this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
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M1: the normal one (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/apple_enthusiast
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Hello!

I’m about to get an M1 MacBook. I’ve got the choice between a $€£ 650 M1 Air and a $€£ 750 M1 Pro. My research concluded: they’re the same but the Pro has a little bit more beef when it comes to exporting videos.

So far I’m thinking to get the Pro, because I might need 2 external monitors someday, but I make this post because I think that people here have been using the devices for longer than reviewers.

What’s your opinion to those devices?

Edit:

Okay, they’re about the same, so I’d‘ve gone for the MacBook Air M1. BUT: since I scoured the internet ever since I’ve found a MacBook Air M1 with 16 GB of RAM for 800. And Papa knows that this is more good.

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[–] abhibeckert 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

If it's a 14" MacBook Pro, then it's faster, has a better screen, better speakers, etc. Worth the money.

If it's a 13" MacBook Pro, then it's exactly the same as the MacBook Air but with a larger battery and a fan. Don't buy that one - for almost everyone it's a worse computer. The thinner/lighter/cheaper MacBook Air is just as fast. The fan on the MacBook Pro will almost never actually turn on anyway so that's not a useful feature.

The larger battery is the only actual upgrade. But the MacBook Air battery probably already lasts longer than you need (as in multiple days) and the MacBook Pro is even longer than you need. To the point where it's not really an upgrade at all it's a detriment - makes the computer heavier than it needs to be and takes up more space in your backpack.

Does it have 8GB of RAM, or 16GB of RAM? You should get 16GB if you can afford it. Both of the computers you listed are sold with either 8GB or 16GB.

[–] doublejay1999 10 points 1 year ago

The Pro has significantly better speakers, mics, additional GPU core and brighter screen and a touchbar.

Whether these make it a better buy is arguable, but it’s not exactly the same machine.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They’re both exactly the same, one‘s Pro and the one‘s air

[–] IdealShrew 0 points 1 year ago

i have the 14 inch Pro and it does not have a better battery than the air. It lasts maybe 8 hours at most.

[–] Infinity13 5 points 1 year ago

I wouldnt say that the fan is useless on Pro model. I play Path of Exile, American truck simulator so a fan is much needed. Also sometimes i download entire playlists from Youtube, then convert them to mp3. So converting 6 videos at once also requires a fan

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I have an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and really like the fact that I can just plug in an HDMI cable without resorting to dongles. I don’t notice the extra weight. If you already know that you’re going to connect multiple monitors I'd say go for the M1 Pro.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Depends on which MacBook Pro you're talking about.

If the MacBook Pro you're talking about is the 13 inch model with the touch bar, then get the Air, but if it's the model with the M1 Pro or Max, absolutely go for that. Besides a faster chip, the 14 and 16 inch models have a better port selection, screen, and speakers.

However, the model with the touch bar is essentially the same computer as the Air but more expensive.

I have a 16 inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip and it's still a beast.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well, they’re both 13 inch with the normal M1, 8GB Ram 256GB storage

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Then I'd recommend saving the money and getting the Air.

[–] CriticalMiss 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If the difference is only 100 euros and you have a need for the additional power, I don’t see a reason not to (that is assuming you’re not financially tight on money). The Pro has better ventilation but it’s slightly heavier.

[–] abhibeckert 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The 13" model doesn't have any extra power. It just has a useless fan which never turns on (with normal use).

CPU temp on my M1 MacBook Air is currently a few degrees warmer than the ambient air temperature and I've got several moderately high load developer tools running right now (including two Linux virtual machines and two IDEs).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I have an M1 Macbook air and use an M1 Pro MacBook Pro for work. For everyday usage I can’t tell a difference in performance. I don’t use them for any video editing or encoding so can’t comment on that. There has been a decrease in performance after upgrading to Sonoma though

The air has genuinely impressed me. The amount of performance you get from a passively cooled, low power device is crazy

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Pro is probably a better deal, assuming it has more ram and ssd storage?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Nope, exactly the same

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

MacBook pro, or m1 pro? There's a pro machine, and a pro chip. Which are you talking about?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The pro machine

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

So it's the pro machine with a regular m1 chip? The one with the touch bar? If it's the pro with the touch bar, get the air.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I prefer the pro as it has more power and active heat dissipation through fans. Otherwise you said it, they are pretty much the same.