I have a MBA and a MBP, both with the M1. Help me decide which one to keep.

[ozziegn]

Initially I picked up an M1 MBA last week and I've been loving it so far. But I've watched several videos on YouTube where people are talking about how the M1 MBA laptops can begin to throttle if the processor begins to get too hot from working too hard. I can more than likely tell you that I don't use my laptop nowhere near as much to the point where I'll start to stress the M1 that bad. I might occasionally edit a video or two in iMovie but that's about it. 99% of my laptop use is watching videos and or browsing the web. I love the size and weight of the MBA. I have it hooked up to a 28" 4K monitor for when I'm at my desk in my office.

So, I just picked up a MBP also with an M1 processor. I bought it to compare the two not only in weight but in other areas like speaker sound quality, screen brightness and battery usage times. So far I'm having a hard time justifying the extra $300 for the MBP over the Air model. But I don't want to regret not having a processor w/o a fan down the road if and when my laptop usage changes.

So, I'm asking for advice. What do u guys and gals think? Which would you keep if you were me?

 

[nameste]

Well i am on the same boat.As much as I want a quiet machine I want a mba.Its now winter but things can be change in hot summer days and then it will be too late

 

[Gregintosh]

I ended up getting the pro. A bit of extra battery, brightness on the screen, and ability to process faster for longer make it worth it for me. So far I been using it just one day but I haven't yet heard the fan, so you are still getting a silent computer if your use case is basic.

The way I see it is that in one or two years as the battery gets worn that extra 15% battery capacity will help a lot more than it will even today. The brightness might be useful/pleasant to use occasionally especially if you take the laptop outside to work (or even just want to enjoy the screen at home), and the fan will help keep the speed up for gaming/encoding and other tasks you might end up doing that require the processor to go faster for more than 10 minutes (which is the Air's limit before it throttles).

 

[Hexley]

If you're that indecisive then perhaps waiting for early 2021 Macbook Pros would be up your alley.

Macbook Pro 16" would have

• more than 20 hours battery
• more than 16GB memory
• more than two TB4/USB4 ports
• more high-performance cores
• more high-efficiency cores
• more GPU cores
• more than 15W TDP chip
• more everything
• near Threadripper 3900-series CPU performance
• near RTX 20-Series GPU performance

 

[Malus120]

I've watched several videos on YouTube where people are talking about how the M1 MBA laptops can begin to throttle if the processor begins to get too hot from working too hard.

Yep, its a fan less machine, its going to throttle under load that's inevitable. It's a fair bit slower than the MBP/Mac mini when under sustained continuous load but again that's expected. What's impressive if you look at the actual numbers is EVEN throttled its about as fast as a 7700K (top end 2017 27" iMac) for multithreaded tasks which is pretty damn impressive and blows the doors off of any previous 13" MBP and below.

I can more than likely tell you that I don't use my laptop nowhere near as much to the point where I'll start to stress the M1 that bad. I might occasionally edit a video or two in iMovie but that's about it. 99% of my laptop use is watching videos and or browsing the web. I love the size and weight of the MBA. I have it hooked up to a 28" 4K monitor for when I'm at my desk in my office.

This is your answer. Keep the MBA unless you actually need the extra performance or battery life today, and it ISN'T outweighed by the extra weight. As for "the future," from what you've described as your use case I really don't see the difference between it and the pro in the future being a dealbreaker, at least not before you'd probably want to upgrade anyway. That said, if you have any ideas on how you envision your use case changing in the next few years, let us know and maybe we can give better advice.
If anything I'd consider taking that extra $300 and upgrading the ram and or storage.

 

[acidfast7_redux]

Honestly, I've always had Pro machines before but am keeping the Air. The price difference between them isn't justifiable and I prefer to keep that money for an upgrade later or to but another machine.

Or to use it on my Xmas holiday.

 

[James_C]

In terms of performance, I doubt you will notice the difference. Battery is better on the Pro, but in my experience the Air lasts a whole day on battery anyway. The Air in my opinion has a slightly better typing experience as the case is tapered. A lot really comes down to your preference to the Touch Bar. Some people love it, I hated it on my 15" MBP and much prefer having physical function keys.

 

[laptech]

if you think your laptop habits will change in the next few months then keep the Pro, otherwise sell it.