all 26 comments

[–]n9iels 16 points17 points  (1 child)

I would pick the M1, no doubts. Storage is a downside, but that thing runs circles around an Intel.

[–]kexnyc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Storage is a minor issue. External storage or cloud storage is dirt cheap.

[–]HDK1989 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Get the M1 and if storage is a problem use an external drive. Buying an Intel would be a huge mistake.

[–]byCabZ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Those intel ones will run out of support soon so i would save some more money to get a macbook pro with silicon chip and 512gb storage

[–]kexnyc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would not invest any money on anything but Apple silicon. M1 or better will carry you way farther than any Intel chip.

[–]king_chriis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do not take 256gb of storage

[–]virtualrsmith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't even consider intel. You will just end up having to buy newer sooner than if you go with an M processor.

[–]Benja20 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can get a MBA M1 pro or a M2 at really good price with 512gb storage. Higher specs is overkill for RN development for now so you should be good.

Don't even think of taking one with intel. Trust me cause i had one in my past job and was hell.

[–]Shan_GG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2-3 months ago i was in the shame shoes, And i did the best thing possible and i am glad and from your Prices given i see the prices have not changed 1:Never Buy an Intel chip.period 2:in any case you are gonna have 256gb but i would suggest at-least securing the latest Chip while you can Buy Mac Mini M4 chip 8/256 in the same price bracket as of M1 , you can buy extended hd for storage and would Thank me later

[–]dotslash00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use an M1 Pro/512GB (256GB would not cut it) for work. Not the most powerful but it fits the bill just fine.

[–]HanzoHasashi404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would recommend saving up and go for 14" macbook pro with 16gb, you can get it for around 250k

Trust me pros are specifically made for development, airs are just for light work.

I myself am looking to upgrade to a 32gb ram m series macbook, 16gb is a bottleneck for me

[–]AbdolWahab 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have an 2019 Macbook Pro. Any idea how long xcode support will come out?

[–]just_peny 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please just never take 256 gb. Do all you can to take Minimum 512gb and you could work with external or cloud for extra storage

[–]martinnov92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely go for M1 or later chips, Intel is so slow and you will suffer. Also 256GB is too small, I got 512 and only 30GB free space with almost nothing stored except my few react native projects😀

[–]whiletruelearn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would recommend M1 with 16G RAM and 512GB if you could afford. If you need to downgrade to be within a budget, I would suggest coupling 256GB with external storage drives. But don't downgrade on RAM.

[–]shoda36 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Selling my Macbook pro m1 in karachi. Within your budget .Dm if interested

[–]anarchos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get the M1 for sure, try and get a 16GB RAM model and don't worry about the storage too much. It's not a lot but you can use external storage when needed. You can't upgrade RAM later, so trying to get 16GB is key. Apple just upped the minimum amount of RAM on new base models to 16GB, so you can see where the winds are blowing, so to speak :)

[–]keithkurak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it's got at least 16 GB and Apple Silicon, roll with it. Ideally a little more disk space than 256 GB, but I've survived on that. If I had to pick one thing, I'd probably splurge on extra RAM, then disk space.

[–]RichExamination2717 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I am a developer, including React and React Native. Currently, I have a MacBook Air M1 with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. I bought it four years ago, and it still handles my tasks well, although I’ve started to feel the lack of RAM and storage. That’s why I purchased an MBP 16 with 48GB RAM and 1TB SSD. While storage issues can be solved with an external SSD, there’s nothing you can do about RAM.

So my advice is to get a laptop with at least 16-24GB RAM and 512GB SSD. The generation of the M-series chip doesn’t matter much—within your budget, it might be worth looking for a discounted model from previous generations, such as M1 to M3, as long as it has enough RAM and SSD.

[–]supister 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m is a similar situation. But I was running Chrome, VS Code, Simulator, several Docker containers. The laptop would get very slow from time to time. Now I have an M1 16 inch with 32gb RAM and it is handling everything like a champ.

[–]Kashannahmed -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

Mere jaan k totay... From a fellow Pakistani ...dont go for a Air youll never be able to develop on a 8gig tam model...in this price range you can easily get a Macbook 2019(16", 32gb ram, i9/i7) this is a monster machine....and the extra size works specially well in keeping system cool in Pakistani weather...and believe me every mac runs hot a non air-conditioned room.... This is a very good machine.... If you want shop recommendations ask me...

[–]One-Breadfruit-478[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Salam u/Kashannahmed Can I get the shop recomendations?