MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide: 30+ Differences Compared

[LSUstang05]

I am looking to swap my 2014 MacBook Pro with a new Mac and a little hot on one of the MacBook Pros 16, but probably holding out until I see, if there is a MacBook Air 15.

In the same boat. We have a 2015 MBP and we specced it to 16GB of RAM and it's lasted us up until about this year. If I'm going to purchasing another Mac, I want as much RAM as possible and 24GB on a MBA just doesn't seem like nearly enough when I could get 16GB almost 10 years ago...

 

[Saturn007]

As someone who just bought the M4 MBP for $1474 yesterday, I have no idea why you'd go with a MBA unless you were good with 256gb of storage.

ALWAYS get the Pro.

Display and speakers are far superior on MBPs.

Nice tries, but no cigar! Hyperbole and sweeping generalizations usually fail and lose out…

For many, the lack of PWM is a good reason, indeed, that makes it a very good idea to go for the MBA. So, it's definitely not “always” get the Pro. Displays on the MBP are not “far superior” to those who are bothered by PWM.

Besides “far superior” is quite different from merely “superior”! Or from ”ultra superior” or “ultra pro Max superior”! 😀

 

[asiga]

ALWAYS get the Pro. It's the only Apple computer with actually good value. Get an older one if you're budget-conscious; 14" M1 or something.

The difference between atrociously slow low-res panel of MB Air and 120 Hz mini-LED of MB Pros is stark; everything else does not matter, including weight, ports or whatever.

The fact that people see the Air as a low-end MBP is a horrible mistake. What MBP should I buy if my eyes need at least a 15’’ display and I’m always travelling? Should I carry 2.1kg with me? Come on! What kind of “higher standard” is the heavy 16’’ MBP when you need to use it on the go?

Apple is to blame here, because the Air was expensive when it was introduced (the low end at that time was the plain “MacBook”), but they decided to remove the MacBook and make the Air cheaper. That was bad, because cheaper means it cannot innovate in weight anymore (in fact the Air keeps the same weight it had 15 years ago, while the rest of the industry has innovated with lighter laptops that are expensive and not perceived as “low end” by the public).

I would like that the plain MacBook was reintroduced, moving the Air back into the prosumer zone that it should have never left, and innovating with it by making it lighter and lighter. I don’t want thin, Apple, I hate that trend. I want ultralight. If thin is a side effect of being light, that’s fine, but the goal is the weight, not the thickness.

Edit: If there was a 15’’ Air with a weight of 1.2kg at >$3000 I’d order it just now. The problem is that the 15’’ Air, while very cheap, weights 1.51kg, which is almost the same as the 1.6kg of a 15’’ MBP of 2018 (modern 16’’ MBPs are 2.1kg, but that’s another story). An Air that has the same weight as an older MBP of the same size is not an Air. But that’s the consequence of marketing it as low end rather that an innovating product.