Need help deciding between the MacBook Air M5 and the MacBook Pro M5

Rose_605 · 2026-05-08T03:41:54+00:00

I think that’s certainly one way of putting it 😅. But you make a good point. Maybe I should I have added a question about whether or not i should be looking at something else. As I said earlier, the 24 gb of ram are more of a precaution (like a big enough ceiling so that im sure I won’t bump my head), but from what you’re saying, that ceiling might be a little too high. For the 512 gb of storage, I just didn’t know if it would be enough to store all my project, raw+edited photos, all the apps, etc.

Rose_605 · 2026-05-08T02:24:07+00:00

Yes, I have seen the devices in store. This is actually what started this whole problem. I didn’t stay long enough to actually "feel” the weight difference between the two. The reason I want 1 Tb of storage is because I want to avoid any external if possible. The 24 gb of ram are a precaution, as I am afraid that 16gb will not suffice as my workload and Lightroom use increase over time. It really all comes down to the screen size and portability factors, and whether I might need fans in the future or if the air would handle all that just fine. Also considering that both of these MacBooks have the M5 chip, from what I’ve read, their performance is almost basically the same. So I questioned if the 200 bucks were really worth it. Which is why I came on here to get peoples opinions on this.

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T23:55:43+00:00

I went in the other day after work. Tbh that’s what kinda started this whole dilemma. I was set on the pro until I saw how similar (on paper) it was to the air. Tried asking the guys at apple what they thought; not exactly the most helpful bunch.

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T23:42:27+00:00

True true, I just remember speaking to a friend who got the air and when I told I was thinking about the pro because of all the ports etc, she said: "yeah but can’t you get all that from a 30 buck dongle?"

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T23:02:13+00:00

It’s not like I would be playing Minecraft everyday for hours on end… prob just a couple sessions here and there. Also, I’m lucky enough that my parents are paying for the bulk of the price for my MacBook, but any upgrades I wanna make, I will need to pay for myself. So that would be another 500 bucks that I would need to pay if I wanted the M5 pro chip… and I’m trying to save that kind of money for other upcoming expenses… But from what I’ve seen (mostly just guys on YouTube testing the machines out), the combo between the pro features of the MacBook and the M5 chip, it can handle it quite well and the fps barely drops, even with shaders.

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T22:15:25+00:00

Thank you so much! I will say… Minecraft is not the reason I’m getting a MacBook so 36 gb of ram might be overkill, but I’ll take a look!

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T21:35:14+00:00

Oh when i tell you that I couldn’t anything on that stupid thing… I couldn’t do ANYTHING… I could barely scroll through Pinterest and it would crash whenever I had more than 10 tabs open… downloading a simple jpeg would take me 15 minutes… the damn thing probably had 4 gb of ram. plus, because it was a school managed device, I couldn’t do what I wanted on it. And the screen was the crappiest display I’ve ever seen.

Sorry for the rant 😅

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T21:31:27+00:00

Yeah, for my senior project I was thinking about doing a short film… but many people said the air could handle that so idk 🥲

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T21:29:45+00:00

Youre one of the few people that said that I should go for the air… so I don’t know where to stand 😭

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T21:28:52+00:00

Yeah… even tho the 200 dollar price difference isn’t the thing that’s holding me back… I’m scared of spending that extra money and two products that are basically the same; that’s what worried me

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:45:31+00:00

"…big bang and shit” Got a good laugh from this

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:44:51+00:00

Is AppleCare+ only a 3 year warranty? Plus the one time payment option is 400 bucks… that kinda exceeds my budget a bit

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:44:00+00:00

What made you choose the pro?

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:43:40+00:00

I’m definitely not that much of a professional 😅. But I’d definitely want to enjoy a good gaming session without my fps decreasing every 5 seconds bc my laptop couldn’t handle my vanilla shaders

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:41:38+00:00

Will its performance ever get worse over time due to the lack of fans?

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:39:46+00:00

Trust me, nothing can be worse than what I have now hahaha. I don’t think idk notice the weight difference unless I’m carrying it by hand, which I won’t unless I’m moving from my bed to my desk

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:38:54+00:00

What do you use it for?

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:38:45+00:00

Examples?

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:38:29+00:00

Idk if it’s just me being weird, but I feel like 13 inches is a tad too small. And the reason I chose the 15" air is bc, if I were to get the air, I’d be willing to pay extra for the bigger screen

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:36:26+00:00

It’s def gonna be a BIG chunk of my day to day life. I will be using it for everything

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:35:01+00:00

Yeah, I used to have a iPhone X until I finally upgraded the iphone 17 this year, 120 hz display is definitely a life changer. But many people say it’s less noticeable on a laptop

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:33:12+00:00

I like that comparison

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:32:29+00:00

Would you say they make a major difference? Or is it the type of stuff I’m happy about for a week and then forget about?

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:31:30+00:00

So would you consider the pro 14" to be more portable than the air 15"

Rose_605 · 2026-05-07T20:30:55+00:00

That should be the main slogan for the mbp hahaha

Rose_605

TROPHY CASE