MacBook Pro vs Air

[pathlesstraveled13]

Hi there guys,

I'm sure that this comparison has been covered at nauseam but I will bring up again anyways for my specific configuration (sorry in advance!). I am looking to upgrade my Early 2015 11in. MacBook Air to a newer MacBook. For reference, my specs are as follows:

Processor: 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
Memory: 8GB
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB
Storage: 128GB SSD

I dabbled in photo editing through Adobe products (Lightroom mostly) and occasionally video edit using Davinci Resolve. My MacBook cannot handle editing 4k comfortably at all as one could expect and I would like to change that. Also, hard drive storage is not important to me as I save everything to externals.

I am looking at the MacBook Pro and Air as a replacement but I would love to get some perspective from all you more knowledgable folks out there on the matter. I value portability as equally important as performance as I'm a backpack warrior traveling around quite a bit. The only main difference between these machines is the CPU and I understand the Pro also has a better screen (more colors?). Any more differences would be great to know of. I mostly would like to know:

1) which of the 2 would be a better buy for me? (money isn't super critical for this purchase. I want to get the better product even at the expense of a few hundred $ if need be),
2) how much faster and just all around better the new MacBook would be for me compared to my oldie but goodie current Air?
3) since portability is so important to me, how much slower and less capable would the Air be compared to the Pro? (I'm leaning towards the Air because of the slim/weight factor, even as little of a difference as it is)

Specs for the two as I would configure them as follows:

Pro:
Processor: 1.4GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
Memory: 16GB
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
Storage: 256GB SSD
Price: $1499.99

Air:
Processor: 1.2GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
Memory: 16GB SSD
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Storage: 256 GB SSD
Price: $1449.99

Thanks guys for any insight and info!

-Clayton

 

[IngerMan]

I have your Air version and could not be happier. I say it’s performance is just as good if not better. 1300 single core 3600 multi core stock. It’s a cool fast machine!

The bigger difference is non Touch Bar, wedge design, battery life. MBA win win win!!

 

[jgorman]

My MacBook cannot handle editing 4k comfortably at all as one could expect and I would like to change that.

The Pro has a large performance advantage in processor-intensive tasks, like video editing, and is only 0.3 lbs heavier.

(4K video editing discussion at 6:48)

Unlike the 2015 Air, the 2020 Air does not have a heat pipe connecting the CPU heat sink and the fan. The Pro does, so it can sustain performance, such as during video export or rendering. It is going to be the cooler and quieter machine in most tasks as well.

I would recommend the Pro.

 

[pathlesstraveled13]

Thanks for the replies. I think that I'll go to an Apple Store and feel them both out. The internals of the Pro seem like what I'm looking for.