MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro (processor considerations for maximising lifespan)

Ljetblack on 28/05/2019 - 21:01

Hi all,

Currently in the process of figuring out which to get. Mostly used for quite standard activities, but I am a Chrome tab fiend (not uncommon or me to have 20+ open), otherwise unlikely to do any 'heavy' tasks with much frequency.

Currently leaning towards the Macbook Air, opting for 16GB RAM (this is mostly to 'future-proof' it a little, as the RAM upgrade on my now 8-year-old mac helped squeeze another 3 years life out of it, which obviously is not an option to do down the line with current gen macs)

My biggest doubt right now is the processor (eighth gen i5, 1.6 GHz/3.6GHz Turbo boost), considering my pretty old laptop has a 2.4GHz processor and it's feeling kinda sluggish. Then again, I have also read that number isn't exactly a fair comparison, especially for chips that are several generations separated…

TL;DR - I'm really not sure if the processor in the Macbook Air will remain adequate if I intend to squeeze 6+ years out of it. Should I entertain the price jump to the Pro?

Computing Apple Computer Laptop Ultrabook

Comments

  • dejaavuu on 28/05/2019 - 21:03
    +3

    You've pretty much answered your own question here.. if you intend to keep it for 6 years go with the pro.

    • jetblack on 28/05/2019 - 21:18

      Probably should have mentioned I'm taking cost into consideration here, but figured being OzB that would be a given… Obviously you would otherwise select the highest specs possible.

      For the intended use case and the cost differential (~$500-1k, model dependent), is it worth going the Pro if I envisage keeping it for that long, or is it likely to be overkill for very standard use.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/05/2019 - 21:32
        +1

        If you want it to last 6+ years with minimal slow down of applications and the computer go for the pro. i5 is enough and 16gb is more than enough.

        • Kangal on 29/05/2019 - 01:39

          Not really.
          Apple used to sell MacBook Pro's… they stopped doing that in 2016. All the so-called MacBook Pro's now are basically MacBook Airs, they've reduced the battery size, replaced that great keyboard with the new (read: worse) butterfly keyboard, got rid of all the ports, and made the laptop thinner. However, this thinness actually causes the processor to choke/throttle.

          So the difference between a Pro/Air is very negligible these days. The difference was huge before, and you would've been right to pick a Pro for longevity. Now the Pro's have reduced longevity, and the Air's have slightly increased longevity: they're equal.

          Just note, AMD's new Zen2 CPU and Navi GPU now exceed what you get out of the Intel/Nvidia laptops. These will hit laptops later in 2021, so we'll likely see a decent increase in laptop quality and a reduction in price then. It's very possible that Apple will ditch Intel and convert to either AMD, or introduce its own ARM-Apple Axx laptop in the near future. Just something to consider.

          • [Deactivated] on 30/05/2019 - 15:29

            @Kangal: MacBook Airs have dual core Y series CPU's and 13' Pro's have quad core U series with iris graphics. It's a huge difference.

            • astrotrain on 16/08/2019 - 16:45

              @[Deactivated]: Sorry to bum on old thread would at the moment officeworks has the 2017 13in macbook pro on clearance and comes to be around the same price as the 2019 macbook air. Am i better of getting the air as its newer or the pro as it would have better specs? Or is the 2 year gap meaning the macbook air is on a similar level perfomance wise?

  • bdl on 28/05/2019 - 21:54
    -2

    Whether Apple supports macOS upgrades for those six years is another matter…. :)

    • [Deactivated] on 29/05/2019 - 09:14
      +3

      I mean, my 2011 Macbook still does 8 years later… It's not Android…

      • garbagetnt on 15/08/2019 - 22:13

        same boat 2011 MBA

  • Aliastar on 28/05/2019 - 22:14

    Yea it will last, especially if it's mainly web browsing.

    Doubt the next six years is going to be as much as a performance jump as the last six.

  • John on 28/05/2019 - 22:29
    +2

    My wife and me still uses MacBook Air from 2011. Still going strong, mainly for web browsing

  • moph on 28/05/2019 - 22:49

    I have a 2012 MBA which was fully specced out at the time. It's still running, although a little slow for some tasks and the battery is crap. But it's still quite usable. I also have a new MBP provided by my work which is certainly faster, but the battery life is far worse than my Air was when it was new. I would go the Air.

  • mrSnuffles on 29/05/2019 - 08:14

    If it is just a normal laptop to browse and do small documents here and there, the Air is sufficient enough.
    My partner and I use a 2011 MBA, 4GB of RAM and 128GB Storage.
    I don't remember the processor but we're using it still and she uses it for uni!

    I find that if you format your MB and remove junk that you dont need… you'll be fine especially if you spec out the 16GB.

    In the same case, I am secretly hoping that MacOS is removed to support the MBA we currently use so this can be an excuse to get a MBA as well.

  • altomic on 29/05/2019 - 09:01

    My 2013 macbook pro has 16gb ram and a primary SSD for OS. I noticed a huge leap in performance when i upgraded from 8gb to 16gb. E.g. when there arr too many chrome tabs open it runs smoothly and without a hitch. it is still getting updates (had a 11gb update last night) so thats good.

    If you are looking at cost then why not get a slightly new machine e.g.2015 pro and upgrade the ram on that. Or to any mac that can take 16gb ram.

  • cubiq4 on 30/05/2019 - 08:14

    I half feel the days are gone where you can justify the price of the mac, even when you factor in the length you can keep them for. The reality is apple have pushed the prices up so far and added horrible keyboards that don't last. There are now plenty of Windows alternatives that have just as high a quality feel.

    I'm not trying to mac bash here, I very much went into my 2016 macbook pro purchase with the same reasons as you, having had my pervious macbook for 6 years. I've ended up buying a second hand lenovo x1 (gen4) just to see if I could live with it and Windows. The keyboard is so much better, Windows seems more useable than ever, the only thing not quite as good is the touchpad. Even though macs hold there value well, I've still lost a fair chuck of cash on the pro.

    If you really want a mac, get the most basic model you can whilst on sale. Upgrading the ram will mean a custom build and no discount. 8gb is fine even with 20+ chrome tabs.

    • jetblack on 30/05/2019 - 08:41

      Ended up pulling the trigger on the Mac but I was seriously deliberating about moving to PC. I'm not at all tied to the Apple ecosystem (Android phone), but I couldn't get past how easy the Mac has been to maintain… No random shut-downs to update at inconvenient times, no blue screen of death, viruses are very very minor worries, etc.
      I suspect next time I come to such a need, the benefits may be even blurrier…

      • fastzoomzoom on 30/05/2019 - 21:46

        Macbook pro or air?

        • jetblack on 31/05/2019 - 09:07

          Went the air. Can't justify the extra for just the processor difference when I'm not doing video editing or the kinds of tasks that require a ton of power. Time will tell if that's a bad decision for the longevity I'm after ¯_(ツ)_/¯

          • scrubs4567 on 18/07/2022 - 09:11

            @jetblack: Hey just read this post.
            Do you have an update? Was the decision the correct one?

            • jetblack on 18/07/2022 - 10:21

              @scrubs4567: No regrets. The air is holding up nicely after 3 years, and reckon I could easily get another few out of it for most my needs.

              • scrubs4567 on 18/07/2022 - 13:54

                @jetblack: That's great to hear! :) I'm looking at purchasing a new macbook so this is helpful

                • jetblack on 18/07/2022 - 15:24

                  @scrubs4567: If I can remember my head space from ~3 years ago, my question was more in regards to macbook air vs macbook pro (I had a pro previously, which lasted me about 8 years,but in part due to ability to upgrade hardware). I was concerned the inability to upgrade could render the air underpowered for my desire to have it last 6+ years.

                  If I was considering the purchase today, I think an air would be a no brainier for average computing needs. Pro is a less compelling option for all but the heaviest users, as the Apple silicon is a huge performance boost… In other words, a current gen macbook air should serve you very well unless you're doing some pretty intense computing.

                  • scrubs4567 on 18/07/2022 - 16:10

                    @jetblack: Agreed, my current air lasted me 10 years. It's time for an upgrade but I'm unsure with the new air not having a fan it may not give me the longevity I'm after (even with just basic tasks). The new pro on the other hand has that task bar which seems very prone to being breakable. I'm after longevity as the number one priority. I'll have to do some more research…

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