone, i use time to time things like Photos, Home app, Pages, Keynote, Word, Excel.

I don't need a big storage, i have a NAS at home and store all "big" stuff in that. I also use iCloud with a 200gb plan.

I'am considering a MacBook Air after all the reviews. Juste a few questions :

Is there a real difference from the 7 to 8 cores model?

I think one of the weak part of my current Mac is the 8gb RAM, so i don't know what to do, 8 or 16gb? I try to keep my computers really long time you see...

And finally, i heard a lot of people saying do not buy those Macs, it's the very first version, the next Apple Silicon models will be faster, more optimised and things like that. What do you think about this?

Thanks

 

[MK500]

I would go with the 16GB upgrade on the Air. Like me, you clearly keep your Macs a long time. And having that extra RAM makes it much more future proof. You can always plug in an external SSD drive, but you can never add more RAM.

Also it sounds like you have a lot of web apps open at any given moment. These can take up a lot of RAM; especially if anything forces you to use Chrome.

I do not believe you will notice any difference between 7 and 8 GPU cores for your usage, so feel free to buy the 256GB model.

I think the biggest issue is going to be screen size. The 13" is going to seem a lot smaller than your 15". Because of this I would probably recommend waiting until next year for the 16" if your 15" is still working OK. Or consider buying an external monitor for the Air.

Otherwise the Air is going to be a huge upgrade in performance, portability and battery life. I love my new M1 MacBook Air!

I chose the Air over the Pro because I prefer having physical keys vs. the Touch Bar. I also love the finless operation, and my Air does not get hot at all. I honestly think the Air is superior to the Pro for many people.

 

[Nerso]

Thanks. I forgot to give details about the screen size. Clearly i prefer a 15" screen, but i can't spend 2000€ for a computer... For years i hoped a 15" MacBook Air but i think it's never gonna happen... One of my friend use a 13" Pro and i tried it several times and i think i can get used to it.

 

[MK500]

Thanks. I forgot to give details about the screen size. Clearly i prefer a 15" screen, but i can't spend 2000€ for a computer... For years i hoped a 15" MacBook Air but i think it's never gonna happen... One of my friend use a 13" Pro and i tried it several times and i think i can get used to it.

Then I think you will be very happy with the Air. Even the base model will probably be fine for a while; but if you can manage that extra $200 for the 16GB RAM I think you will be happier in the long run. It feels like a lot of money for the extra 8GB, but remember that RAM is shared between the CPU and graphics.

All that aside, the fact that the SSD is so incredibly fast on the Air means that the OS can "swap" memory to SSD very fast. So the 8GB isn't as limiting as it would otherwise be.

Don't forget to budget in for any "dongles" you will need to cover the ports you use on your MacBook Pro. Examples would be standard USB, SD card reader, etc. HDMI if you need to connect to a TV or projector occasionally. Those dongles can really add up.