I love how every RUclips reviewer always does those "video editing" comparisons, not realizing that this is a total niche use case that the vast majority of their viewers hardly ever need.
Because, let's be honest, it's the least "pro" of all the pro workflows. Anyone can throw a few clips on a timeline, but it has that aura of a "pro use case". I would really love to see music production tested on these machines, but alas, your average reviewer would need to learn music to do that. Something like 3D design or neural network programming would be cool, too. Or some scientific stuff.
Most reviewers seems obsessed with exporting times, what about multi-clip timeline performance, editing smoothness, etc? A few minutes extra while exporting is not a big deal but actual performance while working with a timeline is more important IMO.
Difference was negligible tho. I don't think the difference is studio - regular, like Apple claims it to be. The pro is just a tiny bit clearer, especially when pronouncing "T" and "S", I found.
I was so close to wanting to get the pro.. but then I was like : “same chip, air is lighter, cost less, has 3 colors instead of two, not much of a difference in performance, the control bar on pro is kinda.. UMMMM . “ so I’m going with the air as well
@@johnny-zz8wf the biggest difference would be the Pro’s dedicated cooling. While the chip is the same, the Pro has active cooling so it can outperform in certain scenarios without needing to throttle due to heat. If you don’t need to do anything too intensive for too long you’ll be fine.
Interesting comparison, glad I saw this! During the sustained gaming test, the difference of 30 versus 40 FPS is actually 33%, so there are cases where the pro will really beat the Air. That being said, the performance difference is actually smaller than I expected, given that the air has literally nothing to cool the SOC down. Side note: would be interesting to see how the 8 core GPU variant of the air holds up in sustained load scenarios.
@@aknsjdkdjdjaksjsjlwjwjshs3439 it enables the laptop to take more power. Cause more power is more heat. But if the heat can be reduced by the fan then it can take more power
I personally sold my 16 inch intel MacBook Pro and purchased the base MacBook Air M1 and man did I make the correct decision. I was never a fan of the Air but from owning a 15inch MacBook Pro to a 16inch MacBook Pro I had grown to find it very tedious to travel with larger sized MacBook. I love the Airs design how the body tapers towards the keyboard. The M1 chip is not a gimmick and most importantly my room does not increased by 10 degrees. All of this convenience while also being able to have extra cash in my pocket. Bravo Apple. Job well done.
I bought the MBP because the air was sold out. And I’m happy with it. Extra battery time, brighter screen, better sound, a fan just in case are maybe not worth the extra money, but are still nice to have. Also I like the build quality a lot more. Feels way more solid.
Currently have a mbp16 as well. Obviously, it’s been my desktop for the past year, as I’ve been stuck at home. I’d get rid of it for a Mac mini, if only they’d support egpu’s. (And use a 13” mbp for work on the go)
I bought the pro having seen them both in person because of the screen alone, it's significantly brighter, I love your reviews but I think this is understated here.
This video was far more helpful to me! I’m just a basic, everyday user and I want something for school that is durable and will last me a while. I’m not gonna be doing crazy stuff, but I would like it to be future proof, so I’ll double ram and storage and get the air. I like how your review shows me what it can do in terms of simple use like battery life and performance in relation to the pro. I’ve looked at dozens of reviews, but most of those focus on heavy tasks and emphasize big things like video editing and rendering (whatever that is). I just want something simple that can reliably get me through college without crapping out half way through. Thanks for making it easy!
I went for the Air with double the storage (512 Gb), same processor as the Pro with that extra GPU Core and deal with “only” 8 Gb of RAM. That little Machine is a beast!.
@@nithyasubramaniam273 I was about to buy the MBP but after this video I'm thinking in saving some money and going for the MBA, are you still doubting about your choice?
You have my gratitude, good Sir! The video covered more points than most of the videos on this topic. Especially it was good to see the battery charge speed and battery performance during the mundane tasks between those two laptops. Air seems like a very good offer, though I would personally like to wait for the refresh in 2021 for the new design
It was only $50 more to get the base Pro vs the 8 core Mac Air... I sacrificed some storage, but having the extra gpu, the fan, the Touch Bar (yes, I use it especially in logic), a few extra hours of battery time, the mics built in (helpful for mixing audio) etc. that was totally happy with it and I'm glad I didn't get the higher end Air this time.
@@vihaansingha8340 in the wast majorities of cases yes, but I have done some serious Video editing with Colour Correcting and effects earlier and would thus be somewhat upset with me not getting the extra 8GB of memory if I started doing more serious video editing again just to discover cases where it would have been nicer og maybe even necessary with 16GB. At the moment it is a Nice to have but it is also future proofing in my case.
@@mejlgaardbliddal looking at Max Tech's video on 8GB vs 16GB of RAM on the M1 Macs it seems that Apple uses the RAM differently with this new M1 chip. Basically the Macs will use quite a bit of swap memory whenever a program needs more RAM, and in real world use he found a negligible difference in performance and just slightly better multitasking experience in the 16GB, but barely noticeable. This could be attributed to the fact that the new processor share their memory within a single chip (RAM, GPU, CPU), so memory speeds are crazy fast, and SSD speeds are fast enough that it can write to it rather than actual RAM whenever it needs more than is physically available. Some are concerned about the long term effects of high swap usage but SSDs nowadays are rated for hundreds of TB of writing to it before any noticeable slowdown in performance so you're better off just getting the 8GB anyway
@@eddydrouet1888 I Saw that video as well, but I have also seen another video where a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with 8GB memory crashing a large rendering task in FCP when running other Applications as well because it ran out of system memory, and knowing how I tend to forget closing programs and browser tabs I prefer having the extra headroom.
@@mejlgaardbliddal of course, at the end of the day it's a personal choice, and if you have the means to fork out the extra 200-300$ for double the RAM please be my guest, i just want to make sure that people make informed buying decisions, especially now more than ever since we seem to have entered a new paradigm of portable computing with these new ARM-based systems, and it changes many things that we have taken for granted in prior x86 machines. Enjoy your new Mac!
Upgraded to the M1 Air from my 2015 Air, very satisfied and feel no need for the pro. Luckily I was able to sell my 2015 Air locally for $345 and bought the M1 Air at the educational price of $899.
I imagine the M1 MBP will start pulling ahead again once things are optimised for the M1 chip. The switch from one architecture to another is never smooth, but this is as good as it can get...
could you explain why? i’m debating between the two and not sure which to get. if i went for the air with 512gb and extra graphic core, would it’s longevity be increased?
I was going to get the Pro because of the supposedly better battery life however because of your testing I am going to save $300 and go for the Air. Thanks! :)
I have a 2012 MBP that I was going to replace with the new MBP but after watching this. I think I'm actually going with the air. You can tell mics aren't as good but I would rarely be using that but for me, the air would be perfect. Great video!
I went with the M1 Air (512GB Storage and 16GB RAM). I am so excited for it to come in. I have had my 2015 Macbook Air for 4 years now and it was definitely time for an upgrade. Thank you for your advice!
Just a side note. The pro comes with a charger with twice the capacity as the Air that costs $70. That means you’re really only paying $230 more for a brighter screen that is actually usable outside (big deal for laptops this small and portable), a fan, better speaker, better mics, and the touchbar (if that’s your thing). I think the pro is really good value.
Just bought a mca for my wife. I wanted to see if there even is a large difference between the air and pro. Now, thanks to you, I made the right choice. Saved money, but still got basically everything a pro has to offer. Going to get one for myself an air now instead of a pro
@@Fanofmarvel3000-x1j it’s great! No complaints so far. I’m using it for school rn. I’m doing software development. So I’m mainly just using it for coding and some media consumption.
My thought: if I add a cooling pad to the air for those rare moments when I need more horse power , won’t it function as a MacBook Pro?. I may not need that extra power everyday. Would cost me 10 bucks for that.
I had this same thought, but after watching some other videos I came to the conclusion that that would serve mainly to cool the chassis and not so much the chip. There's a test that iJustine does and the cooling pad doesn't effect the performance at all.
@@ATommy-lz4jd That's the one that I watched, but the principal still applies to the M1 I believe. The new macbook airs literally have no air vents in them, so the cooler really would just cool down the bottom of the laptop and it wouldn't really effect performance much. The fan in the macbook pro is directly connected to the chip, so it wouldn't be the same. I still ordered the Air, the most demanding program I use is Adobe Lightroom, but I am planning on upgrading to the Pro once they redesign it (Probably Sept 2021)
I am a teacher by profession. One of the biggest issues I run in to is the over-heating of my current older Mac Air (the fan just goes crazy loud to the point where it disrupts my lesson plan and students could hear my buzzing fan an hour into my lecture). In relation to the nature of my [long] daily video conferencing/ zoom usage, should I opt for the Macbook Pro due to the fact it has a fan to cool down the chip? Or will the M1 Macbook Air be sufficient due to it's "active cooling agent"?
@@sonicvboom I Have an older Pro and I could cook an egg on it while using and resting on my lap with a blanket. I have yet to even feel the Air get so much as warm. So far, so good!
@@eliljehorn cudos. The touchbar is extremely unnecessary in many occasions imo. It would be amazing to turn it off/ on when needed... thats why I returned my mbp (intel version, early 2020). Thats why i am not going to buy another mbp, as long as i cant turn the touchbar on/off as i please
Ive gone for the m1 air, 8 core GPU, 1tb ssd and 16gb ram. Im liking the no fan and good performance compared to my old intel 2019 macbook air with rubbish butterfly keyboard and slow performance.
I'm debating if I want to sell my 2019 intel macbook air and upgrade to the m1 before college starts in the fall, would you still say it was worth it since it's been a few months?
@@xocassielynn it’s the best decision I have made, the 2019 air is so slow compared to the M1 version of it. Not to mention completely silent and the better keyboard.
Great review! Regarding the mics on the Air vs Pro - there is a clear quality difference in favor of the Pro. The Pro likely has more directional mics (think shotgun/boom microphones) with a tighter cardioid pattern, which are cancelling room tone and frequencies bouncing around from the side and back, producing a more voice-focused signal. When listening to the Air mics, even on low-end non-studio computer speakers (even more-so on my studio monitors) the echo from the hard surfaces around you is very clear. Speaking as a voice actor and audio producer, the human ear tends to favor loud > finely tuned audio when not critically listening to a performance. That said, both computers sound just fine to me.
If I had to choose between these two, I'd probably go for the Air. The Pro's touchbar doesn't seem very appealing to me, I already have a separate microphone which negates the need for built-in studio microphones and at their core they're almost the same device. But I have a moderately large Steam library and the Adobe package provided by my school is cross-platform so I'll probably just build a new Windows PC instead for cheaper (and portability doesn't really matter to me because I spend most of my time in my room and at school anyways).
I have bought the m1 pro, difficult choice.. but the extra brightness on the pro and the better speakers did it for me. I know its not worth the 300 extra but if I am working outside and im frustrated that the screen is just not bright enough I know I would wish I had chosen for the pro. And have to admit the Touch Bar has grown on me haha (ps. im coming from a 15 inch 18 mbp).
It is a useful video but the issue is everyone just keep on pairing the weaker Macbook air against the stronger Macbook pro, it would be nice to see someone paring the stronger version of the air with 8 CPUs and 8 GPUs against the weaker air as well as the pro.
Thank you this was very helpful! I'm happy I got the Air instead of the Pro because I don't feel like the added value was worth the price difference :)
I was looking at getting a MacBook Pro. I think after watching this video - the Air is exactly what I need while I go on vacation! Thanks for the video. I primarily work within Figma and WordPress, so I do not need a crazy spec'd machine
Got the macbook pro with 256gb storage and 16gb ram. This will be my everyday laptop for at least 3 to 4 years now. So with that in mind, for my workload, this machine will be a beast and handle it with ease. And in 4 years when I inevitably sell it and upgrade, I would imagine the pro would hold a slightly better value than the equivalent air.
This was a great video, thanks so much! The one question I'd love to have answered is running these two in a high heat environment. I live on a farm in South Africa and it can easily be between 35°C and 40°C during the summer. Would this in any way impact the macbook air as it doesn't have a way of cooling itself with the 'fan' 😉. Thanks again, you've pretty much convinced me the macbook air will be an epic macbook!
I’ve had my m1 air for 2 months now it’s really good for the price it doesn’t lag when playing games or editing on Final Cut Pro so I would definitely recommend it however I did decide to pay extra for storage and ram which was an extra 200 just to future proof it
The microphones on the Pro are significantly better at filtering out noise and reverb making your voice sound much more clear. I am listening from a 2015 Macbook Air with the built in speakers.
"Now I'm not sure how many people watch 10 hours of RUclips straight" Me: a Uni student on exam week, putting 10 hour pomodoro youtube study sessions =)
This is my first time watching your videos. Thumbs up from me. Succinct, sensible, no waffle, straight to the point. Very good reviewer. Well played sir.
@@vinc1826 Pretty sure it's an outtake fan. Typically when there's only one fan it's an outtake and NOT an intake because the PC needs to release heat not bring in air.
Ordered the Pro because the way I see it, software will eventually always adapt to the possibilities of available hardware. In some years, the M1 may be used more heavily by Xcode for example than the recently ported version of today does. I’d hate to have paid a lot of money for a laptop that could get throttled in the future.
could you explain why? i’m debating between the two and not sure which to get. if i went for the air with 512gb and extra graphic core, would it’s longevity be increased?
@@zdcgbkmdh1055 my point was that under current circumstances, with current cpu demand of apps, the Air hardly gets throttled. But future apps might demand more from the cpu (apps rarely get lighter) and since these laptops cost so much, I didn’t want to find myself in a future situation where I’d have to switch earlier simply because of the heat or throttling. I actually had to buy the M1 because I couldn’t upgrade Xcode anymore on my 128GB MBP, in other words a single component, the SSD, was the reason I needed to replace. That’s not gonna happen to me again, in this case with the absence of the fan. So depending on what you expect the future bottleneck to be, 512GB instead of the default might increase the life of your laptop. Don’t bother about the extra graphics core though!
I don’t know if it makes a difference for anyone, but at B&H, the 8GB MacBook Pro is $100 if you preorder the 256/512 variants. That makes the Pro a bit more compelling against the Air, IMO.
I'm starting uni in about a month, I think I'm gonna go with the air cause I'll only be using it for schoolwork and RUclips/Spotify in free time. Thanks for the help
its been around a month so hows uni? (I'm a junior rn and I'm almost done w the year) and hows the air does it work well I think I'm bound to have the uses :)
I bought the air before watching this video and am happy with my decision. Will be using it for basic things and it was $100 usd cheaper at my local costco.
Thank you so much for our video! I watch many comparisons but your video helped me to choose. Yes I could hear the difference of the pro mic sound but this is not a problem for me as I am mainly use external mics. Again, thank you!
Can definitely tell the difference between the microphones in the Air and Pro. The pro seemed to cancel background noise and the air had that room effect. For this reason alone i'm almost inclined to go with the pro despite wanting the air more. I wish they included the studio mics in the air.
I took to your advice and got my daughter the air version in 16gb ram for her 18th birthday gift. She absolutely loved it and she can't wait for uni in September 😂. Thank you😘😘😘
Hi Tech Chap! Thanks for this awesome review. It's helping me in which laptop to buy. I just have a question about the Fan, not being in Macbook Air and being in Macbook Pro. How long would the Macbook Air overheat? Does it heat up easily when used over a long period of time? Long would be around one full day? Thank you!
Hey Chaps! Would you go Air or Pro? (or neither!)
MacBook Air M1!
Yeah pro of course, But for next year's 16'' model.
neither
Macbook air
Hi, do you know if Apple will be developing data analysis and stronger automation tools? Thanks
"Now I'm not sure how many people watch 10 hours of RUclips straight"
Don't underestimate me pal.
😂😂😂😂😂
u underestimate my power
@@thesupertrooper Don't try it!
There was a clause “Especially my videos” so yeah
Swap in Pornhub and you know I'm pumping up my rookie numbers.
I love how every RUclips reviewer always does those "video editing" comparisons, not realizing that this is a total niche use case that the vast majority of their viewers hardly ever need.
Aren't there a lot of content creators actually interested in that though?
Absolutely, for me this is really rare but it features so disproportionally in reviews
Because, let's be honest, it's the least "pro" of all the pro workflows. Anyone can throw a few clips on a timeline, but it has that aura of a "pro use case". I would really love to see music production tested on these machines, but alas, your average reviewer would need to learn music to do that. Something like 3D design or neural network programming would be cool, too. Or some scientific stuff.
@@Cryosxify dont think content creators watch reviews. They just go and buy the best cus they got the 💰
@@miguelledezma1394 not all of em are successful or start off with lots of money.
I went for Air, will use extra money for a next gen console
Smart
Yeah the €300 difference pretty much buys you a PS5
big brain
That’s actually a good idea. You have the beet macbook Apple sells (apart from the m1 MacBook Pro), and the latest console. Enjoy them!
I just got the M1 pro and the ps5. Definitely both worth it.
Most reviewers seems obsessed with exporting times, what about multi-clip timeline performance, editing smoothness, etc? A few minutes extra while exporting is not a big deal but actual performance while working with a timeline is more important IMO.
I loved how you did the auido review. On Air you sound deeper but clearer on Pro
Difference was negligible tho. I don't think the difference is studio - regular, like Apple claims it to be. The pro is just a tiny bit clearer, especially when pronouncing "T" and "S", I found.
Tom : “No one watches my videos for 10 hours straight”
Me bingeing his videos all week : "HOLD UP-"
Yes I think he underestimated a lot of youtube viewers. :-)
Cap
I think you sounded a bit more echoey on the air, somehow the pro seemed to remove some of the reverberation from the room.
Definitely agree, it was very good at killing the echo and background noise.
Yes absolutely a cleaner sound from the Pro
Agree, there was difference but not so huge IMO, in good isolated room I think there wont be much difference that couldnt be easily equalized
agree, it's fairly subtle though
@@skyy_xx How often are you in a good isolated room tho? lol.... most of us not often.
I went with the 13" Pro. They gave me $290 trade in for my 2013 MBP. Was only $987 after tax with the $100 educator discount. It's amazing!
I just ordered ... a burger. Cuz I’m broke😂. Watching it because I like his reviews😄.
One day bro you will have a chance 👍
Haha thanks man
@Techno Karen lol
@Techno Karen 🤣
one day you’ll order mac-book online! it’s about time, we’re all in this together 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Gonna get the air with 16gb ram. Gonna end up using it for a lot of years.
how is it so far?
@@azaz... I was going to ask him the same thing
@@azaz... are you considering getting one ?
@@trueolive2130 considering getting one too! Or will there be a new version coming out later?
@@Ramxie35 I’m getting the M1 air . It’s literally the perfect laptop
Before the M1 chips it would have been the Pro all day every day... but now... well I think the Air might be the one for me.
Before the m1, I don't think apple would have a sound choice at all
I was so close to wanting to get the pro.. but then I was like : “same chip, air is lighter, cost less, has 3 colors instead of two, not much of a difference in performance, the control bar on pro is kinda.. UMMMM . “ so I’m going with the air as well
@@JAMWAM_ in the long run you will notice the difference
@@rochitgurung9090 What kind of differences are you talking about? Im interested in getting a mac as well
@@johnny-zz8wf the biggest difference would be the Pro’s dedicated cooling. While the chip is the same, the Pro has active cooling so it can outperform in certain scenarios without needing to throttle due to heat. If you don’t need to do anything too intensive for too long you’ll be fine.
Just the comparison review I needed!! Thank you!
Interesting comparison, glad I saw this! During the sustained gaming test, the difference of 30 versus 40 FPS is actually 33%, so there are cases where the pro will really beat the Air. That being said, the performance difference is actually smaller than I expected, given that the air has literally nothing to cool the SOC down. Side note: would be interesting to see how the 8 core GPU variant of the air holds up in sustained load scenarios.
The only difference between these two is that the pro has cooling fans, which is most likely causing the performance increase
@@M4X1 is fan in laptop much better?
@@aknsjdkdjdjaksjsjlwjwjshs3439 It’s better for performance
@@aknsjdkdjdjaksjsjlwjwjshs3439 it enables the laptop to take more power. Cause more power is more heat. But if the heat can be reduced by the fan then it can take more power
I personally sold my 16 inch intel MacBook Pro and purchased the base MacBook Air M1 and man did I make the correct decision. I was never a fan of the Air but from owning a 15inch MacBook Pro to a 16inch MacBook Pro I had grown to find it very tedious to travel with larger sized MacBook. I love the Airs design how the body tapers towards the keyboard. The M1 chip is not a gimmick and most importantly my room does not increased by 10 degrees. All of this convenience while also being able to have extra cash in my pocket. Bravo Apple. Job well done.
Did you go 8 or 16gb for memory? Tryin to decide which is best, and/or ‘necessary’.
Simple.Elegant.Informative. Quality. Content!
I absolutely love your style and your channel!
Thanks Kevin
I bought the MBP because the air was sold out. And I’m happy with it. Extra battery time, brighter screen, better sound, a fan just in case are maybe not worth the extra money, but are still nice to have. Also I like the build quality a lot more. Feels way more solid.
I managed to buy the baseline mbp refurbished for $1099. It was a no brainer for the extra specs
It’s the same build quality though 😂
it'll probably last longer with a fan from overheating issues but I guess time will tell
@@michaelholcombe2969 that's crazy is it 8gb ram?
Switch from my 16” MBP for the Air is honestly sounding tempting.
How is the experience? Im thinking to do same
Also have a 16" and the performance is more than I need. At this point I'm only holding on for screen real-estate and amazing speakers
Crazy but fair!
Currently have a mbp16 as well. Obviously, it’s been my desktop for the past year, as I’ve been stuck at home. I’d get rid of it for a Mac mini, if only they’d support egpu’s. (And use a 13” mbp for work on the go)
Wait for the M1X?
“Now I’m not sure how many people watch 10 hours of RUclips straight”
And I took that personally…
same here hahaha
I bought the pro having seen them both in person because of the screen alone, it's significantly brighter, I love your reviews but I think this is understated here.
really considerable difference in terms of brightness ?
@@ahmetmayer To me, yes, I look at my Pro screen just one notch down which is basically the Air and I wouldn't be happy with it.
It’s 100 nuts brighter not sure if that is considerable.
@@sco77yg it aint that difference the air brightness is too much for me anyway
This video was far more helpful to me! I’m just a basic, everyday user and I want something for school that is durable and will last me a while. I’m not gonna be doing crazy stuff, but I would like it to be future proof, so I’ll double ram and storage and get the air. I like how your review shows me what it can do in terms of simple use like battery life and performance in relation to the pro. I’ve looked at dozens of reviews, but most of those focus on heavy tasks and emphasize big things like video editing and rendering (whatever that is). I just want something simple that can reliably get me through college without crapping out half way through. Thanks for making it easy!
I went for the Air with double the storage (512 Gb), same processor as the Pro with that extra GPU Core and deal with “only” 8 Gb of RAM. That little Machine is a beast!.
Is that good? I just bought today and I’m doubting my choice…
@@nithyasubramaniam273 I was about to buy the MBP but after this video I'm thinking in saving some money and going for the MBA, are you still doubting about your choice?
Wait you didn’t go with the 16 RAM rather upgrades 512 SSD that does not make sense
@@Eyerusalem_ he should’ve got the 16 and lowest storage
@@CoffeeMadeMeSay Depends on his use case tbh
You have my gratitude, good Sir! The video covered more points than most of the videos on this topic. Especially it was good to see the battery charge speed and battery performance during the mundane tasks between those two laptops. Air seems like a very good offer, though I would personally like to wait for the refresh in 2021 for the new design
Still waiting? LMAO
The speakers on the MBP definitely sound a lot better. But the Air recording also sounded fine.
I use headphone so the speakers are not matter
It was only $50 more to get the base Pro vs the 8 core Mac Air... I sacrificed some storage, but having the extra gpu, the fan, the Touch Bar (yes, I use it especially in logic), a few extra hours of battery time, the mics built in (helpful for mixing audio) etc. that was totally happy with it and I'm glad I didn't get the higher end Air this time.
Extra gpu it’s the same on the base model of the pro as you buy in 512 gb one air
I just ordered the air with the 512 SSD and 16GB knowing that it would be more than able to handle any Videofile I may throw at it the next few years.
I think 8gb ram is already enough
@@vihaansingha8340 in the wast majorities of cases yes, but I have done some serious Video editing with Colour Correcting and effects earlier and would thus be somewhat upset with me not getting the extra 8GB of memory if I started doing more serious video editing again just to discover cases where it would have been nicer og maybe even necessary with 16GB. At the moment it is a Nice to have but it is also future proofing in my case.
@@mejlgaardbliddal looking at Max Tech's video on 8GB vs 16GB of RAM on the M1 Macs it seems that Apple uses the RAM differently with this new M1 chip. Basically the Macs will use quite a bit of swap memory whenever a program needs more RAM, and in real world use he found a negligible difference in performance and just slightly better multitasking experience in the 16GB, but barely noticeable. This could be attributed to the fact that the new processor share their memory within a single chip (RAM, GPU, CPU), so memory speeds are crazy fast, and SSD speeds are fast enough that it can write to it rather than actual RAM whenever it needs more than is physically available. Some are concerned about the long term effects of high swap usage but SSDs nowadays are rated for hundreds of TB of writing to it before any noticeable slowdown in performance so you're better off just getting the 8GB anyway
@@eddydrouet1888 I Saw that video as well, but I have also seen another video where a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with 8GB memory crashing a large rendering task in FCP when running other Applications as well because it ran out of system memory, and knowing how I tend to forget closing programs and browser tabs I prefer having the extra headroom.
@@mejlgaardbliddal of course, at the end of the day it's a personal choice, and if you have the means to fork out the extra 200-300$ for double the RAM please be my guest, i just want to make sure that people make informed buying decisions, especially now more than ever since we seem to have entered a new paradigm of portable computing with these new ARM-based systems, and it changes many things that we have taken for granted in prior x86 machines. Enjoy your new Mac!
Upgraded to the M1 Air from my 2015 Air, very satisfied and feel no need for the pro. Luckily I was able to sell my 2015 Air locally for $345 and bought the M1 Air at the educational price of $899.
how did u get a discount?
@@Mercyforthewicked with apple eduactional store , they give student discounts
Kindly let me know can you run adobe premier pro and also 4kl photo and video editing without any lag or crash
I went for the base model Air, very impressed, it just flies along!
Do you wish you got the 16gb ram upgrade?
@@aziaone My main use is delivery of Keynote presentations, writing, web browsing and email. It’s not missed a beat with real all day battery use.
Has it still held up just as well as when you bought it? I saw some RAW issues with the M1 chip, have you experienced any ?
I imagine the M1 MBP will start pulling ahead again once things are optimised for the M1 chip. The switch from one architecture to another is never smooth, but this is as good as it can get...
could you explain why? i’m debating between the two and not sure which to get. if i went for the air with 512gb and extra graphic core, would it’s longevity be increased?
@@zdcgbkmdh1055 maybe you should buy the air with 16gb ram but Its your choice
I was going to get the Pro because of the supposedly better battery life however because of your testing I am going to save $300 and go for the Air. Thanks! :)
clown
@@bornyu666 says the clown
Pro it’s just “a name” with a little bit difference. I will say MacBook Air
What about the fan on the macbook pro bro? Is it affect the performance?
Amazing video 🔥🔥
Thum yayi bi aa gaye kya😂😂😂
Ameyzin
True
THIS IS A BRILLIANT VIDEO. thanks ! 👏🏻
I have a 2012 MBP that I was going to replace with the new MBP but after watching this. I think I'm actually going with the air. You can tell mics aren't as good but I would rarely be using that but for me, the air would be perfect. Great video!
Now this is the kind of review I need. Simple and informative. Thanks.
I went with the M1 Air (512GB Storage and 16GB RAM). I am so excited for it to come in. I have had my 2015 Macbook Air for 4 years now and it was definitely time for an upgrade. Thank you for your advice!
How is it?
Any option is good. I am also uploading tests , today I made one with 100 Google Chrome windows on the 8GB RAM M1 if you wanna check it out.
How did that work??
The Pro mics might have a slight edge on clarity but by no means is it “Studio clarity”
Just a side note. The pro comes with a charger with twice the capacity as the Air that costs $70. That means you’re really only paying $230 more for a brighter screen that is actually usable outside (big deal for laptops this small and portable), a fan, better speaker, better mics, and the touchbar (if that’s your thing). I think the pro is really good value.
better mics....um y
Just bought a mca for my wife. I wanted to see if there even is a large difference between the air and pro. Now, thanks to you, I made the right choice. Saved money, but still got basically everything a pro has to offer. Going to get one for myself an air now instead of a pro
I went with the Air, 8cpu+8gpu and the 512gb. I’m excited!
How is it bro..?..
@@Fanofmarvel3000-x1j it’s great! No complaints so far. I’m using it for school rn. I’m doing software development. So I’m mainly just using it for coding and some media consumption.
My thought: if I add a cooling pad to the air for those rare moments when I need more horse power , won’t it function as a MacBook Pro?. I may not need that extra power everyday. Would cost me 10 bucks for that.
I had this same thought, but after watching some other videos I came to the conclusion that that would serve mainly to cool the chassis and not so much the chip. There's a test that iJustine does and the cooling pad doesn't effect the performance at all.
@@EricRamz do you have a link to the test. I saw her test for the old intel macbook pro but not for m1 macbooks. Can you share the link ?
@@ATommy-lz4jd That's the one that I watched, but the principal still applies to the M1 I believe. The new macbook airs literally have no air vents in them, so the cooler really would just cool down the bottom of the laptop and it wouldn't really effect performance much.
The fan in the macbook pro is directly connected to the chip, so it wouldn't be the same.
I still ordered the Air, the most demanding program I use is Adobe Lightroom, but I am planning on upgrading to the Pro once they redesign it (Probably Sept 2021)
@@EricRamz no the m1 macs don’t get as hot and hot fast as the intel ones. So can’t relate really
@@ATommy-lz4jd A cooling pad will not make an M1 Macbook Air sustain like a MacBook Pro will.
I got a 16GB air and used it for a week. The experience is completely good with no touch bar.
Did you try gaming with it ? Did it is better than a macbook pro when we upgrade with 16gb the macbook air?
I personally don't like the touch bar. If the pro didnt have it I may have opted for it :)
I am a teacher by profession. One of the biggest issues I run in to is the over-heating of my current older Mac Air (the fan just goes crazy loud to the point where it disrupts my lesson plan and students could hear my buzzing fan an hour into my lecture). In relation to the nature of my [long] daily video conferencing/ zoom usage, should I opt for the Macbook Pro due to the fact it has a fan to cool down the chip? Or will the M1 Macbook Air be sufficient due to it's "active cooling agent"?
@@sonicvboom I Have an older Pro and I could cook an egg on it while using and resting on my lap with a blanket. I have yet to even feel the Air get so much as warm. So far, so good!
@@eliljehorn cudos. The touchbar is extremely unnecessary in many occasions imo. It would be amazing to turn it off/ on when needed... thats why I returned my mbp (intel version, early 2020). Thats why i am not going to buy another mbp, as long as i cant turn the touchbar on/off as i please
Ive gone for the m1 air, 8 core GPU, 1tb ssd and 16gb ram. Im liking the no fan and good performance compared to my old intel 2019 macbook air with rubbish butterfly keyboard and slow performance.
I'm debating if I want to sell my 2019 intel macbook air and upgrade to the m1 before college starts in the fall, would you still say it was worth it since it's been a few months?
@@xocassielynn it’s the best decision I have made, the 2019 air is so slow compared to the M1 version of it. Not to mention completely silent and the better keyboard.
"I'm not sure how many people watch 10 hours of YT. Especially my videos"
...the gauntlet has been thrown down.
Great video, best comparison so far! I am still on the edge - I like the better display and audio of the pro, but I hate the touch bar with a passion.
Simple fix just don’t use the Touch Bar
@@johniii8147 Genius
With passion lol
What’s so bad about it? It merely has any function to make someone even hate it
@@johniii8147
That is a really stupid comment you made.
It's a visual thing that never goes away! It's something
you had to pay for and won't use.
Fanless and no touch bar are actually benefits to me personally as a developer. I'm not expecting the Air to throttle much during compilation
10 hours of RUclips on my iPad....that’s right I’m the type that uses my iPad till it dies. Kek.
Great review! Regarding the mics on the Air vs Pro - there is a clear quality difference in favor of the Pro. The Pro likely has more directional mics (think shotgun/boom microphones) with a tighter cardioid pattern, which are cancelling room tone and frequencies bouncing around from the side and back, producing a more voice-focused signal. When listening to the Air mics, even on low-end non-studio computer speakers (even more-so on my studio monitors) the echo from the hard surfaces around you is very clear. Speaking as a voice actor and audio producer, the human ear tends to favor loud > finely tuned audio when not critically listening to a performance. That said, both computers sound just fine to me.
we’ve got tom hiddleston giving tech reviews here
I’ve been trying to think of who he reminds me of. This is it😂
Your videos are amazing!!! Thanks for all your help!
If I had to choose between these two, I'd probably go for the Air. The Pro's touchbar doesn't seem very appealing to me, I already have a separate microphone which negates the need for built-in studio microphones and at their core they're almost the same device. But I have a moderately large Steam library and the Adobe package provided by my school is cross-platform so I'll probably just build a new Windows PC instead for cheaper (and portability doesn't really matter to me because I spend most of my time in my room and at school anyways).
This was the best comparison I have seen... period! Very professional to actual give us, the viewers, objective data. Thanks!
the mics on the mbp sound a bit more clear.
Yes the air's mic are a little hollow
I have bought the m1 pro, difficult choice.. but the extra brightness on the pro and the better speakers did it for me. I know its not worth the 300 extra but if I am working outside and im frustrated that the screen is just not bright enough I know I would wish I had chosen for the pro. And have to admit the Touch Bar has grown on me haha (ps. im coming from a 15 inch 18 mbp).
That’s a good point, thanks
It is a useful video but the issue is everyone just keep on pairing the weaker Macbook air against the stronger Macbook pro, it would be nice to see someone paring the stronger version of the air with 8 CPUs and 8 GPUs against the weaker air as well as the pro.
Yeah I have yet to find that comparison. Some dude compared 16gb ram Pro against 8gb Air like why? Should be reverse
Thank you this was very helpful! I'm happy I got the Air instead of the Pro because I don't feel like the added value was worth the price difference :)
Ordered the MBP base model for the brightness, the fan, the audio and the mic.
Did you get it already? If so how is it? Because I’m kinda opting for the MBP because of the Touch Bar
I was looking at getting a MacBook Pro. I think after watching this video - the Air is exactly what I need while I go on vacation! Thanks for the video. I primarily work within Figma and WordPress, so I do not need a crazy spec'd machine
Got the macbook pro with 256gb storage and 16gb ram. This will be my everyday laptop for at least 3 to 4 years now. So with that in mind, for my workload, this machine will be a beast and handle it with ease. And in 4 years when I inevitably sell it and upgrade, I would imagine the pro would hold a slightly better value than the equivalent air.
How has it held up thus far?
@@trueolive2130 its been awesome mate. Absolutely flawless, don't have any complaints whatsoever.
For youtube videos , Adobe premiere pro … Should i prefer 16gb ram over 8gb ?
Thanks A LOT for this video, I want to get a macbook air but I was worried about overheating without a fan, but now I’m going for the air for sure.
This was a great video, thanks so much! The one question I'd love to have answered is running these two in a high heat environment. I live on a farm in South Africa and it can easily be between 35°C and 40°C during the summer. Would this in any way impact the macbook air as it doesn't have a way of cooling itself with the 'fan' 😉. Thanks again, you've pretty much convinced me the macbook air will be an epic macbook!
37°C in your room?
@@georgemartinezza yup
Your videos are helping me so much with the next laptop I need to buy. An actual legend. 😌
Think I'll go for an Air and with the $300 savings I could get a 1 TB SSD
Hello! This was very kind of you to post! Thank you for the honest and straightforward discussion!
I’ve gone with the Air for the first Mac in my life lol. I’ve heard it’s doing just fine with video editing.
Have you done any editing since your comment 3 months ago and if so, how is it holding up?
I’ve had my m1 air for 2 months now it’s really good for the price it doesn’t lag when playing games or editing on Final Cut Pro so I would definitely recommend it however I did decide to pay extra for storage and ram which was an extra 200 just to future proof it
@@kingston6498 so no problem with playing games? Doesn’t it heat up pretty much??
@@luciusta no i wouldn’t say it heats up it just gets warm at most and that’s with proper heavy use
@@kingston6498 is the office already downloaded or do i have to pay for it?
The microphones on the Pro are significantly better at filtering out noise and reverb making your voice sound much more clear. I am listening from a 2015 Macbook Air with the built in speakers.
"Now I'm not sure how many people watch 10 hours of RUclips straight"
Me: a Uni student on exam week, putting 10 hour pomodoro youtube study sessions =)
This is my first time watching your videos. Thumbs up from me. Succinct, sensible, no waffle, straight to the point. Very good reviewer. Well played sir.
You really make good videos. Enjoyed it. I wanted to be inclined towards pro, but ig I would go with the bumped up spec version of air.
I like how you get to the point just point out the differences and don't drag out the video
I might go for the pro ,because I believe active cooling will help in the long run
Also will suck in dust, just keep that in mind.
@@BIGGIEBAG-XL what do you mean ?
@@abrar4372 if there is cooling, there is dust going inside your laptop. So with no fan, the inside of the laptop stay clean forever
@@vinc1826 Pretty sure it's an outtake fan. Typically when there's only one fan it's an outtake and NOT an intake because the PC needs to release heat not bring in air.
The tech Clap thank u so much its been hard to decide and now i know what i want which is the Macbook Pro
Ordered the Pro because the way I see it, software will eventually always adapt to the possibilities of available hardware. In some years, the M1 may be used more heavily by Xcode for example than the recently ported version of today does. I’d hate to have paid a lot of money for a laptop that could get throttled in the future.
could you explain why? i’m debating between the two and not sure which to get. if i went for the air with 512gb and extra graphic core, would it’s longevity be increased?
@@zdcgbkmdh1055 my point was that under current circumstances, with current cpu demand of apps, the Air hardly gets throttled. But future apps might demand more from the cpu (apps rarely get lighter) and since these laptops cost so much, I didn’t want to find myself in a future situation where I’d have to switch earlier simply because of the heat or throttling. I actually had to buy the M1 because I couldn’t upgrade Xcode anymore on my 128GB MBP, in other words a single component, the SSD, was the reason I needed to replace. That’s not gonna happen to me again, in this case with the absence of the fan.
So depending on what you expect the future bottleneck to be, 512GB instead of the default might increase the life of your laptop. Don’t bother about the extra graphics core though!
@@nicknaim these two are the same
@@nicknaim I think it will be fine.
2023 summer: Using Xcode, its often blowing the entire time.
Excellent quality video, both visually and content-wise!! The Air with 16GB is so so tempting...
Thanks man! That’s video was super informative and helped me decide!!
I don’t know if it makes a difference for anyone, but at B&H, the 8GB MacBook Pro is $100 if you preorder the 256/512 variants. That makes the Pro a bit more compelling against the Air, IMO.
Everyone's case is different (:
Nah which store is that
Super useful, going for the Air. Thanks!
Surprising battery results - most reviews I’ve seen have found a bigger difference.
Didn't notice the difference in mic.
Really appreciate your efforts for the comparison video.
This was very helpful! I am going for the air
Very useful and great comparison especially with the sound - couldn't tell the difference.
I'm starting uni in about a month, I think I'm gonna go with the air cause I'll only be using it for schoolwork and RUclips/Spotify in free time. Thanks for the help
its been around a month so hows uni? (I'm a junior rn and I'm almost done w the year) and hows the air does it work well I think I'm bound to have the uses :)
@@Lia-kn8ov it's a little difficult to pick up the operating system but once that's down It's a really good computer and super portable as well
Honestly,thank you very much for the comparison which is crisp and short
🙏🙏🙏
Air mic slightly more muffled but basically unnoticeable.
Great review. Detailed but easy to follow. No wonder you have a million views.
I'm getting the MBP 14'' refresh on day one!
when it's being released?
@@livebig6414 should be 2nd quarter of 2021
@@spicyb43 the time is near
NOtch me
straight to the point and very informative thank you so much (:
I bought the air before watching this video and am happy with my decision. Will be using it for basic things and it was $100 usd cheaper at my local costco.
Thank you so much for our video! I watch many comparisons but your video helped me to choose. Yes I could hear the difference of the pro mic sound but this is not a problem for me as I am mainly use external mics. Again, thank you!
Can definitely tell the difference between the microphones in the Air and Pro. The pro seemed to cancel background noise and the air had that room effect. For this reason alone i'm almost inclined to go with the pro despite wanting the air more. I wish they included the studio mics in the air.
Exactly what I was thinking
Straight to the point video! Great Job.
I took to your advice and got my daughter the air version in 16gb ram for her 18th birthday gift. She absolutely loved it and she can't wait for uni in September 😂. Thank you😘😘😘
Great to hear you supporting your daughters future👌🏻wish you all the best matey
Thank you. I had the same doubt. You helped to decide. I will go for the air.
Such informative review! Thank you! Saves a lot of buyers. It's definitely the Air at this point.
Thanks! I am leaning toward the Air. Thanks for all the testing!
Hi Tech Chap! Thanks for this awesome review. It's helping me in which laptop to buy. I just have a question about the Fan, not being in Macbook Air and being in Macbook Pro. How long would the Macbook Air overheat? Does it heat up easily when used over a long period of time? Long would be around one full day? Thank you!
Hi there! The m1 doesn’t have fans, so I don’t think it overheats
@@mikkiiv thanks a lot!!
What a fantastic comparison! Thank you for taking the time to create and share the video 😃
Watching this from my new 16GB RAM, 8 GPU M1 Macbook Air 😃
@@cankaplan7 512GB of SSD and 16GB of RAM yes 😁
Thanks for your review I can't figure out which one to buy somehow your review helped I'm getting the pro