Macbook Air M1 512GB or 14" MacBook Pro M1

[StuBeck]

I've been out of the Mac world for about a decade but have been using iPads and iPhones during this time. I'm looking to get back into the Mac side as I build up a business. I know this is a bad time to get a Mac with upgrades happening in Q1 at some point, but I'd like to get a system this year to get this started as soon as possible.

I'm coming back to Macs to do video editing as well as content creation. I know that the MBA won't be great at video editing, but it should at least be able to do some 4K video editing right? A requirement for the MBA I would get is that it has a 512 GB SSD.

My eventual plan is to get a base model Mac Studio next year. I'd keep whichever Macbook I buy for an extended period of time to use when I'm not at home. I don't want to get the Mac Studio now primarily because I don't want to always be stuck at my home office as I'm here enough for my day job.

I looked at the 14" MacBook Pro today at a Best Buy, and while it was impressive, I wasn't blown away by it. I also felt like I am part of the small population that ProMotion causes issues with. Once I turned that off, the MBP wasn't causing the slight nausea/headache it was before. I didn't have any issues with the MBA screen.

Was there something else I was missing from the 14" MacBook Pro I should look at again? I know the MBP has a longer life with its additional RAM and much better processor, but the rest seemed fairly similar. For my longer term needs, both will basically be the same machine, and the MacBook Air M1 512 GB I'm looking at are all at half the price of the MBP.

 

[slythfox]

If I were planning on getting a beefier machine in a year but I needed a stop-gap machine I'd consider the Air over the Pro. Since the Air is a thinner and more portable machine it might a better fit on the go when you end up with two machines to choose from. Unless you want it to be your main machine and forgo a Mac Studio.

As for performance, you get diminishing performance returns for these M1 and M2 chips. I guess the question there is are you going to need to push the envelope?

Personally, I went for the 14 Pro as a replacement for my personal machine and am forgoing a desktop machine entirely. I went for it for port selection -- it seems silly but I really wanted the ability to charge on either side of the laptop, and the SD and HDMI is convenient for me.

 

[Technerd108]

If the screen is an issue on the MBP 14" and this is going to be a portable machine that you need to do some 4k video editing then I would suggest and M2 MBA/MBP 13". It has Pro res encoders which the M1 does not and should be perfectly fine with what you want to do with it until you get the Studio. Battery life is great and it has PWM free screen. No Promotion or mini-led to cause eye strain.

An M1 MBA configured at the specs you are suggesting is about $1200. You might also consider an M2 MBP 13" base model as it will have the encoder and 10 core gpu and I have seen those on sale for $1149 and it is possible they will go lower during the holidays. With the M2 MBP you also get a bright screen, great speakers and the best battery life of the pack. You get the larger 512gb ssd with the base model as well. It doesn't have 16gb ram but I don't think that would be an issue.

I honestly think considering your needs the M2 MBP 13" might be the best option.

The 14" MBP is a great device but considerably more expensive unless you get the base model and it doesn't have the same battery life the M2 MBA or MBP has. Also the M2 13 MBP and M2 MBA are considerably lighter and more portable. Plus I believe the MBP also comes with the fast charger included.

Once you configure the M1 MBA it loses its value proposition. If you were looking at a base model MBA then maybe but I just think the M2 is a better chip for what you want to do.

 

[StuBeck]

If I were planning on getting a beefier machine in a year but I needed a stop-gap machine I'd consider the Air over the Pro. Since the Air is a thinner and more portable machine it might a better fit on the go when you end up with two machines to choose from. Unless you want it to be your main machine and forgo a Mac Studio.

As for performance, you get diminishing performance returns for these M1 and M2 chips. I guess the question there is are you going to need to push the envelope?

Personally, I went for the 14 Pro as a replacement for my personal machine and am forgoing a desktop machine entirely. I went for it for port selection -- it seems silly but I really wanted the ability to charge on either side of the laptop, and the SD and HDMI is convenient for me.

I'm not really sure frankly if I'm pushing the envelope. I'm not doing ProRes so the improvement to the M2 won't be huge. Most of the videos I'm going to make are 5-10 minutes long. The biggest issue I'm going to run into when I'm learning is re-doing videos after I've exported them. If it takes twice as long with an Air M1 vs a Pro M1 Pro, that will suck, but if the difference is only 2-5 minutes that won't be a huge deal. My big concern really is that the MBP M1 Pro would be enough and I'll have spent $2700-$3500 over 6 months when I could have spent $1300-$1600 once.

That doesn't sound silly, it makes a lot of sense. My entire workspace right now is setup for things on the right side for my Surface Laptop Studio since thats where the charger and dock are.

If the screen is an issue on the MBP 14" and this is going to be a portable machine that you need to do some 4k video editing then I would suggest and M2 MBA/MBP 13". It has Pro res encoders which the M1 does not and should be perfectly fine with what you want to do with it until you get the Studio. Battery life is great and it has PWM free screen. No Promotion or mini-led to cause eye strain.

An M1 MBA configured at the specs you are suggesting is about $1200. You might also consider an M2 MBP 13" base model as it will have the encoder and 10 core gpu and I have seen those on sale for $1149 and it is possible they will go lower during the holidays. With the M2 MBP you also get a bright screen, great speakers and the best battery life of the pack. You get the larger 512gb ssd with the base model as well. It doesn't have 16gb ram but I don't think that would be an issue.

I honestly think considering your needs the M2 MBP 13" might be the best option.

The 14" MBP is a great device but considerably more expensive unless you get the base model and it doesn't have the same battery life the M2 MBA or MBP has. Also the M2 13 MBP and M2 MBA are considerably lighter and more portable. Plus I believe the MBP also comes with the fast charger included.

Once you configure the M1 MBA it loses its value proposition. If you were looking at a base model MBA then maybe but I just think the M2 is a better chip for what you want to do.

The issue with the screen largely was ProMotion. Once I set the screen to 60hz it was OK. The bigger thing after that was I didn't see a massive difference in quality between the two screens. I'm sure that was partially the Best Buy lightening and whatnot, but it wasn't like going from my 2007 MBP to a 2009 MB which was a massive downgrade.

I am looking at used devices, so a MBA M1 512 GB can be bought for $750. I'm also considering going to the base model MBA M1 or M2 and just getting a good quality SSD. I know the M2 MBA has speed issues with the SSD, but going from $1k to $1500 doesn't make sense, I might as well get the 14" MBP at that point as the portability for all of them is essentially fine. I'll definitely look more at the 13 M2 MBP though too if it can be bought for $1150. That seems like a great combo between two.


Thanks for all the info!

 

[slythfox]

So speed... In synthetic, not real world, benchmarks: M2 is a generous 20% faster than M1. M1 Pro (base 8 core version) is a generous 30% faster than M1. M1 Pro (10 core version) and M1 Max is a generous 65% faster than M1. Etc. There is a trade off: Price but also energy efficiency (think battery life).

The M1 Pro/Max/Ultra and M2 have an upgraded "media engine" which is specialized hardware for doing video encoding -- looks like for 8k video. This is probably more suited for people who want to push the boundaries of what the latest technology can do. I don't know how performance compares for video encoding/decoding -- You might look up real world tests on what this might mean in practice for you?

I personally cannot tell a (perceptual) difference between my M1 Pro 8 core and 10 core. They are both very fast machines. I use them for daily tasks but also software development and exporting short video clips. My impression is the base M1/M2 are very capable for multi-use except perhaps for video games.

I might as well get the 14" MBP at that point as the portability for all of them is essentially fine.

A lot of folks have run into this dilemma when upgrading the Air so you'll probably see a lot of folks suggest the Pro especially as it is on heavy discount at Best Buy with the extra ports, etc. It is a bulkier machine, though, compared to the Air 🤷 Alternatively, as you've noticed new and used Air M1s can be like half the price.

 

[StuBeck]

After some more review it seems to be between the MBA M1 and either the MBPs. I'd love to have magsafe on an M2 MBA, but I will be doing big file transfers which would require I spend more to get the bigger SSD, which leads me to the 13 MBP...but again SSD upgrade would be needed which leads to the 14" MBP...which is now double the MBA! Having a built in SD card would be nice too which I miss on my current Surface that my previous ones had.

The other big area is that the battery life on my current SLS has been terrible, so thats one area I think I'll be impressed with any system I get. I also have USB-C chargers throughout my house in case I need to do this.

 

[Technerd108]

After some more review it seems to be between the MBA M1 and either the MBPs. I'd love to have magsafe on an M2 MBA, but I will be doing big file transfers which would require I spend more to get the bigger SSD, which leads me to the 13 MBP...but again SSD upgrade would be needed which leads to the 14" MBP...which is now double the MBA! Having a built in SD card would be nice too which I miss on my current Surface that my previous ones had.

The other big area is that the battery life on my current SLS has been terrible, so thats one area I think I'll be impressed with any system I get. I also have USB-C chargers throughout my house in case I need to do this.

Considering the base model m1 14" is $1599 it seems like it is the best bet. You might just wait until November 25th and see if it goes lower but it will have the best battery life of the 14" models which is pretty good, all the graphics horsepower you will need and magsafe plus prores even though you don't need it.

It may cost more but worth it plus if you want a used device which I would say is a bit of a gamble I am sure there are base model 14" to be had lower than the sale price.

The 14" isn't too heavy compared to the 16".

 

[StuBeck]

To round this all out, I read some reviews of the midtier MBP 14 10c/16c and found that had faster encoding times. This plus the additional storage and the fast charger put it over the bar for me. I have 1 TB on my current Surface and it is nice not having to care at all about storage essentially. This puts off my future purchase of a Mac Studio for a while which is how I justified the more than double cost increase over the MBA. I got it at Best Buy which also saved me about $500 after gift cards and discount.

I will likely be getting AppleCare+ now as well. Thanks for all your help.