Just purchased a 14" MBP - and I am excited

[ilikewhey]

Good line of thinking…your route makes sense to me

But more generally - assuming an MBA is right for one’s use case and the extra power of a MBP is not needed and won’t ever really be utilized - does that really shorten the expected life of the machine?

An upgraded MBA should have the same assumed longevity for the lighter use case…no?

not at all, not having a fan might make do with today's workflow and apps, but you can never account for future apps where its almost a given that it will be more resource intensive and what not.

 

[guitarguy19]

not at all, not having a fan might make do with today's workflow and apps, but you can never account for future apps where its almost a given that it will be more resource intensive and what not.

So is the general consensus that a base M1 MBP will have significantly longer longevity than the M2 MBA, with RAM and SSD space being equal?? The processor is just that much better that it equates to significant future proofing?

That’s a bit surprising to me I guess.

 

[ilikewhey]

So is the general consensus that a base M1 MBP will have significantly longer longevity than the M2 MBA, with RAM and SSD space being equal?? The processor is just that much better that it equates to significant future proofing?

That’s a bit surprising to me I guess.

nobody knows, architecturally speaking the m1 and m2 is the same, just higher clocked. they will both be supported for the same duration, however can't speak for real world experience, m2 mba already faces some throttling.

 

[resolutiontime]

The MBP 14" is just too good of a deal to pass up assuming you will use it for long hours everyday and buy it when it's on sale.

I just purchased 2 MBP 14" base models for $3,500 AND getting a $500 Costco GC (basically cash).
Will sell one for $1,500.
Keep the other and get a $500 Costco Gift card, and 4% cash back. In the end, I'm getting the MBP 14" for $1,360 after CA taxes.

 

[guitarguy19]

nobody knows, architecturally speaking the m1 and m2 is the same, just higher clocked. they will both be supported for the same duration, however can't speak for real world experience, m2 mba already faces some throttling.

Yeah…that makes sense. But the throttling I assume is under heavier loads and not light use.

I guess, though, it makes sense that the longer you want to have the machine, the more powerful (ideally) it should be to keep up with OS and software. Spec’d the same HD space and memory, the MBP has the fan to help with cooling…but then again that introduces dust and has more moving parts and stuff too. Obviously it has more GPU power, and then the 6/2 vs 4/4 in terms of the power and efficiency cores. Not sure how much either of those will matter when it comes to getting overpowered by OS as time goes by. The chip…from what I gather the M1 Pro smokes the M2…so there is that.

As you said we don’t really know…but there seems to be a reasonable case for both sides.

 

[transphasic]

Yeah…that makes sense. But the throttling I assume is under heavier loads and not light use.

I guess, though, it makes sense that the longer you want to have the machine, the more powerful (ideally) it should be to keep up with OS and software. Spec’d the same HD space and memory, the MBP has the fan to help with cooling…but then again that introduces dust and has more moving parts and stuff too. Obviously it has more GPU power, and then the 6/2 vs 4/4 in terms of the power and efficiency cores. Not sure how much either of those will matter when it comes to getting overpowered by OS as time goes by. The chip…from what I gather the M1 Pro smokes the M2…so there is that.

As you said we don’t really know…but there seems to be a reasonable case for both sides.

I burned myself out, spending way, way too much time trying to analyze the death out of what would be a rather straight-forward decision for people less anal/less crazy than we are, and if I've learned anything given what I've experienced over the past few months - don't sweat it, either laptop is a fantastic product and will give you many years of enjoyment.

There is a powerful argument for either laptop, and believe me - I really love the MBA M2, that lightweight form factor is so incredibly appealing. To be able to toss it into a small bag, run to a coffee shop or library to noodle around with some songs - you will be missing little or nothing that the MBP has to offer, and will last you for many years. I was at my mother's this week using her macbook with a mere 4GB of RAM from 2008 and it is STILL quite capable of handling the web, email, and many other tasks I throw at it. Apple's products might cost a bit more than the others, but they last for as long as you want to keep them.

Don't kill yourself/rack your brains over this decision, and don't be foolish like me wasting time you could be making music or doing something more productive with your time going back and forth over this. Go with your gut, and its clear your heart is heavily leaning towards the MBA.

Get it, it's an incredible machine and take pictures of it when you do.

 

[ilikewhey]

Yeah…that makes sense. But the throttling I assume is under heavier loads and not light use.

I guess, though, it makes sense that the longer you want to have the machine, the more powerful (ideally) it should be to keep up with OS and software. Spec’d the same HD space and memory, the MBP has the fan to help with cooling…but then again that introduces dust and has more moving parts and stuff too. Obviously it has more GPU power, and then the 6/2 vs 4/4 in terms of the power and efficiency cores. Not sure how much either of those will matter when it comes to getting overpowered by OS as time goes by. The chip…from what I gather the M1 Pro smokes the M2…so there is that.

As you said we don’t really know…but there seems to be a reasonable case for both sides.

dust is a non concern, you can just pop open the back and blow it with a air can, the only advantage m2 have over m1 pro/max is burst single core and only slightly at that. real world performance you won't even notice.

 

[guitarguy19]

I burned myself out, spending way, way too much time trying to analyze the death out of what would be a rather straight-forward decision for people less anal/less crazy than we are, and if I've learned anything given what I've experienced over the past few months - don't sweat it, either laptop is a fantastic product and will give you many years of enjoyment.

There is a powerful argument for either laptop, and believe me - I really love the MBA M2, that lightweight form factor is so incredibly appealing. To be able to toss it into a small bag, run to a coffee shop or library to noodle around with some songs - you will be missing little or nothing that the MBP has to offer, and will last you for many years. I was at my mother's this week using her macbook with a mere 4GB of RAM from 2008 and it is STILL quite capable of handling the web, email, and many other tasks I throw at it. Apple's products might cost a bit more than the others, but they last for as long as you want to keep them.

Don't kill yourself/rack your brains over this decision, and don't be foolish like me wasting time you could be making music or doing something more productive with your time going back and forth over this. Go with your gut, and its clear your heart is heavily leaning towards the MBA.

Get it, it's an incredible machine and take pictures of it when you do.

Thanks for the advice! I definitely tend to drive myself a little crazy when it comes to big purchases haha. My wife has already said - not in so many words - just buy the damn thing and shut up about it. Haha.

I’m still going back and forth because at the end of the day it’ll either be the M1 MBP now with the sale, or the M2 MBA sometime in the near-ish future when there’s a sale on that. Not sure when that’ll be…but hard to justify paying the same price for the Air as the Pro, and truth be told I don’t really *need* a new laptop immediately. I just want to get one somewhat soon while there’s some life still left on my 2020 i5 MBA so it can be used for the household (very light use) for a few years.

In the meantime I have a good excuse to go to the Apple store and handle both to see if there’s a clear winner there too!

 

[xraydoc]

I spent several weeks analyzing my options, such as a Studio for home with a MBA for outside adventures, vs a MBP, taking into account the Studio is a better home computer (more ports, bigger heat sink, etc) and the MBA is a lighter, smaller laptop better suited to travel with, but chose the MBP 14".

Why, you might ask?

I saved almost $1,000 compared to the Apple store buying from one of their authorised dealers. When even the Apple store employees saw the sale, and had explained to me that the upcoming MBP revision will be incremental and not monumental, along with having no timetable on when they will be released, even they said this is a "no-brainer."

I was VERY tempted by the MBA, which I might still get if traveling with the MBP bothers my aging shoulders when I transport it, but the cost savings was too great to pass up for such a machine. Plus the lack of upgradability of the Studio rendered it much less appealing, as I had always visualized a home computer as something that offered some type of path to upgrading; swapping the processor, more RAM, etc.

Only thing that I wasn't thrilled about is the color - space dull gray - when i wanted silver, but for $1,000 saved I'll live with the color.

Will buy the Apple Display tomorrow/later this week to round things out. Exciting times...

I've got a 14" M1 Pro and two Studio Displays. Best Mac I've ever had.

 

[xraydoc]

So is the general consensus that a base M1 MBP will have significantly longer longevity than the M2 MBA, with RAM and SSD space being equal?? The processor is just that much better that it equates to significant future proofing?

That’s a bit surprising to me I guess.

The MBP M1 Pro is faster than the M2 MBA all around (base M2, not the as-yet-unreleased M2 Pro/Max/Ultra). CPU, GPU, memory bandwidth, SSD are all at least 20% faster. And then there's the additional TB4 port the M1 Pro offers that the M2 does not, adding to additional expandability. The MacBook Pro machines also offer active cooling (a.k.a., a fan) so peak performance can be maintained longer. Granted at the expense of weight and thickness.

So unless there's a software feature that the M2-architecture supports that the M1 does not, the M1 Pro should maintain it's performance edge over the M2 for the life of either machine.

The MBA, of course, is a much lighter, thinner and potentially more portable machine. So things aren't necessarily equal. Different tools for different jobs.

 

[guitarguy19]

After a long debate, and after going to the Apple Store a few days ago to handle both the M1 MBP 14 and the M2 MBA, I pulled the trigger this morning through a Costco sale for the MBP! With 4% cash back (2% Exec Membership + 2% credit card), total cost was $1630 including tax. Pretty darn happy with what I’m getting for that price!! If you’re on the edge your your seat wondering…I went with silver. Ha.

After handling both the MBP and the M2 MBA, the size difference and portability was better on the MBA for sure…but not really by all that much. And, 80% of the time I’m running at home either on my desk through the ASD or on the couch. Either one is suited fine for that level of mobility. On the occasions I do travel, the slightly larger footprint of the MBP is not really that big of a deal…but wow…the performance and the screen! Killer.

I also have to say I’m surprisingly not a fan of the MBA’s new midnight color (which I thought I would be) nor the new MBA design. It’s fine…but meh. That midnight is a fingerprint magnet, and I’ll put it out there that I actually prefer the wedge!!

 

[transphasic]

After a long debate, and after going to the Apple Store a few days ago to handle both the M1 MBP 14 and the M2 MBA, I pulled the trigger this morning through a Costco sale for the MBP! With 4% cash back (2% Exec Membership + 2% credit card), total cost was $1630 including tax. Pretty darn happy with what I’m getting for that price!! If you’re on the edge your your seat wondering…I went with silver. Ha.

After handling both the MBP and the M2 MBA, the size difference and portability was better on the MBA for sure…but not really by all that much. And, 80% of the time I’m running at home either on my desk through the ASD or on the couch. Either one is suited fine for that level of mobility. On the occasions I do travel, the slightly larger footprint of the MBP is not really that big of a deal…but wow…the performance and the screen! Killer.

I also have to say I’m surprisingly not a fan of the MBA’s new midnight color (which I thought I would be) nor the new MBA design. It’s fine…but meh. That midnight is a fingerprint magnet, and I’ll put it out there that I actually prefer the wedge!!

As you yourself realized, both the MBP and MBA are VERY compelling machines, with many appealing features to each. I love both products, and might still get a MBA in the next year to replace my wife's aging iMac with an i5 processor.

The deciding factor for me was that while the MBA is clearly lighter and more portable, the difference is not that stark. And with a massive sale I was able to get the 32 core/64GB iteration for about $2,700, which would have been only a few hundred more than a maxxed out MBA.

Either product is a superb choice and will provide its buyer with many years of satisfying usage.

What memory/SSD/processor selections did you decide to go with?

 

[guitarguy19]

As you yourself realized, both the MBP and MBA are VERY compelling machines, with many appealing features to each. I love both products, and might still get a MBA in the next year to replace my wife's aging iMac with an i5 processor.

The deciding factor for me was that while the MBA is clearly lighter and more portable, the difference is not that stark. And with a massive sale I was able to get the 32 core/64GB iteration for about $2,700, which would have been only a few hundred more than a maxxed out MBA.

Either product is a superb choice and will provide its buyer with many years of satisfying usage.

What memory/SSD/processor selections did you decide to go with?

I went with the base model 8/16/512. The upgraded model wouldn’t have been realistic for my desired budget…and would’ve been way overkill for my usage case, whereas the base model I think is a great fit. In actuality even this base model is probably still a bit more than I need in terms of processing power…but I really saw it as a great “bang for your buck” at nearly 25% off (with the cash back).

 

[resolutiontime]

After a long debate, and after going to the Apple Store a few days ago to handle both the M1 MBP 14 and the M2 MBA, I pulled the trigger this morning through a Costco sale for the MBP! With 4% cash back (2% Exec Membership + 2% credit card), total cost was $1630 including tax. Pretty darn happy with what I’m getting for that price!! If you’re on the edge your your seat wondering…I went with silver. Ha.

After handling both the MBP and the M2 MBA, the size difference and portability was better on the MBA for sure…but not really by all that much. And, 80% of the time I’m running at home either on my desk through the ASD or on the couch. Either one is suited fine for that level of mobility. On the occasions I do travel, the slightly larger footprint of the MBP is not really that big of a deal…but wow…the performance and the screen! Killer.

I also have to say I’m surprisingly not a fan of the MBA’s new midnight color (which I thought I would be) nor the new MBA design. It’s fine…but meh. That midnight is a fingerprint magnet, and I’ll put it out there that I actually prefer the wedge!!

You could have gotten it for $1400 After taxes if you bought 2 a few weeks ago. Sold one for $1500 and keep the other for $1400.

 

[guitarguy19]

You could have gotten it for $1400 After taxes if you bought 2 a few weeks ago. Sold one for $1500 and keep the other for $1400.

Whelp...I must've missed that sale. How long ago were they on sale for that cheap?

If it was a few weeks ago then maybe a price adjustment is in order.

Care to elaborate?

 

[resolutiontime]

Whelp...I must've missed that sale. How long ago were they on sale for that cheap?

If it was a few weeks ago then maybe a price adjustment is in order.

Care to elaborate?

It was a gift card promotion. You have to spend 3k to get a Costco 500 GC. Then you get cash back and sell the extra MBP.

Online Only: MacBook Pro (14-inch) - Apple M1 Pro, 512GB SSD- Buy 2 Get $500 Costco digital shop card $3198

Online Only Costco Members: Costco has an offer Spend $3000 online and get $500 Digital shop card. Buy two Macbook pro M1 pro 14inch 512GB laptops in one order for $3200 and get back $500 in costco

slickdeals.net

Same for the 16" 1 TB, 32 GB model.

MacBook Pro (16-inch) - Apple M1 Max Chip with 10-Core CPU and 32-Core GPU, 1TB SSD + $500 Costco GC $3099.99

Features: Apple M1 Max chip for a massive leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance 10-core CPU delivers up to 2x faster performance to fly through pro workflows quicker than ever³ 32-core G

slickdeals.net

 

[guitarguy19]

It was a gift card promotion. You have to spend 3k to get a Costco 500 GC. Then you get cash back and sell the extra MBP.

Online Only: MacBook Pro (14-inch) - Apple M1 Pro, 512GB SSD- Buy 2 Get $500 Costco digital shop card $3198

Online Only Costco Members: Costco has an offer Spend $3000 online and get $500 Digital shop card. Buy two Macbook pro M1 pro 14inch 512GB laptops in one order for $3200 and get back $500 in costco

slickdeals.net

Same for the 16" 1 TB, 32 GB model.

MacBook Pro (16-inch) - Apple M1 Max Chip with 10-Core CPU and 32-Core GPU, 1TB SSD + $500 Costco GC $3099.99

Features: Apple M1 Max chip for a massive leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance 10-core CPU delivers up to 2x faster performance to fly through pro workflows quicker than ever³ 32-core G

slickdeals.net

Well dayum. If I'd known about that I would've jumped on it for sure.

Ah well. Win some lose some I guess.

 

[resolutiontime]

Well dayum. If I'd known about that I would've jumped on it for sure.

Ah well. Win some lose some I guess.

I still have one. Located in San Jose.

 

[guitarguy19]

I still have one. Located in San Jose.

Appreciate it but for the extra hundred bucks I gotta take the extended Costco warranty.

Unless you wanna steep discount that bad boy to get rid of it and eat into your deal...haha.

 

[ilikewhey]

It was a gift card promotion. You have to spend 3k to get a Costco 500 GC. Then you get cash back and sell the extra MBP.

Online Only: MacBook Pro (14-inch) - Apple M1 Pro, 512GB SSD- Buy 2 Get $500 Costco digital shop card $3198

Online Only Costco Members: Costco has an offer Spend $3000 online and get $500 Digital shop card. Buy two Macbook pro M1 pro 14inch 512GB laptops in one order for $3200 and get back $500 in costco

slickdeals.net

Same for the 16" 1 TB, 32 GB model.

MacBook Pro (16-inch) - Apple M1 Max Chip with 10-Core CPU and 32-Core GPU, 1TB SSD + $500 Costco GC $3099.99

Features: Apple M1 Max chip for a massive leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance 10-core CPU delivers up to 2x faster performance to fly through pro workflows quicker than ever³ 32-core G

slickdeals.net

oh yeah i saw that, was wondering who would go for it since it's aimed at multi ppl ownership.

 

[GCC]

I burned myself out, spending way, way too much time trying to analyze the death out of what would be a rather straight-forward decision for people less anal/less crazy than we are, and if I've learned anything given what I've experienced over the past few months - don't sweat it, either laptop is a fantastic product and will give you many years of enjoyment.

There is a powerful argument for either laptop, and believe me - I really love the MBA M2, that lightweight form factor is so incredibly appealing. To be able to toss it into a small bag, run to a coffee shop or library to noodle around with some songs - you will be missing little or nothing that the MBP has to offer, and will last you for many years. I was at my mother's this week using her macbook with a mere 4GB of RAM from 2008 and it is STILL quite capable of handling the web, email, and many other tasks I throw at it. Apple's products might cost a bit more than the others, but they last for as long as you want to keep them.

Don't kill yourself/rack your brains over this decision, and don't be foolish like me wasting time you could be making music or doing something more productive with your time going back and forth over this. Go with your gut, and its clear your heart is heavily leaning towards the MBA.

Get it, it's an incredible machine and take pictures of it when you do.

That’s exactly what I did

 

[transphasic]

That’s exactly what I did

Quite impressive, may you enjoy it in good health for many years.👍