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MacBook Air 13 M3 vs MacBook Pro 14 M4: Which Fits My Needs?

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GeorgeBrzl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 4, 2025
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Hi everyone,

I’m deciding between the MacBook Air 13 (M3) and the MacBook Pro 14 (M4), and I’d love your advice on which is better suited for my needs. Here’s what I primarily use my laptop for:


•Word, Excel, PowerPoint

•Web browsing

•Portability (I need something light to carry in my bag regularly)





Here’s how I see it:


• MacBook Air 13 M3: More portable, budget-friendly, and has enough power for my usage. However, I’m concerned about the potential drop in its value when the M4 version launches (likely in March).


• MacBook Pro 14 M4: Fantastic Mini-LED display, more powerful, and better for future-proofing, but it’s heavier, less portable, and more expensive than the Air.

Ps. I work already on Oled screen laptop for office usage but I don’t use it for movies photoshop etc.



Considering my usage, portability needs, and budget, which one do you think is the better choice? Is the Pro’s display and extra power worth the cost, or is the Air sufficient for what I need?



Thanks in advance for helping me decide!
 
The Air would serve you nicely. But consider the M4. Better screen, a silly extra inch, better speakers, right side USB-C, better monitor support, longer Apple support and somewhat faster. The extra weight is not a big issue. I faced the same issue and chose the M4. That silly extra inch actually makes a difference in spreadsheets and word documents.
 
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Get the Air. You wont notice the difference in screen performance given your usage. Chances are, M4 MBA will be announced before March.
 
If you relax a bit your display requirements, I think that MBA 13" M3 16/512 (or a similar configuration maybe push RAM to 24 GB for example) would be ideal in terms of your workload and the need for portability.

Despite the better screen of MBP 14" M4, you don't need the extra performance and ir will not be as portable as the MBA 13". I don't see a reason to spend more - unless you love the better display, then go for it by all means.

Logic/facts dictate the MBA, but we are not always purchasing technological items based on logic, are we? ☺️
 
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GeorgeBrzl said:
Hi everyone,

I’m deciding between the MacBook Air 13 (M3) and the MacBook Pro 14 (M4), and I’d love your advice on which is better suited for my needs. Here’s what I primarily use my laptop for:


•Word, Excel, PowerPoint

•Web browsing

•Portability (I need something light to carry in my bag regularly)





Here’s how I see it:


• MacBook Air 13 M3: More portable, budget-friendly, and has enough power for my usage. However, I’m concerned about the potential drop in its value when the M4 version launches (likely in March).


• MacBook Pro 14 M4: Fantastic Mini-LED display, more powerful, and better for future-proofing, but it’s heavier, less portable, and more expensive than the Air.

Ps. I work already on Oled screen laptop for office usage but I don’t use it for movies photoshop etc.



Considering my usage, portability needs, and budget, which one do you think is the better choice? Is the Pro’s display and extra power worth the cost, or is the Air sufficient for what I need?



Thanks in advance for helping me decide!
Click to expand...
imho if you do a LOT of presentations, choose Macbook pro with HDMI inbuilt (you can do it from MBA with a USB-C hub easily too).
Otherwise, MBA is much lighter and a bit more portable (I have owned both, currently MBP m3)
 
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For your use, get the Air and upgrade get the RAM. I have a work Air/M2/15" and a personal Pro/M4/14"/Nano and I can tell the difference.
 
Kotsos81 said:
If you relax a bit your display requirements, I think that MBA 13" M3 16/512 (or a similar configuration maybe push RAM to 24 GB for example) would be ideal in terms of your workload and the need for portability.

Despite the better screen of MBP 14" M4, you don't need the extra performance and ir will not be as portable as the MBA 13". I don't see a reason to spend more - unless you love the better display, then go for it by all means.

Logic/facts dictate the MBA, but we are not always purchasing technological items based on logic, are we? ☺️
Click to expand...
Indeed logic are not always our ally 😆
 
ISKOTB said:
For your use, get the Air and upgrade get the RAM. I have a work Air/M2/15" and a personal Pro/M4/14"/Nano and I can tell the difference.
Click to expand...
Will I notice big downgrade to display with Air? I am coming from Oled ASUS vivobook
 
For your use, which I'll call everyday computing, any of the options will do. Even the 8GB MBA that they don't sell anymore would be fine. Yeah, I mean that. 8GB would be fine. Some people are doing what you do on iPads if that gives you any indication. Future proofing is a fool's errand, especially with the Silicon Macs. They're amazing at handling low RAM conditions.

The case for the 14" MBP would mostly be if you want the extra screen space. The 14" MBP doesn't just have a slightly larger screen than the 13" MBA. Compare the resolutions and you'll notice that the screen space covered by an 14" MBP is actually greater than that of the 15" MBA. You'll be getting a lot more space to use with only a small increase in footprint, but it is significantly thicker and heavier.
 
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StoneJack said:
imho if you do a LOT of presentations, choose Macbook pro with HDMI inbuilt (you can do it from MBA with a USB-C hub easily too).
Otherwise, MBA is much lighter and a bit more portable (I have owned both, currently MBP m3)
Click to expand...
Ports are fine, and performance are right to me, the screen will be big downgrade with air? Cause I am coming from Oled ASUS vivobook
 
smirking said:
For your use, which I'll call everyday computing, any of the options will do. Even the 8GB MBA that they don't sell anymore would be fine. Yeah, I mean that. 8GB would be fine. Some people are doing what you do on iPads if that gives you any indication. Future proofing is a fool's errand, especially with the Silicon Macs. They're amazing at handling low RAM conditions.

The case for the 14" MBP would mostly be if you want the extra screen space. The 14" MBP doesn't just have a slightly larger screen than the 13" MBA. Compare the resolutions and you'll notice that the screen space covered by an 14" MBP is actually greater than that of the 15" MBA. You'll be getting a lot more space to use with only a small increase in footprint, but it is significantly thicker and heavier.
Click to expand...
I know I will be ok even with the performance of 8gb if I could get it. The screen resolution and brightness are big downgrade from MBP to MBA? Cause I already working to Oled screen laptop .
 
GeorgeBrzl said:
I know I will be ok even with the performance of 8gb if I could get it. The screen resolution and brightness are big downgrade from MBP to MBA? Cause I already working to Oled screen laptop .
Click to expand...
The screen questions are hard to answer because it's so subjective.

Personally, I'm not hung up about brightness because it only matters if the screen is bright enough for my uses and the MBA is bright enough for me. I never use my MBP at full brightness anyway as it'll just run down the battery faster.

What you should do is go to an Apple Store and try them in sequence. After you make your decision, you have 2 weeks to change your mind so you could always go with the MBA and if you find yourself wanting more brightness or screen space, return it and get the 14" MBP instead.

I switch back and forth between the 27" Apple Studio Display and my 14" MBP. The Studio Display (size notwithstanding) has similar specs to the MBA's screen and I don't notice the difference without trying to notice it... but that's me.
 
Last edited:
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GeorgeBrzl said:
Ports are fine, and performance are right to me, the screen will be big downgrade with air? Cause I am coming from Oled ASUS vivobook
Click to expand...
I am not very much into displays, but for me, the MBA screen looked very nice. MPB screen is a bit brighter, but I use both on 50% of brightness, so I really don't care about additional 100 lumens or so. Quality wise and color wise, they look similar to me.
 
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GeorgeBrzl said:
I know I will be ok even with the performance of 8gb if I could get it. The screen resolution and brightness are big downgrade from MBP to MBA? Cause I already working to Oled screen laptop .
Click to expand...
One more thing to consider is the sound. The MBP has a nicer sound setup and the sound is really something that I find worth the money in a MBP. That said, I haven’t owned a MBA since they were on Intel chips so I have no idea how big of a difference it is.
 
GeorgeBrzl said:
Hi everyone,

I’m deciding between the MacBook Air 13 (M3) and the MacBook Pro 14 (M4), and I’d love your advice on which is better suited for my needs. Here’s what I primarily use my laptop for:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint

• Web browsing

• Portability (I need something light to carry in my bag regularly)

Here’s how I see it:

• MacBook Air 13 M3: Extremely portable and has enough power for my usage. However, I’m curious if its value might drop when the M4 version launches (likely in March).

• MacBook Pro 14 M4: Offers a fantastic Mini-LED display, more power for future-proofing, and additional ports. While it’s still portable, it’s heavier and bulkier compared to the Air, which might make it less ideal for frequent travel.


For context, I’ve been using a laptop with an OLED display until now, so I’m wondering how noticeable the difference will be in terms of screen quality if I switch to the Air or Pro.

Considering my usage, portability needs, and preference for great screen quality, which one do you think is the better choice?


Thanks in advance for helping me decide!
Click to expand...
The MBP is significantly better in every regard other than weight. The superior display and speakers alone are easily enough to drive me to MBP; but read the specs carefully and see why the high end is the high end.
 
For what you described I'd go the MBA route all day long. I'd probably spring for 512gb onboard though, just to make sure you have room for everything. The only other way that can be upgraded later is via an external HD. Not a big deal if you have to have a dock and such, but a pain otherwise.
 
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panhandlemac said:
For what you described I'd go the MBA route all day long. I'd probably spring for 512gb onboard though, just to make sure you have room for everything. The only other way that can be upgraded later is via an external HD. Not a big deal if you have to have a dock and such, but a pain otherwise.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response.. I have plenty options for hard work and gaming, m4 mini, rtx 4080 on pc, Oled vivobook 15 home for work, I just need a portable device.. your thoughts are right
 
GeorgeBrzl said:
I know I will be ok even with the performance of 8gb if I could get it. The screen resolution and brightness are big downgrade from MBP to MBA? Cause I already working to Oled screen laptop .
Click to expand...
Just go look at both next to each other and take your PC to make a decision on what you can live with.
 
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The MacBook Pro 💻 is more premium for sure, but, it’ll weigh more. I owned the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, the speaker system and screen is definitely better than the air line. Up to you, what’s more important. I don’t need a high end MacBook 💻, I could even get by with an iPad. I currently own a MacBook 💻 air M1 and it’s been great.
 
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