Help me choose! Please 😁

[ajf.350d]

Probably know the answer, but going round in circles on which to get.
Both are from the refurbished site. Can’t afford higher specs than these.

M2 Air with 8/10 chip and 16Gb and 512Gb SSD
M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 8/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD

Mainly general use, plus Lightroom Classic, but not a heavy all day, every day user for that.
Just want smooth, consistent performance when editing.
Would think the extra GPU cores on the M1 Pro are worth the extra?
It will replace a 5yr old HP Spectre 15 with i7-8550u. Windows 11.

Only thing unsure about is the extra weight. I also have an old Air and love the light weight.

 

[darngooddesign]

The Air is lighter while the Pro has a better screen and better speakers.

If you decide on the Air, throw your heaviest Lightroom editing at it to see if it gets hot and throttles. FYI I was able to get a 16GB M1 Air to get hot in LR if I was quickly switching between photos in the develop pane or it was rebuilding a bunch of thumbnails. You can always return it if you don't like it.

 

[wilberforce]

Extra GPU cores will make no difference for Lightroom. Although Lightroom does use GPU, it uses it only a little (like 10%).
What does make some difference is M2 has 4 performance CPU cores (of 8 total), whereas M1 Pro has 6 performance CPU cores (of 8 total), but is partly compensated because each M2 core is faster than each M1 Pro core.

Both will be good, neither will be a "mistake." I suspect you already know all the pros and cons, so get the one that appeals to you most.

 

[darngooddesign]

Something else to bear in mind is that for photo editing, the MBP's screen is simply better.

 

[tstafford]

I like my MBP14. The screen is pretty incredible and there are a few things the MBP does that the MBA cannot. However it is a bit chunky. It's not small and light. There's something about the MBA that is so satisfying to hold, put in a bag, carry and use.

IMO - unless you specifically need a feature on the MBP (example multiple external display support) I think I'd go with the MBA.

 

[maflynn]

M2 Air with 8/10 chip and 16Gb and 512Gb SSD
M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 8/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD

More ports, better and larger screen, faster performance. The MBP all the way.

 

[ajf.350d]

Thanks for the responses.
I am going with the M1 Pro after thinking through.
They also added new stock to the refurbished site, so actually went slightly higher and gone with the M1 Pro 10/14, same ram and SSD.
It’s still lighter than my current Windows laptop anyway and everything else is just better than the Air - hopefully

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

If you can wait a few months, I would do that. Rumor has it we'll see updates early spring.

 

[maflynn]

If you can wait a few months, I would do that. Rumor has it we'll see updates early spring.

The problem with waiting, is that along with the release of the M2, Apple will be increasing the prices. Rumors are swirling that MBPs will be more expensive in 2023 and so you're spending more money for basically what is expected to be a spec bump of a machine.

I'm not saying it is or isn't worth it, but I do believe a discounted M1 MBP today offers a better use of one's money then a pricier M2

 

[tstafford]

The problem with waiting, is that along with the release of the M2, Apple will be increasing the prices. Rumors are swirling that MBPs will be more expensive in 2023 and so you're spending more money for basically what is expected to be a spec bump of a machine.

I'm not saying it is or isn't worth it, but I do believe a discounted M1 MBP today offers a better use of one's money then a pricier M2

Especially since the OP's use case won't likely tax the M1Pro anyway.

I'd rather buy a refurb now vs. wait. It's such good machine.

 

[fdw777]

M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 8/14 chip, 16Gb and 512 1,000Gb SSD is my vote in Silver and Apple refurbished of course.

 

[MadDawg2020]

Probably know the answer, but going round in circles on which to get.
Both are from the refurbished site. Can’t afford higher specs than these.

M2 Air with 8/10 chip and 16Gb and 512Gb SSD
M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 8/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD

Mainly general use, plus Lightroom Classic, but not a heavy all day, every day user for that.
Just want smooth, consistent performance when editing.
Would think the extra GPU cores on the M1 Pro are worth the extra?
It will replace a 5yr old HP Spectre 15 with i7-8550u. Windows 11.

Only thing unsure about is the extra weight. I also have an old Air and love the light weight.

I would say go with MacBook Pro - the display is brighter and with a higher pixel density 254 PPI vs 224 PPI which will make a noticeable difference in photo editing - Also it has a built un HDMI port for connecting to an external display when working with clients and 2 more Thunderbolt Ports to attach more drives. I think the the M2 air vs an M1 Mac Pro would be a wash performance wise for your use when you consider the extra performance cores in the MBP.
All that said - If you can stretch your budget at all, I would suggest stepping up to the 24GB version of either model - if you intend on dedicating this to Lightroom or anything else Adobe you cannot have enough RAM in your system.

 

[jdb8167]

If you can stretch your budget at all, I would suggest stepping up to the 24GB version of either model

You can't get 24 GB RAM in the 14" MacBook Pro. It is either 16 GB or 32 GB. The 32 GB upgrade adds $400 to the base model. Plus you might not be able to find one of the deep discounts on a 32 GB model.

 

[maflynn]

M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 8/14 chip, 16Gb and 512 1,000Gb SSD is my vote in Silver and Apple refurbished of course.

Personally, I'd prefer ram over storage, since cloud storage can help alleviate space constraints.

 

[tstafford]

Personally, I'd prefer ram over storage, since cloud storage can help alleviate space constraints.

Agreed 100%. I'm sure it depends on the user of course. I offload most of my stuff to iCloud in part so I can get smaller SSD but mostly so it's accessible across my devices.

 

[ajf.350d]

To confirm, gone with:
M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 10/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD Space Grey
and if Apple are correct, it should be here tomorrow.
Happy not waiting, there is always something better six months along and at full retail they would be more than I can stretch to.
I only justified the Pro as it was on the refurbished store.
32Gb would be nice, but it was never an issue with my Windows laptop and the cost was too high. Too easy to keep saying only another few pounds!

My photos are all stored on a NAS (backed up to cloud of course) so pretty confident 512Gb is OK. Also got iCloud and OneDrive if needed.

 

[maflynn]

M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 10/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD Space Grey
and if Apple are correct, it should be here tomorrow.

Good luck and congrats on your new baby

 

[tstafford]

Well done. My bet is you love it.

Please post your thoughts about it in a day or two.

 

[Captain_Mac]

To confirm, gone with:
M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14 with 10/14 chip, 16Gb and 512Gb SSD Space Grey
and if Apple are correct, it should be here tomorrow.
Happy not waiting, there is always something better six months along and at full retail they would be more than I can stretch to.
I only justified the Pro as it was on the refurbished store.
32Gb would be nice, but it was never an issue with my Windows laptop and the cost was too high. Too easy to keep saying only another few pounds!

My photos are all stored on a NAS (backed up to cloud of course) so pretty confident 512Gb is OK. Also got iCloud and OneDrive if needed.

IMO, the correct choice, as others have suggested hope you enjoy your machine!

 

[iObama]

Nice!! I have the base 8/14 on the way for Saturday. So pumped. What’s your favorite thing about it so far?

 

[tstafford]

Nice!! I have the base 8/14 on the way for Saturday. So pumped. What’s your favorite thing about it so far?

My favorite things are the gorgeous screen and the solid feel of the device. Best laptop I've ever owned and it's not all that close. It's a joy to use. I take it everywhere I go - it sees bars, restaurants, airplanes, etc.

 

[wilberforce]

Be very very gentle and infrequent when cleaning the screen. No rubbing or cleaning fluids of any kind, other than minimal water. Keep your fingers away. The anti-reflective coating is very easily micro-scratched or smudged. Lots of remorse in these forums by enthusiastic cleaners.

 

[Fishrrman]

MacBook Pro 14".
Hands down.
No contest.

Are you able to find one at a discount where you are?

 

[ajf.350d]

It arrived as expected yesterday, but only got to set it up properly today.
Had one minor setup issue. It wouldn’t add the Apple ID during setup as it ‘couldn’t connect to server.’
worked OK once logged in first time.
Fairly sure it was because during setup it hadn’t updated date/time to UK region.
All good so far and performance is a big jump from previous laptop. Guess a lot has happened in 5 years!
Love the lack of fan noise so far with what I’ve used it for, and the screen is great for Lightroom.
Battery life and the fact it sleeps reliably are really nice too. One thing I always had issues with Windows was sleep.
Nice to have MagSafe back for safety, but ironic I now have one MORE cable type instead of same or less.
The Windows laptop was USB-C so shared charger with my iPad.

Downsides?
None so far, Although couple of observations/comment.
Can we have Face ID please. get a password prompt and stare daftly at the camera waiting for it to authenticate😂
Think it was mainly as I was flicking between iPad whilst I set up everything.
On that note, ability to use iPad as second screen is great and works well. Will be useful for secondary apps.

I am sure last time I used MACOS as well, in the dock I could click an app to maximise/open, then click in dock again to minimise back down?
Can’t get the minimise to work.

 

[iObama]

Got mine this morning, and absolutely love it! I agree on Face ID – that'll be a game changer.