MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro with M1 chips

usern4cr

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The newer version with the real esc key gives you the best of both. The Touch Bar adds so many handy shortcuts to what used to be dead space.
I guess I'll have to check them out in person, once the M1 16" ones arrive and I've received a Covid vaccine. It's certainly something to look forward to (in addition to whatever Canon comes out with in the future). ;)
 
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I guess I'll have to check them out in person, once the M1 16" ones arrive and I've received a Covid vaccine. It's certainly something to look forward to (in addition to whatever Canon comes out with in the future). ;)

Personally I am looking forward to the Mac Pro replacement. I am curious to see how well this will perform with 64 or more cores and a few hundred GB's of RAM. I have my eye on that 6k screen too. But it is also for after the 400mm ƒ/2.8.
 
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usern4cr

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Personally I am looking forward to the Mac Pro replacement. I am curious to see how well this will perform with 64 or more cores and a few hundred GB's of RAM. I have my eye on that 6k screen too. But it is also for after the 400mm ƒ/2.8.
Woa, is this a future RF 400 f2.8, or the EF 400 f2.8 III for $12K one?

I don't happen to use the Mac for games (funny, I'm a retired "game designer & programmer" who's tired of playing video games). Photo editing (PL4) is the most taxing thing I do. Pano stitching (PTGui) or Affinity Pro edits of super large files also done. Maybe I'll get into R5 video editing, but I've not done that before. So I don't know if "more cores" will make a big difference to me or not. I would probably max out the fast ram as well as the ssd ram which I know would cost a lot. I would like to have a newer & bigger display (my 2nd display is an old 27" Apple Thunderbolt display). Is it an Apple 6k screen you're considering?

What is in the M1 MBP that you want that the M1 MBA doesn't have?
 
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Raptors

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I went for the Mac mini M1, but between the Air and the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Pro has 8 cores and the Air 7 cores . The MBP also has fans so under heavy load it will perform better since it has active cooling. They are more similar than different, but for photo and video I would either wait or go for the MBP.
Viggo, I also went with the Mac mini M1, 16gb/1tb, it should arrive this Friday.
May I ask what monitor you are using? I have an Eizo and ColorNavigator and other EIZO software are not yet compatible with the Apple M1 Chip running macOS Big Sur. I have spoken with Eizo, and they have assured me that it will be updated soon.
 
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Viggo, I also went with the Mac mini M1, 16gb/1tb, it should arrive this Friday.
May I ask what monitor you are using? I have an Eizo and ColorNavigator and other EIZO software are not yet compatible with the Apple M1 Chip running macOS Big Sur. I have spoken with Eizo, and they have assured me that it will be updated soon.
Mine has arrived, but sadly the monitor is MIA... I’m going for the LG 24md4kl-b , it seems perfect for Mac and my budget. Extra usb-c and thunderbolt ports, and has gotten pretty nice reviews.
 
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Woa, is this a future RF 400 f2.8, or the EF 400 f2.8 III for $12K one?

I don't happen to use the Mac for games (funny, I'm a retired "game designer & programmer" who's tired of playing video games). Photo editing (PL4) is the most taxing thing I do. Pano stitching (PTGui) or Affinity Pro edits of super large files also done. Maybe I'll get into R5 video editing, but I've not done that before. So I don't know if "more cores" will make a big difference to me or not. I would probably max out the fast ram as well as the ssd ram which I know would cost a lot. I would like to have a newer & bigger display (my 2nd display is an old 27" Apple Thunderbolt display). Is it an Apple 6k screen you're considering?

What is in the M1 MBP that you want that the M1 MBA doesn't have?

It will be the Canon RF 400mm f/2.8 or the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 S. It'll depend on weight and the R1 vs the mirrorless D6. I am using Nikon for everything up to my 70-200mm S and really enjoying the Z bodies and that lens with the TC's and the 500mm f/5.6 PF. But the big lens is going to be perma attached to 'a' body so it can be ether with my Z6 being my run and gun body.

And it is the Apple 6k screen I am considering, I tried one out and fell in love with it for photo editing and coding. As for core count, I am currently using 6 core machines and a dual 6 core (24 threads) Mac Pro with 128 GB RAM. I do run into limits on RAM for some of my hobbies and work and the more RAM I get means I use more cores.
 
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usern4cr

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Mine has arrived, but sadly the monitor is MIA... I’m going for the LG 24md4kl-b , it seems perfect for Mac and my budget. Extra usb-c and thunderbolt ports, and has gotten pretty nice reviews.
Since the M1 MBPro & MBAir have just 2 USB ports, I assume the extra USB ports on your monitor can be used with the same functionality as the ones on the MB's (or Mac mini), right?
 
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usern4cr

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It will be the Canon RF 400mm f/2.8 or the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 S. It'll depend on weight and the R1 vs the mirrorless D6. I am using Nikon for everything up to my 70-200mm S and really enjoying the Z bodies and that lens with the TC's and the 500mm f/5.6 PF. But the big lens is going to be perma attached to 'a' body so it can be ether with my Z6 being my run and gun body.

And it is the Apple 6k screen I am considering, I tried one out and fell in love with it for photo editing and coding. As for core count, I am currently using 6 core machines and a dual 6 core (24 threads) Mac Pro with 128 GB RAM. I do run into limits on RAM for some of my hobbies and work and the more RAM I get means I use more cores.
Wow, that's a lot of nice equipment. If most of it is in Nikon, you don't mind having one being different (regarding menus, buttons etc) since you're considering a R1 & RF 400 f2.8?

I know that many have doubted that the R1 will come out this year, but I still think it's very wise for Canon to bring out the R1 as soon as possible since the RF big whites will be coming out and I think they need both of them to spur sales of the other. The fact that you're considering the R1 and RF 400 f2.8 as a pair (vs the Nikon choice) is good evidence of this.
 
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Wow, that's a lot of nice equipment. If most of it is in Nikon, you don't mind having one being different (regarding menus, buttons etc) since you're considering a R1 & RF 400 f2.8?

I know that many have doubted that the R1 will come out this year, but I still think it's very wise for Canon to bring out the R1 as soon as possible since the RF big whites will be coming out and I think they need both of them to spur sales of the other. The fact that you're considering the R1 and RF 400 f2.8 as a pair (vs the Nikon choice) is good evidence of this.

I have used Canon for many years and don't mind having two different bodies (Ether way it is almost £20,000 to one company or the other. A huge investment for a hobby.), though I would love Canon to shove the on/off switch near the shutter. And aye, we suspect the big whites this year and we know Nikon are bringing out the 200-600, 400, and 600 over the next 24 months so we can fully expect a body to go with these. I do not think Canon will show off a big white attached to a R5 and the Nikon Z7 ii and Z6 ii are just as small. The pro bodies in my mind have to come with the big primes.
 
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Raptors

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Mine has arrived, but sadly the monitor is MIA... I’m going for the LG 24md4kl-b , it seems perfect for Mac and my budget. Extra usb-c and thunderbolt ports, and has gotten pretty nice reviews.

Hi Viggo, thanks for the info. I did a quick check and it does have really great reviews…especially that it will work on a Mac mini with the M1 chip!
 
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Since Photoshop, and likely others, use the graphics processors extensively, I would expect the MBP to have a further advantage over the Air for editing purposes.

Not in the case of the M1 chip, both have a very capable and near identical or identical GPU depending on model. It is markably faster than what was there in the older models as well.
 
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AlanF

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Not in the case of the M1 chip, both have a very capable and near identical or identical GPU depending on model. It is markably faster than what was there in the older models as well.
That's right, the only difference in performance if you get the 8 core versions is from the fan on the MBP, which I gather doesn't come on often as it runs so cool. But, you are the expert here.
 
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john1970

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I purchased the M1 MacBook Air with 1TB SSD and 16 GB of memory. My model has 4 CPU cores an 8 GPU cores. The only difference between my model and the MacBookPro is the presence of a cooling fan. I went with the MacBook Air because I did not want a noisy fan or the touch bar. Moreover, the MacBook Air cost ~$200 less so why should I spend the extra $200. For me a laptop is a travel computer and is not my main workstation, which is currently a 6 core Mac mini with 31" NEC 4K Display.
 
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Joules

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I purchased the M1 MacBook Air with 1TB SSD and 16 GB of memory. My model has 4 CPU cores an 8 GPU cores.
The M1 MacBook Air doesn't have all 8 GPU cores active, it is only 7 usable onces.

The only difference between my model and the MacBookPro is the presence of a cooling fan.
Battery life is another difference, beside the performance (fan) and touch bar you mentioned already.
 
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AlanF

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Only the lowest MacBook Air has 7 GPU cores. The model up has 8 GPU cores. On performance only, the Air and Pro are neck and neck, but the pro should be able to run at full pelt for longer.
Again correct. As I wrote earlier, the 7 GPU really has 8 cores but is dowgraded because it's at the bottom end of the speed specification.
 
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