Still torn between Air and Pro

[majormike]

Having tested both the Air and Pro, it's just hard for me to make a choice between them. They both have advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start off with the pure computational capabilities in Cinebench, which is a very realistic realtime multicore stresstest:

Air: 7200 Points

Pro: 7815 Points

Both results were done during the 30 Minutes stability test.

That's less than 10% performance difference between the Air and the Pro, which consumes 10 Watts less (15 vs 25 watts).

Therefore, in theory, letting the SoC run at 25 watts, will level them both out in terms of battery life.

Then there is the physical keys, which is more appealing with the Air. But the Pro has a larger trackpad and 100 nits more brightness.

However, being fanless is an advantage, also from being completely closed up vs, open holes for ventilation, which makes it more prone to moisture and humidity effects.

It's just tough to make a choice.

What do you guys think?

I think anpeformance difference of 8% isn't really worth spending the extra money but I'm just generally afraid of getting a laptop without a fan since it'll probably add to a better durability.

It's just, there is no real choice between them for me, it's so hard to decide.

Help me.

By the way, I'm doing post audio production work with plugins and studio sessions and having this laptop will make me more flexible plus the main plugins which I use (Fabfilter, Valhalla and DMG Audio) have already been ported to Apple Silicon so I'm good on that end and actually going back from Pro Tools to Logic Pro is a blessing.

I need to decide till the end of this week before I can send one of them back.

 

[Ratsaremyfreinds]

i love my air no fan so sleek

 

[dogslobber]

They're almost the same performance wise but Air has real keys. My recommendation is to get an Air or get the MBP.

 

[robco74]

Well if you've been using them for a while, hopefully you should know if you really need the larger trackpad and extra screen brightness. Passive cooling should actually make the Air more reliable long term - fewer moving parts. I had the original MacBook back in the day, and the cooling fan went right before my AppleCare expired. However, the fan on the M1 MBP doesn't need to work as hard.

Personally, I'd rather spend the price difference on more RAM and storage.

 

[CheesePuff]

As I'm sure you're already aware an 8% CPU performance is not going to make or break anyones workflow, so I would go for the Air. Cheaper, better design, lighter, no fan, no Touch Bar.

 

[Tekguy0]

I just got the new air, and I have found the performance to be simply extraordinary, even in base config. What would be constraints on Wintel machines (8GB RAM, iGPU, fanless) simply aren't problems, even in intensive applications. The physical Fn keys are also nice but you still get Touch ID.

 

[Lethen]

Well if you've been using them for a while, hopefully you should know if you really need the larger trackpad and extra screen brightness. Passive cooling should actually make the Air more reliable long term - fewer moving parts. I had the original MacBook back in the day, and the cooling fan went right before my AppleCare expired. However, the fan on the M1 MBP doesn't need to work as hard.

Personally, I'd rather spend the price difference on more RAM and storage.

The fan in the new MBP is most likely going to be a non issue as it rarely kicks in (unlike in the Intel versions).
It’s there if you need to push the system to the limits.

 

[majormike]

Damn it, I was just about to get the Pro, just to be safe but you've just tilted me 180 degrees around ?

I have both here in 16 gigs and 512 ssd, so I'll slack neither on a base config anyways obviously, I'll need my 16 gigs and 512 ssd + external storage for sessions.

To me, 300 bucks do make a difference. For the 300, I can buy an Apple Care + not to mention that just like you've said passive cooling can be beneficial.

I dunno. Maybe you could say the M1 was to be made passively?

But I really need your opinions, really. It's gonna drive me mad otherwise, which it has already done.

 

[CheesePuff]

The fan in the new MBP is most likely going to be a non issue as it rarely kicks in (unlike in the Intel versions).
It’s there if you need to push the system to the limits.

but it is still constantly running, at 1200 rpm idle I believe, so sucking in dust over time

 

[M5RahuL]

I have both in the house.. This is my first MBA and I'm really liking it, even over the MBP!

Other than the stated benefits of the Pro ( battery/brightness/sound/thermals..which are trivial for my use case, TBH ) what I really like about the MBA is the lappability and typing ( due to the tapered design ) is more pleasing.

I'll probably swap mine for one with 16GB Ram (just so I don't regret it later) and be done!

The MBP ( already at 16GB ) has been commandeered by the lady!

 

[CheesePuff]

I dunno. Maybe you could say the M1 was to be made passively?

Oh it very much was, its very close to an A14 which of course is passively cooled in all of its devices.

 

[MBAir2010]

if you do heavy photo editing and video- get the pro
the screen is better and that fan will cool the MacBook when things are at an extreme while the MacBook air won't.
are you now 80%?

 

[Lethen]

but it is still constantly running, at 1200 rpm idle I believe, so sucking in dust over time

Didn’t realize that, still it’s not going to see any abuse like in the Intel versions. I’ve had my MBP for four months now and only heard the fan once during prolonged video conversion with Handbrake.

 

[JLH81]

I'm more than content with my M1 MBA. The fan is a non-issue for me, and the system is amazingly fast. Unless you do very intensive work, I'd opt for the MBA and save a few bucks.

 

[antisomnic]

I went from the 2020 Intel Air to the M1 Pro. I absolutely love this thing. I am certain it's wayyyy more computer than I need but it will last me for many many years. When it comes down to it, I think you, and I would have been happy with either. I had a few extra bucks from the stimulus.

If you have the few extra bucks, I'd get the Pro. If not, stick with the Air.

 

[xraydoc]

I bought the MBA as nothing I do will push up against the thermal envelope for extended periods of time.
The extra thinness and lighter weight were pluses.
Don't need the extra screen brightness as for any work where that's important will be done connected to a desktop monitor anyway.
While the extra battery power in the MBP might have been useful occasionally, I've found the battery in the MBA to be more than sufficient for me.
And while I've read the fan in the MBP is barely audible under virtually all circumstances, I kind of like having a laptop with zero moving parts.

 

[za9ra22]

I regretted buying a MBA some years ago when the performance and feature differential was really rather significant, and consequently, replaced it with a MBP. Three editions later, and I have now switched back to the Air, because the M1 Pro offers nothing of note in performance or features that benefit me, and the Air is both cheaper, and much quieter in use due to the lack of fan.

I have had a Touch Bar on my last Pro - didn't much like it and actually preferred the F-keys anyway, so it was an easy choice. That and the fact the Air is rather lighter, and lives on the arm of the couch more easily, so its actually more convenient.

 

[ImaginaryNerve]

For me, I went with the MBP entirely because of the fan. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the M1 in regards to temperature and throttling. I was replacing a Surface Pro 7 that I had just purchased a few months prior that was passively cooled and it felt like it was always being throttled speed-wise. I just hated it.

That said, I should've known better. Apple's managed to handle passively cooled devices realllllllly well. The M1 MBA is an absolutely fantastic machine. I don't regret the MBP purchase, but my workflow probably would've been fine with the M1 MBA and I'm probably going to pick up an M1 MBA in a few weeks for my partner.

 

[Tech198]

A fan always helps.. it may be noisy , but your saying "this CPU will never shut down ever if its fanless.."

Technology fails in hot temperatures... no matter what is it. and how cool you try and control things.. It may be much better than before, but that's only advantage of running clock speeds higher while keeping heat as low as possble..

At some point, you have no option, but stick in a fan.. so may as well learn the easy way, than the hard way.

Clock speeds/cpu's etc and heat control may be better in a fanless design, but i'd still feel comfortable knowing i'm cool

 

[Robospungo]

Well if you've been using them for a while, hopefully you should know if you really need the larger trackpad and extra screen brightness. Passive cooling should actually make the Air more reliable long term - fewer moving parts. I had the original MacBook back in the day, and the cooling fan went right before my AppleCare expired. However, the fan on the M1 MBP doesn't need to work as hard.

Personally, I'd rather spend the price difference on more RAM and storage.

Even if the fan died on the Pro, would it be a big deal? Does the Pro run the M1 at a higher wattage than the Air?

Damn it, I was just about to get the Pro, just to be safe but you've just tilted me 180 degrees around ?

I have both here in 16 gigs and 512 ssd, so I'll slack neither on a base config anyways obviously, I'll need my 16 gigs and 512 ssd + external storage for sessions.

To me, 300 bucks do make a difference. For the 300, I can buy an Apple Care + not to mention that just like you've said passive cooling can be beneficial.

I dunno. Maybe you could say the M1 was to be made passively?

But I really need your opinions, really. It's gonna drive me mad otherwise, which it has already done.

You are stressing too much on this decision

Even if they were the same price, I’d personally go with the Air. I just prefer the design and the lack of fan.

Main advantage of the Pro is the brighter screen.

Pick one or the other. If you aren’t happy with it next year, you can always sell it and recoup a fair amount of the cost as Apple products have high resale value.

 

[Lethen]

Main advantage of the Pro is the brighter screen.

+bigger battery
+better speakers

 

[majormike]

Even if the fan died on the Pro, would it be a big deal? Does the Pro run the M1 at a higher wattage than the Air?


You are stressing too much on this decision

Even if they were the same price, I’d personally go with the Air. I just prefer the design and the lack of fan.

Main advantage of the Pro is the brighter screen.

Pick one or the other. If you aren’t happy with it next year, you can always sell it and recoup a fair amount of the cost as Apple products have high resale value.

Yes it's higher wattage, apparently 25 Watts but I don't see any performance gains for it while during a single Cinebench run, it scores equally and loses about 8% to 10% performance during stresstests.

 

[majormike]

For me, I went with the MBP entirely because of the fan. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the M1 in regards to temperature and throttling. I was replacing a Surface Pro 7 that I had just purchased a few months prior that was passively cooled and it felt like it was always being throttled speed-wise. I just hated it.

That said, I should've known better. Apple's managed to handle passively cooled devices realllllllly well. The M1 MBA is an absolutely fantastic machine. I don't regret the MBP purchase, but my workflow probably would've been fine with the M1 MBA and I'm probably going to pick up an M1 MBA in a few weeks for my partner.

So you think on a long term, even Apple's fanless design might cause issues when driven hard?

 

[James_C]

So you think on a long term, even Apple's fanless design might cause issues when driven hard?

My 6 Year Old iPad Pro says fanless Apple Silicon lasts a long time

 

[UltimateSyn]

They're both phenomenally capable and well-rounded machines. There are several things that the Pro does a little bit better than the Air. Speakers, battery life, screen brightness and cooling performance are all marginally better in the Pro. There are also the deltas of design and Fn Keys vs. Touch Bar.

Are marginal improvements across the board worth a couple hundred bucks to you? Since it's a machine I'd be planning to keep for years they would be worth it to me.