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M3 pro 14 inch Mac Pro vs m3 MacBook Air- 13 inch, 512 gb 16gb ram?
- Thread starter Milly342
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I didn’t even know that’s a thing the future proofing is what is is gonna push me to m3
This is where we refer you to the buyer's guide. Read up and do your due diligence. Good luck.
MacBook Air: Should You Buy? Reviews, Features, Deals and More
Apple in March 2025 launched updated 13-inch and 15-inch models equipped with Apple's M4 chip. 13-inch models start at $999 and 15-inch...
www.macrumors.com
I'm talking about the M3 generation and the A17 Pro (the 3nm chips) as being rumored as the cutoff. Maybe M2 will be included as well, but I'm betting M1 is out for some features, just due to the neural engine improvements in the more recent chips.
Gurman has been a little vague in his reporting but specifically said chips launched in the "last year."
Like you said, it's probably not a big deal either way. But if I was in the market for a new machine that I was gonna use for the next 4 years, I'd want the latest generation of chip available at the time of purchase, unless the budget wouldn't allow for it.
Wrong question. It is not about what one does now, it is about one will do over the future life cycle of a new box. Very different.
OP should read up on Apple's Unified Memory Architecture before buying a new computer.
16 GB memory over 8 GB is more important than M3 over M2
Honestly the display alone is worth, especially over a college career. The 14" M3 MBP would serve your needs very well throughout your undergraduate career and even after if you needed it to. You'd make 1 purchase, and day in a day out for the next several years your screen would be much better for everything that you do. That, to me, justifies the purchase of the MBP.
If you go the route of the Air, the 15" MBA would be worth the extra spend as well. In the long run for college work (well, to me, for absolutely everything), the size will come in handy IMO.
If you go the route of the Air, the 15" MBA would be worth the extra spend as well. In the long run for college work (well, to me, for absolutely everything), the size will come in handy IMO.
I own both the 16" MacBook Pro M3 Max, and a 15" MBA M3. The screen on the MBA is fine, I don't really miss the Pro except for the most detailed of color photo editing in Lightroom. When I travel which I take is almost always based on how much I need to carry it and how long am I going to be in one location. If I am NOT carrying it around from meeting to meeting (in your case class to class), if its ONLY going to sit on some desk for over a week, then I am tempted to take the Pro. For all other uses, I take the MBA. It's capable and easier to carry around. Especially as you are coming from/used to a 2020 MBA, I think in your case the MBA M3 is the right call. Like you said, you don't need or would use the additional features of the Pro, so why carry them around?
If you can get the M3 Pro, you’ll also have the 18GB of RAM and 512 GB. Doesn’t sound like you need more than the M3, but all the upgrades may be worth the difference to you. If you can catch the $1999 M3 Pro model on a discount, that might be the route to go.
Sounds like M3 is sufficient, so perhaps a 15” Air with 16GB and 512GB on a sale might also be a great for you as well and worth the savings.
One man’s opinion.
i dont do any photo editing or anything but is the screen much better for hdr content like something on netflix or geforce now?
theirs a apple certified refurbished m3 pro for $1700 and I can get a m3 13 inch air with 16 ram and 512 ssd for 1400, I wont do any of the pro feautres Like the only reason would be for the screen alone? Im really not intersted in the 15inch air
I have two answers for you. Yes, based on specs alone, the argument can be made the MBP is better for HDR content. But, there are mitigating factors including the fact that not all streaming services actually provide a good (and reliable) HDR signal, even if they claim they do. So your screen may be better than available content.
My second answer is, but do you really need that? You are coming from a 2020 MBA and presumably are fine with it. So would the screen of the MBP knock you over? Probably not.
I bought my MBP based on specs. Hands down better on paper. I prefer my MBA for actual use because for me, the portability was the most important factor and I just don't miss the screen of the MBP.
But the best way to answer this is to go to an Apple Store and see what its important to YOU. If you can see the difference, and it's that important, then your choice is made. No one here can do that for you.
yeah now thinking about it, it was only the hdr brightness like that was only in hdr youtuve videos like whos actually watching that. Im jsut worried about the air getting super hot bc it doesnt have fans in it thats the main issue is that a problem with the thermal throttling
Coming from an i3 I can see how thermal throttling could be an issue for you. Yes, my intel MBA's overheated. No, my Apple silicon MBA's do not. My intel MBA's would get so hot my fingertips would feel burnt. No similar issue with the M series MBA's. As for thermal throttling, if you google, you will find people that measure and claim it happens under extreme conditions, but look closely, even for them it's only 10% different in speed. You won't notice that in normal operations even if it happens. It really is NOT like the intel MBA's. I like the fact my MBA does not have a fan, it is always quiet wherever I am (do people still go to libraries?).
That's a toughie. For me, the screen quality and 14.2" being just a bit bigger would be MY choice, especially since you will use for content consumption as well. But, take the screen out of the picture, that Air will serve all your needs and more, for a long time, and the added plus is those machines are suuuuper light and portable, great for a college student.
I just look at the $300 over the next 4+ years as negligible compared to the value you get.
Yes. M2+16GB is better than M3+8GB
Yeah the main thing is the weight difference and how bulky it is
For college I would recommend the Air. I have a MacBook Pro M3 pro for my studies and I would have actually purchased the iPad Pro if I had waited. But then again, there are some games I do like to play when I am done studying for the day.
Shop around for M3/16/512 MBA. It should be easier to find deals than for M2 since 16/512 is now a stock SKU for M3.
Probably not, buy there are still times one wants a quiet computer. I use my Macs for a little bit of everything from the Microsoft suite of Apps, to browsing the internet (obviously), email, watching movies while traveling, editing high resolution photos in photoshop and Lightroom, and even some occasional video work. Oh, and games
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
My two cents:
I have an M2 MBA 13", with 1TB and 24GB of RAM. I'm older and have big-family-and-history-level storage needs.
I will not have to buy a laptop again for ten years, unless this one breaks somehow. It's the best I've EVER had.
Figure out the cost, and max out RAM and storage per your budget.
CPU is inconsequential these days unless you're going to be doing intensive, TIME-SENSITIVE work with your machine on the go.
BUT, gaming might be impacted, so... decisions, decisions.
I have an M2 MBA 13", with 1TB and 24GB of RAM. I'm older and have big-family-and-history-level storage needs.
I will not have to buy a laptop again for ten years, unless this one breaks somehow. It's the best I've EVER had.
Figure out the cost, and max out RAM and storage per your budget.
CPU is inconsequential these days unless you're going to be doing intensive, TIME-SENSITIVE work with your machine on the go.
BUT, gaming might be impacted, so... decisions, decisions.