Macbook Pro vs Air

[Hello20394]

I previously asked for suggestions on which macbook 2012-15 would be the best to buy in 2024 and have come to the conclusion that its better to just buy an Apple Silicon.

With that being said, I’m now looking into M1 Macbooks and trying to decide whether an Air or Pro is the better purchase. For context, I’m a student who will be going into the tech and development industry.

What are the factors that would make someone buy a Pro over an Air? Which will last the longest over time?

 

[OrenLindsey]

If you're thinking about the 13" MacBook Pro, don't buy it. It's just a MacBook Air with a fan, Touch Bar, less ports, worse screen, older design, and higher price. Buy the equivalent air instead.

 

[casperes1996]

Agree with the statement about the 13" Pro. It does improve sustained performance over the Air, but it's overall, in my opinion, a worse product at a higher price tier that will not receive any more support than the Air.

Getting a 14/16" Pro with a Pro or Max chip might yield longer OS support but I also kinda doubt that honestly. Maybe a year longer than the non Pro/Max chips but doubt anything more. Though those products offer better performance all around by offering more cores, however anything bound by single thread performance will run as well on an Air with an equivalent generation of chip.

 

[kschendel]

What are the factors that would make someone buy a Pro over an Air? Which will last the longest over time?

I think you lean towards the Pro (14/16") if:
- time is money;
- you run sustained heavy workloads;
- you want multiple external monitors;
- the better display is worth it to you;
- you need more than 24GB memory;
- you don't mind a slightly larger / heavier machine to get these things.

You lean towards the Air if none of the above apply. Given your situation, I'd probably expect you to do better with the Air. I don't know that it's a make or break decision though.

 

[Apple_Robert]

At this point, get the M2 13" Air. No need to speed a huge amount on a Mac. Te Air will serve you well during college.

Edited to add: I see the OP cancelled his account here after creating the thread.

 

[frombeyond]

I have a 2014 macbook pro currently. I mainly use it for multiple browsers & email, microsoft word & excel etc. Should I buy the latest macbook air or Macbook pro to upgrade ?? I use 2 external monitors daily so will need the laptop to be able to manage those as well.

 

[casperes1996]

I have a 2014 macbook pro currently. I mainly use it for multiple browsers & email, microsoft word & excel etc. Should I buy the latest macbook air or Macbook pro to upgrade ?? I use 2 external monitors daily so will need the laptop to be able to manage those as well.

And do you need portability? If not get a Mac mini. If you do you need to go to a MacBook Pro with a Pro chip. So the 14” with base M3 and old 13” are out of the picture. The pro chips are required to connect to three displays (internal +2 external)