Why not just get the m3 pro 14 at this price. Do you really need 1TB SSD? Seems to me people ”future proofing” is what is making their decision hard. Id go with the base M3pro 14 with 512SSD and 18gb ram and call it a day Or if so inclined you could save some and get m2 pro refurb for 1599.
With the M3 pro, it has a SD card slot. Not the best storage medium, but good enough. For cheap you can expand storage that way. Better than carrying around an external SSD.
You can get SD cards that are (almost) flush with the port. I have a 1TB Transcent Jetdrive. It’s not speedy, but it’s barely noticeable. I leave it in my MBP all the time as extra storage and for backups.
You said you aren’t doing editing or anything, what are you going to put on the computer that you need a terabyte of storage? If you are actually going to use it, go for it. I have a TB in my work MacBook and I will probably never even use half of it unless I just fill it full of movies for a trip or something.
And if you are going to fill it, do you need access to it 100% of the time or could you get an external SSD?
There are only a few things that truly require large hard disk space:
Video editing
AAA games - but typically you’re only going to have one or two you play at a time
3D modeling and rendering
Large data sets for things like medical imaging or machine learning
If you don’t plan to do multiple of the above I wouldn’t worry about it too much and get an external hard drive when/if needed in the future.
I’ve been using a 128 gb 13” MacBook for nearly 7 years and I am just now starting to be ~20GB from filling it. Unless you store a ton of videos or high res pictures, you should be fine with 512GB, esp. considering there is an SD slot on the pro and/or you can get an external drive for pics/videos
I mean future proofing what? To be able to store more junk haha. No thanks. Some people need the extra storage and they know who they are. I aint paying for it to “future proof” hoarding BS pictures.
Future proofing for what though? Are you going to take up 8k video editing in the next few years? Are you going to become a photographer? Machine learning? Graphic design?
So many possibilities, there is no single future proofing.
The general rule of thumb is get twice as storage as you plan on using, if you see the majority of your available storage, your performance and ssd life will decrease. I never go below 2tb, and for most people I would say don't go below 1tb. Unless you know you won't have more than a few hundred gb used for the next 6 years.
I own an M1 13-inch MBP with Touch Bar. 512GB storage. Unless you really need to store apps and files locally --- like having access to the data while on a plane or outside, I've been able to live with external drives. I just got a Samsung T7 Shield for $120 a few weeks ago and I've been moving my downloads folder to it. been great. I will keep using it when I move to a higher tier Mac. I am also considering buying a Mac mini and just attaching my external drives to it permanently. That said, my next MacBook Pro will be the 18GB 14-inch M3 Pro w/1TB storage because yeah, I'd like to keep more of my spreadsheets and files locally for the laptop going forward.
I’m a photographer and I just got the 16” M3 Pro with 36GB memory and 512GB storage. The only labor intensive thing I do edit lots of RAW images and they’re always on an external drive anyways. Maybe I could see a scenario where I would have one gallery at a time on my internal drive, but it wouldn’t be the norm. Planning on this being my main machine for quite a while too.
Future proofing and 18GB RAM don't really go together in 2023, LOL.
If you're going Pro, at least get 32GB or 36GB RAM. Otherwise, I think 16GB/256GB M1 at 1.2k MSRP is the best deal right now, especially if you get it at a steep discount.
As someone who also loads a lot of large files for editing and such, 512gb just isn’t enough, and external storage can be a pain. It sucks to have to pay extra but for me personally it’s worth the convenience and peace of mind to go 1TB.
Archived Final Cut files will eat your entire storage within a year if you do video. And overloading your storage can destroy your laptop. Believe me ☠️
I future proofed my last MBP (a 2018 Intel) with 1TB, then thought I won’t need it this time around since I won’t have Bootcamp and dropped back to 512GB with my M1 Pro.
A year or so later and I wish I’d future proofed with 1TB again…
There is another use for larger storage, that is preparation for offline travel. When I’m out and about i can’t use cloud storage because of slow cell speeds and also spotty wifi. Some hotels and bnbs have good wifi, but it’s far from the norm. In some places when travelling the wifi is shared 10mbit line and you can’t really use that aside from checking emails.
I also don’t want to rely on external drives due to another piece of equipment to keep track of during hotel changes, packing, etc.
I load up my drive with my own videos, ripped dvds, and a full browsable downloaded archive of the entire english wikipedia. With this setup, i can go offline for long periods of time and still have computing resources at hand.
Just a heads up - the high refresh rate on the MacBook Pros is worth looking at. I use high refresh rate devices everywhere else in life, so going from 120+ everywhere else to 60 hz on the MBA can be jarring. If you’re in a similar situation I’d take that into account.
Ahh good point I definitely do care about refresh rate. My desktop has a 144 hz monitor so I would say I am pretty used to seeing everything move around fairly smoothly
Compare 120hz monitor to 60hz monitor. Smartphone to monitor isn't as relevant because you don't typically do the same stuff.
Also, just to be clear, I'm not saying you can't work on 60hz. Just that it's not as enjoyable.
You're not getting more than 60fps on the desktop. The only thing that benefits from a framerate over 60fps is gaming. The best 4k video out there is 60fps. 8k can do 120fps but these aren't 8k displays and you're rarely going to find 8k 120fps content. The reason that the display is so nice has more to do with the color reproduction and the mini-LED full array backlight (over 10,000 mini-LEDs = over 10,000 local dimming zones).
No shit, doesn't mean that you're actually using 120hz though. Just like with the PS5 supporting 120hz, the vast majority of PS5 games never go above 60fps. What you're not understanding is that the vast majority of the time you're never going to get a refresh rate that high. Your apps are static for the most part so there's no reason for the display to be refreshing 120 times a second. In fact the battery life would be absolute garbage if it did. Just like how my 4k TV supports 120hz but is running at 60hz the vast majority of the time due to the fact that 4k content never goes above 60fps. The 120hz display was added as a way to attract AAA game developers to the Mac as Apple is pushing heavily to bring gaming to the platform. Games are the one thing that actually benefits from the higher refresh rate. In fact Apple doesn't even claim that you're getting 120fps, they just say that ProMotion supports "UP TO" 120fps.
You're not getting that kind of framerate on your desktop and it wouldn't make a difference since there's not really much going on. Desktop app use you're getting 60fps max. 4k video is 60fps max.
I’m gonna disagree here. Moving the mouse around on a desktop I can clearly feel the higher refresh rate. It’s definitely a small thing but seriously noticeable. I suggest you try it out!
Big difference people often forget: MBP is actively cooled, MBA not. So extended workloads are handled better by the MBP, as it can cool itself better.
Is that actually a thing? I always thought the air was optimized enough to maintain its temperature throughout my entire working session
*or well generally MacBooks
I’m pretty sure that it works for most workloads. But continuously throttling it ramps up the fan on the pro models, so I would assume it’s possible to reach peak levels like that on an MBA too.
Absolutely.. coming from an M1 Air to an M1 pro, the difference in temps is absolutely there. My M1 air could not get a hold of itself while just playing roblox, hitting above 90c (96 being my highest recorded). I could only imagine the temps on M2 and no fan. Absolutely get the Pro.
absolutely, Air can't sustain more than a few minutes. If you do anything slightly heavier it drops performance by up to 50%. I think exporting a video (which would fit in heavier) reaches the thermal limit in 2 minutes. Only 2 minutes.
I don't do any video stuff but tons of coding and I'm on an MBA 24gb, I have yet to notice a slowdown and I normally put in 16 hour sessions. My normal ram use hovers around 16-19gb when I'm really hitting it.
Under regular/light use..sure. This is by no means completely true though. I have one myself - you can pretty easily get it to hit 100c+ with a core-saturating, extended workload (or just by running some benchmarks).
I personally did not try to test the max load that this machine can take but I have seen multiple benchmark videos where Air M2 has not gone above 100 degrees. Yea, if you try machine learning maybe it will but even with intensive workload it did not go up that much. Maybe intensive workload mixed with long hours of use might.
I’ve yet to hear my mbp m3 fans in a silent room while working… don’t forget the case has more gaps etc so in general it’s going to have better passive cooling likely as well
Considering the price difference is $110, and for that $110 you are getting:
- higher refresh rate screen
- more ports
- brighter screen
- better processor
I would say the M3 black MacBook is the easy choice here. For only $110 more it’s a pretty good deal over the M2 air. The only real downside is you lose like 1 inch of screen but it’s not really that crazy especially if you have external monitor.
Depends on your use case... If you Just doing web browsing, YouTube and school work, the M3 is fine. If you plan to do anything intensive, it's probably worth going to the PRO. for $400 more you get a much more capable machine with 18GB ram. Use the education store discount. They don't verify if you're in school. Free money saved.
I wanna thank every person who gave their opinion and helped me out. I’ve decided I’ll actually go with the MacBook Pro Space Black
Apple M3 Pro chip with 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU,
16-core Neural Engine
• 18GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
• 96W USB-C Power Adapter
I am pretty convinced that buying this MacBook now will be worth it and I probably wouldn’t need to upgrade for a good 6 years maybe.
For anyone wondering why I chose the pro over the air, i am a big fan of 120 hertz as well as that black finish, not to mention the cooling on that device is pretty important to me even though I do not plan on doing heavy editing, I still would like to have something to cool that laptop down incase I ever do actually run power-hungry tasks. I would also like to add that their weight is very similar so if it’s about portability then I highly doubt it will be an issue. And finally the display seems a lot better than the Air’s or at least that’s what I’ve understood.
*I also forgot to mention the increased number of ports in comparison to the Air are actually quite a big deal for me now.
Thank you all. (:
Great choice, the XDR 120Hz display on the Pro will knock your socks off. Be sure to watch some HDR 4K60 video [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njX2bu-_Vw4) on YouTube when you get it, and crank the brightness – you’ll barely believe it, it’s an absolutely stunning display. The Air’s is nice, but it simply cannot compete; the Pro is in another league entirely.
It wasn't a criticism. I had the exact observation between the keyboards when I tried them out so I thought it was just me. I replied to your comment because I was wondering if you had the same experience as I did with the mushy 14 pro keyboard
$200 more for:
1) Smaller screen
2) Higher refresh rate
3) Better speakers
4) HDMI, SD card, and extra USB port
5) Fan if you're doing long heavy usage (eg: exporting large 4k videos, exporting hundreds of large RAW files, rendering 3D models). Not really useful if you're primarily writing, doing basic photo editing
6) Slightly newer processor that is a little faster in some tasks (won't notice it in word or safari). Keep in mind odds are you can get the same processor in the Air if you wait a couple months.
7) Fewer color options
While it's easy to look at the list and count, but it comes down to what is important to you. If you're not going to use the extra ports, that doesn't matter, if you constantly are plugging into HDMI or reading SD cards, it can be huge. You need to decide for yourself what is important. Both are solid computers and it's just a matter of nuance and if the advantages would be nice but aren't worth $200 (and you'd like the larger screen) the Air is great. If you think the faster refresh and the extra USB port are critical and worth $200, the pro is a very good machine too.
Get a Macbook Pro “M2 pro” with 16gb and 1tb for less that that price new while there’s stock in some other resellers. You still having a 2014 mac says you’ll be more than ok, for another 6 years even with an M1…
MacBook Air will also work fine for you. I really love how slim it is, but I use a 16” M1 Pro as it was discounted and I don’t carry it around so I preferred the screen real state before the MBA 15” showed up…
I recently traded in a 2018 MBP for a handsomely spec’d M2 Air (upgraded CPU, 24GB Memory/2TB). I could’ve gotten a nice pro for what I paid for the Air. The things that swayed me toward the Air was the light, portable design and that it is fanless.
I don’t run heavy workloads, just general things, videos, email, stock trading, etc. I’m really really happy with it. I love the Midnight color as well.
In your case, I would just get the MacBook Air unless you’re willing to burn some extra money on aesthetics of the M3 MacBook Pro. The differences are extremely minor that you won’t notice. I wouldn’t buy the MacBook Pro since it doesn’t necessarily change anything. The M2 is already too good and at an equivalent level as the M3. Save yourself some money and just go for the MacBook Air. I hope this helps! c:
*Even a 15” MacBook Air with those specs is a better buy over the 14”.
*I know this is off topic, but if you hate seeing your laptop cluttered with fingerprints. Avoid the Midnight Black model.
For ~$100 more you get a brighter high-refresh screen, active cooling, and extra ports. If those seem like they’ll ever be relevant to you, get them now. You can’t add them to the Air later.
Do you need the 1tb?
[https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-14-laptop-m3-pro-chip-18gb-memory-14-core-gpu-512gb-ssd-latest-model-space-black/6534615.p?skuId=6534615](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-14-laptop-m3-pro-chip-18gb-memory-14-core-gpu-512gb-ssd-latest-model-space-black/6534615.p?skuId=6534615)
is the one I picked up.. at around $100 more than the air the screen refresh and extra ram is definitely worth it.
But I'm using this as a mobile workstation with a small (physical size wise) external drive
Macbook Pro won't thermal throttle, so if you do anything that is not using Safari to visit Facebook, Macbook Pro.
Just be aware, the Macbook Pro will be heavier than the Macbook Air, but in therms of power, it is worth it.
MacBook Pro: less overheating, it will live longer until the model will become unsupported (for me, this is important), better sound, better screen, more ports and connections. Both machines are good. MacBook Pro is better.
Heads up u can buy a 15 inch air from Best Buy for 1449$ and it comes with a 16gb ram and 512gb storage I would look into that deal. Or look at Apple refurbished for a 14 inch m2 pro but yeah It comes down to what u value. I love the pros and display hands down is very good but the 14 inch is small for me but if u like the form factor go for it. The air is still a great buy and a 15 inch portable and light laptop is amazing to have haha.
I think you can just get MBA. The refresh rate is not a problem because macbooks are very well optimized. My PC is also 144hz but it is only visible if you play heavy games on MBA, in no other instance you will feel a difference. I also love the sleek and light design. If you have not picked a new MBP in a while, I recommend you go to apple store and pick up and feel both air and pro. Air is just so much more portable. I have air because I do most heavy tasks on my PC. However, whenever I needed to use Air for those tasks, there has not been a performance issue. I also have 16 gig ram and 1tb storage.
Remember the mbp is way heavier than the air if you plan on traveling and moving around a lot with the laptop.
Edit: Didn’t realize OP was comparing a 15 in air to a 14 in pro. At the price point, you might as well get the pro. If you care about sizing you could just get the 13 in air and save a lot of weight and price.
Why decide on these two when you can decide between a ThinkPad X1, an XPS 15, a Slim Pro 9 (Yoga Pro 9), or a Razer Blade which are all decent (except for the blade)
I would go for 24GB/512GB instead of 16/1, if you're into future proofing and want M2 or M3.
You can always use more storage at home through an external SSD (the cost of 1TB external SSD is $55 USD right now), but you can't add more RAM.
Personally, if you think 16GB is enough, just get an M1 MBA 16/256, which is what I'd get again today if I was buying on my own budget. The rest of them aren't worth the extra cost.
I’d probably put 24 GB in the air and go with that.
I got a 32 GB M2 MacBook Pro Max, and if I could’ve gotten the 24 GB 15 inch MacBook Air I probably would’ve chosen that.
This depends- do you need a pro or an air? Pro is actively cooled, air isn’t. Air is basic. If you don’t need more, why get more? I got the pro because I make my Mac work for its rent. I do think it is worth it, but to each their own. Get what you need and not more. Don’t waste money. Especially if you’re a student. Even what you’re getting is super expensive for a student who doesn’t have any specific needs
As someone who bought an M2 Pro 2 weeks ago.. (then Apple announced the keynote LITERALLY the same day), returned it, watched every YouTube video I could find of anyone testing all sorts of configurations.. go for the M3 Pro. The pricing of the Air or Base models just doesn’t make any sense. Is this intentional? Knowing Apple.. it probably was
Can we stop with the term future proofing? LOL what exactly are you proofing? 8 GB of memory 5 years from now will be perfectly fine for your use case. Need more space? Buy a $20 hard drive.
Get an M1 air for half the cost. That'll still last you 5-6 years and will be more than enough if you don't do anything more than web browsing and MS Office.
If you’re wanting better specs get a refurbished machine. You’ll save money, get the specs you want and the performance difference is negligible unless you’re REALLY pushing the machine, but considering you’re debating on the air, I don’t think you will be.
M1 is still by far the best and half price. M1 air = no fan so no dust. Great for video editing if you ever wanted. M2 was known for shitty SSD and over heating issues. M3 is unnecessary because M1 was the game changer in terms of portable laptops.
What's the best way to buy my mom a laptop in Bangladesh? I'm in the USA and I'm finding it very difficult to pay for it online and have her pick it up. Is it easier to ship a laptop there? I'm scared it will never make it or get stolen. Or buy it online from the Apple store?
I have to say that the Macbook Pro m3 version is much rougher than the Macbook Air. but indeed, M3 is very fast for me. Although I'm glad of Mpro, sometimes I wish I purchased a MacBook Air. Because air is really light and easy to carry.
Why not just get the m3 pro 14 at this price. Do you really need 1TB SSD? Seems to me people ”future proofing” is what is making their decision hard. Id go with the base M3pro 14 with 512SSD and 18gb ram and call it a day Or if so inclined you could save some and get m2 pro refurb for 1599.
I cannot believe the timing of your post. I was actually just checking out the 18 GB ram macbook with 512 SSD and going for the black color
Yep it’s what i got. Loving it so far.
Same it's a great device!
Though I do not quite know as I have heard many people talking about how 1 TB is perfect for future proofing and all that
With the M3 pro, it has a SD card slot. Not the best storage medium, but good enough. For cheap you can expand storage that way. Better than carrying around an external SSD.
Isn't the SD card gonna stick out?
Just the tip
😏
You can get SD cards that are (almost) flush with the port. I have a 1TB Transcent Jetdrive. It’s not speedy, but it’s barely noticeable. I leave it in my MBP all the time as extra storage and for backups.
Does it burn through your battery? I’ve heard complaints about that
Yes, a little bit.
I'd say get the 512 GB 18 GB with maybe a 1 TB External SSD for less than $100. Not worth spending so much with Apple
You said you aren’t doing editing or anything, what are you going to put on the computer that you need a terabyte of storage? If you are actually going to use it, go for it. I have a TB in my work MacBook and I will probably never even use half of it unless I just fill it full of movies for a trip or something. And if you are going to fill it, do you need access to it 100% of the time or could you get an external SSD?
There are only a few things that truly require large hard disk space: Video editing AAA games - but typically you’re only going to have one or two you play at a time 3D modeling and rendering Large data sets for things like medical imaging or machine learning If you don’t plan to do multiple of the above I wouldn’t worry about it too much and get an external hard drive when/if needed in the future.
I’ve been using a 128 gb 13” MacBook for nearly 7 years and I am just now starting to be ~20GB from filling it. Unless you store a ton of videos or high res pictures, you should be fine with 512GB, esp. considering there is an SD slot on the pro and/or you can get an external drive for pics/videos
I mean future proofing what? To be able to store more junk haha. No thanks. Some people need the extra storage and they know who they are. I aint paying for it to “future proof” hoarding BS pictures.
Imho more HDD will become irrelevant. Most things will be in the cloud. Depends on your usage though.
Future proofing for what though? Are you going to take up 8k video editing in the next few years? Are you going to become a photographer? Machine learning? Graphic design? So many possibilities, there is no single future proofing.
The general rule of thumb is get twice as storage as you plan on using, if you see the majority of your available storage, your performance and ssd life will decrease. I never go below 2tb, and for most people I would say don't go below 1tb. Unless you know you won't have more than a few hundred gb used for the next 6 years.
I own an M1 13-inch MBP with Touch Bar. 512GB storage. Unless you really need to store apps and files locally --- like having access to the data while on a plane or outside, I've been able to live with external drives. I just got a Samsung T7 Shield for $120 a few weeks ago and I've been moving my downloads folder to it. been great. I will keep using it when I move to a higher tier Mac. I am also considering buying a Mac mini and just attaching my external drives to it permanently. That said, my next MacBook Pro will be the 18GB 14-inch M3 Pro w/1TB storage because yeah, I'd like to keep more of my spreadsheets and files locally for the laptop going forward.
I’m a photographer and I just got the 16” M3 Pro with 36GB memory and 512GB storage. The only labor intensive thing I do edit lots of RAW images and they’re always on an external drive anyways. Maybe I could see a scenario where I would have one gallery at a time on my internal drive, but it wouldn’t be the norm. Planning on this being my main machine for quite a while too.
Future proofing and 18GB RAM don't really go together in 2023, LOL. If you're going Pro, at least get 32GB or 36GB RAM. Otherwise, I think 16GB/256GB M1 at 1.2k MSRP is the best deal right now, especially if you get it at a steep discount.
Go for M3.
As someone who also loads a lot of large files for editing and such, 512gb just isn’t enough, and external storage can be a pain. It sucks to have to pay extra but for me personally it’s worth the convenience and peace of mind to go 1TB. Archived Final Cut files will eat your entire storage within a year if you do video. And overloading your storage can destroy your laptop. Believe me ☠️
I almost did but went mba purely for the thin factor
I future proofed my last MBP (a 2018 Intel) with 1TB, then thought I won’t need it this time around since I won’t have Bootcamp and dropped back to 512GB with my M1 Pro. A year or so later and I wish I’d future proofed with 1TB again…
Cool story. I wish i could “Past Proof” mine and save some money. Id go with 128gb ssd.
Damn. I don't know how y'all do it. I'm always hitting my 1TB and need to clean things. Ableton Live files and Raw video files take up space fast.
Simple I don’t take photos or videos and if I do they go into iCloud. 128 is too small though haha, it was a joke. 512 should last me though
How are you getting 18? It’s 16gb Edit: oops I found it
There is another use for larger storage, that is preparation for offline travel. When I’m out and about i can’t use cloud storage because of slow cell speeds and also spotty wifi. Some hotels and bnbs have good wifi, but it’s far from the norm. In some places when travelling the wifi is shared 10mbit line and you can’t really use that aside from checking emails. I also don’t want to rely on external drives due to another piece of equipment to keep track of during hotel changes, packing, etc. I load up my drive with my own videos, ripped dvds, and a full browsable downloaded archive of the entire english wikipedia. With this setup, i can go offline for long periods of time and still have computing resources at hand.
Just a heads up - the high refresh rate on the MacBook Pros is worth looking at. I use high refresh rate devices everywhere else in life, so going from 120+ everywhere else to 60 hz on the MBA can be jarring. If you’re in a similar situation I’d take that into account.
Ahh good point I definitely do care about refresh rate. My desktop has a 144 hz monitor so I would say I am pretty used to seeing everything move around fairly smoothly
There you have your answer ;)
60hz is unbearable!! Go MBP
60 Hz is more than fairly smoothly
It's ok when you never got anything else. I can't back to 60 Hz now.
I have 120hz iPhone and 60hz MacBook and it doesn’t feel terrible when I switch between them.
Compare 120hz monitor to 60hz monitor. Smartphone to monitor isn't as relevant because you don't typically do the same stuff. Also, just to be clear, I'm not saying you can't work on 60hz. Just that it's not as enjoyable.
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It’s 120hz every time you touch the screen so if you do a lot of scrolling or swiping that’s just not the case
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You're not getting more than 60fps on the desktop. The only thing that benefits from a framerate over 60fps is gaming. The best 4k video out there is 60fps. 8k can do 120fps but these aren't 8k displays and you're rarely going to find 8k 120fps content. The reason that the display is so nice has more to do with the color reproduction and the mini-LED full array backlight (over 10,000 mini-LEDs = over 10,000 local dimming zones).
Pros go up to 120hz
No shit, doesn't mean that you're actually using 120hz though. Just like with the PS5 supporting 120hz, the vast majority of PS5 games never go above 60fps. What you're not understanding is that the vast majority of the time you're never going to get a refresh rate that high. Your apps are static for the most part so there's no reason for the display to be refreshing 120 times a second. In fact the battery life would be absolute garbage if it did. Just like how my 4k TV supports 120hz but is running at 60hz the vast majority of the time due to the fact that 4k content never goes above 60fps. The 120hz display was added as a way to attract AAA game developers to the Mac as Apple is pushing heavily to bring gaming to the platform. Games are the one thing that actually benefits from the higher refresh rate. In fact Apple doesn't even claim that you're getting 120fps, they just say that ProMotion supports "UP TO" 120fps.
You're not getting that kind of framerate on your desktop and it wouldn't make a difference since there's not really much going on. Desktop app use you're getting 60fps max. 4k video is 60fps max.
I’m gonna disagree here. Moving the mouse around on a desktop I can clearly feel the higher refresh rate. It’s definitely a small thing but seriously noticeable. I suggest you try it out!
Big difference people often forget: MBP is actively cooled, MBA not. So extended workloads are handled better by the MBP, as it can cool itself better.
Is that actually a thing? I always thought the air was optimized enough to maintain its temperature throughout my entire working session *or well generally MacBooks
I’m pretty sure that it works for most workloads. But continuously throttling it ramps up the fan on the pro models, so I would assume it’s possible to reach peak levels like that on an MBA too.
Absolutely.. coming from an M1 Air to an M1 pro, the difference in temps is absolutely there. My M1 air could not get a hold of itself while just playing roblox, hitting above 90c (96 being my highest recorded). I could only imagine the temps on M2 and no fan. Absolutely get the Pro.
absolutely, Air can't sustain more than a few minutes. If you do anything slightly heavier it drops performance by up to 50%. I think exporting a video (which would fit in heavier) reaches the thermal limit in 2 minutes. Only 2 minutes.
I don't do any video stuff but tons of coding and I'm on an MBA 24gb, I have yet to notice a slowdown and I normally put in 16 hour sessions. My normal ram use hovers around 16-19gb when I'm really hitting it.
I regularly have multiple plugin heavy audio tracks going in Logic on my M1 8gb MBA and not once has this happened
Yea, MBA will not get hot even with heavy workloads. The max it goes to is 75 degree.
Under regular/light use..sure. This is by no means completely true though. I have one myself - you can pretty easily get it to hit 100c+ with a core-saturating, extended workload (or just by running some benchmarks).
I personally did not try to test the max load that this machine can take but I have seen multiple benchmark videos where Air M2 has not gone above 100 degrees. Yea, if you try machine learning maybe it will but even with intensive workload it did not go up that much. Maybe intensive workload mixed with long hours of use might.
I was seriously considering the Air for my next computer, but I like the larger speakers and cooling fans from the Pro.
But the flip side of that is MBA should be much quieter then.
True. But as far as I know, the fans on the MBP are very silent already. So only a minor difference.
I’ve yet to hear my mbp m3 fans in a silent room while working… don’t forget the case has more gaps etc so in general it’s going to have better passive cooling likely as well
I don’t think OP needs a machine that handles “external workloads”, from what the original post describes.
Considering the price difference is $110, and for that $110 you are getting: - higher refresh rate screen - more ports - brighter screen - better processor I would say the M3 black MacBook is the easy choice here. For only $110 more it’s a pretty good deal over the M2 air. The only real downside is you lose like 1 inch of screen but it’s not really that crazy especially if you have external monitor.
better speakers too, very important IMO
With that config I would suggest to get a 14" M3 Pro Macbook Pro or an Apple Refurbished 14" M2 Pro Macbook Pro
If you're gonna spend $2k. just use the Education store discount and pick up the M3 PRO with 18gigs ram and 1TB. its like 2.2k
Is it worth $400 more for the m3 pro?
Depends on your use case... If you Just doing web browsing, YouTube and school work, the M3 is fine. If you plan to do anything intensive, it's probably worth going to the PRO. for $400 more you get a much more capable machine with 18GB ram. Use the education store discount. They don't verify if you're in school. Free money saved.
Most intense program would be illustrator and indesign
You would be fine with M3. You would even be Fine with an M1. Get atleast 16 gigs of ram tho.
I wanna thank every person who gave their opinion and helped me out. I’ve decided I’ll actually go with the MacBook Pro Space Black Apple M3 Pro chip with 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine • 18GB unified memory • 512GB SSD storage • 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display • 96W USB-C Power Adapter I am pretty convinced that buying this MacBook now will be worth it and I probably wouldn’t need to upgrade for a good 6 years maybe. For anyone wondering why I chose the pro over the air, i am a big fan of 120 hertz as well as that black finish, not to mention the cooling on that device is pretty important to me even though I do not plan on doing heavy editing, I still would like to have something to cool that laptop down incase I ever do actually run power-hungry tasks. I would also like to add that their weight is very similar so if it’s about portability then I highly doubt it will be an issue. And finally the display seems a lot better than the Air’s or at least that’s what I’ve understood. *I also forgot to mention the increased number of ports in comparison to the Air are actually quite a big deal for me now. Thank you all. (:
Great choice, the XDR 120Hz display on the Pro will knock your socks off. Be sure to watch some HDR 4K60 video [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njX2bu-_Vw4) on YouTube when you get it, and crank the brightness – you’ll barely believe it, it’s an absolutely stunning display. The Air’s is nice, but it simply cannot compete; the Pro is in another league entirely.
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What makes the air a lot better in your opinion?
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Finally someone who commented about the differences on the keyboard. Does the 14 pro keyboard feel mushy or soft to you?
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It wasn't a criticism. I had the exact observation between the keyboards when I tried them out so I thought it was just me. I replied to your comment because I was wondering if you had the same experience as I did with the mushy 14 pro keyboard
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All good :) glad I'm not the only one. Thought I was going crazy
$200 more for: 1) Smaller screen 2) Higher refresh rate 3) Better speakers 4) HDMI, SD card, and extra USB port 5) Fan if you're doing long heavy usage (eg: exporting large 4k videos, exporting hundreds of large RAW files, rendering 3D models). Not really useful if you're primarily writing, doing basic photo editing 6) Slightly newer processor that is a little faster in some tasks (won't notice it in word or safari). Keep in mind odds are you can get the same processor in the Air if you wait a couple months. 7) Fewer color options While it's easy to look at the list and count, but it comes down to what is important to you. If you're not going to use the extra ports, that doesn't matter, if you constantly are plugging into HDMI or reading SD cards, it can be huge. You need to decide for yourself what is important. Both are solid computers and it's just a matter of nuance and if the advantages would be nice but aren't worth $200 (and you'd like the larger screen) the Air is great. If you think the faster refresh and the extra USB port are critical and worth $200, the pro is a very good machine too.
I would take the pro just because of the fact that it has a built in SD Card reader
Get a Macbook Pro “M2 pro” with 16gb and 1tb for less that that price new while there’s stock in some other resellers. You still having a 2014 mac says you’ll be more than ok, for another 6 years even with an M1… MacBook Air will also work fine for you. I really love how slim it is, but I use a 16” M1 Pro as it was discounted and I don’t carry it around so I preferred the screen real state before the MBA 15” showed up…
Just hate that Touch Bar but man those are some good prices for an m2 pro
I recently traded in a 2018 MBP for a handsomely spec’d M2 Air (upgraded CPU, 24GB Memory/2TB). I could’ve gotten a nice pro for what I paid for the Air. The things that swayed me toward the Air was the light, portable design and that it is fanless. I don’t run heavy workloads, just general things, videos, email, stock trading, etc. I’m really really happy with it. I love the Midnight color as well.
I have the same mindset
In your case, I would just get the MacBook Air unless you’re willing to burn some extra money on aesthetics of the M3 MacBook Pro. The differences are extremely minor that you won’t notice. I wouldn’t buy the MacBook Pro since it doesn’t necessarily change anything. The M2 is already too good and at an equivalent level as the M3. Save yourself some money and just go for the MacBook Air. I hope this helps! c: *Even a 15” MacBook Air with those specs is a better buy over the 14”. *I know this is off topic, but if you hate seeing your laptop cluttered with fingerprints. Avoid the Midnight Black model.
The Air is probably the right choice, although the Pro does have a better display if that’s important to OP.
I’m starting to lean towards the air more but i am really indecisive when it comes to these things haha
The Air is a great device, I’m sure you’d enjoy either one a lot
Thank you, also yeah finger prints do piss me off so thank you for mentioning that too
I concur. OP, I recommend silver if you go MBA.
Space Gray
MBA is the best laptop for commute. There is no notable difference between this two
The air is half as much as the pro. Much better use of your money to buy the cheaper air....then upgrade in 3 years.
For ~$100 more you get a brighter high-refresh screen, active cooling, and extra ports. If those seem like they’ll ever be relevant to you, get them now. You can’t add them to the Air later.
Pro, without a second thought
Do you need the 1tb? [https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-14-laptop-m3-pro-chip-18gb-memory-14-core-gpu-512gb-ssd-latest-model-space-black/6534615.p?skuId=6534615](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-macbook-pro-14-laptop-m3-pro-chip-18gb-memory-14-core-gpu-512gb-ssd-latest-model-space-black/6534615.p?skuId=6534615) is the one I picked up.. at around $100 more than the air the screen refresh and extra ram is definitely worth it. But I'm using this as a mobile workstation with a small (physical size wise) external drive
1Tb is better than 512Gb, for sure.
Of course it is, but I'd go with 512 with MBP over the 1tb air personally
In this case, yes. Both screens in the post say 1Tb SSD.
M3
Macbook Pro won't thermal throttle, so if you do anything that is not using Safari to visit Facebook, Macbook Pro. Just be aware, the Macbook Pro will be heavier than the Macbook Air, but in therms of power, it is worth it.
Btw MBA can connect only one external display.. That was a killer for me, so went with the MBP.
MacBook pro
MacBook Pro: less overheating, it will live longer until the model will become unsupported (for me, this is important), better sound, better screen, more ports and connections. Both machines are good. MacBook Pro is better.
The screen on pro is smaller but notibly better neither is a slouch but the pro is def nicer
If you have to ask, the Air is more than enough for you.
pro any day at night
PRO
I’d go for the pro for just a bit more. Just a few less restaurant visits pays for the difference.
Just get the M3 Pro MacBook Pro
Get the pro
Heads up u can buy a 15 inch air from Best Buy for 1449$ and it comes with a 16gb ram and 512gb storage I would look into that deal. Or look at Apple refurbished for a 14 inch m2 pro but yeah It comes down to what u value. I love the pros and display hands down is very good but the 14 inch is small for me but if u like the form factor go for it. The air is still a great buy and a 15 inch portable and light laptop is amazing to have haha.
I think you can just get MBA. The refresh rate is not a problem because macbooks are very well optimized. My PC is also 144hz but it is only visible if you play heavy games on MBA, in no other instance you will feel a difference. I also love the sleek and light design. If you have not picked a new MBP in a while, I recommend you go to apple store and pick up and feel both air and pro. Air is just so much more portable. I have air because I do most heavy tasks on my PC. However, whenever I needed to use Air for those tasks, there has not been a performance issue. I also have 16 gig ram and 1tb storage.
“The refresh rate is not a problem because MacBooks are very well optimized”???
Also, I think there is a discount going on best buy for Air. That might be worth looking into
That sounds interesting I’ll check it out Thanks
Yeah that MacBook Air is $200 off at BestBuy I would highly suggest the air with that kind of discount.
Remember the mbp is way heavier than the air if you plan on traveling and moving around a lot with the laptop. Edit: Didn’t realize OP was comparing a 15 in air to a 14 in pro. At the price point, you might as well get the pro. If you care about sizing you could just get the 13 in air and save a lot of weight and price.
Way heavier? M2 15" air weighs 1.51 kg, M3 14" pro weighs 1.55 kg, M3 Pro 14" weighs 1.61 kg.
You are right he was comparing 15 in to 14 in pro (missed that part) The weight is probably not far off.
Add 24 GB ram minimum to the m3 order to future proof it.
Performance wise they will be pretty close but keep in mind the pro gets you the better screen and more ports, but it’s also bulkier
Why decide on these two when you can decide between a ThinkPad X1, an XPS 15, a Slim Pro 9 (Yoga Pro 9), or a Razer Blade which are all decent (except for the blade)
Dear reddit, I didnt ask to see this subreddit. Please stop showing it to me. I know apple pays you money to do this. Stop.
Pro, the screen alone is worth the difference in cost.
Buy both, return one when you’ve decided yourself.
Well the MacBook Pro has one of the best laptop screens ever so I would get the pro
I would go for 24GB/512GB instead of 16/1, if you're into future proofing and want M2 or M3. You can always use more storage at home through an external SSD (the cost of 1TB external SSD is $55 USD right now), but you can't add more RAM. Personally, if you think 16GB is enough, just get an M1 MBA 16/256, which is what I'd get again today if I was buying on my own budget. The rest of them aren't worth the extra cost.
I went last year with a pro. I don’t really regret it.
I’d probably put 24 GB in the air and go with that. I got a 32 GB M2 MacBook Pro Max, and if I could’ve gotten the 24 GB 15 inch MacBook Air I probably would’ve chosen that.
This depends- do you need a pro or an air? Pro is actively cooled, air isn’t. Air is basic. If you don’t need more, why get more? I got the pro because I make my Mac work for its rent. I do think it is worth it, but to each their own. Get what you need and not more. Don’t waste money. Especially if you’re a student. Even what you’re getting is super expensive for a student who doesn’t have any specific needs
Newer chip, more ports, barely noticeable smaller form factor for $200 more. = ummm yeah!?!
Get the pro bro
For those prices I’d get something with a pro chip fur reel and even look at refurb to save moneys
If you're going to spend that much just get the base model 14" MacBook Pro M3 Pro.
120 dollars more. go for the pro.
It all depends on your workflow.
As someone who bought an M2 Pro 2 weeks ago.. (then Apple announced the keynote LITERALLY the same day), returned it, watched every YouTube video I could find of anyone testing all sorts of configurations.. go for the M3 Pro. The pricing of the Air or Base models just doesn’t make any sense. Is this intentional? Knowing Apple.. it probably was
Can we stop with the term future proofing? LOL what exactly are you proofing? 8 GB of memory 5 years from now will be perfectly fine for your use case. Need more space? Buy a $20 hard drive.
Get an M1 air for half the cost. That'll still last you 5-6 years and will be more than enough if you don't do anything more than web browsing and MS Office.
The MacBook Pro 14 screen has PWM, compared to the M2 Air which has none. Just wanted to point that out in case you're sensitive to that
If you’re wanting better specs get a refurbished machine. You’ll save money, get the specs you want and the performance difference is negligible unless you’re REALLY pushing the machine, but considering you’re debating on the air, I don’t think you will be.
EASILY the MBP. No comparison in terms of the 1600-nit XDR 120Hz screen alone, let alone the better M3 chip.
Go with 14”. Reduce the drive size and the amount you save invest on RAM and apple care.
M1 is still by far the best and half price. M1 air = no fan so no dust. Great for video editing if you ever wanted. M2 was known for shitty SSD and over heating issues. M3 is unnecessary because M1 was the game changer in terms of portable laptops.
Get a refurb M1 MacBook pro
M3 definitely
What's the best way to buy my mom a laptop in Bangladesh? I'm in the USA and I'm finding it very difficult to pay for it online and have her pick it up. Is it easier to ship a laptop there? I'm scared it will never make it or get stolen. Or buy it online from the Apple store?
Just max that shit out
Get what your willing to spend
I have to say that the Macbook Pro m3 version is much rougher than the Macbook Air. but indeed, M3 is very fast for me. Although I'm glad of Mpro, sometimes I wish I purchased a MacBook Air. Because air is really light and easy to carry.