Yeah, but it's not about making excuses... like "who would use this" or "who is impacted by this", because arguably, anyone will be fine with a MacBook Air that doesn't have a DCI-P3 screen that reaches 400 nits, and most everyone will be fine if the MacBook Air can still last 8 - 10 hours with light tasks. By that token, an "excuse" can also be made that no one will actually "need" the speed or the battery life of the M1 MacBook Air. Then they should be fine with their 2020 Intel MacBook Air, no?
The simple fact is just that the MacBook Pro has a better screen and longer battery life. That makes it worth the extra $250 or $150 someone will spend on the thing. I don't think that makes the MacBook Air any lesser of a machine, but it does make the MacBook Pro the better machine to me.
Right. Personally, if this is my primary machine - let alone my ONLY machine - and the goal is to buy a Mac that will last me for at least the next 6-8 years (which is reasonable considering 2012 Macs only JUST stopped getting the latest macOS releases), then I'd absolutely spend the extra $250 (and yes, I was wrong; it's a $250 difference). Hell, I'd max it out with 16GB and at least 1TB of storage (though, with few games out and no stated word from anyone but Blizzard on native support, as well as no virtualization apps ready to go yet [not to mention the nebulous situation of getting Windows 10 for ARM64 to run in some capacity on these Macs], more than that might be overkill for me) because I'd want to forestall the inevitable next upgrade for as long as I possibly could.
However, my line of questioning here is, again, for people who don't think about this like we do.
My current strategy, in terms of advising others on M1 Mac purchases is that, beyond even potentially doing higher-end tasks if they are apt to do video conferencing and/or their future needs are even remotely nebulous, I'm steering them toward the Pro. If their needs are very clearly web browsing, media playback (via the TV or Music apps, or a streaming service in a browser), and Microsoft Office, then I'm steering them toward the Air.
You might be confused. It's around 250 US$ when things are even (8GR + 512HD @ 8C)
You're totally right. And it's the same cost difference for education as well. I have no idea where I got $150 from. Funny enough, I had been toying vaguely with the idea of getting, in addition to the Intel Ice Lake 4-port 13" Pro either an M1 Pro or an M1 Air (albeit with smaller storage capacity, since most of the storage-heavy things that I do with a Mac are limited to Intel Macs at the moment, and possibly for the foreseeable future) mainly to play around with the elements that make it different (so that I'm more aware of them when I have to go and support others), but it being a $250 difference instead of a $150 difference makes a big enough difference that I'd just go Air here. But that's because, at least at the onset, the Intel Mac would be the more primary of the two.
I think that's a lot for people who aren't doing anything specialised with their computers. It makes the Air are really compelling computer considering how well rounded it now is. It's rare to say this about Apple, but the MBA M1 is good value for money!
For sure; Intel Airs haven't been a good value since 2015. Even the 2-port 13" MacBook Pro, which effectively was the functional successor to the 2010-2017 Airs, were bad buys because every version of it up until 2020, had some kind of reliability issue (be it flexgate or drive or firmware issues). Hell, even the Intel 2020 2-port model was more or less an okay computer, but a terrible value proposition next to the 4-port version and with a cooling system that, while WAY better than the 2020 Intel Air, was still subpar compared to the 4-port version's.
So, yeah, the current Air is the best value proposition that the Air has had in at least 5 years, if not ever.
As for the Pro: It's a lot of little things and not one particular thing. You've listed the things that are different, so the best way to put it to people is to ask them if not having any of those things is a deal breaker. If they answer yes based on their expected use case, then they should get the Pro.
That's logical and rational, for sure. I'm currently, steering more nebulous use cases toward the Pro so they at least have the overhead should they ever need it. But that's a good idea.
TBH, if people are asking advice then they probably don't need the pro.
That I don't necessarily agree with. The Air and the 2-port Pro are more similar now than they've been since the introduction of the 2-port 13" Pro in 2016. The differences aren't the clearest, hence this thread. Furthermore, someone may need to do and know how to do the kinds of work that is better done on the M1 2-port 13" Pro than the Air, but not be familiar with the current state of either (in M1 land) to discern the practical differences.
Of course if they have a use case beyond these two entry level laptops they should definitely wait. And unless somebody MUST use windows or a particular program that is shown to not work on M1, you shouldn't recommend an intel machine... IMO.
Agreed. I'm all-in on solely recommending Apple Silicon Macs from here on in, or waiting for one to release if the model someone wants hasn't made the jump yet. I'm not recommending Intel unless they need Windows or specific compatibility with x86. Even people who would've otherwise gravitated towards the Intel 16" MacBook Pro, I'm steering to the M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro, at least unless they state a need for more RAM or ports, in which case I'd advise them to wait.
I've been going back and forth.
The two port MBP is the base model and since they haven't killed the high end model 13" MBP that tells me a new M1 version of it will come with better performance. This makes me want to get the MBA and wait for the high end MBP
Honestly, I think the way the 13" MacBook Pro product umbrella shook out here is VERY interesting and VERY telling. The fact that the model name on the 2-port model is "MacBook Pro (M1, 13-inch, 2020)" instead of "MacBook Pro (Two Thunderbolt Ports, M1, 13-inch, 2020)" (which, granted, is even more of a mouthful than the actual model name of that computer's 8th Gen Intel based predecessor) seems telling, especially since the Intel models still distinguished by the number of ports. Unless Apple is going to consolidate both 13" MacBook Pros (two port M1 and 4 port Ice Lake) when going to the Apple Silicon 14", I'm wondering if the 4-port 13" MacBook Pro just goes away without any successor and the 14" MacBook Pro merely sticks with 2 ports while the 16" MacBook Pro gets the 4. I feel like they'd piss people off, but it's still curious that the 2-port 13" MacBook Pro was the one that made the jump first.
I know that's likely a port limitation with the M1, but it's not like Apple couldn't have just launched the M1 Air and M1 mini and still had the crazy fanfare that they currently have now.
Though, in your case, if you're buying a computer you intend to be your primary and for a while, I'd say that the M1 Pro isn't a bad buy over the Air. The Air is alluring from a short term commitment standpoint. I'm even considering it alongside the 4-port Intel model I'm getting for things that I still need (and probably always will need) Intel for. But I'm still very much debating my post-Intel future with the Mac platform and what that's even going to look like.
The fan is only a factor if you're doing processor intensive apps that last more than a few minutes. It's not going to make the CPU last any longer as it will just throttle and not damage itself. I might want the MBP to play some games but if the new one comes out soon that means I'll take a significant loss trading it in. If I get the MBA I can just keep it.
Seeing as most gaming tests have been with non-native games, I'm wondering how native gaming is and whether or not it makes a difference in terms of battery drain and thermals. It's not like playing Hearthstone on your average iPad wouldn't take its toll, but I'd imagine that Rosetta 2 translation is still eating battery to a degree that's not insubstantial.
The brighter screen is a factor if you're in bight light I guess. This leans me to the MBP but not by much
I don't know enough about the touch bar to love or hate it. I've never had one. I do like the real keys on top but not too excited that the keyboard brightness key was removed and an emoji key added... That says 2020 perfectly ?♂️
That's on both though. For your case, I'd go Pro. If I had more of a solid commitment to the Mac platform in the post-Intel era, that'd be what I'd do. Right now, I'm still on the fence about whether or not this next Intel Mac is the end of the road for me.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. I think most people *want* M1 Macs more so than they actually *need* them.
Personally, that's my case as well. I want a M1 MacBook Pro. I don't actually *need* it since my 16" MacBook Pro still works just fine, and is more stable in most cases. The M1 MacBook is basically kind of a "new playground" for me per se. Let's just say that since Raspberry Pi 4, I've always wanted a computer like the M1 for dev work.
For sure. Most of my Mac needs require Intel and probably won't switch to Apple Silicon as they entail Boot Camp and x86 virtualization (including of older macOS releases). And I still find myself wanting an M1 Mac; though I don't believe I have any real-world need for one, beyond familiarizing myself with new restore and troubleshooting procedures and experimentation therein. It's the same reason why, despite my utter hatred of the T2, I still sort of need to familiarize myself with that flavor/era of Mac too.
MBA = no fan = BIG LOVE ?
The MBP will also have no fan in about 2 ~ 3 years
I don't think you're wrong. But I also don't necessarily think that's a good thing. The fan at least allows greater thresholds than what would've otherwise been possible. The MacBook Pros aren't iPad Pros, they need their performance pushed to their limits much of the time.
Do you think the Air wont handle that?
Not intense uses, no. There are videos that show that. The Air does throttle reasonably well; but the advice of everyone having tested both machines is that higher-end tasks and prolonged uses should still entail the Pro over the Air. Though, I do believe that there are merits for non-pro-app users. But again, the whole point of me starting this thread was to see what others (including M1 Mac owners) thought of this.
9to5mac.com
