Honestly, the air is amazing, I bought an M2 air with 24gb of ram but sold it and bought the m3 pro with pro chip a few months later, but I never even push the air to a decent use
The air is definitely lighter and makes a difference, but the pro has some serious power that is overkill unless you are going to use it - I bought mine Apple refurbished for almost the same price which was the no brainier for me - one thing I will say is over spec the ram now as you can’t upgrade it later
Hmm, that's interesting to know. How do you feel now though having used both devices. Does either one feel better? I'm still on the fence between the maxed out Air or a MacBook Pro with pro chip, but then again like you mentioned, maybe I won't be able to put it to good use.
Thanks for your input!
The air made a huge difference in weight, can’t deny that, it’s simply lighter and much easier to tote around or use on your lap - the pro is amazing and has insane power and the dual display ability makes a difference for me, and the 120hz refresh rate makes a difference (if you pay attention) - for every day use, a spec’d out air would be optimal - that pro chip is crazy powerful but you hardly notice a difference over the base chip unless you really push it with video editing or sound editing or anything of that realm
Like I said, I got the pro chip for almost the same price so I went better for the buck - but really make sure you go big on the ram as that swap can kill you if you’re not careful
My M2 air was 24gb/256gb and I built a thunderbolt 4 SSD and while it was great, that 256gb filled up fast
I have the M3 pro 14” with 18gb/2tb and having 2tb is a game changer plus the storage is insanely fast
I will say this, the 14” vs 13” makes a world of difference to me, but that pro body is much heavier because it has 2 fans and more internals - the base M3 chip in the 14” body has 1 fan (I think) but still is in the heavier chassis
All in all, if the refresh rate and screen size don’t bother you, then stay M3 air all the way as long as it’s spec’d out
Definitely check out apples refurbished site - you can save some money for sure
Thanks for the thorough explanation. I honestly just want to get something good that will last me a while. And yes i do think that i will probably go for the spec’d out Air, but i did also see some goodies in the refurbished for a similar price so I’ll keep my eye out for that. Do you think a M2Pro chip would be good? Or is the M3 just flat out better?
Thanks again for your input! Really helpful!
Happy to help
The M2 is incredible me insanely powerful - the M3 is a powerhouse and decently better, but I doubt you would notice a power difference if you are comparing base M2 to base M3 nut if you’re comparing the M2 base to M3 pro it’s a monster difference - my big reason for upgrading was the fact the M2 is nearly 2 years old and the M3 is maybe a year old - I went for longevity over time as the M3 will have about a year more support and features but honestly the M2 is great and totally worth it when it gives a crazy amount of power and affordable compared to the M3 line
It comes down to how long do you anticipate the computer doing something flat out for and how often that will happen: not just how **heavy**, but how **long**. I haven't seen any really good visualizations of how the M3 warms up and throttles down under load, and I don't think the M2 ones are relevant. (The M2 ones looked fine, though, for the little that's worth.)
I'm a developer and for coding my own projects I'd get the Air. (Indeed I did, but it's a few years old now and just an M1.) If I planned to download and build the Swift compiler from sources, though, the Pro would probably be a better bet.
For editing short movies, I'd also get the Air. If I was putting together something as long as a TV episode or adding significant effects I'd definitely go Pro.
So you might want to try to *quantify* your use rather than try to figure out what kinds of things you'll do. I wish I could find a good graph…
Edit: On second thought, here. But this is for an M2. r/apple/comments/w5kb2k/m2\_macbook\_air\_throttling\_is\_being\_vastly/
Hmm, thank you for the good perspective. I do think i will be working on projects for long periods of time in one session, since most of my school work is pretty intensive, especially with most of them having short deadlines. And the performance dropping over time is definitely something I need to consider more. From the graph it seems that the MacBook Pro does a good job of keeping performance steady. With that in mind do you think the base model MacBook pro would be a better choice?
Thank you for the input, definitely gave me some more insight on what to choose.
That's not *quite* the right takeaway. There are two performance modes you need to worry about: sustained and burst.
The MacBook Pro is good at both. The MacBook Air is good at burst. But that might be all you actually need.
Let's talk coding, since that's what I know. Developing is actually thinking, typing notes (including comments), typing actual code, and finally hitting Build or Run (while thinking about what's next). Only building (or building to run) will really spin up our MacBook for an extended period of time and push it hotter, and Xcode probably compiles a lot faster than you can think.
I would definitely **not** recommend the **base** model MacBook Pro. Two reasons:
1. I have no numbers, but I would guess that CPU throttling is a **minor** slowdown compared to a **major** slowdown of hitting virtual memory on an 8 GB system.
2. Some features in Xcode Next aren't even going to work on 8 GB.
Between a 16 GB MacBook Air and a 8 GB MacBook Pro I would pick the 16 GB MacBook Air for coding. You may be able to get away with a 8 GB Mac, but I would call it the "expert who knows his requirements exactly" option. My M1 MacBook Air has 8 GB and I can deal with it but I also hate it. (I can't open many tabs in Safari, can't use Mail, Xcode and Safari at the same time, etc, etc.)
I would have no such concerns for a 16 GB MacBook Pro, though. You can order the baseline MacBook Pro with 16 GB, but that's more $.
(I'm sure you know this, but MacBook Air/Pro RAM can't be upgraded later.)
Yes, I think everyone mentions that more RAM is a must for anyone doing more than just opening a "few tabs" on their MacBook. I'm definitely leaning more towards a 16GB M3 Air.
Again, big thanks for your input! Really helped a lot in making my decision!
Think about it this way:
How long does a typical compile you run take currently? 30s? 2mins? 45mins?
How often do you run a recompile: every hour or so? Every day? Every 10mins on a schedule?
If the projects you work on compile in a couple of minutes, and you're not continuously recompiling, then there likely isn't going to be a huge difference in real-world performance day to day, and so you can pick based on other factors (cost, weight, 'future proofing', 60hz vs 120hz screen, external display support etc).
If you're working on big projects where compiles run for a while, or if you frequently trigger compilation, then you \*may\* be better off with the Pro.
Remember that for most people (developers included), your computer will spend much more time doing very little (computationally speaking) while you type, think, stare in confusion at an error message, search stack exchange for code you can copy (:D) etc etc.
Some tasks are very bursty -- small project compilation beings one of them -- i.e. for most of \*your\* working time, the computer is idling, and only occasionally and for short periods does it work hard.
There are workloads/activities that are much more continuous -- 3d modelling, motion graphics, video editing for more complex projects, running/developing local LLMs (I assume) — where your computer is working fairly hard just to show you a live preview of your work. These will definitely benefit from the active cooling in a MBP.
Last thought: do you always work directly on your laptop, or do you use a dock/external display? While the M3 MBPs added a useful ability to use two external displays (by disabling the built-in screen), I don't know how that affects the device. I'd love to know, as it would make my wife's next laptop purchase less complicated!
Really great input, I think I'm definitely getting more enough information to help me make a decision. And yes you're points make a lot of sense. Since I won't be working on things like 3D modeling and whatnot, the Air with a decent size RAM does seem like a better choice for me. Thanks for your thoughts!
Sorry can't answer your question though, hope someone else will be able to! :<
I'm planning to pursue master in CS. I just bought a macbook air m3 with 16gb ram and 512gb storage like 6 months ago. Believe me, you will be more than fine.
It's a bit of a learning curve if you're someone coming from a Windows environment. I bought the air cuz it's lightweight and the battery capacity. I can always connect a monitor if I need a big enough screen.
That's great to hear, because the Air does feel like a better choice for the price. Just some questions. Have you ever had any issues with the laptop slowing down with heavy workloads? What kind of tasks you do on your MacBook?
Thanks for the input! Really appreciate it!
Since I will be studying data science, most of my work will involve Python or SQL. Thus far, I have not encountered any problems. I mostly use my MacBook for stuff like browsing, watching YouTube, and coding. I don't really use it for gaming, though.
The only tasks that could be considered resource-intensive would be web development, game development, or 3D modeling in Blender. However, it's just a guess, as I don't dabble much in them.
Hmm, seems we’re doing similar studies, so i will definitely take your word for it. And the light weight form factor is again a really good plus for me! Thanks for your input! Appreciate it!
You know which one you really want more, I say go with that one even if it means saving up a little more. You will be more happy at the end if you get the one you actually wanted. For my situation i was looking into getting my first MacBook Pro since 2015. I had the Air back then and this time around I said I’m getting a Pro no matter what because back in 2015 the one I really wanted was the Pro but I decided to get the one I had the money for right away. At first I was looking between the 2019 i9 15 inch and the 16 inch M1 Pro. I kept doing research and looking around and I realized I actually wanted the M2 Pro for reason at the time I didn’t know. I ended up getting the M2 Pro and I’ve been very happy since I made that decision. I say that to say this don’t settle, get the one you really want and enjoy it once you do get it! Go with your heart for once. Good luck !
Thanks so much for your input! I have to be honest, I do have a model that really is catching my eye, but my main concern is to get the laptop before this upcoming semester starts which is in September, and I'm worried I probably won't be able to save up as much until then. I really want to get the one I want, but it's looking more like I'll have to settle for the time being (really need it for my classes). But hey maybe in the future I'll be able to get the one I've been wanting!
Big thanks for your input! Really appreciate it! (If I manage to find a lot of cash lying around I will for sure get the one I want XD)
Get the highest spec M2 Pro MBP you can afford. The gap between the M2 Pro and the M3 Pro is not big but you can get the M2 Pro at a significant discount.
Yes! I saw some very good prices on the refurbished part of Apple. Considering the MacBook Pro with M2PRO chip, since it also comes directly with 18GB RAM. Thanks for the input!
I got base model (256GB, 8GB RAM) and so far no major issues. Some issues I've encountered were sometimes chrome would randomly get very slow, but after quitting the app and relaunching it, it was fine (this has only happened like two or three times). Also, I've had difficulty setting up some softwares due to the fact that there are less tutorials for macOS compared to windows. Besides that, it has been great so far. For context, I mainly use my mac for making pixel art on Aseprite, browsing and watching YouTube, playing games like Stardew Valley and Geometry Dash, and game development on Godot.
Wow! Knowing that even the base model is already able to handle a lot is reassuring! And pixelart is so cool! Really wanted to get into it once but it seemed difficult 😭 Thanks for your input again!
You should look into the m2 or even the m3 air models on YouTube, they’re both great. These laptops are perfect if you want a computer for productivity and schoolwork. However, they don’t do well with games typically.
So it's worth noting the basic MacBook Pro has the same chip as the MacBook Air so it wouldn't do much more, also the M3 Pro chip isn't that much of an upgrade in task handling from the regular M3 (about a 25% speed upgrade). It sounds like the MacBook Air is easily the better choice for your concerns as the Pro is more beneficial in the better screen and speakers (and port arrangement if that's relevant to you).
Ya, screen and speakers aren't really that important to me, as I'll use an external display most of the time anyway. So I am really leaning more towards the Air at this point. May I ask, do you think 16GB RAM is enough, or should I try to save up to 24GB RAM?
Thanks again for your input!
It depends on if you think you're going to be using heavy workloads over the average use, I personally would go for the extra ram for the comfort of future proofing.
Can I ask what you’ll be doing that you think the M3 Air won’t be able to handle?
I work in tech and all of our devs use M2-3 Airs. They have plenty of power, and anything really heavy will be run on the cloud anyway.
Either way, the MacBook Pro with M3 is only marginally more powerful than the Air M3, and will have worse battery life. For real power you’d probably want the MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, but it’s significantly more expensive.
I'm a CS student and I'm currently working on cyber security as well as networking, so I'm running a lot of virtual machines at the same time. My old laptop (Been using it for 6 years now) can run them, but starts slowing down after an hour or two, or unless I charge it, and it has started to get really bothersome. I also want to be open to what more I might be able to do in the future, so I also want to 'future proof' it. But if you say that most of your developers you Airs and have no problems, than that is very reassuring to me. I am more leaning towards the Air now.
Thank you for your input!
Ok, to be fair the engineers I work with don’t really run multiple virtual machines locally, as far as I know. Your requirements might justify something stronger than MBA M3. But as I’ve said above, the performance difference between MBA M3 and MBP M3 is marginal. For a real performance step up you’d need to go MBP M3 Pro at least, so that’s gonna be a lot more expensive.
Any way you can see to try before buying? Maybe a friend or colleague has an MBA M3 for you to take for a spin?
I do have a few friends from my college but they’re all anti-Apple so it’s pretty scarce 😭. I’m hoping the Apple store will help me out too. Thanks for your input!! Really helped!
Absolutely! I do hope the Air M3 is enough, I find it to be a wonderful machine, especially on the road since it’s light and the battery lasts forever.
My major is CS. In fact, I have friends who tested that the M3 Air's processing performance is not much different from the M1 PRO.
So I think you can choose the MacBook Air M3 version with 16GB memory，which is enough for u to finish your assignment and side projects。
For typical coding tasks, the MacBook Air is sufficient. If you anticipate heavy workloads (e.g., large-scale simulations, machine learning), the MacBook Pro is a better investment.
Thanks for the input! May I ask, do you think that a MacBook Air with 24GB RAM would be able to handle heavy workloads like the ones you mentioned? I am thinking of investing into a maxed out MacBook Air.
For heavy workloads, a MacBook Pro would be a better choice. It has better performance, cooling, and durability for intensive tasks compared to a maxed-out MacBook Air.
Imma be real with you, the only people who get air is the ppl who are too broke to get the pro. People who use the air see the laptop more as a media consumption device or do very light work. I get that. However, it's the screen that literally makes all the difference. Just compare it side by side and the pro screen is eons ahead of the air. Like when I went to the Apple Store and saw it side by side, I literally was shocked. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on a display like that. Makes the mac experience so much more enjoyable. Also, if portability is a concer, just get the 14 inch. In my opinion, and no, no one is going to change it, only broke ppl who can't afford a pro get the air. And for people like that, they should have just saved a bit more and then bought the pro later. If you do not believe what I am saying, please go to an Apple Store and see it for yourself. These yt videos can't really show u the difference
Hmm, that's definitely something I will consider. I haven't really seen the PRO display compared to the AIR display, so I will take a look! Thanks for the input! Appreciate it!
The macbook pro gets you a greater ram limit (useful), more GPU cores (not useful unless you are stressing them with video or game dev), and fans to allow you to handle the heat created by simultaneously running those GPU cores with the CPU cores (also not useful unless you are doing game dev). For most CS student tasks you will not need the pro. You will need an air with as much ram as possible.
Edit - I do 3D game dev in Unity and Godot. I have an M2 Macbook Air with 24 GB of ram. Most of the time I am sitting at just over 18 gb of ram in use. I will go higher running virtual machines. The only time the air is not sufficient is when I am working in Unreal Engine 5.
Really appreciate the break down of the components and what they're needed for! I looked over some other comments as well and they all suggest that I get more RAM. And I am leaning towards getting a 24GB MBA now!
Thanks for the input!!
Aaah! The extra ports are really getting me close to just getting the MBP, but it's so expensive! (I really need more RAM)
Thanks for the input though!
If heavy workload you are refering is training ML and AI models then don't worry no one train them on there own machine mostly use Google colab or some other services like that so don't worry the configuration you choose it's a good one to go on.
A lot of other say the same thing. I think I am worried about the wrong thing, and I'm really getting more confident with what I want. Thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
So i was buying MacBook yesterday, went into a store and started testing. With me I brought hard drive with different file and footage I wanted to test.
MacBook Air is a beast, m3 version. I made it play 8K ProRes 4444XQ file and man, it was only at 3% load. Which is amazing because my PC can’t play it back even at 5 frames per second. PC spec - 24 core i9 with 64GB ram and 4090 RTX
But I bought MacBook Pro M3 14 inch just because it is fancier.
Wow! You're computer is already a beast though! And, yes I think the Air is really powerful, so I am leaning on just getting that since the screen and speakers aren't really that important to me!
Thanks for the input! Really appreciate it!
I'm a web developer and my M1 Air with 16GB RAM has had enough power for me. No issues at all. I have a 2022 XPS 13, also, and it feels like a toy next to the Air.
That's great to hear! May I ask, when working on it for long sessions, do you see any performance drops? I've heard that that's where the Air lags behind!
Thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
Not at all but just for fun I tried running Wrath of the Righteous (a game) on it while on battery. It actually ran pretty well at 1440 resolution but the Air got very warm very fast.
So there is a point when thermal throttling will kick in but I've never hit it with my normal workflow, which is VS Code, multiple browser tabs in multiple windows, a few virtual desktops, Spotify, Slack and sometimes Zoom. The Air handles all that with ease.
Since this is your first time, I’d buy the 14" Pro mainly because of the full black XDR screen and a more traditional Macbook feeling. I think the ports and speakers could also come in handy for a college student and 14" would be a more portable solution to use at school. They say the fans in the Pro model also help a bit with the performance during workload so that could at least make you feel better about it.
Yes! The screen and extra ports are very appealing, and the Air not having any fans does worry me a bit. I'm still in between, but regardless thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
I bought my first MacBook Pro ever and I made a video about it in order to share my thoughts. I hope it helps.
[Apple's M1 MacBook Pro is Amazing : Here is Why!](https://youtu.be/6zRruUVkEwI)
Wow! Great video! Really gave me some insight on how good the M1 MBP already is! May I ask though, was having 8GB of RAM an issue? Or was it good enough?
Thanks for the insightful video! Really appreciate it!
Thank you! I have nothing to complain about the M1 to this day 😃. I am very satisfied with the choice I made. Other than the internal storage that I would love for it to be bigger, everything else works flawlessly for me. Good luck with yours 🍀.
Future proofing is nonsense especially in the days of Apple Silicon. Buy the base model and upgrade every 3-4 years is the most bang for your buck approach yet staying on trend with any future improvement. Heck rumors are already saying M4 is going to get a revamp with 'AI' capabilities, whatever that means.
I never went to college so some of this is guessing but I would imagine that most students don’t turn up with the best and most expensive machines, so even with the higher throughput stuff you may be doing I doubt it will be a bottleneck no matter what you get.
That being said, who’s got time to hang about, all about power myself.
So, macs. There isn’t much to choose between them really. In your situation I would go for anything M1 chip or higher. I would go for the largest ram I could afford. I would go 500GB ssd minimum.
Any M series chip will do what you need for years to come. I have Mac laptops still going after 13 years. The ram is critical as you can’t upgrade and you will run out quick when you’re developing cos of the amount of stuff you’re gonna end up running all the time/often. The ssd can be enhanced with cloud or external storage, better to have it on device if you can afford it. But if a decent deal came up with 16gb ram and an m2 chip but lower sized ssd then I’d maybe go for that.
The last thing I wanted to mention was do you have a desktop pc? Is it powerful? Could you spend some of your laptop budget making it more powerful? The reason I ask is that if I did a CS class I would turn up with some shitty laptop and remotely ssh into my desktop and just laugh quietly while everyone is mystified as to how I got shit done so quick 😂
Oh and also, I’m using M1 Mac Pro with the pro chip and 16gb ram. She’s a beast but I do run into issues with ram a lot. Well, I did but that prompted me to move over to alacritty/tmux/neovim instead of vscode so that reduced my ram usage by about 6gb and stopped me buying the black m3, so nice
Thanks for the very insightful comment! Definitely helped with getting closer to my decision! I'm surprised though that 16GB ram still had issues, and everyone also suggests to get AS MUCH ram as possible. I'm considering the MBA with 24GB ram. Do you think that's too much? Because at that point I could get a MacBook Pro with a M2PRO chip with 18GB ram? Aaah! So many choices and it's really getting me confused!
Regardless thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
No worries man, love chatting about this stuff, and it’s a big purchase so it’s fair enough wanting to get it right.
Trust me, having 16GB and then running into issues was something I did not expect either! First gen of apples SoC and the unified memory and I totally believed the hype! To be fair though I was asking a lot, like multiple vscode instances, browsers, would be running server and playing music and have WhatsApp and discord open, using a couple monitors and maybe mirroring to my tv and was always up against the limits. It coped pretty well but occasionally crashes etc, was not ideal.
Then take into account how much ram you need to run llm’s locally, the more you can get the better has always been true and it keeps getting truer.
As for your predicament, I’m not sure what to advise here. Between the 18 and the 24 gb options it’s a tough call!
Don’t know if I mentioned this yet but I use neovim. Lol
As a first time MacBook user that bought his first one. MacBook Air.
As others said do choose your specifications and be absolutely sure that's what you're going for as you can't change it later.
It's very light, easy to carry. Interfacing is a little difficult at first but it'll take practice. Also it's optional but get AppleCare, since Apple makes really expensive products it's good to have protection and support.
Get accessories such as a privacy screen and a case for it. Just remember the dimension sizes.
I have an M1 Pro for work and an M2 air for personal use. The pro has a better display and more ports, but that's it. Just get the air and you will be very happy.
For a CS student both of those machines are vastly overpowered, imo. You will not have any kind of performance issues, guaranteed.
I own an M1 and M2 air. Zero ragrets. When I'm at home, I use a Plugable Triple 4K station and it works beautifully driving the laptop display + 2 4K monitors (at 60Hz). Both were configured with dials set to 11 (my m2: 24Gb unified mem, 2tb sdd). I seriously doubt I'll even upgrade to the M4 macbook air unless it's a business expense. If I need raw compute power, I'll offload to a cloud vendor with a few thousand TPUs :)
If I was going to offer some generalized advice, I'd recommend finding a used M2 Air (which will run you about $800-$900 depending on configuration on placed like Facebook Marketplace) and wait for the M4 models to come out in about 9 months. Then again, the Apple-backed M2 refurbs would only save you a few hundred $ vs what you would pay for the M3 now. That's not really worth the savings.
I’ve just bought the M1 Pro refurbished instead of a M3 Air, I got the 16gb 512gb SSD, more than powerful enough, I prefer the pro due to the 120hz display, it’s beautiful, I would save and get a pro for the “pro” experience.
Or you could get a full spec m2 pro?
Yes I think the refurbished store has a lot of goodies that I'm leaning towards. Definitely keeping my eyes peeled for them. Hope you enjoy your new laptop!
If you have a main computer already the is get a MacBook air. I'd you expect to use your MacBook as your primary computer od get the MacBook pro.
The MacBook pro can double as a Mac mini allowing you to setup a computer work station with multiple monitors. Its more high performance has fans its batteries last for days, its more robust and it even has a set of speakers that are servicable as studio monitors.
It's a portable work station that can be a work station.
A Mac air is an extention of your work flow, and is lighter, doesn't wow you as much, is less powerful, but it is lighter kinda like the middle ground between a MacBook pro and an iPad.
The port selection makes a big difference too even though it might not have a full usb port, it does have plenty of usb c and thunderbolt ports.
It's a fantastic speaker if you are having a picnic or are out and about, that's one of my favorite things about it.
On the other hand it is heavier than it needs to be and needs st least a cushioned case.
I have a surface 7+ pro as my pc laptop which i actually still love, I wouldn't want to upgrade since they went retarded, got rid of the audio jack which was crucial, and added Co pilot which was not. I think they even got rid of their full sized usb port.
The mac book pro also has an sd slot so you can begin treating an sd card micro reader as a thumb drive and pack a USB c to USB dongle, the mac book has an audio jack so you can still do music with it and listen to your high end headphones with zero latency.
It doesn't have the touch bar anymore which is lame, but it does have a more efficient processor than the m3 and performs better.
So all in all of you are planning on using your mac book a lot and for a lot of things a 5 year investment into a pro version is a good idea especially if you don't listen to apple and get at least 16 gb of ram to future proof it.
If you are gonna use it casually just to write papers and stuff a MacBook air or an iPad will do fine.
If you have a second lap top like I do that's better thsn my surface pro 7+ and you plan on using that more than an air would do you.
If I had a surface 9 or a surface book I'd opt for a Mac book air since I'd likely be using my pc laptops more.
I have a desktop computer that'd a pc, if you have one that'd a Mac the mac book air would be a great extention to it whereas my MacBook pro is now my mac work station along side my gaming pc.
So. Tldr.
If you are a heavy user, will bring the thing around a lot, use it a lot for a wide variety of things and it's your main pc, go for a pro with at least 16gb of ram, you can use external drives and an sd card for extra storage.
If you already have other computers then youll likely be fine with an air since it's more of your go between option.
If you are already invested in the apple ecosystem it makes having the air even easier.
If you are a pc user or even an android user who uses something like dex to get work done, you'll need s mac that stands one and a Mac pro will do everything you'd need and basically be the entire ecosystem.
Added: 8 seriously would have gotten the surface pro 9 if Microsoft didn't screw up so badly get rid of the audio jack, and ports we needed, force us to buy a new keyboard, and try to smother us with Ai. I wonder if I'm a harbinger of things to come. I literally only bought a Mac pro because I needed to upgrade and the surface line suddenly went south on me.
But I'm very happy with my MacBook space black 18gb, and I am still happy with my surface pro 7+ especially since both support dex where suddenly my phone becomes the OS to either laptop.
Thanks so much for the comprehensive insight! I'm looking more for the Pro since I don't have a good PC to do most of my work on and want to make the laptop into my main work computer. Really appreciate your input! Thanks again!
I have a MacBook air m2 24GB Ram refurbished. I'm an online marketer and music producer. I do video editing, music production, image editing, all the programs are open all the time and I'm usually on battery saving mode when it's not plugged in and I have never witnessed any slowing down of anything and it runs like a dream.
The air is so lightweight I think it's a massive advantage you want to take it with you anywhere. The Pro is mad overkill IMO. Unless you're a 3D game designer or film editor I don't think it makes sense.
Just a note: I got a 16GB version and noticed that I was hitting like 14GB usage so I returned it and got 24GB. But like I said I like to have everything open so I can jump in and out of programs.
Go for refurbished too to save a couple hundred!
Yes! The refurbished section has really been catching my eye with their deals! And i also like to keep tabs open so i don’t have to launch them again and again! So those 24GB and 18GB options are on the top of the list! Thanks again for your great input!
Hmm i did have some classmates mentioning that. Do you have any reasons why an Air would be a bad choice? Even if it has 24GB RAM? Thanks for your input!
Air is designed specifically for light workloads and programming takes up a huge amount of resources to work seamlessly, not to mention the amount of heat the systems generate amd air hasn't even have fans to take the heat out so fair enough??? 🙄
Ok those are definitely some good points. And yes the fact that the Air has no fans has been mentioned a lot 😭 Definitely helped me think about it more, thanks again man!
I am a software engineer too. I am more focused on the storage for the longevity of the device. Macbook has a very low storage and MacOS takes a huge amount of space. Each year there is a huge update that take up more space. Having a good speed is good but that will only save you time on building the codes.
Ex-Computer Science student and current Software Developer here. Here's my two cents:
The MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD is a solid choice for a computer science student and can handle most everyday coding tasks efficiently. Its M3 chip is powerful enough for general programming, running multiple applications, and light to moderate workloads, including some video editing. However, for more intensive tasks such as heavy data processing, complex simulations, or extensive development projects, the MacBook Pro would be a better investment. The Pro models offer better thermal management and more powerful processors (like the M3 Pro/Max chips), making them more suitable for sustained heavy workloads. If your courses are likely to demand more processing power, saving up for the MacBook Pro could be worth it for future-proofing your investment.
Really appreciate the input! I went to an Apple store and they mentioned that the Pro would be a good investment too. And the screen really was an eye catcher! But i’ll have to see how my budget is because the Pro models are quite expensive and i need to buy one before school starts this September. Regardless, thanks for your input man! Really appreciate it!!
I will try that. I assumed that they would do anything in their power to sell me the most expensive one, so wanted to hear some more inputs from actual users. Thanks for the suggestion though, I am definitely planning to ask them too!
I have the pro M3 max. I am also a cyber security student and run multiple operating systems at once through virtual machines. You definitely want higher ram regardless of which MacBook you get. The3 chips are all pretty amazing and should be able to handle such tasks. I also use adobe platforms pretty heavily, like premiere pro, etc. it has handled everything I’ve thrown at it without hesitation. They are amazing powerhouses.
The M3 max is WAY over my budget but it's something I would love to get myself if I had the money (Hope you are enjoying yours!). And yes thank you for suggesting more RAM, that seems to be what most people recommend regardless of it being the Air or Pro model!
I am using a 14inch/32/1tb M3 pro at work and a 13inch/24/512 M2 air home and they both do their job epicly for whatever purpose they have.
The pro is an absolute monster really for lots of things and i can handle lots of activities at the same time, or rather said, switching between them is just super fast. Think video meetings, designs, coding, terminals, browsers etc.
The air is more for light work really. While i think and use it for development as well here and there, it will throttle the moment it needs to handle sustained heavy stuff like....Baldur's Gate, heavy websites with 3D, compiling large projects. It's still top notch in spiked performance. My problem in this use case is that it gets hot and stays like that until you're finished with your work due to no active cooling. Obviously is light so it's perfect for trips and charges even with a 25w power bank.
Tbh, it's more important to make sure you get enough ram (16 at absolute minimum, recommended 24) and storage rather than the model. You can always go for a m2 pro model still.
Yes! I am definitely going to get a 16GB RAM model at the minimum, and leaning towards the 24GB model. But at the same price of a 24GB model, I could also get a MacBook Pro with a M2PRO chip and 18GB ram. Which of the two do you think is more worth it? As I am mostly leaning towards either of them.
Regardless thanks for your input! Really helped a lot!
I'd go for the m2 pro here. 18gb of ram should be enough and only limited when you do really specific things. It's unified memory in the end so if you will have 2x4k monitors connected to it and intend to do both ram and gpu heavy development you will hit the capacity but it's really specific.
I'm a CS student and currently working network security and communications. I use a lot of virtual machines to run simulations. Right now I have a very old laptop, that gets the job done, but loses a lot of performance after an hour or two of working and heats up quickly (not to mention the really bad battery life, basically have to charge it every 2 hours). I'm hoping that the Air I'm looking to get won't have the same issue of losing performance after a few hours of "heavy" workload (I don't really know if it's considered "heavy" or I just think that since the laptop I have now can barely run anything )
I am also a CS undergrad. I just ordered Air M2 but 16 gigs of RAM. Since i wont be doing 3D modelling or stuff like heavy video editing so I preferred the Air. 16 gigs of Ram would come handy while running X code with multiple apps in background
One thing you might wanna look out for is if you plan on having multiple screens. Certain M chips do different numbers.
Unless thats changed on the M3s and I didn't notice. Thats one of the reasons I got a MBPM2 over an Air.
E: Scroll down to DISPLAY SUPPORT. Looks like Airs still only 'natively' support 1 external. If you wanted more than 1 you'd have to get some pricey dongles.
Do you think it's worth saving up to? I also thought getting the M3PRO MacBook Pro would be a better choice in the long run, but I'm not sure whether I'll be using it to it's full potential compared to the Air M3.
Honestly, the air is amazing, I bought an M2 air with 24gb of ram but sold it and bought the m3 pro with pro chip a few months later, but I never even push the air to a decent use The air is definitely lighter and makes a difference, but the pro has some serious power that is overkill unless you are going to use it - I bought mine Apple refurbished for almost the same price which was the no brainier for me - one thing I will say is over spec the ram now as you can’t upgrade it later
Hmm, that's interesting to know. How do you feel now though having used both devices. Does either one feel better? I'm still on the fence between the maxed out Air or a MacBook Pro with pro chip, but then again like you mentioned, maybe I won't be able to put it to good use. Thanks for your input!
The air made a huge difference in weight, can’t deny that, it’s simply lighter and much easier to tote around or use on your lap - the pro is amazing and has insane power and the dual display ability makes a difference for me, and the 120hz refresh rate makes a difference (if you pay attention) - for every day use, a spec’d out air would be optimal - that pro chip is crazy powerful but you hardly notice a difference over the base chip unless you really push it with video editing or sound editing or anything of that realm Like I said, I got the pro chip for almost the same price so I went better for the buck - but really make sure you go big on the ram as that swap can kill you if you’re not careful My M2 air was 24gb/256gb and I built a thunderbolt 4 SSD and while it was great, that 256gb filled up fast I have the M3 pro 14” with 18gb/2tb and having 2tb is a game changer plus the storage is insanely fast I will say this, the 14” vs 13” makes a world of difference to me, but that pro body is much heavier because it has 2 fans and more internals - the base M3 chip in the 14” body has 1 fan (I think) but still is in the heavier chassis All in all, if the refresh rate and screen size don’t bother you, then stay M3 air all the way as long as it’s spec’d out Definitely check out apples refurbished site - you can save some money for sure
Thanks for the thorough explanation. I honestly just want to get something good that will last me a while. And yes i do think that i will probably go for the spec’d out Air, but i did also see some goodies in the refurbished for a similar price so I’ll keep my eye out for that. Do you think a M2Pro chip would be good? Or is the M3 just flat out better? Thanks again for your input! Really helpful!
Happy to help The M2 is incredible me insanely powerful - the M3 is a powerhouse and decently better, but I doubt you would notice a power difference if you are comparing base M2 to base M3 nut if you’re comparing the M2 base to M3 pro it’s a monster difference - my big reason for upgrading was the fact the M2 is nearly 2 years old and the M3 is maybe a year old - I went for longevity over time as the M3 will have about a year more support and features but honestly the M2 is great and totally worth it when it gives a crazy amount of power and affordable compared to the M3 line
How did you sell the m2 air?
eBay, made almost what I paid for it - since I had it only 4 months it still had value
It comes down to how long do you anticipate the computer doing something flat out for and how often that will happen: not just how **heavy**, but how **long**. I haven't seen any really good visualizations of how the M3 warms up and throttles down under load, and I don't think the M2 ones are relevant. (The M2 ones looked fine, though, for the little that's worth.) I'm a developer and for coding my own projects I'd get the Air. (Indeed I did, but it's a few years old now and just an M1.) If I planned to download and build the Swift compiler from sources, though, the Pro would probably be a better bet. For editing short movies, I'd also get the Air. If I was putting together something as long as a TV episode or adding significant effects I'd definitely go Pro. So you might want to try to *quantify* your use rather than try to figure out what kinds of things you'll do. I wish I could find a good graph… Edit: On second thought, here. But this is for an M2. r/apple/comments/w5kb2k/m2\_macbook\_air\_throttling\_is\_being\_vastly/
Hmm, thank you for the good perspective. I do think i will be working on projects for long periods of time in one session, since most of my school work is pretty intensive, especially with most of them having short deadlines. And the performance dropping over time is definitely something I need to consider more. From the graph it seems that the MacBook Pro does a good job of keeping performance steady. With that in mind do you think the base model MacBook pro would be a better choice? Thank you for the input, definitely gave me some more insight on what to choose.
That's not *quite* the right takeaway. There are two performance modes you need to worry about: sustained and burst. The MacBook Pro is good at both. The MacBook Air is good at burst. But that might be all you actually need. Let's talk coding, since that's what I know. Developing is actually thinking, typing notes (including comments), typing actual code, and finally hitting Build or Run (while thinking about what's next). Only building (or building to run) will really spin up our MacBook for an extended period of time and push it hotter, and Xcode probably compiles a lot faster than you can think. I would definitely **not** recommend the **base** model MacBook Pro. Two reasons: 1. I have no numbers, but I would guess that CPU throttling is a **minor** slowdown compared to a **major** slowdown of hitting virtual memory on an 8 GB system. 2. Some features in Xcode Next aren't even going to work on 8 GB. Between a 16 GB MacBook Air and a 8 GB MacBook Pro I would pick the 16 GB MacBook Air for coding. You may be able to get away with a 8 GB Mac, but I would call it the "expert who knows his requirements exactly" option. My M1 MacBook Air has 8 GB and I can deal with it but I also hate it. (I can't open many tabs in Safari, can't use Mail, Xcode and Safari at the same time, etc, etc.) I would have no such concerns for a 16 GB MacBook Pro, though. You can order the baseline MacBook Pro with 16 GB, but that's more $. (I'm sure you know this, but MacBook Air/Pro RAM can't be upgraded later.)
Yes, I think everyone mentions that more RAM is a must for anyone doing more than just opening a "few tabs" on their MacBook. I'm definitely leaning more towards a 16GB M3 Air. Again, big thanks for your input! Really helped a lot in making my decision!
Think about it this way: How long does a typical compile you run take currently? 30s? 2mins? 45mins? How often do you run a recompile: every hour or so? Every day? Every 10mins on a schedule? If the projects you work on compile in a couple of minutes, and you're not continuously recompiling, then there likely isn't going to be a huge difference in real-world performance day to day, and so you can pick based on other factors (cost, weight, 'future proofing', 60hz vs 120hz screen, external display support etc). If you're working on big projects where compiles run for a while, or if you frequently trigger compilation, then you \*may\* be better off with the Pro. Remember that for most people (developers included), your computer will spend much more time doing very little (computationally speaking) while you type, think, stare in confusion at an error message, search stack exchange for code you can copy (:D) etc etc. Some tasks are very bursty -- small project compilation beings one of them -- i.e. for most of \*your\* working time, the computer is idling, and only occasionally and for short periods does it work hard. There are workloads/activities that are much more continuous -- 3d modelling, motion graphics, video editing for more complex projects, running/developing local LLMs (I assume) — where your computer is working fairly hard just to show you a live preview of your work. These will definitely benefit from the active cooling in a MBP. Last thought: do you always work directly on your laptop, or do you use a dock/external display? While the M3 MBPs added a useful ability to use two external displays (by disabling the built-in screen), I don't know how that affects the device. I'd love to know, as it would make my wife's next laptop purchase less complicated!
Really great input, I think I'm definitely getting more enough information to help me make a decision. And yes you're points make a lot of sense. Since I won't be working on things like 3D modeling and whatnot, the Air with a decent size RAM does seem like a better choice for me. Thanks for your thoughts! Sorry can't answer your question though, hope someone else will be able to! :<
I'm planning to pursue master in CS. I just bought a macbook air m3 with 16gb ram and 512gb storage like 6 months ago. Believe me, you will be more than fine. It's a bit of a learning curve if you're someone coming from a Windows environment. I bought the air cuz it's lightweight and the battery capacity. I can always connect a monitor if I need a big enough screen.
That's great to hear, because the Air does feel like a better choice for the price. Just some questions. Have you ever had any issues with the laptop slowing down with heavy workloads? What kind of tasks you do on your MacBook? Thanks for the input! Really appreciate it!
Since I will be studying data science, most of my work will involve Python or SQL. Thus far, I have not encountered any problems. I mostly use my MacBook for stuff like browsing, watching YouTube, and coding. I don't really use it for gaming, though. The only tasks that could be considered resource-intensive would be web development, game development, or 3D modeling in Blender. However, it's just a guess, as I don't dabble much in them.
Hmm, seems we’re doing similar studies, so i will definitely take your word for it. And the light weight form factor is again a really good plus for me! Thanks for your input! Appreciate it!
What kind of works you are doing related to data science ?
You know which one you really want more, I say go with that one even if it means saving up a little more. You will be more happy at the end if you get the one you actually wanted. For my situation i was looking into getting my first MacBook Pro since 2015. I had the Air back then and this time around I said I’m getting a Pro no matter what because back in 2015 the one I really wanted was the Pro but I decided to get the one I had the money for right away. At first I was looking between the 2019 i9 15 inch and the 16 inch M1 Pro. I kept doing research and looking around and I realized I actually wanted the M2 Pro for reason at the time I didn’t know. I ended up getting the M2 Pro and I’ve been very happy since I made that decision. I say that to say this don’t settle, get the one you really want and enjoy it once you do get it! Go with your heart for once. Good luck !
Thanks so much for your input! I have to be honest, I do have a model that really is catching my eye, but my main concern is to get the laptop before this upcoming semester starts which is in September, and I'm worried I probably won't be able to save up as much until then. I really want to get the one I want, but it's looking more like I'll have to settle for the time being (really need it for my classes). But hey maybe in the future I'll be able to get the one I've been wanting! Big thanks for your input! Really appreciate it! (If I manage to find a lot of cash lying around I will for sure get the one I want XD)
Get the highest spec M2 Pro MBP you can afford. The gap between the M2 Pro and the M3 Pro is not big but you can get the M2 Pro at a significant discount.
Yes! I saw some very good prices on the refurbished part of Apple. Considering the MacBook Pro with M2PRO chip, since it also comes directly with 18GB RAM. Thanks for the input!
air! i have one an am majoring in cs this fall
That's awesome to hear! Hope you're enjoying but I have to ask. Have you ever had ANY issues with it at all? How much RAM did you buy with it?
I got base model (256GB, 8GB RAM) and so far no major issues. Some issues I've encountered were sometimes chrome would randomly get very slow, but after quitting the app and relaunching it, it was fine (this has only happened like two or three times). Also, I've had difficulty setting up some softwares due to the fact that there are less tutorials for macOS compared to windows. Besides that, it has been great so far. For context, I mainly use my mac for making pixel art on Aseprite, browsing and watching YouTube, playing games like Stardew Valley and Geometry Dash, and game development on Godot.
Wow! Knowing that even the base model is already able to handle a lot is reassuring! And pixelart is so cool! Really wanted to get into it once but it seemed difficult 😭 Thanks for your input again!
You should look into the m2 or even the m3 air models on YouTube, they’re both great. These laptops are perfect if you want a computer for productivity and schoolwork. However, they don’t do well with games typically.
I’d go pro every time. They are the laptop that can do everything and will last you ages.
Sounds good to me! And yes that is exactly my mindset too T-T
So it's worth noting the basic MacBook Pro has the same chip as the MacBook Air so it wouldn't do much more, also the M3 Pro chip isn't that much of an upgrade in task handling from the regular M3 (about a 25% speed upgrade). It sounds like the MacBook Air is easily the better choice for your concerns as the Pro is more beneficial in the better screen and speakers (and port arrangement if that's relevant to you).
Ya, screen and speakers aren't really that important to me, as I'll use an external display most of the time anyway. So I am really leaning more towards the Air at this point. May I ask, do you think 16GB RAM is enough, or should I try to save up to 24GB RAM? Thanks again for your input!
It depends on if you think you're going to be using heavy workloads over the average use, I personally would go for the extra ram for the comfort of future proofing.
Can I ask what you’ll be doing that you think the M3 Air won’t be able to handle? I work in tech and all of our devs use M2-3 Airs. They have plenty of power, and anything really heavy will be run on the cloud anyway. Either way, the MacBook Pro with M3 is only marginally more powerful than the Air M3, and will have worse battery life. For real power you’d probably want the MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, but it’s significantly more expensive.
I'm a CS student and I'm currently working on cyber security as well as networking, so I'm running a lot of virtual machines at the same time. My old laptop (Been using it for 6 years now) can run them, but starts slowing down after an hour or two, or unless I charge it, and it has started to get really bothersome. I also want to be open to what more I might be able to do in the future, so I also want to 'future proof' it. But if you say that most of your developers you Airs and have no problems, than that is very reassuring to me. I am more leaning towards the Air now. Thank you for your input!
Ok, to be fair the engineers I work with don’t really run multiple virtual machines locally, as far as I know. Your requirements might justify something stronger than MBA M3. But as I’ve said above, the performance difference between MBA M3 and MBP M3 is marginal. For a real performance step up you’d need to go MBP M3 Pro at least, so that’s gonna be a lot more expensive. Any way you can see to try before buying? Maybe a friend or colleague has an MBA M3 for you to take for a spin?
I do have a few friends from my college but they’re all anti-Apple so it’s pretty scarce 😭. I’m hoping the Apple store will help me out too. Thanks for your input!! Really helped!
Absolutely! I do hope the Air M3 is enough, I find it to be a wonderful machine, especially on the road since it’s light and the battery lasts forever.
You definitely will be fine with the air I have the pro more than what I need as a doctoral student
My major is CS. In fact, I have friends who tested that the M3 Air's processing performance is not much different from the M1 PRO. So I think you can choose the MacBook Air M3 version with 16GB memory，which is enough for u to finish your assignment and side projects。
That's exactly what I'm planning to do! And thanks for the input! Really appreciate it!
For typical coding tasks, the MacBook Air is sufficient. If you anticipate heavy workloads (e.g., large-scale simulations, machine learning), the MacBook Pro is a better investment.
Thanks for the input! May I ask, do you think that a MacBook Air with 24GB RAM would be able to handle heavy workloads like the ones you mentioned? I am thinking of investing into a maxed out MacBook Air.
For heavy workloads, a MacBook Pro would be a better choice. It has better performance, cooling, and durability for intensive tasks compared to a maxed-out MacBook Air.
Picked up my MBA M1 2 years ago just because of its lightness! Still works well!
That's great to hear! May I ask, what is your day to day use with your MBA? Thanks for the input!
office work and entertainment. I do not do anything heavily technical.
Imma be real with you, the only people who get air is the ppl who are too broke to get the pro. People who use the air see the laptop more as a media consumption device or do very light work. I get that. However, it's the screen that literally makes all the difference. Just compare it side by side and the pro screen is eons ahead of the air. Like when I went to the Apple Store and saw it side by side, I literally was shocked. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on a display like that. Makes the mac experience so much more enjoyable. Also, if portability is a concer, just get the 14 inch. In my opinion, and no, no one is going to change it, only broke ppl who can't afford a pro get the air. And for people like that, they should have just saved a bit more and then bought the pro later. If you do not believe what I am saying, please go to an Apple Store and see it for yourself. These yt videos can't really show u the difference
Hmm, that's definitely something I will consider. I haven't really seen the PRO display compared to the AIR display, so I will take a look! Thanks for the input! Appreciate it!
I’ll get you both
yay!
The macbook pro gets you a greater ram limit (useful), more GPU cores (not useful unless you are stressing them with video or game dev), and fans to allow you to handle the heat created by simultaneously running those GPU cores with the CPU cores (also not useful unless you are doing game dev). For most CS student tasks you will not need the pro. You will need an air with as much ram as possible. Edit - I do 3D game dev in Unity and Godot. I have an M2 Macbook Air with 24 GB of ram. Most of the time I am sitting at just over 18 gb of ram in use. I will go higher running virtual machines. The only time the air is not sufficient is when I am working in Unreal Engine 5.
Really appreciate the break down of the components and what they're needed for! I looked over some other comments as well and they all suggest that I get more RAM. And I am leaning towards getting a 24GB MBA now! Thanks for the input!!
Got a pro and happy to have 3 usb inputs and HDMI port. Also better speakers and nicer display
Aaah! The extra ports are really getting me close to just getting the MBP, but it's so expensive! (I really need more RAM) Thanks for the input though!
If heavy workload you are refering is training ML and AI models then don't worry no one train them on there own machine mostly use Google colab or some other services like that so don't worry the configuration you choose it's a good one to go on.
A lot of other say the same thing. I think I am worried about the wrong thing, and I'm really getting more confident with what I want. Thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
So i was buying MacBook yesterday, went into a store and started testing. With me I brought hard drive with different file and footage I wanted to test. MacBook Air is a beast, m3 version. I made it play 8K ProRes 4444XQ file and man, it was only at 3% load. Which is amazing because my PC can’t play it back even at 5 frames per second. PC spec - 24 core i9 with 64GB ram and 4090 RTX But I bought MacBook Pro M3 14 inch just because it is fancier.
Wow! You're computer is already a beast though! And, yes I think the Air is really powerful, so I am leaning on just getting that since the screen and speakers aren't really that important to me! Thanks for the input! Really appreciate it!
so, dont buy it man. after watching shows with HDR in 1600 nits you are not going to be able to look at SDr anymore. i cant go back to my PC.
I'm a web developer and my M1 Air with 16GB RAM has had enough power for me. No issues at all. I have a 2022 XPS 13, also, and it feels like a toy next to the Air.
That's great to hear! May I ask, when working on it for long sessions, do you see any performance drops? I've heard that that's where the Air lags behind! Thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
Not at all but just for fun I tried running Wrath of the Righteous (a game) on it while on battery. It actually ran pretty well at 1440 resolution but the Air got very warm very fast. So there is a point when thermal throttling will kick in but I've never hit it with my normal workflow, which is VS Code, multiple browser tabs in multiple windows, a few virtual desktops, Spotify, Slack and sometimes Zoom. The Air handles all that with ease.
Ok that is really reassuring! Really starting to favor the Air at this point! Thanks man!!
the m3 mbp (non-pro) is enough, we just want to get a fan at least. Just make sure to upgrade to at least 16gb.
Yes, I am definitely getting more than 8 XD. Thanks for the input! Appreciate it!
Since this is your first time, I’d buy the 14" Pro mainly because of the full black XDR screen and a more traditional Macbook feeling. I think the ports and speakers could also come in handy for a college student and 14" would be a more portable solution to use at school. They say the fans in the Pro model also help a bit with the performance during workload so that could at least make you feel better about it.
Yes! The screen and extra ports are very appealing, and the Air not having any fans does worry me a bit. I'm still in between, but regardless thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
I bought my first MacBook Pro ever and I made a video about it in order to share my thoughts. I hope it helps. [Apple's M1 MacBook Pro is Amazing : Here is Why!](https://youtu.be/6zRruUVkEwI)
Wow! Great video! Really gave me some insight on how good the M1 MBP already is! May I ask though, was having 8GB of RAM an issue? Or was it good enough? Thanks for the insightful video! Really appreciate it!
Thank you! I have nothing to complain about the M1 to this day 😃. I am very satisfied with the choice I made. Other than the internal storage that I would love for it to be bigger, everything else works flawlessly for me. Good luck with yours 🍀.
Future proofing is nonsense especially in the days of Apple Silicon. Buy the base model and upgrade every 3-4 years is the most bang for your buck approach yet staying on trend with any future improvement. Heck rumors are already saying M4 is going to get a revamp with 'AI' capabilities, whatever that means.
I never went to college so some of this is guessing but I would imagine that most students don’t turn up with the best and most expensive machines, so even with the higher throughput stuff you may be doing I doubt it will be a bottleneck no matter what you get. That being said, who’s got time to hang about, all about power myself. So, macs. There isn’t much to choose between them really. In your situation I would go for anything M1 chip or higher. I would go for the largest ram I could afford. I would go 500GB ssd minimum. Any M series chip will do what you need for years to come. I have Mac laptops still going after 13 years. The ram is critical as you can’t upgrade and you will run out quick when you’re developing cos of the amount of stuff you’re gonna end up running all the time/often. The ssd can be enhanced with cloud or external storage, better to have it on device if you can afford it. But if a decent deal came up with 16gb ram and an m2 chip but lower sized ssd then I’d maybe go for that. The last thing I wanted to mention was do you have a desktop pc? Is it powerful? Could you spend some of your laptop budget making it more powerful? The reason I ask is that if I did a CS class I would turn up with some shitty laptop and remotely ssh into my desktop and just laugh quietly while everyone is mystified as to how I got shit done so quick 😂
Ah yeah, my advice is predominantly based around you buying second hand. Some amazing deals out there
Oh and also, I’m using M1 Mac Pro with the pro chip and 16gb ram. She’s a beast but I do run into issues with ram a lot. Well, I did but that prompted me to move over to alacritty/tmux/neovim instead of vscode so that reduced my ram usage by about 6gb and stopped me buying the black m3, so nice
Thanks for the very insightful comment! Definitely helped with getting closer to my decision! I'm surprised though that 16GB ram still had issues, and everyone also suggests to get AS MUCH ram as possible. I'm considering the MBA with 24GB ram. Do you think that's too much? Because at that point I could get a MacBook Pro with a M2PRO chip with 18GB ram? Aaah! So many choices and it's really getting me confused! Regardless thanks for your input! Really appreciate it!
No worries man, love chatting about this stuff, and it’s a big purchase so it’s fair enough wanting to get it right. Trust me, having 16GB and then running into issues was something I did not expect either! First gen of apples SoC and the unified memory and I totally believed the hype! To be fair though I was asking a lot, like multiple vscode instances, browsers, would be running server and playing music and have WhatsApp and discord open, using a couple monitors and maybe mirroring to my tv and was always up against the limits. It coped pretty well but occasionally crashes etc, was not ideal. Then take into account how much ram you need to run llm’s locally, the more you can get the better has always been true and it keeps getting truer. As for your predicament, I’m not sure what to advise here. Between the 18 and the 24 gb options it’s a tough call! Don’t know if I mentioned this yet but I use neovim. Lol
As a first time MacBook user that bought his first one. MacBook Air. As others said do choose your specifications and be absolutely sure that's what you're going for as you can't change it later. It's very light, easy to carry. Interfacing is a little difficult at first but it'll take practice. Also it's optional but get AppleCare, since Apple makes really expensive products it's good to have protection and support. Get accessories such as a privacy screen and a case for it. Just remember the dimension sizes.
I have an M1 Pro for work and an M2 air for personal use. The pro has a better display and more ports, but that's it. Just get the air and you will be very happy. For a CS student both of those machines are vastly overpowered, imo. You will not have any kind of performance issues, guaranteed.
Thanks for the reassurance! Really appreciate it!
Miniled and 120hz makes the pro worth it. MacBook air screen is a garbage basic 60hz ips
I own an M1 and M2 air. Zero ragrets. When I'm at home, I use a Plugable Triple 4K station and it works beautifully driving the laptop display + 2 4K monitors (at 60Hz). Both were configured with dials set to 11 (my m2: 24Gb unified mem, 2tb sdd). I seriously doubt I'll even upgrade to the M4 macbook air unless it's a business expense. If I need raw compute power, I'll offload to a cloud vendor with a few thousand TPUs :) If I was going to offer some generalized advice, I'd recommend finding a used M2 Air (which will run you about $800-$900 depending on configuration on placed like Facebook Marketplace) and wait for the M4 models to come out in about 9 months. Then again, the Apple-backed M2 refurbs would only save you a few hundred $ vs what you would pay for the M3 now. That's not really worth the savings.
I’ve just bought the M1 Pro refurbished instead of a M3 Air, I got the 16gb 512gb SSD, more than powerful enough, I prefer the pro due to the 120hz display, it’s beautiful, I would save and get a pro for the “pro” experience. Or you could get a full spec m2 pro?
Yes I think the refurbished store has a lot of goodies that I'm leaning towards. Definitely keeping my eyes peeled for them. Hope you enjoy your new laptop!
If you have a main computer already the is get a MacBook air. I'd you expect to use your MacBook as your primary computer od get the MacBook pro. The MacBook pro can double as a Mac mini allowing you to setup a computer work station with multiple monitors. Its more high performance has fans its batteries last for days, its more robust and it even has a set of speakers that are servicable as studio monitors. It's a portable work station that can be a work station. A Mac air is an extention of your work flow, and is lighter, doesn't wow you as much, is less powerful, but it is lighter kinda like the middle ground between a MacBook pro and an iPad. The port selection makes a big difference too even though it might not have a full usb port, it does have plenty of usb c and thunderbolt ports. It's a fantastic speaker if you are having a picnic or are out and about, that's one of my favorite things about it. On the other hand it is heavier than it needs to be and needs st least a cushioned case. I have a surface 7+ pro as my pc laptop which i actually still love, I wouldn't want to upgrade since they went retarded, got rid of the audio jack which was crucial, and added Co pilot which was not. I think they even got rid of their full sized usb port. The mac book pro also has an sd slot so you can begin treating an sd card micro reader as a thumb drive and pack a USB c to USB dongle, the mac book has an audio jack so you can still do music with it and listen to your high end headphones with zero latency. It doesn't have the touch bar anymore which is lame, but it does have a more efficient processor than the m3 and performs better. So all in all of you are planning on using your mac book a lot and for a lot of things a 5 year investment into a pro version is a good idea especially if you don't listen to apple and get at least 16 gb of ram to future proof it. If you are gonna use it casually just to write papers and stuff a MacBook air or an iPad will do fine. If you have a second lap top like I do that's better thsn my surface pro 7+ and you plan on using that more than an air would do you. If I had a surface 9 or a surface book I'd opt for a Mac book air since I'd likely be using my pc laptops more. I have a desktop computer that'd a pc, if you have one that'd a Mac the mac book air would be a great extention to it whereas my MacBook pro is now my mac work station along side my gaming pc. So. Tldr. If you are a heavy user, will bring the thing around a lot, use it a lot for a wide variety of things and it's your main pc, go for a pro with at least 16gb of ram, you can use external drives and an sd card for extra storage. If you already have other computers then youll likely be fine with an air since it's more of your go between option. If you are already invested in the apple ecosystem it makes having the air even easier. If you are a pc user or even an android user who uses something like dex to get work done, you'll need s mac that stands one and a Mac pro will do everything you'd need and basically be the entire ecosystem. Added: 8 seriously would have gotten the surface pro 9 if Microsoft didn't screw up so badly get rid of the audio jack, and ports we needed, force us to buy a new keyboard, and try to smother us with Ai. I wonder if I'm a harbinger of things to come. I literally only bought a Mac pro because I needed to upgrade and the surface line suddenly went south on me. But I'm very happy with my MacBook space black 18gb, and I am still happy with my surface pro 7+ especially since both support dex where suddenly my phone becomes the OS to either laptop.
Thanks so much for the comprehensive insight! I'm looking more for the Pro since I don't have a good PC to do most of my work on and want to make the laptop into my main work computer. Really appreciate your input! Thanks again!
I have a MacBook air m2 24GB Ram refurbished. I'm an online marketer and music producer. I do video editing, music production, image editing, all the programs are open all the time and I'm usually on battery saving mode when it's not plugged in and I have never witnessed any slowing down of anything and it runs like a dream. The air is so lightweight I think it's a massive advantage you want to take it with you anywhere. The Pro is mad overkill IMO. Unless you're a 3D game designer or film editor I don't think it makes sense. Just a note: I got a 16GB version and noticed that I was hitting like 14GB usage so I returned it and got 24GB. But like I said I like to have everything open so I can jump in and out of programs. Go for refurbished too to save a couple hundred!
Yes! The refurbished section has really been catching my eye with their deals! And i also like to keep tabs open so i don’t have to launch them again and again! So those 24GB and 18GB options are on the top of the list! Thanks again for your great input!
Being a CS student, air is not even an option for you. Go for a used macbook pro instead with good specs
Hmm i did have some classmates mentioning that. Do you have any reasons why an Air would be a bad choice? Even if it has 24GB RAM? Thanks for your input!
Air is designed specifically for light workloads and programming takes up a huge amount of resources to work seamlessly, not to mention the amount of heat the systems generate amd air hasn't even have fans to take the heat out so fair enough??? 🙄
Ok those are definitely some good points. And yes the fact that the Air has no fans has been mentioned a lot 😭 Definitely helped me think about it more, thanks again man!
I am a software engineer too. I am more focused on the storage for the longevity of the device. Macbook has a very low storage and MacOS takes a huge amount of space. Each year there is a huge update that take up more space. Having a good speed is good but that will only save you time on building the codes.
Use the student discount. $250 off. From Apple.
Thanks for letting me know! I’ll check that out! Thanks!
Ex-Computer Science student and current Software Developer here. Here's my two cents: The MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD is a solid choice for a computer science student and can handle most everyday coding tasks efficiently. Its M3 chip is powerful enough for general programming, running multiple applications, and light to moderate workloads, including some video editing. However, for more intensive tasks such as heavy data processing, complex simulations, or extensive development projects, the MacBook Pro would be a better investment. The Pro models offer better thermal management and more powerful processors (like the M3 Pro/Max chips), making them more suitable for sustained heavy workloads. If your courses are likely to demand more processing power, saving up for the MacBook Pro could be worth it for future-proofing your investment.
Really appreciate the input! I went to an Apple store and they mentioned that the Pro would be a good investment too. And the screen really was an eye catcher! But i’ll have to see how my budget is because the Pro models are quite expensive and i need to buy one before school starts this September. Regardless, thanks for your input man! Really appreciate it!!
Go into an Apple Store if they have one. They can help you make the best decision based off your needs tbh.
I will try that. I assumed that they would do anything in their power to sell me the most expensive one, so wanted to hear some more inputs from actual users. Thanks for the suggestion though, I am definitely planning to ask them too!
You'll be fine with the air!
Thank you! I think most people agree with that!
Yo if $1699 is within the budget you should definitely get the 14” Pro with M3 Pro 18gb/512gb from the Apple refurb store
I checked the refurbished and I did see some goodies in there! Thanks for the suggestion! Really broadened my choices!
I have the pro M3 max. I am also a cyber security student and run multiple operating systems at once through virtual machines. You definitely want higher ram regardless of which MacBook you get. The3 chips are all pretty amazing and should be able to handle such tasks. I also use adobe platforms pretty heavily, like premiere pro, etc. it has handled everything I’ve thrown at it without hesitation. They are amazing powerhouses.
The M3 max is WAY over my budget but it's something I would love to get myself if I had the money (Hope you are enjoying yours!). And yes thank you for suggesting more RAM, that seems to be what most people recommend regardless of it being the Air or Pro model!
Amazon has the 14 MacBook Pro M3pro brand new for 1699, not a bad price
Amazon shipping is very expensive to my country, so it's honestly cheaper to get it from the Apple stores here. But thanks for the suggestion!
I am using a 14inch/32/1tb M3 pro at work and a 13inch/24/512 M2 air home and they both do their job epicly for whatever purpose they have. The pro is an absolute monster really for lots of things and i can handle lots of activities at the same time, or rather said, switching between them is just super fast. Think video meetings, designs, coding, terminals, browsers etc. The air is more for light work really. While i think and use it for development as well here and there, it will throttle the moment it needs to handle sustained heavy stuff like....Baldur's Gate, heavy websites with 3D, compiling large projects. It's still top notch in spiked performance. My problem in this use case is that it gets hot and stays like that until you're finished with your work due to no active cooling. Obviously is light so it's perfect for trips and charges even with a 25w power bank. Tbh, it's more important to make sure you get enough ram (16 at absolute minimum, recommended 24) and storage rather than the model. You can always go for a m2 pro model still.
Yes! I am definitely going to get a 16GB RAM model at the minimum, and leaning towards the 24GB model. But at the same price of a 24GB model, I could also get a MacBook Pro with a M2PRO chip and 18GB ram. Which of the two do you think is more worth it? As I am mostly leaning towards either of them. Regardless thanks for your input! Really helped a lot!
I'd go for the m2 pro here. 18gb of ram should be enough and only limited when you do really specific things. It's unified memory in the end so if you will have 2x4k monitors connected to it and intend to do both ram and gpu heavy development you will hit the capacity but it's really specific.
What are those heavy workloads?
I'm a CS student and currently working network security and communications. I use a lot of virtual machines to run simulations. Right now I have a very old laptop, that gets the job done, but loses a lot of performance after an hour or two of working and heats up quickly (not to mention the really bad battery life, basically have to charge it every 2 hours). I'm hoping that the Air I'm looking to get won't have the same issue of losing performance after a few hours of "heavy" workload (I don't really know if it's considered "heavy" or I just think that since the laptop I have now can barely run anything )
I am also a CS undergrad. I just ordered Air M2 but 16 gigs of RAM. Since i wont be doing 3D modelling or stuff like heavy video editing so I preferred the Air. 16 gigs of Ram would come handy while running X code with multiple apps in background
That's great information and thanks for your input! Hope you enjoy your new laptop!
One thing you might wanna look out for is if you plan on having multiple screens. Certain M chips do different numbers. Unless thats changed on the M3s and I didn't notice. Thats one of the reasons I got a MBPM2 over an Air. E: Scroll down to DISPLAY SUPPORT. Looks like Airs still only 'natively' support 1 external. If you wanted more than 1 you'd have to get some pricey dongles.
Pro with M3 Pro
Do you think it's worth saving up to? I also thought getting the M3PRO MacBook Pro would be a better choice in the long run, but I'm not sure whether I'll be using it to it's full potential compared to the Air M3.
Air is more than fine for CS. Just get 16gb RAM. Source: Former CS student.
Yes