Since I am just a student I do pretty basic stuff on my laptop, but I am so fascinated with thinner bezels because I have grown up in a family obsessed with tech. I really do believe thin bezels like on the 16 inch are just around the corner for smaller models. I just recently sold my 2013 MacBook Air that was my first one and I treated it like a baby. (Chose a ****** time to sell tbh should've waited) But, now I am in need of a laptop and if I get the Air I can pay for it all at once since I am splitting it with my dad, but if I get the Pro we would finance it. My thing is, if a new one is around the corner it will be easier to sell one that I am not still making payments on and I honestly like the thinner wedge style of the Air. The Touch Bar isn't a huge deal to me either. I just wanted some other views or opinions on this topic.
very easy to answer question: Do NOT buy a retina MBA! They have no active cooling (but a CPU that's in need of that) and therefore will die way too early.
See this video for proof
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Watch at least from 0:37 to 1:10
So, if you want to spend your money on a MacBook, then spend it wisely. Obviously you don't have enough money to buy something that doesn't last long, so you have to look for something that stays cool even under heavy load. That rules every retina MacBook Air and (refurbed) MacBook out as well as the upper range of the 16" and 13".
You may want to have a look at the Apple refurb program where they offer used (mint condition) and refurbed last generation Macs for decent enough prices.
One last note: Be aware that older generations have the so called
butterfly keyboard which is known to fail after some time. The 16" never had that one, so you may want to look for the 2019 16" in the refurb program
Hope that helps a bit