I bought my Pro 14 base model in December, with the knowledge that the Air might receive a big upgrade with the M2. Now, suffering just a bit of buyer's remorse in not waiting just a bit longer. Yet, it seems that the M1 14 may also be a valid choice even if you were buying now - better screen and speakers, more ports - yet I do really like the 400g weight savings and slim form factor of the new Air.
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M1 Pro 14 base vs M2 Air
- Thread starter Booji
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I just bought a 14" MBP just recently, like 2 weeks, and I have no buyers remorse.
The MBP has this going for it.
Faster processor
Better GPU? (I'm not sure about this)
More ports
Better screen (larger, faster, brighter)
Better speakers
Active cooling
The MBA has this going for it
Slightly better battery performance.
The color blue
the number 2 is higher then 1 in the name (M2 > M1)
The size difference is only a loaf of bread, are you really worried about such a minor difference?
Bottom line is if you're unhappy with the MBP, sell it and buy the MBA.
I'm not down on the MBA, its an excellent computer but spec wise the 14" MBP Either the Pro or max variant beats the MBA in nearly every category. The MBA and the MBP are aimed at two difference customers and the MBP is a more capable laptop able to handle sustained loads and processes due to the inclusion of the fan
you are probably right. Apple is genius at introducing new models yet keeping the previous models relevant.
MBP 14” screen is better than M2 Air, isn’t it? The promotion display really give much difference for some people (with sensitive eyes).
If I find a MBP 14" on sale in the next 4 weeks I'll buy it. If not I'm going M2 Air.
The 14" MBP is kind of a brick and I would prefer the Air form factor as I'm a pretty light user.
But if $1750-1800 for the MBP comes back I'd probably jump on that now knowing the price of the M2 air. At $2,000 for the MBP then I'd go Air every time.
The 14" MBP is kind of a brick and I would prefer the Air form factor as I'm a pretty light user.
But if $1750-1800 for the MBP comes back I'd probably jump on that now knowing the price of the M2 air. At $2,000 for the MBP then I'd go Air every time.
I'm in the same boat. Missed the $250 off sale for the mbp but will jump on it if it somehow makes it this summer. I will try to wait it out to test out the air in stores to get a feel for both.
For my needs, the air is fine. However, the extras the pro bring are nice.
For my needs, the air is fine. However, the extras the pro bring are nice.
Bought a MBP 14 on the day after the M2 MBA was announced. I don't use my laptop on the road frequently so the extra weight is acceptable to me. Specs wise, the MBP 14 definitely has much better value like-for-like against a similarly spec-ed M2 MBA.
I don't see anything with the new Air that entices me.
1. M2 is not comparable to M1 Pro at all. M1 Pro has more P cores and faster GPU cores. We're talking 10 cores for the M2 vs 16 cores for the M1 Pro. No contest.
2. M1 Pro also has higher RAM bandwidth for more intensive tasks. And all M1 Pro models come with at least 16GB of RAM whereas that's a configuration you have to make with M2.
3. XDR screen is much better and is basically a must with the notch. Otherwise you'll clearly see the notch in all situations and trust me, it's more annoying than it seems. Also, the 14" with Lunar can reach 1000 nits of sustained brightness, which makes it a lot brighter and more usable outdoors.
4. Speakers are much better with the 14".
5. More ports, SD slots, and also faster charger by default.
6. Active cooling fan makes a massive difference for sustained workload.
So the 14" is much more of a workhorse and is also a much better device for media consumption (HDR support, brighter screen, better speakers). Not sure why anyone even wants to compare the 2. I think they are different classes of devices altogether.
The Air may be enticing to students on a budget, but for me, there's no replacing what the 14" can do. The new 14" and 16" are the only laptops on the market with screens that can reach 1000 nits of sustained brightness in actual every day use. That's a much bigger deal than some may think.
1. M2 is not comparable to M1 Pro at all. M1 Pro has more P cores and faster GPU cores. We're talking 10 cores for the M2 vs 16 cores for the M1 Pro. No contest.
2. M1 Pro also has higher RAM bandwidth for more intensive tasks. And all M1 Pro models come with at least 16GB of RAM whereas that's a configuration you have to make with M2.
3. XDR screen is much better and is basically a must with the notch. Otherwise you'll clearly see the notch in all situations and trust me, it's more annoying than it seems. Also, the 14" with Lunar can reach 1000 nits of sustained brightness, which makes it a lot brighter and more usable outdoors.
4. Speakers are much better with the 14".
5. More ports, SD slots, and also faster charger by default.
6. Active cooling fan makes a massive difference for sustained workload.
So the 14" is much more of a workhorse and is also a much better device for media consumption (HDR support, brighter screen, better speakers). Not sure why anyone even wants to compare the 2. I think they are different classes of devices altogether.
The Air may be enticing to students on a budget, but for me, there's no replacing what the 14" can do. The new 14" and 16" are the only laptops on the market with screens that can reach 1000 nits of sustained brightness in actual every day use. That's a much bigger deal than some may think.
The M1 Pro 14 battery life is inferior. But it does support multiple external monitors and is capable of higher scaling / resolutions on certain monitors.
I got my 14" 16/1TB on day of air 2 announcement, got it 20% off so was cheaper than same config air 2.
no brainer.
no brainer.
lol, ok, big choice of word there
it is though, it's not slightly worse. but that's OK, the numerous pros out-weigh this issue
M1 Pro will perform better than an M2. Don't overthink it.
A few considerations:
Final factor: no matter what, you’re probably not getting your hands on the new MBA for a couple more months.
- Are the added ports of the MBP relevant to your needs?
- Is 0.7 lbs a big deal in your daily carry?
- Have you compared the current MBA screen to the MBP screen in-person?
- How big of a deal is the slimmer aesthetic and preferable color of the MBA?
- Is the passive cooling on the Air going to be good or bad for how you use it?
Final factor: no matter what, you’re probably not getting your hands on the new MBA for a couple more months.
I waited to see what the Air was going to be like... and then I ordered my M1 Pro on Friday. I think even base Pro is still much better than the Air.
I ended up going to the 10 core / 1TB upgrade (Costco) since I kept my last personal MBP since 2013, and my work one is a 2015 -- hopefully the extra cores / space will let me keep this one for another 7+ years.
I ended up going to the 10 core / 1TB upgrade (Costco) since I kept my last personal MBP since 2013, and my work one is a 2015 -- hopefully the extra cores / space will let me keep this one for another 7+ years.
I think you'll find the 120Hz Mini-LED display of the 14" MBP to be one of the biggest differences vs. what you're used to. And of course the M2 Air doesn't support.
10-core / 1TB 16" M1 Pro here and it is amazing. I spent a week playing with a similarly equipped 14" and it was fantastic. I need the M1 Pro for dual monitor support at the office and for additional scaled resolutions using my LG 34" 5K2K. The M1 unfortunately does not support these features.
14" fans won't turn on much for most. Do you intent to connect the M2 MBA to more than one monitor and or an ultra-wide monitor? M1 has severe external display limitations...looks like it will be the same for the M2.
About that silent life...
As you can see, for the past 30 days, it has been extremely hard for me to even get the fans to turn on at all. The fans will only be on when I occasionally build something very intensive in Xcode or when I try to render videos or export a large amount of photos (has to be in the range of hundreds of photos). Otherwise it's just not even on most of the time.
Out the gate, plugging in a monitor isn't necessary, but you bring up something I feel I need to investigate. Thanks
What previous models? The 14" MacBook Pro hasn't been updated with M2 processors yet. The MacBook Air is for a completely different usage scenario. The thing is that the Air has two advantages: The battery life and the weight. The 14" MBP is in all other aspects much much better and the price difference is really minor. Apple is just pushing people to buy the MBP instead of the Air.
What I really don't like about the new Air is the display. Why not Promotion? Why not HDR? You will be looking at this display the whole day and I can tell you, the 14" MBP has an amazing display, which also offers 2x integer scaling for Retina resolution. The Air doesn't even offer that, which is just disappointing.
About to replace my 13” MBP (2016). Big doubt between the new MBA or the 14” MBP. I want it to last long. Most use is stationary, so weight is a minor issue. Most work done on a 32” external monitor, so screen is not that important. But HDMI without dongle is attractive. Usb-c on both sides is useful. I guess Microsoft Teams and Windows in a VirtualBox are the most challenging tasks for the system. At least they are now, because they always get the fan running.
I guess as someone who is sensitive to PWM, the MBP 14 is out of the race for me. 
Notebookcheck
"Thanks to the Mini-LED technology, there is no backlight bleeding; a black picture is just completely black, even at the maximum brightness. There are no limitations for the viewing-angle stability, either. However, the Mini-LED technology still has its share of issues. Like on the iPad Pro's Mini-LED screen, we can detect constant PWM flickering at all brightness levels. The frequency is very high and should not be an issue for the majority of users, but you will not be very happy with the screen if you are very sensitive to flickering. By the way, we can also detect the PWM at the maximum HDR brightness. The response times are also pretty slow, but the constant PWM flickering makes it tricky to determine the exact values. Subjectively, we can say that ghosting is not as noticeable as on Windows laptops with similarly slow response times. Maybe the ghosting is somewhat reduced by the 120 Hz refresh rate."
Notebookcheck
"Thanks to the Mini-LED technology, there is no backlight bleeding; a black picture is just completely black, even at the maximum brightness. There are no limitations for the viewing-angle stability, either. However, the Mini-LED technology still has its share of issues. Like on the iPad Pro's Mini-LED screen, we can detect constant PWM flickering at all brightness levels. The frequency is very high and should not be an issue for the majority of users, but you will not be very happy with the screen if you are very sensitive to flickering. By the way, we can also detect the PWM at the maximum HDR brightness. The response times are also pretty slow, but the constant PWM flickering makes it tricky to determine the exact values. Subjectively, we can say that ghosting is not as noticeable as on Windows laptops with similarly slow response times. Maybe the ghosting is somewhat reduced by the 120 Hz refresh rate."
OP you're just suffering from new product envy. There's barely anything objectively superior about the M2 Air vs the 14" M1 Pro other than a slightly saving in weight and its slightly better battery life on account of it being fanless with a smaller screen.