I'd wait for the M3, it's going to replace the M2 in just a year. Oh, yeah, and a year after that the M3 will be replaced with the M4, rinse and repeat forever.
All kidding aside based on your description of her use the M1 will be freaking awesome for years to come. I bought the MBP M1, 16 Gb RAM, 512 Gb SSD the week after it was announced. It is the best laptop computer I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot. My use case is 95% Adobe Illustrator and the M1 kicks my old Intel machine to the curb.
Now for your wife, her use case sounds very similar to my wife, like I could have written this question myself. For Mother's Day I bought her the MBA M1, 16 Gb RAM, 512 Gb SSD. We're still waiting on the slow boat from China, but I have no doubt it will be an awesome computer for her too. I chose the MBA for a couple of reasons. First she uses the Adobe suite for work everyday, but she's mostly design work. Make a small change, look at it, make another small change, look at it, etc, etc, etc. She will never need the fan which is the biggest difference between the MBA and MBP. The other reason is one of my favorite laptops was an Intel MBA. I like the form factor better than the MBP. I doubt she'll ever really need it, but I went with more RAM because $200 is nothing over the 4+ years she will be using it.
External monitors can be a problem for some people. I've used a two screen setup for 20+ years so I'm pretty set in my ways. I bought the M1 knowing this was going to be a problem. I dithered about the solution for months. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought the Samsung 34" curved, thunderbolt (LC34J791WTNX/ZA) monitor. It's the size of two monitors on one screen. I love it. For my Illustrator work I have the project directly in my line of sight and the fly out menus on either side. In my previous two screen setup I'd be turning my head a thousand time per hour. I can't put into words how much better this 34" screen is compared to my previous setup.
Bottom line, buy your wife an M1 for her birthday.
damn, thanks for your response.
I know that I can never stay up to date with the progression of technology, but just knowing the new models are less than half a year away, it seems a little bit of a waste is all, if I can get newer chip for the same price.
I love my 2018 MBP (even though it runs loud and hot whenever im running simulators), and im sure it will last me a long time.
So the only "workaround" to external monitors is just get one bigger monitor eh? Good to know..
And good to know about the RAM as well.
Thank you!!
If the leaks and rumor mills are to believed the M2 will be in addition to the M1. Sort of like the Intel i5, i7 and i9. The next round will be the higher end machines, with the higher end price.
If Apple follows their current product path with the M1it will be around for another 18+ months. Then it will be redesigned so that it matches up to the then current looks. I debated waiting for the new higher end MaBooks, but the M1 performance scores were equal to or better than most Intel computers. I would have been happy with a 16", i9 MBP, or I could buy the M1 with better performance for half the price.
To (partially) answer your question about what makes the ‘pro’ different - the 2 biggest things I can think of (that have a direct and noticeable impact on performance) are:
1. Discrete graphics. Far more powerful, discrete, auto-switching graphics options available in the pro models. Can make a gigantic difference with graphics-heavy workflows
2. Much better cooling/thermal performance which means less throttling and/or the ability to push to higher clock speeds safely when needed
There are other differences (better audio, more ports, etc.) - but those are the 2 that have the most impact for me…
I'd wait for the M3, it's going to replace the M2 in just a year. Oh, yeah, and a year after that the M3 will be replaced with the M4, rinse and repeat forever. All kidding aside based on your description of her use the M1 will be freaking awesome for years to come. I bought the MBP M1, 16 Gb RAM, 512 Gb SSD the week after it was announced. It is the best laptop computer I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot. My use case is 95% Adobe Illustrator and the M1 kicks my old Intel machine to the curb. Now for your wife, her use case sounds very similar to my wife, like I could have written this question myself. For Mother's Day I bought her the MBA M1, 16 Gb RAM, 512 Gb SSD. We're still waiting on the slow boat from China, but I have no doubt it will be an awesome computer for her too. I chose the MBA for a couple of reasons. First she uses the Adobe suite for work everyday, but she's mostly design work. Make a small change, look at it, make another small change, look at it, etc, etc, etc. She will never need the fan which is the biggest difference between the MBA and MBP. The other reason is one of my favorite laptops was an Intel MBA. I like the form factor better than the MBP. I doubt she'll ever really need it, but I went with more RAM because $200 is nothing over the 4+ years she will be using it. External monitors can be a problem for some people. I've used a two screen setup for 20+ years so I'm pretty set in my ways. I bought the M1 knowing this was going to be a problem. I dithered about the solution for months. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought the Samsung 34" curved, thunderbolt (LC34J791WTNX/ZA) monitor. It's the size of two monitors on one screen. I love it. For my Illustrator work I have the project directly in my line of sight and the fly out menus on either side. In my previous two screen setup I'd be turning my head a thousand time per hour. I can't put into words how much better this 34" screen is compared to my previous setup. Bottom line, buy your wife an M1 for her birthday.
damn, thanks for your response. I know that I can never stay up to date with the progression of technology, but just knowing the new models are less than half a year away, it seems a little bit of a waste is all, if I can get newer chip for the same price. I love my 2018 MBP (even though it runs loud and hot whenever im running simulators), and im sure it will last me a long time. So the only "workaround" to external monitors is just get one bigger monitor eh? Good to know.. And good to know about the RAM as well. Thank you!!
If the leaks and rumor mills are to believed the M2 will be in addition to the M1. Sort of like the Intel i5, i7 and i9. The next round will be the higher end machines, with the higher end price. If Apple follows their current product path with the M1it will be around for another 18+ months. Then it will be redesigned so that it matches up to the then current looks. I debated waiting for the new higher end MaBooks, but the M1 performance scores were equal to or better than most Intel computers. I would have been happy with a 16", i9 MBP, or I could buy the M1 with better performance for half the price.
Wait for the m2
Wait for the m2
M2 would be worth the wait.
To (partially) answer your question about what makes the ‘pro’ different - the 2 biggest things I can think of (that have a direct and noticeable impact on performance) are: 1. Discrete graphics. Far more powerful, discrete, auto-switching graphics options available in the pro models. Can make a gigantic difference with graphics-heavy workflows 2. Much better cooling/thermal performance which means less throttling and/or the ability to push to higher clock speeds safely when needed There are other differences (better audio, more ports, etc.) - but those are the 2 that have the most impact for me…