Apple recently launched the highly anticipated 15-inch MacBook Air, which offers a number of improvements over the 13.6-inch model. The larger display and chassis are welcome changes, and the M2 chip provides a significant performance boost. However, Wccftech’s Ali Salman believes that the 14-inch MacBook Pro is still the better choice for most users.
If you are looking to buy the 15-inch MacBook Air, you should note that it features slower SSD speeds due to the single NAND chip in the base model. What this means is that the base model will deliver 30 to 50 percent slower read and write speeds compared to the M1 MacBook Air. Henceforth, to take advantage of better SSD speeds, you would have to spend an extra $200 to upgrade to the 512GB variant. This would bump up the price to $1,499 for the 15-inch MacBook Air.
Other than this, upgrading the RAM from 8GB to 16GB would cost another $200. If you are getting the MacBook Air for basic use, the base model is more than capable to handle your workload. However, if you are a power user, you would need additional RAM to keep the system running flawlessly without any stutter. Henceforth, this would further increase the price to $1,699.
The base model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro is priced at $1,999 that comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of fast storage capacity. What this means is that the base model of the MacBook Pro and the upgraded model of the MacBook Air have a
$200[sic $300] difference. However, the extra$200[sic $300] is more than worth it as the 14-inch MacBook Pro has a lot more to offer.In comparison to the 15-inch MacBook Air, the 14-inch MacBook Pro features an M2 Pro chip that houses a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU. The M2 [Pro] chip is far more capable than the M2 chip when it comes to graphics-intensive workload. The machine also comes with an extensive range of I/O which is quite handy if you are a power user…
If you have the budget and are a power user, we would recommend the 14-inch MacBook Air. However, if you are looking for decent performance and an easy-to-carry laptop for school or college, the 15-inch MacBook Air is your go-to machine.
MacDailyNews Note: In terms of physical dimensions, here are the comparisons:
14-inch MacBook Pro
• Height: 0.61 inch (1.55 cm)
• Width: 12.31 inches (31.26 cm)
• Depth: 8.71 inches (22.12 cm)
• Weight: 3.5 pounds (1.60 kg) M2 Pro; 3.6 pounds (1.63 kg) M2 Max
15-inch MacBook Air
• Height: 0.45 inch (1.15 cm)
• Width: 13.40 inches (34.04 cm)
• Depth: 9.35 inches (23.76 cm)
• Weight: 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
Other than the screen size and a couple hundred bucks saved there’s nothing about this thing that’s better than the base 14” M1 Pro (assuming it’s still out there for sale). The 0.2 lb. weight difference is negligible, the M1 Pro with 16GB will run rings around the M2 8GB. Upgrade the Ram and SSD and it might cost MORE than the Pro. This is essentially the same comparison as with the 13” M2 Airs last year.
I found 16 inch MBPro M1’s at B&h Photo. 16gb/1tb had been reduced to $1899. I canceled my order for the 15 inch Air, 8gb/1tb that was only $200 less, and I was going to have to wait in line for that configuration. So I’m losing the M2 for the M1, but getting more RAM, bigger and better screen, and all the ports. The MBPro arrives Tuesday.
Congratulations, excellent choice. As infrequently as I move my 14″ M1 Pro around (it’s mostly connected to an external monitor) I sometimes have second thoughts about the 16″ though the prices hadn’t dropped that much by last December. All you’re “losing” is the marketing appeal of M2, the M1 Pro at double the RAM smokes it. Here you do get the obvious weight disparity, but like you said, everything else is better. I also believe that the lifespan of the Airs just isn’t going to be as good as the Pros with their better thermals.
If the Airs had 3-4 USB-C ports then they’d start to look more interesting. I’ve only used Magsafe once on my MBP and haven’t used HDMI at all, I’d much rather have 1-2 more USB-C ports since now charging/monitor are on one cable, leaving just 2 USB-Cs for everything else.
I do take my current MBPro away from home but not as often as I used to. Back in the day I packed it in the bag almost every morning; never knew when I might need it. It’s a 14 inch i5 from 2013 that I used for photo editing on location but I’ve retired from that. I don’t buy computers very often, the Mac before my current one was an iMac Core 2 Duo from 2008. Still had a spinny hard drive, original capacity was a whopping 128 that I think I paid extra for.
Clearly Ari is a dinosaur. Doesn’t he know that the future is a “Mac on your face!”? The hype is real, people. Anything but the latest greatest is obsolete. Why do these reviewers even bother? Man, I miss the days when MDN offered up some critical analysis instead of just rampant fanboism.
i think your leaving out the aspect of the fundamental value prop, the air form factor is targeting a different user base, even if they do weigh similarly. i have a M1 Ultra max ram studio at my desktop that runs flawlessly, but sometimes at night in bed, on the go to a coffee shop, the air is perfect. It’s not a platform you should be doing tons of read write on. Saving word docs and PDFs etc will go just fine on the macbook air, not a big deal. I think people who need the performance, know they are high use customers, they are already going for the macbook pro line.
If you’re going to spend close to $1500 on a laptop it should do everything you need a computer to do. Given that my trusty 2013 Air was my daily driver for over 7 years, why would the latest Airs not be “a platform you should be doing tons of read write on”? Only a tiny minority of users can afford a maxed-out Studio at home and a coffee shop queen on the side.
Having followed Reddit forums closely last year, the M1 Pro was the clear choice over the M2 Air at a similar price. Even though most users might not “need” the extra performance, you take the better value (screen, ports, processor, etc) over saving a few oz of weight and somewhat better battery life. My 11” iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard serves as a more casual computer, but its a luxury, my Macbook Pro and iPhone can cover all of my bases.
There have been a number of tests showing that the performance difference in SSD Configs between 256 or higher capacity is largely moot. despite the continued useless hype of this issue.. I would think most people would go for a larger SSD just to make sure they have enough storage down the road
The only issue potentially of concern might be SSD longevity on smaller SSD’s, and I still not seen where people’s SSD’s in their Mac’s are dying as they age now that they’ve had one perhaps up to several years. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t, but its not something you hear about much