Date: September 16th, 2026 10:09 AM Author: Fantasy-prone persian
i have an air and it's great for normie shit. are you making audio/visual stuff? downloading massive files? if not, hard to justify the pro. i'd rather have the extra inch on the air than performance stuff i'm not going to notice.
Date: September 16th, 2026 10:14 AM Author: Olive Kitty Cat
Which Air do you have?
The main reason I’m considering the Pro is the fan. My current Air gets ridiculously hot. I usually have a ton of stuff open: Microsoft 365, spreadsheets, video calls, Chrome with 20+ tabs, etc.
Date: September 16th, 2026 11:44 AM Author: Olive Kitty Cat
Currently have the Macbook Air M1 from 2020. I need a bigger screen, more RAM and more storage. So Macbook Air M5, 15", 24GB, 1TB seems TCR.
However, Macbook Pro M5, 14" with the same specs is just $350 higher in price. Trying to decide if those $350 will ever be of use before those 24GB and 1 TB run out in ~5 years.
How many AI models do you run at once? I'm running just 2.
Date: September 16th, 2026 11:42 AM Author: Embarrassed to the bone ladyboy
I ordered both and kept the pro. Air definitely feels much lighter and more portable if you care about that. I ended up going with the pro because I use it to record music and wanted the extra processing power, I wanted the biggest screen possible and you get an extra inch, and I like having a dedicated hdmi port for court instead of using a dongle
Date: September 16th, 2026 3:49 PM Author: galvanic adulterous parlour
I have a pro; wife has airbook. Pro has more ports and display is a bit better. Probably worth $350 difference, but airbook is perfectly fine and thinner and lighter though slightly bigger screen. Can’t tell any performance difference.
Date: September 20th, 2026 8:29 AM Author: Olive Kitty Cat
I'm cool spending $1k more if it buys me several additional years of useful life + superior performance.
Two scenarios:
1. Spend $2,500 on a higher-spec machine: If it gives me ~8 years of useful life, I'd buy two over 16 years = $5,000 total. I'm getting substantially more RAM/storage/performance and fewer years spent fighting the machine.
2. Spend $1,500 on a lower-spec machine: If it gives me ~4-5 years of useful life, I'd need three machines over 15 years = $4,500 total. And if I’m already running into RAM/storage/performance limitations after a couple of years, I'm not really getting 5 years of equivalent use out of each machine.
The first machine will not only last longer, it will be nice to use and has a ton of perks for only around $500 more in 15 years, so why go cheap? I literally speak from experience after having bought some cheap shit I regretted.
Date: September 21st, 2026 1:59 PM Author: Olive Kitty Cat
Did you get it right before the launch of the M4? It's hard to believe you got 24GB and 2TB for barely $1300 unless you got it recently or it's refurbished.
I don't want to worry about laptops for at least 6 years. I found one that's around $2800 but will give me a ton of shit:
Macbook Pro M5, 32GB, 1TB, Nanotexture. This should guarantee I won't deal with any shit for at least 6-7 years.
Date: September 21st, 2026 2:10 PM Author: Olive Kitty Cat
You don't see the point of getting the Pro? But you don't have one and never did, so how would you know?
I use my Air the way I use my kitchen. I want to be cooking five things at the same time. If it's a small kitchen, you're fucked. You have to finish the first thing because there's no room for the other four.
With a big kitchen, you can have everything out and not worry about space.
If I have 20+ tabs, video calls, Microsoft 365, a ton of spreadsheets, plus WhatsApp, Slack, Teams... do I really need to be closing shit so everything else can run?
With my current laptop, I reached a point where video calls started freezing, or I'd miss part of the conversation because I had too many tabs open. I had to start closing them. That's a waste of time and productivity.
So IDGAF. I'm getting a top-of-the-line fucking machine.