2023-11-19 15:00:00
I was very happy and fulfilled with my 15-inch MacBook Air and promising never to buy a MacBook Pro again in my life, but then Apple launches the chip M3 only in the Pro line. And what to do with the desire to test the new machine? Here we go, then, dive into this!
My MacBook Air has 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage, a very good machine, light and, despite the larger screen, very portable — as I pointed out in my review.
You may think this comparison is somewhat pointless, considering that the two configurations have different target audiences. But, for many people, this can be a dilemma when purchasing or exchanging a MacBook. The quality of computers has grown so much that this is not necessarily an obvious decision.
So, let’s look at our first impressions of the MacBook Pro (M3) after two weeks of use and a comparison with the MacBook Air.
Unboxing e hands-on
The experience of opening an Apple product is always interesting, especially in this new phase of zero-carbon packaging. Nothing new exactly so far. The great expectation was to see the new color, space-black.
I really liked it, but to be very honest, I expected it to be darker. It wasn’t that different from the traditional space gray, especially depending on the angle and incidence of light. A highlight at the launch was stating that the new model is proof against the famous “finger marks” (a big nuisance on the MacBook Air, by the way; the midnight color is beautiful, but it gets all marked in minutes) .
Indeed, the new color marks much less, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have any marks — a little still appears. Apart from the color, the model is strictly the same as the old MacBook Pro, with M2. The configuration of the machine I got is with the M3 Pro chip, 36GB of memory and 1TB of storage.
Usage impressions
The performance of Apple Silicon has been so surprising in terms of performance and energy efficiency that it is difficult to improve much in percentage terms. Still, when using the MacBook Pro, we can see a very powerful and fast machine.
The screen is very good, the spatial sound is spectacular (I don’t know how they manage to do that without headphones) and the speed of the machine is impressive. But most of these items were already present in the previous version, and, compared to a colleague’s MacBook Pro (M2 Pro), the difference in performance is very small, reaching around 7% to 12% faster depending on the task.
After a few minutes of using it, the difference between the two generations is practically imperceptible.
MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air
In the past, there was a big gap between the Air and Pro versions of MacBooks. With the arrival of Apple Silicon, this difference decreased significantly. Right at the launch of the M1, in 2020, several blogs and YouTube channels brought comparisons between the Pro and the Air to make the choice, especially due to the fact that the real difference between the two was minimal — at that time, the design of the models was still They were the old ones.
The new MacBooks Pro, and then the new MacBooks Air, took this discussion to another level, with modern and innovative visuals. If it is true that iPhones have evolved little from one version to another, MacBooks have undergone a gigantic leap.
The 40mm extra height of the MacBook Pro 14″ compared to the 15″ Air makes a lot of difference when handling and carrying it and, although there is only a 100g difference in weight between them, the feeling is that the Pro is much heavier — perhaps due to the distribution of the weight itself. Despite this, a big advantage of the Pro is its built-in ports, with HDMI, SD card and, especially, USB-C on both sides — which helps a lot with the practicality of being able to recharge it from anywhere, if you need to.
The Pro’s energy consumption is higher. Perhaps that’s why Apple promises up to 18 hours of use on the MacBook Air versus 15 hours on the Pro (comparison for web browsing, not video playback). However, the quality of the screen has a great influence on this. They are clearly different, with great superiority to the Pro’s screen. But let’s face it, this difference in quality makes a difference for very specific types of work. The same can be said about the sound quality, which is much better than that of the MacBook Air. However, few people use the computer without headphones.
In a performance comparison, the M3 Pro was not that different compared to the M2. Obviously it’s faster, but for the vast majority of tasks, it’s an almost imperceptible difference. In heavier software and tasks, it stands out and doesn’t have the annoying color wheel that sometimes appears on the Air.
Conclusion
I didn’t do an in-depth and statistical study, but I would venture to say that, for the use of 90% of people, a MacBook Air (M2) is more than enough. The machine is light, portable and powerful, with an amazing battery life.
If you like more screen space, the 15″ option gives you a lot of use in a very easy-to-use model. We tend to look for the best equipment available (on this point, I’m an admitted defendant), but often it’s just a bigger investment to maintain an unnecessary equipment status.
Yes, there are professionals with really heavy computer use. And for these people, the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max could be very interesting. The performance for those who edit high-resolution videos, run heavy statistical software, explore design software or work with game programming, saves a lot of time in the backlog of work, in addition to eliminating the need for dongles for additional ports. However, this will require a greater investment and sacrifice some portability with a thicker and slightly heavier machine.
The price difference between the 15″ MacBook Air (M2, 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage) and the 14″ MacBook Pro (M3 Pro, 36GB of memory and 1TB of storage) is around US$500. Little or a lot of money? It depends on your budget and your needs.
Thinking about resale in the future, if you are in the habit of selling a Mac to buy another, it is important to bear in mind that the difference between them on the used market is much greater than that and, oddly enough, MacBooks Pro tend to sell more faster than MacBooks Air — perhaps precisely because of the more significant price difference.
It’s also worth remembering that we will certainly see a MacBook Air with an M3 chip by the end of the first half of 2024, so if you’re going to buy a new machine, you need to take that into consideration as well.
And there? Have you recently upgraded your Mac or do you already have a very old machine? What is your configuration preference? Bring your ideas in the comments!
Comprar
14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro
of Apple
Cash price: from R$21,599.10
Price in installments: from R$23,999.00 in up to 12 installments
Cores: space black, space gray or silver
Chips: M3 (8 core CPU; 10 core GPU), M3 Pro (11 or 12 core CPU; 14 or 18 core GPU) or M3 Max (14 or 16 core CPU; 30 or 40 core GPU)
Memory: 8GB, 18GB, 36GB, 48GB, 64GB, 96GB ou 128GB
Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB ou 8TB
Energy Adapter: 70W, 96W or 140W
Comprar
13″ and 15″ MacBook Air
of Apple
Cash price: from R$11,249.10
Price in installments: from R$12,499.00 in up to 12 installments
Cores: midnight, stellar, space gray or silver
Chip: M2 (8-core CPU; 10 or 12-core GPU)
Memory: 8GB, 16GB ou 24GB
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Energy Adapter: 30W, 35W (two ports) or 70W
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