What happened to your screen?
I tested both systems. Like the shape of the MBA much more (for typing). Otherwise I don't realize any throttling issues at all...
My M1 is much much smoother than my old rMBP (and no noise at all).
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Whose going with the M1 Air vs Pro?
- Thread starter kp98077
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I tested both systems. Like the shape of the MBA much more (for typing). Otherwise I don't realize any throttling issues at all...
My M1 is much much smoother than my old rMBP (and no noise at all).
The M1 MBA is way smoother and faster than the early 2015 13" rMBP with the i7. I haven't noticed any throttling, but I have noticed that all the apps open quickly and the computer doesn't even seem to warm up in use, period. Doing many of the same tasks (even things as simple as a 2 hour zoom call) on the rMBP would have the fans going like crazy.
Unless you have a specific need for the M1 MBP, I'd stick with the MBA. It seems to be the best value.
As a video editor I got the MBA with 16gb. Better for casual typing, still seems to be chewing thru anything i'd throw at it, and all without a damn fan. I've edited with proxies as small as possible for years so I hear as little fan noise as possible and this will finally rid me of that problem
Also no fan noise while simply using an external monitor will be nice as well. I can handle throttling, I know i'd get more performance out of a fan but doesn't seem like much I can stand an extra minute or two in comparison. I do like the look of the MBPs better, could use the better mics and speakers, but eh can't win em all.
Tho I should mention i'll probably get the 14" MBP redesign when it drops anyways...or at least if they have a fanless model
Also no fan noise while simply using an external monitor will be nice as well. I can handle throttling, I know i'd get more performance out of a fan but doesn't seem like much I can stand an extra minute or two in comparison. I do like the look of the MBPs better, could use the better mics and speakers, but eh can't win em all. Tho I should mention i'll probably get the 14" MBP redesign when it drops anyways...or at least if they have a fanless model
Yes under sustained heavy load the MBA will throttle (100% CPU for more than 10 mins), however the impact on performance is only 10-15%. I compared the performance of my late 2016 15" MBP and M1 MBA was about 100% faster, so even with a 15% hit, I am still 85% up on performance under full sustained CPU load.
Does browsing plus YouTube or music in background get to 100% usage? I’m trying to understand what you have to be doing to throttle it.
All this keyboard talk has me wondering, for those that have tried both the Pro and the Air, is there more travel in the Pro’s keyboard?
That usage would not get the MBA to throttle. What does get the MBA to throttle for people is editing 4K video or using other CPA intensive tasks.
I haven't tried both. I have read several posts here of M1 MBP owners who said the keyboard had more travel than what they tested with on the MBA.
YouTube, Browsing, Zoom, playing music will not max out the CPU, so no impact on performance. The things that will max out the CPU/GPU will be graphic intensive gaming and video editing rendering for more than 10 mins as examples, but to be honest I don’t really notice it, and compared to my old 2016 MBP that sounded like a 747 taking off doing the same tasks, the MBA is completely silent.
Thanks for this. I’ll see if I can try it out. Hopefully the difference isn’t very big. My favourite has to be with the older MBA, pre-butterfly, which has just the right amount, I think. Though I’ve gotten used to the 2020 MBP’s (Intel).
My screenshot gives scientific proof that the Air is the better buy. You see? It has a higher user rating
USA folks might pity we Brits for how we are being price-gouged. Pounds for Dollars is the Apple way.
View attachment 1705496
Those prices include 20% VAT, though. There's some price gouging but it's not 30%.
I've personally landed on wanting more GPU performance still -- so M1X/M2, etc for me.
Until then, my Hack is phenomenal and wins easily when GPU stuff is in the mix.
Know what you mean. I really wanted a 16GB 512 GB Air (bigger numbers are better?) but Apple are quoting an obnoxious and entirely unreasonable delay. I thought Tim Cook was a logistics God, he needs to pull his socks up. Amazon could deliver an 8/256 in three days (whatever happened to Prime Next Day?) so they have my order.
Edit: I am not impatient.
Edit 2: Changed my order to 8/512, same delivery day. Actually I'm very impatient to get my aged hands on it.
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You might try looking for 16GB 1TB - I did see that was available for pickup in a few stores nearby. But at that point it kind of negates the point of the Air, which is as a reasonably priced option. 16GB 512GB - hell, even 256 would be OK - is the sweet spot but orders are backed up into February. Coupled with the extremely limited port situation, I may pass. I will never get a computer with 8GB of Ram.
If one needs 16GB/1TB, then not really. For me, after tax price of 16/1TB MBA is still less than pre-tax pricing of 16/1TB MBP. Besides, apart from battery life, I prefer the MBA to the MBP.
Yeah my area has the air 16GB/1TB available for same day delivery. I’m surprised they are stocking that combo because 16GB/512GB seems like a better middle ground for an air.
Why do you prefer the MBA? The pros for me are the form factor, which is less painful on your wrists for long typing sessions), but not much else. I would prefer a brighter screen surely, and am indifferent to the touch bar. Battery life is so good on either it's a wash really. The better speakers and mic are useful.
Touch bar sucks. This automatically makes the Air a far better laptop.
Battery life may be better with the Pro, but the Air is not exactly lacking in that area either. I unplugged my Air at 11am yesterday and did the usual (web browsing, email, Slack, video watching, writing, some light Photoshop editing, etc.) for 7 hours. Woke up this morning and started working again at 11am and I just plugged my machine in now, at 9:45 pm. The battery was at 2%.
I don’t have any issues with it. Compared to the Pro you can see a small difference in peak brightness but for my needs it’s not worth the extra money.
That said, I haven’t had a chance to use this away from home and it’s been too gross out to work on the deck, so i have no outdoor experience with it. I’m not worried.
Function keys instead of Touch Bar and completely fanless. I'm always at 30% screen brightness or less anyway.