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

The pro will perform slightly better during prolonged compilation because it is actively cooled. The air will throttle after the cooler hits thermal mass.

What are typical run-times for your workload?

The Air is more likely to throttle the CPU under sustained load due to its lack of fan.

If you’re looking at M1 MacBooks, the two are nearly computationally identical. Pretty much anything one can do, so can the other.

If you’re going to get either M1 machine in the end, the deciding factor will probably come down to other aspects of the laptops. Such as battery life, the touchbar, extra GPU core, etc

Depends on what you are trying to do. If simple lightweight applications the Air is your best bet, if looking into writing applicaitons supporting heavier duty work loads than Pro is more an option you would want to look into.

For the most part they’re both as good as one another. The MBP provides a slight advantage to long build processes or other long running tasks that use the CPU or GPU intensely because the active cooling delays or removes the throttling.

That said, it’s not easy to reach the point of throttling on a modern MBA.

Just have some awareness of the ARM architecture. Linux guests will also be ARM (using UTM to emulate x86 Linux counts as CPU intensive and is at least somewhat slow)

One challenge to note is how many external monitors you wish to connect. Air supports one only, Pro depending upon chip can support more. Worth knowing just in case this affects you.

Totally depends on the kind of programs you develop. If your loads are short and bursty there is not much of a difference between them. If they are prolonged the difference is huge.

personally I just got a MBA, in the base model.

most of the time I'm only running a browser, vscode, and 1-2 containers at most. for that the 16gb of ram is more then enough, and its barely touching the cpu 99% of the time, so the passive cooling is more then enough.

unless you are doing a lot of compute heavy work along side your dev the air will be fine, and just pick the amount of ram that suits your projects.

A 15-inch MacBook Air with 24 GB of RAM should suffice, especially if you don’t engage in video editing, raw photo editing, rendering, CAD modelling, or any computationally intensive tasks. I don’t think you’ll experience high persistent computational loads that necessitate an MBP, and the Air’s portability would be ideal for your needs.

Save the $500, instead use it for good accessories and a decent external screen.

Larger screen size is better for development.

You need to be more specific as to what exactly you will be doing on it. Computer science is actually mostly theory and the little programming that is required to support this will not be so intensive, and will run fine on the Air. Unless you have plans to do some heavy AI stuff I would suggest the Air.

I have M3 pro max highest spec, for work and just recently got the M4 Air. For the coding i do, the Air runs as good as the pro. Not noticed any issues.

Let me guess you’re from India

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..

You didn’t go too in depth with what you work with (programming wise), so I can’t give you an exact answer. But I’d imagine 80% of developers don’t work on projects too heavy for a MacBook Air of that spec. I have built an industry used machine learning application including the backend, front end, and database and it could’ve for sure been done on a MacBook Air (for development of course).

I use a late 2016 MacBook Pro 13”, and while I love it and would take it over an Air, I don’t think I’ve written or worked on anything that an Air couldn’t handle. Maybe some poorly optimized graphics projects but those struggled on my pro too.

Since you mentioned Docker, that will run better on the Pro but I’m sure it’ll be fine on the Air too.

Also really the main difference you’ll find is the Pro handles heat better, but it still will get very hot during work.

Tldr: Air should be fine. I do recommend the Pro if you can afford it though.

Sure is a difference. The Air is the most portable, hence the least performing. It’s not really slow per se, but the Pro obviously outperforms it in every aspect. You should definitely get the pro, even more so if you’re not only going to code, but you also want to compile your code, debug, emulate or whatever othen than just writing code.

If don't have another machine then Pro because you may need the added flexibility. I ended making some iMovie programming videos, and Unity to demonstrate c# even though I had no intention of working with either when I started.

Air has thermal throttling issues. I’d recommend the pro

I think that combination of 10th CPU and LPPDDR3 is not possible - it's either the base with 8th and LPPDDR3 or 10th with new RAM.

BTW.. the whole jetbrains apps bundle is not that demanding. No matter what mac you have, the fans will always go up at lauching project, but then everything settles. IDK what sort of programs are you writing.

VSCode is not a full IDE, so it's fine.

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.

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

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.

I'm a fan of Air. I like the fanless design, lighter weight, etc. The Pro is overkill for most people, I think.

The push for AI in computer science is going to be big when you get into the core classes. I'd get as much MacBook Pro as you can afford. I would go with the 15" screen, as well.

Go for Air. It’s easier to carry around and is enough for a student. Just don’t choose 8/256 options - that’s outdated.

Check what the requirements are per your uni for your major.

If money isn’t an issue, I’d recommend the MacBook Pro. It has a better screen, more power, and handles heavy tasks (like big projects, running VMs, or machine learning) much better thanks to its cooling and performance.

That said, the new MacBook Air (M3/M4) is still fantastic for most programming—Python, C/C++, web dev, etc.—and it’s super light and easy to carry around campus.

TL;DR:
Pro: Best for heavy workloads and future-proofing
Air: Great for everyday coding and super portable

Honestly, both are great choices. I use both in my professional career (I’m more of a mechatronics engineer than a software engineer). If you can, chat with other students in your program—see what software/tools they’re using and what laptops they have. That might help you decide!

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.

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.

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

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.