Hi I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2018" 32GB ram and have the have the opportunity to buy a a almost new MacBook Air 13" 2022 M2(8-core processor 10-core GPU and 16 core) with 24GB ram and 2TB for around 2167 USD. Will I regret my switch if I go down in size and memory? I deal a lot with development and office work.
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Trade in my MacBook Pro 15" 2018 for a 13" MBA?
- Thread starter Kaelbron
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I happily develop (Ruby on Rails mostly) on a 16 GB RAM machine with memory to spare, so unless you do some really heavy stuff (which I think you’d know) you’ll be fine with 24 GB. The M2 will be significantly faster than your Pro, like really noticeably faster. The screen is the one thing I’d be worried about, unless you have a good eyesight or have an external monitor, 13” can feel a bit cramped, especially for big IDEs.
I don’t mind working on my Air for a few days when visiting the family, but I do miss my 4K screen at home, and I usually limit my contributions to smaller stuff that doesn’t need that much awareness and many changes in many files at once.
I don’t mind working on my Air for a few days when visiting the family, but I do miss my 4K screen at home, and I usually limit my contributions to smaller stuff that doesn’t need that much awareness and many changes in many files at once.
Understood that the M processor should be more suitable and better for the operating system than Intel. You mean it's even like that with the RAM?🙂 There is a big difference compared to 32 and 24 of course. The advantage that I see with the Air is that it has no fan.
On mine, I hear the fan quite clearly when I have tabs and programs running along with external screen
Of course you can still only load so much stuff into active memory and are limited by capacity but Apple's unified RAM on their M-series boards offers significantly faster speeds so that loading from storage is much faster and swap actually feels usable (and you might not even notice being on swap!)
It's not a cure all for having insufficient RAM but I'd much rather 8 GB on an M-series chip than 8 GB on an Intel chip. And so on.
It's not a cure all for having insufficient RAM but I'd much rather 8 GB on an M-series chip than 8 GB on an Intel chip. And so on.
So true. After 13yrs with my 15" I wouldn't have been happy with anything smaller. I suppose if it wasn't my main (and only) machine, it frequently would've left the house, I'd think different.
Sounds like you want to try and land a 15” MacBook Air with M2, new with 24gb and 2tb would set you back 2979 euro’s where I’m from.
I've been happily toting around a 2015 15" for years, the only problem is (particularly recently) the battery life struggling to get you through a day. I think with the much more compact, lighter, power sipping 15" Air this is no longer a disadvantage for this size of computer!
Just very recently replaced my mid 2009er with a 2023 MBP 16#, sort of still in the transition period actually. I found it interesting that although the 2023 model is slightly lighter than the old mac, it feels much lighter (like magic). It's my only machine so it will only see the odd cafe duties outside of the home. Prior to the purchase I was smitten by the MBP vs M2 Air screen difference but also by the audio difference of the M2 MBP 14" vs 16". Still beyond impressed how they got all that big sound into such a thin device. You can imagine after 13yrs how many batteries (and everything else) I've chewed through.
I don't have found some refurbished in my country. I have looked on the second hand market. I Don't have the budget for a brand new Mac for a specs I need and want.
I have now tried the 13 inch version of the Macbook Air and it is nice, I won't say anything else. Even though I have external screens, I find it difficult to be satisfied with a smaller screen. Don't have the budget for a brand new 15" MBA.
I have an Intel Mac from 2018, so I want to replace it when it's still possible to get a decent penny for it. Something that bothers me enormously about the Air model is that it has neither a port nor an HDMI connector on the left side.
Now I've only tested the 13" MBA and don't know yet how it will suit my lifestyle and needs. I'm leaning towards selling it and the intel mac and see if I can get a Pro with an M1 processor, 32GB and 1TB for a decent price What I like about Pro is that it offers more HZ on the screen and a higher resolution. However, I don't know how the fan will sound or start in a Pro with M1/M2.
As I noted elsewhere on the move from 15” to 13”:
”I went from a work-supplied 15” to a 13” Mac years ago and thought I’d be miserable with the smaller screen, but it turned out just fine.”
Since then, all my laptops have been 13” and I appreciate the smaller size, lower weight, ease of use and travel, even the ease of moving it from one part of the house to another.
OTOH, given your reaction to the 13” and strong pref for having ports on both sides and a built-in HDMI port, going for the 14” MBP makes a lot of sense…
You can browse the forums here for reports on the fan — many say that it's barely audible and rarely kicks in. Others are irritated by it. But it definitely seems to be far better — quieter and running at high speeds much less often — than the fans on the Intel Mac laptops.
”I went from a work-supplied 15” to a 13” Mac years ago and thought I’d be miserable with the smaller screen, but it turned out just fine.”
Since then, all my laptops have been 13” and I appreciate the smaller size, lower weight, ease of use and travel, even the ease of moving it from one part of the house to another.
OTOH, given your reaction to the 13” and strong pref for having ports on both sides and a built-in HDMI port, going for the 14” MBP makes a lot of sense…
You can browse the forums here for reports on the fan — many say that it's barely audible and rarely kicks in. Others are irritated by it. But it definitely seems to be far better — quieter and running at high speeds much less often — than the fans on the Intel Mac laptops.