MacBook Air vs. Pro – Which One Should I Get?

[moonsharkdesign]

Hi, I currently have a 2015 Intel MBP and think it’s time to upgrade.

I use a 16" M1 Pro at work and love it, but it's not mine, and I need permission to install apps. I want my own machine.

I mostly do:

FCPX: Editing 4K footage (basic colour correction, optical stabilisation, no heavy effects).

Lightroom: RAW photo editing (minor tweaks, applying LUTs).

VS Code: Web development (no Xcode).

Figma: Occasional design work.

I used an external SSD for my last video project, so I’m unsure if 256GB is enough or if I should pay £200 for 512GB. The laptop will stay at home, but I'd prefer something lighter than my 2015 model.

Options I’m considering:

13" Air (M4, 256GB/512GB) – £1000/£1200

15" Air (M4, 256GB/512GB) – £1200/£1400

14" Pro (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB) – £1500

14" Pro (M4 Pro, 24GB RAM, 512GB) – £1780

Part of me thinks the base 15" Air is a solid upgrade. I could use an external SSD for FCPX and photos. But for £300 more, the Pro feels like a better deal—then I wonder if the M4 Pro at just £280 more is worth it.

Torn between value vs. power. Just tested my wife's M3 Air (13")—loved the size/weight but noticed some struggle with FCPX rendering. Not sure if 13" maybe a bit limited for FCPX. I can use an external monitor, but think I'd prefer to not always be sat at my desk.

What would you do?

This is my most recent one that I did. Nothing crazy, just cutting clips to the beat.

I also normally do a handful of these a year currently.

 

[TechRunner]

For me, it would definitely be option #4. IMO your workload requires that extra horsepower and RAM. I'm looking at buying what is the third option on your list, and my uses are way less power and RAM hungry than yours.

 

[MBAir2010]

get an asus zenbook ponderblue that features a swappable ssd drive and a better screen display
and long battery life then save or use the $500 you earned for something else
than supporting tim's CEO's second house purchase for their grandchildren.

 

[Steve121178]

For the requirements you’ve listed I’d go for the 14” M4 Pro. It’s the most capable and not much more than the others when you factor in the spec you’re getting.

The M4 Pro SoC is a monster.

 

[JamesMay82]

Very good video. Is this a personal video/holiday?

If so, how do you decide on if you include audio of conversations etc?

We have kids now and I do some videos like this, albeit not as high quality but the sentiment is there and I always struggle with the decision about including the silly/fun conversations kids have or just play background music over it like you have.

It’s been awhile since d I’ve made a video due to not being able to make these decisions so normally just watch all the unedited clips

 

[Fishrrman]

Unless money is a problem, get the 14" m4pro.
You'll never regret it once you have it in your hands.

 

[Spock]

get an asus zenbook ponderblue that features a swappable ssd drive and a better screen display
and long battery life then save or use the $500 you earned for something else
than supporting tim's CEO's second house purchase for their grandchildren.

But then they are stuck with an Asus and Windows. They also said that a use case in Final Cut, that is exclusive to the Mac.

 

[kschendel]

Given your usage, I think I'd lean towards one of the Pro models. Dealing with 4K footage, I might also lean towards the 24GB M4 Pro model. You can probably make the 16GB M4 MBP work as well, however since you seem to keep machines for a while, I'd spend a little extra now.

If this were a machine for word, a little excel or powerpoint, web browsing, and youtube I'd definitely be saying the M4 Air in whichever size you prefer.