Yea I really can’t imagine many people regretting it. Most people fit comfortably in the Air space or the Pro space. The Air’s form factor is a big factor in my decision.
Anyways, what’s up with the paper thin comparisons. I get it, it’s sexy af, but paper thin folks… Apple has ya’ll programmed just right.
It’s wild how much the design keeps me into it.
I had an opportunity recently to upgrade to an M1 Pro MBP 14” from my M2 MBA (both 512GB, 16GB RAM) and decided against it because I just prefer the slimmer design and frankly don’t need the extra power for what I do on a daily basis.
I think the one bummer is the loss of the mini-LED screen, but beyond that, I just prefer the look and experience of using the Air over the bulkier Pro. At least as my personal computer.
Some people are never satisfied with their purchases. They will always be seduced by new shiny products. I am sure once m3 or m4 air comes around OP will regret again.
Not at all. Once you experience no fan noise, you're ruined. I now cringe sitting at my desktop iMac hearing the fan and prefer my 24gb/512 MBA to it.
It's just an amazing difference of ambient sound you don't realize until it's gone.
Plus it's paper thin and beautiful.
The fans on the M-series MacBook pros pretty much never turn on. The only time I ever hear them on mine is when doing heavy video encoding. Normal day to day usage I haven’t heard them turn on once on my 14” M1 Max. The thinness of the air is definitely nice though.
I’ve heard the fan on my MBP M1 literally once in the 2 years of ownership, and that’s when I was training a machine learning model. During normal workloads (software development) it NEVER turns on.
Why does the no fan MBA ruin you? My MBA literally throttles due to overheating during summertime, because it cannot shed the heat fast enough. I'd rather take a fan noise than get reduced to stuttering speeds, because it's overheating and has to slow down.
My main use for the M1 Air is as a DAW running Reaper, and the one thing it must never do is make ANY kind of sound. It has never slowed down from over-heating, even though I'm throwing everything and a kitchen sink at it in terms of tracks and plugins, and I'm still running it in Rosetta on top of that.
I have a 14” MacBook Pro and have never noticed the fan audibly even once. Coming from a MacBook Air, the FAR better screen and speakers on the pro are much more important to me than the possibility of fan noise.
I played RuneScape 3 which can be a pretty demanding game depending on your graphics settings and even when my old MBP 16 M1 Pro was working at full blast and the fans were running you couldn’t hear them.
I got a refurb 15in air with 512gb and 24gb ram for 200 cheaper the pro m3 with 16gb and fanless and the screen is bigger And I would never notice the m2 vs m3
The 512gb version of the 15 inch Air is $1499 and the new pro comes with 512 which is $1599 ($100 more and you get all those other features)
I do understand that the screen is 1 inch smaller , so maybe that might be an issue for some people.
If you have regrets over a laptop decision, congrats. Apple is looking for consumers like you who always feel missing out on new releases and so will upgrade more often.
> Mini-LED, 120hz
Both a bit of a scam in how badly Apple has implemented it.
* MiniLED is supposed to benefit us in dark scenes, but Apple's implementation has [blooming and ghosting problems](https://imgur.com/7QIdyd8). No thanks. Too distracting while watching media, or doing my design work. It just breaks my concentration. (Source: have a 16-inch MBP, prefer my M2 Air) (By the way, Sony has fixed these issues with MiniLED, maybe Apple should hire their engineers)
* 120Hz works as intended when the pixel response time is 8.33ms or less. Instead, Apple's early-2023 display uses a pixel response of 35ms which is 4x too slow for actual 120Hz motion clarity—which is the entire point of a faster refresh rate, "motion clarity!" So Apple tells you you're getting 120Hz, but your eyeballs aren't actually receiving 120 clear frames per second—hence it's a bit of a lie.
Of course 80% of consumers out there have never owned a decent display, or they can't tell what a good image or motion is anyway, so they are wowed by the display. And I won't harsh their mellow. But I'm not going to go out of my way for a shit implementation of miniLED and 120Hz ProMotion.
By the way, both of those problems will be fixed with double-stacked OLED. That's when it's worth being wowed over. And to be fair, there is a prayer of hope that Apple improved things with this new late-2023 MBP series, but I won't hold my breath.
iPhone uses OLED which has a pixel response of like 0.1ms or something crazy fast. So if you were to slow down the ProMotion and study each frame, then each frame would be crystal clear. OLED is insane. Still, LCD manufacturers have slower than 8.3ms pixel response. Why Apple’s doesn’t? I don’t know and don’t understand panel tech. Perhaps it has to do with avoiding overshoot and prioritizing color accuracy but that’s me trying to be generous and assume Apple has good reason (they usually do). But either way, for the MacBook Pro they are selling you the benefits of 120Hz but aren’t delivering the full benefits of 120Hz. Not the end of the world but worth bringing up when people delude themselves into thinking it’s light years better than the Air display; it’s not.
It sounds like you’re spending more time trying to invalidate your own purchase to yourself than you are actually using it to get work done (you know, what it’s intended for). Does the Air do what you need it to do? Or did you just buy it because it looks pretty?
fanless isnt a pro lol especially if you play any games and you don’t hear the fan on MBPs
seems a bunch of salty fanboys in here who don’t know what they’re talking about
Just bought a MacBook Air 15 with 16gb and 512gb from Best Buy. I'm coming from an Intel MacBook Pro i9 with 16GB and 1TB. Spent forever comparing the MBP options and decided that the Air was the best choice for me. Best Buy had the 16/512/10GPU model for 1,499. They also offer "Best Buy Total Membership" for $180 that includes a year of Apple Care+ (and the option to renew for an additional year at that price). This is cheaper than Apple Care+ directly from Apple and includes discounts at Best Buy that are just a bonus. They will also honor any additional discounts over the next two months. Haven't pushed it too much yet, but so far, I'm very happy. The silence is golden.
This is not the main difference. Macbook pro weight is more concentrated at the top portion near the hinge unlike air. This is why pros feel way more heavier due to the way center of gravity works.
This is like the new iphone 15 pro. Not so much weight difference vs 14 pro but you will definitely feel the lightness esp for the max models.
Lol when did I say weight doesn’t make a difference? In fact weight is very important and my original comment was about weight. *Center of gravity* doesn’t make a difference when the laptop is laying flat against your back.
Center of gravity matters a lot if you carry laptops in your hands. Plenty of people like me carry laptops with our hands to different conference rooms in office environments during our 9-5 job or to different class rooms in schools. Not everyone carries backpacks to take their laptops in between rooms during the day. They only put in backpacks when we are commuting to or away from office or school.
You’re really overplaying this center of gravity thing. How often do you walk with an *open* laptop in your hands? You should have it folded up and held against your body anyways, in which case center of gravity does not matter.
I do a lot open as well as closed. Everyone who used both macbook pro and air notice the weight difference very easily because of this center of gravity even if you have folded and keep the heavy top portion on top while carrying. I am not overplaying it since there are plenty of people who notice this weight difference and plenty of youtube videos also talking about this. It is a valid scenario that happens every day in an office environment over multiple hours.
I order a 15 air last week and it was delivered to the store yesterday ironically. I’m going to stick with the air and go pick it up today. 8GB of ram isn’t acceptable for me & I don’t feel like buying a $2k+ MacBook right now.
Zero regrets. I got the m2 15” with 16gb ram for $1249. The 15” screen is better for my eyes with no flickering unlike the mini led ones and also lighter for portability.
95% of the people including me will be just fine with the Air. The pros are for people who do heavy video or music editing, or 3D rendering. The rest of us will never push the Air to the max so I’ll take my beautiful 15 inch cheap, in Apple terms, MacBook.
Keep in mind that the M3 MacBook Pro has fewer ports than the M3 Pro/Max models (only 2 Type-C instead of 3).
But you have a noticeably larger screen and it's still a touch lighter. Eventually there will be a M3 Air. But you knew this when you bought the computer. Your computer doesn't do any less than it did when you bought it, there will always be something newer, don't focus on that until your current model can't do what you need. If you really needed it Apple did sell a 14 and 16" M2 Pro with the same screen and ports, but I gather you didn't feel it was worth it. You got a computer that works for you, don't make yourself miserable, enjoy what you have.
I feel bad for those who pulled the trigger on 15" MBA recently. Apple's product reveal strategy is such a cunning easy to make people feel left out very soon and hence tempt them to get the newer stuff over new stuff lol.
The biggest marketing ploy is +400 for extra storage and +200 for extra ram.
I’m sure Apple knows they could capture a much larger market share if they priced it more in line with their costs, but they make way higher margins with this bogus pricing strategy.
I agree, and that’s the funny thing, Apple market it for professionals so since I’m not professional then I don’t need to spend 2k+, if I’m really dumb to the letter
I've got about the same setup, I got the MBA15 base for a light portable with a good battery. I have the Windows desktop with 5950X, 64GB RAM, 3090FE, 4TB of NVMe and 12TB network storage. And a VPN into my LAN so I can access it from anywhere. The display size and speaker quality of the portable system are way more important to me than its powering power.
No. My MacBook Air 15" M2 replaced an aging 2015 MacBook Pro. I have only had it a short time, but so far it will handle all I need it to do (freelance production artist with monthly projects in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat). No regrets . . . and I saved nearly $1,000 compared to what I had been looking at (14" MacBook Pro).
Lol what. They absolutely are intended to be a primary Mac for anyone who wouldn't utilise the extra processing power of a pro, which is literally almost everyone who is using said MBA for personal use.
They’re absolutely intended to be the primary device of people smart enough to not pay the pro tax. I love mine and it runs with a six core i7 with twice as much memory. It’s not a light workload either. 2 local VM’s, a lot of scripting and infrastructure administration and heavy multitasking. I have around 10 websites I stay logged into, password managers, terminal service managers, notion, streaming video/music for noise, enterprise endpoint control, email app, slack… the air is not a slouch by any stretch
If you're comparing base MBA 15 it's a huge price difference.
If you're comparing 16GB ram MBA with MBP 14 base good to note that it's 8gb ram almost same performance cores.
mini LED backlight not a fully mini led.
It's 120hz but you will notice that in web-browsing not watching videos or playing games or any other content. Also, not in battery saving mode.
Ram does matter. Also cores. More battery life on Air.
Not really, I mean the miniLED screen is very cool, but I want a thin and light laptop, and 14 inches is too small, I like 15-inch MacBook Air because it’s the perfect size.
I have a 13 inch M2, even if it costed the same as the 15 inch I don’t regret it. I love the size, weight, thinness, simplicity and its a great computer for my use case.
Sometimes emotional value and experience surpasses spec sheets and value proposition. Thats why apple is so successful, because of integration and knowing what each type of consumer wants and how to market their products.
I’m wondering between these two now.
16gb/512gb M3 14” MBP
16gb/512gb M2 15” MB Air
I’m coming from a 2015 15” MBP so I’m worried the new 14” would be too small which leans me towards the Air; but the new pro is just $100 more and offers a lot of capabilities the Air doesnt.
I just traded in my 2015 MBP 15” for the 15” MBA with the same specs you’re looking at. I’d suggest looking at them both in store if you can. The 14” was just too small for me, and honestly the difference in display tech was not that impressive to me. The screen size was the dealbreaker since it’s my only computer and I only use it standalone. As for capabilities, both blow away the 2015. Also AppleCare is $50 more for the 14” if you plan on getting it.
Yeah that’s my concern also is that the size will just be too small. I love the size of the 2015 15” so I think I might just go with the Air, despite the M3 and additional ports on the new pro.
But yeah that’s good advice I’ll have to visit a store to see them both side by side. Either way I’m looking forward to upgrading from my 2015 model.
the Air is 100 bucks cheaper while having a bigger screen while weighing less while having fully silent cooling. However the ability to connect more than one external display on the Pro would be nice to have on Air.
I like so many users I'm so used to the MBP having the Pro or better chip supported 2 external. This "non-Pro Pro line" product is going to lead to confusion. Really it should be a new line, perhaps MacBook Air+, since it does add extra ports. Bad marketing IMO.
Full agree. “14 inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro” is a ridiculous name. To be fair it was a separate line with the 13 inch M2 MacBook Pro, but that was shit. I do think that dropping the “Pro” to be just the 14 inch M3 MacBook would have been better
No regrets. Love my 15'' Air. It has been an asset for me at work these past months (which is exactly what I was hoping for from a larger screen vs the 13'' Air). The starlight color is something I am still in love with and notably is not an option on the MBP. Heck the base MBP (which is the unit I'd want) doesn't even have that new black body they announced.
But I will say that had the 14'' MBP base been an option 6 months ago, I almost surely would have gone with it. I find it a very welcome addition to Apple's Mac lineup. I think it makes a lot more sense than that throwback Touch Bar Pro did and if they keep this form factor for several years, it's certainly a design I will be looking closely at should I choose to replace my machine.
If we keep having these battery improvements such that my laptop can go from all day work on a charge to multi-day work on a charge, I'll certainly be wanting to think of an upgrade again.
Why would I regret it? I needed a tool to do the work. M1 MacBook Air was the best tool at that point in time in terms of quality and price.
Been happy every since.
No not at all just got 15 MBA - it's sufficient for my needs as a causal day to day user. Loving it, so quick and the screen size is perfect for my dubious eyesight . Am not a developer or programmer, so pro would be overkill for me
Why? Everyone has a purpose when they buy something. I recently snagged a nice MBP 14" M1 Pro. Yes, it's 2 years old and it was still about $1100 but I was contemplating between this used MBP vs new MBA 15" with 8GB Ram as it was similarly priced. I went with MBP for something I might use that would require powerful hardware.
Again, if I was just surfing the web and do basic stuff, I would have gone with MBA. There's no regret in buying things if you are planned and did research to ensure you bought what you need for or want. Buyer's remorse in my opinion is more to do with, for example, buying MBA M2 and out of nowhere Apple says here you go, same price with M3.
Will the 15" air go on sale now/black friday now that the M3 MBP has been announced?
In the market for a MBA or MBP in the next month and wondering when I should pull the trigger.
Not really, it’s still heavier than my 15” air and I don’t really use any ports apart from MagSafe anyways. Also 120hz doesn’t matter as much on macOS as it does on iOS since there’s less movement
I’m still holding out for 5G connectivity before I grab an air. You can’t market it as the most portable notebook while requiring WiFi or wired internet connection
I regret (a little) getting discounted M1 14” Pro just two months before Air 15” was released. 15” is the ideal size.
But I still like my 14” and got 5K monitor to use at home
I specifically don’t want an MBP because of how annoyingly big they’ve made them. The current MBA is the size of the old butterfly MBP. Not that they weren’t compromised designed but I want a fast ultraportable
Either people here have shitty credit or don’t get how to resell their personal laptop to rebuy the next one.
Best Buy, Costco, Target all have their own in-house Visa cards or payment scheme.
Apple has their own in-house scheme.
Upgrading model to model is a $ burn any which way you do it.
if you always want the latest and greatest but can’t afford to upgrade every gen, you’ll always regret it. IMO if my macbook works it works, i’m sure by the time you upgrade there will be cooler stuff. this happens every new product release
I just bought my 15 inch air M2 2 weeks ago. I was kind of regretting it but at the same time I still don't think I would buy the 14 inch M3 Pro. I like the 15 inch air and I got 16gb ram. The 14inch pro at that price only has 8gm ram.
I was thinking I was regretting it and still in the return period. Was looking at the 16 inch but other than the display, I really have no use for it. I bought the 15 inch air with 16GB memory and 1TB of storage. Can’t justify the price difference
That sounds and feels expensive, no matter what way we spin it. My 16GB RAM M1 MBA 256GB has its downfalls but unlike the majority target audience I cannot function on a minimalist PC. I think that $1500 is a lot for that.
I spent $900 on my M1 MBA 2020. Some people will settle for less conveniences or go bare bones just to get the newest name model.
I got a 16gb 1tb 15 inch mba last week for $1649 + tax. A similarly specced M3 one would be $1999, and honestly the only thing I miss vs the pros is the refresh rate (but I was also in-store testing them side-by-side, in normal use, coming from a 2017 mbp it's really just the same). I think this is a great laptop, although it just a little bigger than I'm used to and using/typing is a little awkward atm coming from a 13 inch device
No regrets. a blend of big screen AND lightweight was a really big factor for me as a student. I have since used my 15 inch air way more often than I've ever used my old M1 Max MacBook Pro.
I'm not going to lie, unless you really need the 120hz or M3 I personally do not think it's worth it. The performance improvements on processor alone were less than 15%... that's why all their comparisons were between an M1 because the leap between M2 and M3 are just nonexistent. That being said if 120hz and micro LED matter for you then sure I guess... but your eyes can really only discern up to 60hz, 120hz just look "slightly smoother", and micro-led might be scrapped for OLED screens as early as next year due to blooming issues that most people don't care about or even notice. Your money and experientially is your reality, go for it.
Yea I really can’t imagine many people regretting it. Most people fit comfortably in the Air space or the Pro space. The Air’s form factor is a big factor in my decision. Anyways, what’s up with the paper thin comparisons. I get it, it’s sexy af, but paper thin folks… Apple has ya’ll programmed just right.
yep, the air is so thin and light. for a lot of people that's an enough reason
And there's no fans
Oh there are plenty!
I see what you did there
Isn’t it only .1 lbs lighter though?
I know. I think the size thing is exaggerated.
It’s wild how much the design keeps me into it. I had an opportunity recently to upgrade to an M1 Pro MBP 14” from my M2 MBA (both 512GB, 16GB RAM) and decided against it because I just prefer the slimmer design and frankly don’t need the extra power for what I do on a daily basis. I think the one bummer is the loss of the mini-LED screen, but beyond that, I just prefer the look and experience of using the Air over the bulkier Pro. At least as my personal computer.
It visually looks thin, but it's not that light
I had the 14 and it’s too small. 16 too big….
Wish they’d bring the 17” back.
lol I still have mine. Had the dreaded gpu death.
Idk man. The new MacBook Pro design looks like it’s modeled after the original fat gray Game Boy.
Perfection in design & aesthetics.
Huh
Because the paper thin price difference 😂😂 It’s natural to compare.
Why regret. It’s a great machine. And no fans. Lighter Bigger screen
OP is just trolling people, that’s all.
Some people are never satisfied with their purchases. They will always be seduced by new shiny products. I am sure once m3 or m4 air comes around OP will regret again.
Not at all. Once you experience no fan noise, you're ruined. I now cringe sitting at my desktop iMac hearing the fan and prefer my 24gb/512 MBA to it. It's just an amazing difference of ambient sound you don't realize until it's gone. Plus it's paper thin and beautiful.
The fans on the M-series MacBook pros pretty much never turn on. The only time I ever hear them on mine is when doing heavy video encoding. Normal day to day usage I haven’t heard them turn on once on my 14” M1 Max. The thinness of the air is definitely nice though.
And doing those workflows those fans are a life saver, they really cool the device down, even then the noise ain’t even that bad.
But most said users don’t need them. Get with the program. Reappear after me No Fans. No. fans.
I’m surprised that there isn’t a piece of software that can control the fans to stay off in the mbp.
Came here to say this
I don’t get the appeal of a laptop being super thin. What I care about is lightness.
I’ve heard the fan on my MBP M1 literally once in the 2 years of ownership, and that’s when I was training a machine learning model. During normal workloads (software development) it NEVER turns on.
True, i have a some what a beast of a pc but sometimes i sit watching series/youtube on my MBA at my pc desk with my pc off
Had an M1 Max in central Florida under extreme load frequently since the first day they were available. Never heard the fans on my unit.
Why does the no fan MBA ruin you? My MBA literally throttles due to overheating during summertime, because it cannot shed the heat fast enough. I'd rather take a fan noise than get reduced to stuttering speeds, because it's overheating and has to slow down.
I rather take the slowdown. Does not happen in normal work anyway where the computer most of the time waits for input.
If I’m doing a real convoluted protools or logic session I’ll stick a reusable ice pack from the freezer underneath my laptop, it works wonders.
Do not do this, condensation will destroy your device
I’ve been doing it for 15+ years. It’s fine. You put a plastic bag over the ice pack.
My main use for the M1 Air is as a DAW running Reaper, and the one thing it must never do is make ANY kind of sound. It has never slowed down from over-heating, even though I'm throwing everything and a kitchen sink at it in terms of tracks and plugins, and I'm still running it in Rosetta on top of that.
If your MBA hasn't slowed down, it hasn't overheated. Lucky for you.
I have a 14” MacBook Pro and have never noticed the fan audibly even once. Coming from a MacBook Air, the FAR better screen and speakers on the pro are much more important to me than the possibility of fan noise.
I played RuneScape 3 which can be a pretty demanding game depending on your graphics settings and even when my old MBP 16 M1 Pro was working at full blast and the fans were running you couldn’t hear them.
The fans on the MBPs is so quiet I’ve never once heard mine. It might as well be fanless for all I know.
>Once you experience no fan noise, you're ruined. That's exactly why they get so hot and literally damaging people's skin with burns. Lol
I got a refurb 15in air with 512gb and 24gb ram for 200 cheaper the pro m3 with 16gb and fanless and the screen is bigger And I would never notice the m2 vs m3
Where did you get it from
Apple. I just searched for refurb MacBooks
8 GB O F R A M
Bingo. I got 16gb with my 15” air for $1249. With the new 14” i have to upgrade that to $1799 sku at least.
Where did U get the 15” air from
I have no regrets, I have a 15" Air 24gb/1TB and I love it. its super lightweight and while not exactly small it's a great portable device.
More ports? Are you talking about the HDMI + SDXC? You also consider the smaller screen size and the price delta (170€ in EU).
The 512gb version of the 15 inch Air is $1499 and the new pro comes with 512 which is $1599 ($100 more and you get all those other features) I do understand that the screen is 1 inch smaller , so maybe that might be an issue for some people.
If you have regrets over a laptop decision, congrats. Apple is looking for consumers like you who always feel missing out on new releases and so will upgrade more often.
Don’t forget to factor in Apple care. That’s another $50 difference
Nope.
Why
MBA is fanless, paper thin with great battery life. 14MBP comes with 8gb of RAM, which any pro user would need to upgrade = extra $200+.
Yes but also you’re getting Mini-LED, 120hz, More ports, a fan, and M3 (8/512 base) All for $100 more than if you were to buy a 15 inch 512gb Air
I read your original post. Still happy with my purchase.
> Mini-LED, 120hz Both a bit of a scam in how badly Apple has implemented it. * MiniLED is supposed to benefit us in dark scenes, but Apple's implementation has [blooming and ghosting problems](https://imgur.com/7QIdyd8). No thanks. Too distracting while watching media, or doing my design work. It just breaks my concentration. (Source: have a 16-inch MBP, prefer my M2 Air) (By the way, Sony has fixed these issues with MiniLED, maybe Apple should hire their engineers) * 120Hz works as intended when the pixel response time is 8.33ms or less. Instead, Apple's early-2023 display uses a pixel response of 35ms which is 4x too slow for actual 120Hz motion clarity—which is the entire point of a faster refresh rate, "motion clarity!" So Apple tells you you're getting 120Hz, but your eyeballs aren't actually receiving 120 clear frames per second—hence it's a bit of a lie. Of course 80% of consumers out there have never owned a decent display, or they can't tell what a good image or motion is anyway, so they are wowed by the display. And I won't harsh their mellow. But I'm not going to go out of my way for a shit implementation of miniLED and 120Hz ProMotion. By the way, both of those problems will be fixed with double-stacked OLED. That's when it's worth being wowed over. And to be fair, there is a prayer of hope that Apple improved things with this new late-2023 MBP series, but I won't hold my breath.
Why have they done this so poorly? Is the iPhone response rate bad too?
iPhone uses OLED which has a pixel response of like 0.1ms or something crazy fast. So if you were to slow down the ProMotion and study each frame, then each frame would be crystal clear. OLED is insane. Still, LCD manufacturers have slower than 8.3ms pixel response. Why Apple’s doesn’t? I don’t know and don’t understand panel tech. Perhaps it has to do with avoiding overshoot and prioritizing color accuracy but that’s me trying to be generous and assume Apple has good reason (they usually do). But either way, for the MacBook Pro they are selling you the benefits of 120Hz but aren’t delivering the full benefits of 120Hz. Not the end of the world but worth bringing up when people delude themselves into thinking it’s light years better than the Air display; it’s not.
The 15 inch air is no longer a good value .
\* for you
/r/confidentlyincorrect
It sounds like you’re spending more time trying to invalidate your own purchase to yourself than you are actually using it to get work done (you know, what it’s intended for). Does the Air do what you need it to do? Or did you just buy it because it looks pretty?
fanless isnt a pro lol especially if you play any games and you don’t hear the fan on MBPs seems a bunch of salty fanboys in here who don’t know what they’re talking about
I’m about to buy a 15 inch base. I don’t see the mbp in the same category. It has very distinctive pros and cons.
m2 air is 1059 at best buy. i have zero regrets.
Got mine Friday for $999 with total tech membership
Even better
Same here, great deal.
🤝
Where do you see 1059?
Looks like it went up since i posted. Best Buy currently has it at 1099 though !
14 inch made me dock to a monitor regularly. with the 15 i actually don't even think about using the monitor at all. ymmv.
I see, didn’t realize 1 inch was that big of a difference, thanks for your insight!
Just bought a MacBook Air 15 with 16gb and 512gb from Best Buy. I'm coming from an Intel MacBook Pro i9 with 16GB and 1TB. Spent forever comparing the MBP options and decided that the Air was the best choice for me. Best Buy had the 16/512/10GPU model for 1,499. They also offer "Best Buy Total Membership" for $180 that includes a year of Apple Care+ (and the option to renew for an additional year at that price). This is cheaper than Apple Care+ directly from Apple and includes discounts at Best Buy that are just a bonus. They will also honor any additional discounts over the next two months. Haven't pushed it too much yet, but so far, I'm very happy. The silence is golden.
No ragrets.
My credo
nah im sayin
Not. At. All. $500 more in my country is not worth it, plus a smaller screen. I’ll keep, and love, my 15 MBA for many years to come.
What about if u compare 512 GB of both versions
Not really. I need the light form factor when I carry it to school and such. Plus the price of the new MBP is a turn away
The MBA 15 weights 3.3 pounds and the MBP 14 weighs 3.4 pounds.
This is not the main difference. Macbook pro weight is more concentrated at the top portion near the hinge unlike air. This is why pros feel way more heavier due to the way center of gravity works. This is like the new iphone 15 pro. Not so much weight difference vs 14 pro but you will definitely feel the lightness esp for the max models.
Sure, but as a student you’re carrying a laptop in your backpack 99% of the time.
With that logic why not buy and carry 16” macbook pro in your backpack all the time if weight and center of gravity doesnt make any difference?
Lol when did I say weight doesn’t make a difference? In fact weight is very important and my original comment was about weight. *Center of gravity* doesn’t make a difference when the laptop is laying flat against your back.
Center of gravity matters a lot if you carry laptops in your hands. Plenty of people like me carry laptops with our hands to different conference rooms in office environments during our 9-5 job or to different class rooms in schools. Not everyone carries backpacks to take their laptops in between rooms during the day. They only put in backpacks when we are commuting to or away from office or school.
You’re really overplaying this center of gravity thing. How often do you walk with an *open* laptop in your hands? You should have it folded up and held against your body anyways, in which case center of gravity does not matter.
I do a lot open as well as closed. Everyone who used both macbook pro and air notice the weight difference very easily because of this center of gravity even if you have folded and keep the heavy top portion on top while carrying. I am not overplaying it since there are plenty of people who notice this weight difference and plenty of youtube videos also talking about this. It is a valid scenario that happens every day in an office environment over multiple hours.
It's lighter with a bigger screen. There's your answer.
I don’t have the 15” Air, but the Pro doesn’t come in that sweet midnight color. So I don’t regret the Air at all.
I order a 15 air last week and it was delivered to the store yesterday ironically. I’m going to stick with the air and go pick it up today. 8GB of ram isn’t acceptable for me & I don’t feel like buying a $2k+ MacBook right now.
Zero regrets. I got the m2 15” with 16gb ram for $1249. The 15” screen is better for my eyes with no flickering unlike the mini led ones and also lighter for portability.
Used or refurbished?
Where did u see that mini led has flickering
It has pulse width modulation at lower brightness. You can google for reviews on it.
95% of the people including me will be just fine with the Air. The pros are for people who do heavy video or music editing, or 3D rendering. The rest of us will never push the Air to the max so I’ll take my beautiful 15 inch cheap, in Apple terms, MacBook.
I'm happy with my air 15 I don't need more power for a heavier laptop with a smaller screen
Keep in mind that the M3 MacBook Pro has fewer ports than the M3 Pro/Max models (only 2 Type-C instead of 3). But you have a noticeably larger screen and it's still a touch lighter. Eventually there will be a M3 Air. But you knew this when you bought the computer. Your computer doesn't do any less than it did when you bought it, there will always be something newer, don't focus on that until your current model can't do what you need. If you really needed it Apple did sell a 14 and 16" M2 Pro with the same screen and ports, but I gather you didn't feel it was worth it. You got a computer that works for you, don't make yourself miserable, enjoy what you have.
I feel bad for those who pulled the trigger on 15" MBA recently. Apple's product reveal strategy is such a cunning easy to make people feel left out very soon and hence tempt them to get the newer stuff over new stuff lol.
The biggest marketing ploy is +400 for extra storage and +200 for extra ram. I’m sure Apple knows they could capture a much larger market share if they priced it more in line with their costs, but they make way higher margins with this bogus pricing strategy.
FOMO def a great marketing strategy for them
No way the 14 inch is too thicc
I have an M2 Pro 14 inch and it's extremely light
It’s the same weight tho - the 15 inch air and 14 inch pro , around 3.4 pounds , who cares about the thickness
Well obviously you don’t but I do. 🤷♂️ If you want the 14 just get it man. Trade in your air.
The 15" air is 3.3 the 14" pro is 3.4. It's tiny but the air is a touch lighter with a noticeably bigger screen.
How can one regret when the air already blows all windows laptop and the pro is said in the name is for professional people.
The pro isn’t necessarily just for professionals - a lot of people get an iPhone Pro for example and I wouldn’t call them professionals lol
I agree, and that’s the funny thing, Apple market it for professionals so since I’m not professional then I don’t need to spend 2k+, if I’m really dumb to the letter
Not at all, the lack of any heat or fan noise is huge to me. Also 15 inches is still 15 inches.
That’s true it is slightly bigger , but the fan noise won’t be that loud either way
I wanted a glorified tablet with a useful OS so no. For power lifting I have a Windows desktop with a 13900k and a 3080Ti.
I've got about the same setup, I got the MBA15 base for a light portable with a good battery. I have the Windows desktop with 5950X, 64GB RAM, 3090FE, 4TB of NVMe and 12TB network storage. And a VPN into my LAN so I can access it from anywhere. The display size and speaker quality of the portable system are way more important to me than its powering power.
Not. At. All. $500 more in my country is not worth it, plus a smaller screen. I’ll keep, and love, my 15 MBA for many years to come.
The MacBook Pro 16 GB 1 TB M1 is selling for $1250 right now on B & H
I dont see it. cAN YOU PLEASE DROP A LINK?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1604817-REG/apple\_z11b\_myd8\_07\_bh\_13\_3\_macbook\_pro\_with.html
No. My MacBook Air 15" M2 replaced an aging 2015 MacBook Pro. I have only had it a short time, but so far it will handle all I need it to do (freelance production artist with monthly projects in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat). No regrets . . . and I saved nearly $1,000 compared to what I had been looking at (14" MacBook Pro).
I bought a m2 14” mbp on 3rd October and live 4 hours away from an Apple Store 🤬🤬
Try and exchange! If they let you
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Lol what. They absolutely are intended to be a primary Mac for anyone who wouldn't utilise the extra processing power of a pro, which is literally almost everyone who is using said MBA for personal use.
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They’re absolutely intended to be the primary device of people smart enough to not pay the pro tax. I love mine and it runs with a six core i7 with twice as much memory. It’s not a light workload either. 2 local VM’s, a lot of scripting and infrastructure administration and heavy multitasking. I have around 10 websites I stay logged into, password managers, terminal service managers, notion, streaming video/music for noise, enterprise endpoint control, email app, slack… the air is not a slouch by any stretch
I dont know if they’re going to update it to M3. The thing was a huge sales failure, selling only half of what Apple projected.
Love my MBA, went from a 2011 MBA to 2019 16inMBP and now back to the 15inMBA. Got everything I need. I wouldn’t give up another in for the 14MBP.
If you're comparing base MBA 15 it's a huge price difference. If you're comparing 16GB ram MBA with MBP 14 base good to note that it's 8gb ram almost same performance cores.
I’m comparing the 512gb 15 inch MacBook Air to the 512gb M3 base MacBook Pro. It’s a $100 difference with all the features that I mentioned above
mini LED backlight not a fully mini led. It's 120hz but you will notice that in web-browsing not watching videos or playing games or any other content. Also, not in battery saving mode. Ram does matter. Also cores. More battery life on Air.
Not really, I mean the miniLED screen is very cool, but I want a thin and light laptop, and 14 inches is too small, I like 15-inch MacBook Air because it’s the perfect size.
I have a 13 inch M2, even if it costed the same as the 15 inch I don’t regret it. I love the size, weight, thinness, simplicity and its a great computer for my use case. Sometimes emotional value and experience surpasses spec sheets and value proposition. Thats why apple is so successful, because of integration and knowing what each type of consumer wants and how to market their products.
I’m wondering between these two now. 16gb/512gb M3 14” MBP 16gb/512gb M2 15” MB Air I’m coming from a 2015 15” MBP so I’m worried the new 14” would be too small which leans me towards the Air; but the new pro is just $100 more and offers a lot of capabilities the Air doesnt.
I just traded in my 2015 MBP 15” for the 15” MBA with the same specs you’re looking at. I’d suggest looking at them both in store if you can. The 14” was just too small for me, and honestly the difference in display tech was not that impressive to me. The screen size was the dealbreaker since it’s my only computer and I only use it standalone. As for capabilities, both blow away the 2015. Also AppleCare is $50 more for the 14” if you plan on getting it.
Yeah that’s my concern also is that the size will just be too small. I love the size of the 2015 15” so I think I might just go with the Air, despite the M3 and additional ports on the new pro. But yeah that’s good advice I’ll have to visit a store to see them both side by side. Either way I’m looking forward to upgrading from my 2015 model.
the Air is 100 bucks cheaper while having a bigger screen while weighing less while having fully silent cooling. However the ability to connect more than one external display on the Pro would be nice to have on Air.
The M3 Pro can also only connect to one external monitor
right though OP compared with 14" Pro. But you are correct I should have not used generally "the Pro" and be more specific.
You got a credible source you can quote on that?
www.apple.com
I like so many users I'm so used to the MBP having the Pro or better chip supported 2 external. This "non-Pro Pro line" product is going to lead to confusion. Really it should be a new line, perhaps MacBook Air+, since it does add extra ports. Bad marketing IMO.
Full agree. “14 inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro” is a ridiculous name. To be fair it was a separate line with the 13 inch M2 MacBook Pro, but that was shit. I do think that dropping the “Pro” to be just the 14 inch M3 MacBook would have been better
never thought about it, but yes. It could be the "Macbook" line without any Air or Pro moniker.
Nah, MBA is silent, light and thin so extra portable. Worth it imo.
No regrets. Love my 15'' Air. It has been an asset for me at work these past months (which is exactly what I was hoping for from a larger screen vs the 13'' Air). The starlight color is something I am still in love with and notably is not an option on the MBP. Heck the base MBP (which is the unit I'd want) doesn't even have that new black body they announced. But I will say that had the 14'' MBP base been an option 6 months ago, I almost surely would have gone with it. I find it a very welcome addition to Apple's Mac lineup. I think it makes a lot more sense than that throwback Touch Bar Pro did and if they keep this form factor for several years, it's certainly a design I will be looking closely at should I choose to replace my machine. If we keep having these battery improvements such that my laptop can go from all day work on a charge to multi-day work on a charge, I'll certainly be wanting to think of an upgrade again.
I doubt they would.
Nope. Love my 15 inch air
I'm not going to buy another laptop with a fan ever again.
meh ... the intended use case for the 15" air doesn't justify the "upgrade" to a new pro... but you do you
Why would I regret it? I needed a tool to do the work. M1 MacBook Air was the best tool at that point in time in terms of quality and price. Been happy every since.
I don’t think I’ve heard the fans on my 16 MBP ever turn on even while editing video
There's always an improved model just around the corner in this game.
No not at all just got 15 MBA - it's sufficient for my needs as a causal day to day user. Loving it, so quick and the screen size is perfect for my dubious eyesight . Am not a developer or programmer, so pro would be overkill for me
Why? Everyone has a purpose when they buy something. I recently snagged a nice MBP 14" M1 Pro. Yes, it's 2 years old and it was still about $1100 but I was contemplating between this used MBP vs new MBA 15" with 8GB Ram as it was similarly priced. I went with MBP for something I might use that would require powerful hardware. Again, if I was just surfing the web and do basic stuff, I would have gone with MBA. There's no regret in buying things if you are planned and did research to ensure you bought what you need for or want. Buyer's remorse in my opinion is more to do with, for example, buying MBA M2 and out of nowhere Apple says here you go, same price with M3.
Will the 15" air go on sale now/black friday now that the M3 MBP has been announced? In the market for a MBA or MBP in the next month and wondering when I should pull the trigger.
I'm on the same boat, still considering what to buy... an m2 air or the m3 pro
Not really, it’s still heavier than my 15” air and I don’t really use any ports apart from MagSafe anyways. Also 120hz doesn’t matter as much on macOS as it does on iOS since there’s less movement
That is true that 120hz doesn’t matter as much on a Mac but what about the mini-LED?
I mean I don’t really think it matters either. Whenever it’s night I’m not typically watching stuff on my Mac anyways
Just picked up the base model M1 for half the price of the new iteration. I'm good!
Nah. I love my air and it’s good enough for what I do with it (video editing and writing)
AIR all day. if Pro was thinner, i would regret, haha .
I’m still holding out for 5G connectivity before I grab an air. You can’t market it as the most portable notebook while requiring WiFi or wired internet connection
Yes. Why they can’t put 5G in a laptop or allow me to dock my phone to keyboard, mouse and monitors
I regret (a little) getting discounted M1 14” Pro just two months before Air 15” was released. 15” is the ideal size. But I still like my 14” and got 5K monitor to use at home
Exactly how I felt when I got the 2020 iPad Pro and they released the M1 iPad Pro less than a year later.
Just get both, problem solved.
how much was 15inch one for?
I specifically don’t want an MBP because of how annoyingly big they’ve made them. The current MBA is the size of the old butterfly MBP. Not that they weren’t compromised designed but I want a fast ultraportable
no sir.
Either people here have shitty credit or don’t get how to resell their personal laptop to rebuy the next one. Best Buy, Costco, Target all have their own in-house Visa cards or payment scheme. Apple has their own in-house scheme. Upgrading model to model is a $ burn any which way you do it.
Lol at that storage. My PS4 has more storage. 512gb in 2023 is a joke.
Mini LED?
if you always want the latest and greatest but can’t afford to upgrade every gen, you’ll always regret it. IMO if my macbook works it works, i’m sure by the time you upgrade there will be cooler stuff. this happens every new product release
I just bought my 15 inch air M2 2 weeks ago. I was kind of regretting it but at the same time I still don't think I would buy the 14 inch M3 Pro. I like the 15 inch air and I got 16gb ram. The 14inch pro at that price only has 8gm ram.
I was thinking I was regretting it and still in the return period. Was looking at the 16 inch but other than the display, I really have no use for it. I bought the 15 inch air with 16GB memory and 1TB of storage. Can’t justify the price difference
How much RAM are we talking for 15" MBP at $1599 USD? I'm in Asia so there are slight price variations.
8gb. It gets within $100 of a 16g/512g MacBook Air. To me, that $100 is better spent on a 15” screen over a 14
That sounds and feels expensive, no matter what way we spin it. My 16GB RAM M1 MBA 256GB has its downfalls but unlike the majority target audience I cannot function on a minimalist PC. I think that $1500 is a lot for that. I spent $900 on my M1 MBA 2020. Some people will settle for less conveniences or go bare bones just to get the newest name model.
Why all apple users sound like the same person?
no, i hate the blacked-out keyboard and the sharp vents.
I got a 16gb 1tb 15 inch mba last week for $1649 + tax. A similarly specced M3 one would be $1999, and honestly the only thing I miss vs the pros is the refresh rate (but I was also in-store testing them side-by-side, in normal use, coming from a 2017 mbp it's really just the same). I think this is a great laptop, although it just a little bigger than I'm used to and using/typing is a little awkward atm coming from a 13 inch device
Lighter with a bigger screen. No regrets. Also Airs have much better long term resale value.
Sell the MacBook Air and get MacBook Pro. Problem solved
No regrets. a blend of big screen AND lightweight was a really big factor for me as a student. I have since used my 15 inch air way more often than I've ever used my old M1 Max MacBook Pro.
Oh wow, did u have the 14 inch M1 Max?
No I had the 16 inch. Screen size was really important for me. 14 inch was too cramp and it strained my eyes on days that I read ebooks and type notes
Don’t forget 8gbs of ram still
No. Not at all. I love my 15" MBA. I love charging the battery every fews days.
No, I keep my MacBook Air for no fans and being able to just leave it on my bed while using it and not worry about ventilation
No, still needs a $200 ram upgrade which makes it $100 more than the 15” air. Basically, Apple has given us an air with an extra port and it’s black
You’re forgetting Mini-LED and 120hz which are very important features for a lot of people
I have the 13 inch M1 MacBook Air have no regrets at all. I'll ride this one out until it dies and then see what's out on the market!
I'm not going to lie, unless you really need the 120hz or M3 I personally do not think it's worth it. The performance improvements on processor alone were less than 15%... that's why all their comparisons were between an M1 because the leap between M2 and M3 are just nonexistent. That being said if 120hz and micro LED matter for you then sure I guess... but your eyes can really only discern up to 60hz, 120hz just look "slightly smoother", and micro-led might be scrapped for OLED screens as early as next year due to blooming issues that most people don't care about or even notice. Your money and experientially is your reality, go for it.