MacBook buying decision.

[davidjearly]

I have a 2019 13” MacBook. The base 1.4GHz model, with 128 SSD. I also have a 27” i9 iMac (main machine) and 12.9 iPad Pro.

For mobile work, I use my iPad and MacBook a lot, every day. Still, I find the MacBook sluggish sometimes and whilst I never feel the iPad lacks power for my work, I sometimes just prefer using the MacBook for certain tasks. The new keyboard may change this, but I feel I probably need to keep both a laptop and iPad.

Therefore, I’m considering my options and right now leaning to upgrading the MacBook. Always liked the Air, but not how low powered it was. The 2020 model seems to change that somewhat and I like the fact you now get 256 SSD as standard. So, a couple of questions:

Is there a model of the 2020 MacBook Air that would be more powerful than my 1.4GHz i5 2019 MacBook?

What would you do in my situation regarding upgrading?

My main uses are Photography - Lightroom and Photoshop but I also use Office apps extensively and these can be quite taxing for my work on the MacBook.

 

[mtneer]

Maybe it was left unsaid, while you articulated your use cases for the iMac and the MacBook, you didnt mention anything specific you were doing with the iPad Pro. One idea maybe to sell your MacBook and the iPad Pro to maybe get a MacBook Pro as a mobile computer to complement your iMac at your desk?

 

[davidjearly]

Maybe it was left unsaid, while you articulated your use cases for the iMac and the MacBook, you didnt mention anything specific you were doing with the iPad Pro. One idea maybe to sell your MacBook and the iPad Pro to maybe get a MacBook Pro as a mobile computer to complement your iMac at your desk?

Good point. Mainly for editing in Lightroom on the go, which is a must have. I tend to pick up the MacBook for anything that requires multitasking/heavy office apps.