Are you comparing the base model M4 MBP to the M4 Air? If so, performance is going to be nearly identical.

The MBP M4 Pro on the other hand is a beast and well worth the extra money

The highest drain application in your OP is Docker.

For me whether or not you go for the Pro mostly depends on your Docker usage but your Node/React usage will also have an effect here especially in more complex build jobs or local compilation.

My advice is generally to get the best laptop you can with the money you have. As budget is less of an issue for you I’d suggest a 16gb or 32gb RAM Pro.

I think you should also look at the M3 or M2 models of the same Pros. I own an M1 and it’s still going strong 3 years later, I have no idea when I’ll need to upgrade it and no part of using it has ever felt slow.

M-Series chips are extreme powerful and it turns out you don’t always need the latest one, even for longevity.

Air

For the dev use cases you just mentioned, Air suffices..I am also a dev, and 16 GB of RAM works fine. Currently have 25 Chrome tabs open, and other Chromium-based applications running like VS Code, Telegram.

https://preview.redd.it/tiaqn82ypw1f1.png?width=1180&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e230d050ca1a9eb15ab995fab8a325e791325a9

But if in need of more power for unforeseen edge cases, go pro..

Air is perfect for your use case. The pro isn't going to be any better when it comes to performance and your use case.

The pro has a slightly better screen and speakers. The air is thinner, lighter, better battery and bigger screen. Id go air personally.

I was asking myself the same questions and eventually settled on the latter for future-proofing. Just the active cooling in the MBP alone is a good enough reason for me to go with it. I maxed out my specs and plan to use this thing for the next 7-10 years.

I loved the 13 and would go up to a 15 if budget allowed.

I’m also stubborn about usability and I like having ports on both sides, so I would choose the 14 over the 15. It’s a better workhorse if you need more processor.

I tripped enough cables when I need mine to be on the right side.

If your type of programming will not be to resources heavy… then the air might be a good option.

A noticeable difference in display will be the black and white contrast which will be much better on the pros. However if that is not a problem, then the might be a suitable pick

How intense are your tasks? If you max out your current computer for more than 10 minutes multiple times a day I would go with the Pro. Otherwise the Air should be fine.

if you value better speakers and a screen with true blacks the Pro is also the way to go.

I would say the Air is completely enough. I have the M3 Air myself, and I see no bottleneck in anything I do. Try to throw anything at it and it will take it. You really don't need fans with the Apple Silicon because my chip stays mostly below 60 degrees C and if I fully max out all the components under 80 degrees C

For an extra 500 bucks, the base m4 macbook pro will last you so long, and comes with hdmi and stuff and better display. There are still m1 users that have no intent to upgrade. Air is cheaper, but you might want the cooling a little.

Also depends how many external monitors you connect to?

I’d say Pro because of the active cooling, which the Air does not have.

As for compatibility, I’m not aware but I have a gut feeling that some data science stuff is better available on Windows. Not sure though.

MacBook Pro.

There’s an apple event tomorrow, they might or might not announce something relevant to your question.

Not sure what experience others here have with the new pro/air, but apples M chips have been a game changer performance-wise. With that said, I’m skeptical about any laptop that doesn’t have active cooling if you’re doing anything more than browsing and such. Also 8GB ram could be causing you pain regardless of your cpu.

Pro, it has a fan. You really don’t want any throttling when running some VM or doing some big number nonsense.

I have the same questions. However I won’t run any MS or VM apps. I only use the basic vim or LaTeX and other basic programming tools like IntelliJ idea.

Air is what you want. If you will work on the laptop screen Often and want to the bigger screen then I’d recommend the 16 inch so you can program and have documentation up. This is what I do.

If you only sometimes write code on the go and can plug into a monitor other times then the air is the best machine for you

tbh I got the macbook pro coming off of a macbook air. the macbook pro feels cheaper. because it is more hollow inside and the keys have a bit more travel and don't feel as "tight" when tapping them compared to the air. the 14" screen is kinda nice but not really. it just feel more wide.

I have a M4 air with 24gb. Buttery smooth and no problems with multitasking or docker etc. for sustained workloads lasting more than a few minutes at full throttle (eg compiling a kernel) you can get almost MacBook Pro like performance by adding a bit of thermal tape inside. I did this and it worked a treat. Also, while I think the pro is better, objectively the speakers are great quality. No regrets.

Software engineer.

Go for Pro. You never know when you need that extra juice.

Whatever gives you more Ram for your buck. Also bigger screen.

I am strong advocate of mba with 15 inch + 24gb ram.

I have M4 Air 24gb, I’m a full stack engineer working with react and Golang. I run about 4 to 5 docker instances across different project. Youtube often while working. I use cursor.

Zero, literally, Zero issues. No issue with ram or swaps, no chugging or lag whatsoever. No issues with build times/speed. No heating issues or any sense of thermo throtteling whatsoever.

Oh and no issues with battery life or charging time. I work at home, and on the move and I have it on at least 10 hours everyday minimum.

If anything, I wish it had ProMotion (the 120hz screen). I don’t care about better speakers; cause the speakers it has is good enough (better than many laptops already). And most of the times I got my headphones on.

I came from an MacBook M1 Max 16 inch. And my 13 inch M4 can do everything my old M1 Max can do, and the fact it’s lighter and smaller has changed my lifestyle for the better.

Depends on if you think you'll need the active cooling, I suppose. An interesting fact I heard about the Air M2 is that it doesn't have a heatsink.

As a software engineer, I think you'll be perfectly fine with either option. The base M1 Pro on the $2k MacBook Pro is not that much more powerful than the M2 on the Air. Geekbench shows that the M2 MacBook Air is 8% slower than the M1 Pro MacBook Pro in multi-core performance, but it's actually 9% faster in single-core performance. And yes the M1 Pro has active cooling but that matters more for stuff like video editing.

I would put the performance difference as just one of many things to consider, other things being budget, portability requirements, screen preferences (MacBook Pro has a really nice screen), etc.

Also keep in mind that it's entirely possible that your first full time programming job may make you use a laptop they provide, which could be some super fast future M2 Max device or some Windows laptop way slower than the M2 MBA.

Would definitely get the air personally, has almost all of the pro other than the fan(and perhaps some ports?) but without the annoying Touch Bar or added cost

If it were me, I'd probably not get a Mac.

But...since it is a decision between the two, I'd say the Air. Having been required to use MBPs for multiple jobs, they were absurdly heavy for what they offered, got insanely hot, and had relatively poor battery life.

That said, I haven't used recent MBAs, but I've heard good things about the M2.

Both will be an order of magnitude more powerful than someone working on introductory software development needs, so there are really no pros and cons as far as this activity is concerned.

The biggest question is what screen size you want. If it's only for 'on the go' I'd go for the Air. I have both an M1 Air and an M1X Pro, and both are awesome.

Hey, did you get your M1 macbook? Which one did you go for?