MacBook Air or Pro for my needs?

[Frank707]

Hello everybody,

I'm thinking of buying a MacBook with an M1 chip. However, I don't know which one to take now. A MacBook Air or a Pro.

What I would like to do:

• Citrix Workspace app (remote to company computer - Windows 10)
  • Is the Air's performance enough for 8 hours of home office? CPU and Co. = Because no fan?!
• Affinity Photo for some photo editing
• Coding of JS for websites
• Surf & Videos
• Cut small holiday videos via iMovie (If you can go on holiday again: LOL

Thank you for your help!

 

[iDron]

I think both should be the same performance for your needs.

Things to consider:
- Do you want the TouchBar
- Do you want the 2-3 hours longer battery life
- Do you want a slightly better screen on the Pro


Purely speculative: The MBA is the most basic Apple Silicon device that will ever exist. So might lose OS updates a year or so before the MBP will.

 

[nill1234]

I think both should be the same performance for your needs.

Things to consider:
- Do you want the TouchBar
- Do you want the 2-3 hours longer battery life
- Do you want a slightly better screen on the Pro


Purely speculative: The MBA is the most basic Apple Silicon device that will ever exist. So might lose OS updates a year or so before the MBP will.

Why? The MBA has the exact same Hardware as the MBP, support will be the same.

 

[adam_cy]

Hello everybody,

I'm thinking of buying a MacBook with an M1 chip. However, I don't know which one to take now. A MacBook Air or a Pro.

What I would like to do:

• Citrix Workspace app (remote to company computer - Windows 10)
  • Is the Air's performance enough for 8 hours of home office? CPU and Co. = Because no fan?!
• Affinity Photo for some photo editing
• Coding of JS for websites
• Surf & Videos
• Cut small holiday videos via iMovie (If you can go on holiday again: LOL

Thank you for your help!

I'm kinda in the same situation! I regularly edit photos in Lightroom (lightweight) and do some graphics design in Photoshop but I don't think these are that strenuous for the M1 to handle. I do occasionally cut small videos too with Adobe. I am reading lots and lots about the Pro - having a better cooling system - being superior over longer-term render performance, and I think this comes into play when you're rendering your video.

I think both should be the same performance for your needs.

Things to consider:
- Do you want the TouchBar
- Do you want the 2-3 hours longer battery life
- Do you want a slightly better screen on the Pro


Purely speculative: The MBA is the most basic Apple Silicon device that will ever exist. So might lose OS updates a year or so before the MBP will.

These are probably the best factors to consider. Maybe even additionally a:

- Do you want to hear a fan kick in

Now that the Pro has overtaken the Air in battery life, the MBA is indeed the most basic AS device. I don't think it'll lose OS updates though I mean it's been a major line for almost a decade now no?

 

[Yebubbleman]

Hello everybody,

I'm thinking of buying a MacBook with an M1 chip. However, I don't know which one to take now. A MacBook Air or a Pro.

What I would like to do:

• Citrix Workspace app (remote to company computer - Windows 10)
  • Is the Air's performance enough for 8 hours of home office? CPU and Co. = Because no fan?!
• Affinity Photo for some photo editing
• Coding of JS for websites
• Surf & Videos
• Cut small holiday videos via iMovie (If you can go on holiday again: LOL

Thank you for your help!

Wait for reviews to come out. There will be a lot of reviewers out there trying to ascertain the performance differences between the low end M1 Air (with 7 GPU Cores), the higher-end M1 Air (with 8 GPU Cores) and the M1 13" Pro in terms of workloads and performance therein. If you're in a hurry to order, the M1 13" Pro should cover your bases. But, I'd look into it. Maybe the Air is all you need.

I think both should be the same performance for your needs.

Things to consider:
- Do you want the TouchBar
- Do you want the 2-3 hours longer battery life
- Do you want a slightly better screen on the Pro


Purely speculative: The MBA is the most basic Apple Silicon device that will ever exist. So might lose OS updates a year or so before the MBP will.

Apple doesn't jettison support for Macs, iPads, or iPhones in that fashion. They might say that 16GB is a minimum for a future macOS release. Or they might say that only Apple Silicon Macs can run a future macOS release. But with the SoCs being so similar, it likely won't be the case that the M1 Air is dropped at a different period in time from the M1 13" Pro.

 

[adam_cy]

I'm probably going in with an M1 Air with 512/16gb. Given I can find a way to get it direct from Apple, because the retailers here inflate their prices so badly. I'm going with the Air because I have a PS4 to handle my gaming needs (eventually PS5) and plans to build a gaming/power rig over the coming years. I'm using Lightroom CC with a terabyte of online storage so my photos are stored up there for now, but coming from a 256gb MBA from 2013, a storage upgrade will be nice to have. This is all pre-review though, once Youtubers get their hands on both I think I (and many others) will be able to make a better decision.

 

[wyrdness]

If you need to ask, then you probably only need the Air
There's nothing in your list that suggests that the Pro would provide any real advantage for you. The Pro is really designed for heavy workloads where the CPU is running at 100% for a sustained period of time.

 

[adam_cy]

If you need to ask, then you probably only need the Air
There's nothing in your list that suggests that the Pro would provide any real advantage for you. The Pro is really designed for heavy workloads where the CPU is running at 100% for a sustained period of time.

I kinda relate with the occasional video render that I do with Premiere Rush.
I once exported a 10min 4k video (taken with the iPhone XR), it got a little hot, even crashed once (I think that's just Premiere Rush being a bit rubbish) but it got there in about 15 mins.

If cutting travel vids will be the main strenuous activity, then I think probably the Air would be ok.

 

[Frank707]

What would "heavy workloads" actually look like? I dont think any of my needs i guess?

The M1 Air with 512/16gb should be finde then for me

 

[adam_cy]

What would "heavy workloads" actually look like? I dont think any of my needs i guess?

The M1 Air with 512/16gb should be finde then for me

My guess is:

- rendering videos throughout the day, every day?
- Playing games for long periods of time?
- Rendering 3d modelling?

 

[kp98077]

guess i have the same question, its tough because the price nearly overlaps between the high end MBA and low end MBP! I don't do any programming or photo editing, just office, internet, movies, and large data sets... any suggestions? TOUGH one...

 

[vishavg]

guess i have the same question, its tough because the price nearly overlaps between the high end MBA and low end MBP! I don't do any programming or photo editing, just office, internet, movies, and large data sets... any suggestions? TOUGH one...

high end MBA, unless you want the minor upgrades of mic, speak, screen? Your consumption is similar to mine and I am going with the base MacBook air and using the savings for a monitor/ipad.

 

[christophermdia]

I am coming from a MBP so I felt compelled to get the MBP. I DO enjoy the Touch Bar, while most people do not like it, I find it useful. if you don't care about Touch Bar and like a lighter more portable machine, MBA is perfect. I had an air back in the day and still have a 12" MB and love it, and it does all the same stuff ... as I work on some intensive files, I also preferred the MBP for throttling fan ... otherwise I would have gone Air.