There’s been something of a debate going on recently over what some term “the non-pro MacBook Pro,” with what John Gruber refers to as “the no-adjective M-series chip.”
The debate centers on whether it makes sense to buy the base model MacBook Pro rather than the significantly cheaper but similarly-specced MacBook Air …
John Gruber came down pretty clearly on the nay side.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the no-adjective M-series chip has always been an odd duck in the MacBook lineup. This “Pro”-but-not-pro spot in the MacBook lineup goes back to the Intel era, when there was a 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar. That was the MacBook Pro that, in 2016, Phil Schiller suggested as a good choice for those who were then holding out for a MacBook Air with a retina display. (The first retina MacBook Air didn’t ship for another two years, in late 2018.) It’s more like a MacBook “Pro” than a MacBook Pro. The truly pro-spec’d MacBook Pros have M-series Pro and Max chips, and are available in both 14- and 16-inch sizes. The base 14-inch model, with the no-adjective M-series chip, is for people who probably would be better served with a MacBook Air but who wrongly believe they “need” a laptop with “Pro” in its name.
Fintech investor Brian Stuckey was one of those who disagreed.
A rare disagree with @gruber.foo here. I’m a cognizant MacBook Pro no-adjective user because the CPU/GPU is more than enough for me. I buy over Air for:
– XDR display
– Battery life
– Much better speakers
– SD/HDMI ports
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