Will the Macbook Air M1/8GB/256GB be enough for one year with light graphic desing?

[Ompopo]

Hiya, first post so don't shoot me if I should post something that has been talked about too much.

So I'm currently working on a MacBook Pro (first gen. retina, mid-2012, see attached image for specs). It is just turned 9 years and it works, but it is starting to be slow.

Now, I'm a graphic designer, but I don't work as it more than freelance anymore. So I mostly use my laptop for light to medium work in Photoshop and I work a lot in InDesign on some 2-3 week projects every year. And my old MBP have done the job.

Like many others I have been waiting lately for the new 16" MacBook Pro with whatever M chip Apple puts in it, always saying I can wait another 6 months and see what happens (for the last few years). And I probably can wait another 6 months to see what comes.

But then I just learned that from tomorrow (Thursday) until Saturday the national equivalent of Best Buy in Norway is having a -20% discount on Macbooks. So I'm wondering if I should just buy the Macbook Air M1/8GB RAM/256GB SSD. Then in 6-12 months just sell it when the new 16" MacBook Pro's becomes available. If I'm able to sell it for the same price I buy it (-20% off retail) I might not even loose anything on it.

What I need to know is just that the MacBook Air can do the job I need for the time period mentioned (6-12 months). Again, mostly Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, light to medium work (I'm rarely the guy who works with huge files many above 3GB or big enough to cover a wall). I otherwise have an iPad Pro (2018) and Apple Watch series 3, so I'm curious about the features I can use those with.

All input would be greatly appreciated ? Sadly the chain do not sell 16GB Macbooks with the M1. So it is mostly for me just a question about Macbook Air M1, or maybe Macbook Pro 13" M1.

I have the money for both, so that is not a big deal. But maybe the Macbook Air might be easier to resell later?

 

[Feek]

Yes.

 

[iHorseHead]

No, you need at least Mac Pro with 128GB of RAM.
8GB is enough even for coding and Xcode, Simulators, Unity etc…
(The people here)

 

[Fishrrman]

Get the MacBook Pro instead with 16gb of RAM.

 

[iHorseHead]

Get the MacBook Pro instead with 16gb of RAM.

Yup, in my country M1 MBP 8GB is even cheaper than 16GB MacBook Air.

 

[bainfu]

Honestly if you mean light, then it should be fine, developer here, I got the low-end air and it seems to keep up with my previous machine (MBP (2019) i9 32GB of RAM). There are times I have to reboot to clear stuff, which is annoying, but it's fast so it's not that bad. Had to drop the second display, so that's a minus.

Personally I like it because it doesn't sound like I'm working near a helicopter.

There are tasks that the M1 excels at, and there's things that it really can't do, (like run certain Figma projects in the browser, or run multiple simulator or preview windows from Xcode). Overall Xcode is more performant, however I might subconsciously closing things I don't need (like browser tabs) in the M1 rather keeping them open like I did before.

Eagerly awaiting the pro machines.

 

[iHorseHead]

Honestly if you mean light, then it should be fine, developer here, I got the low-end air and it seems to keep up with my previous machine (MBP (2019) i9 32GB of RAM). There are times I have to reboot to clear stuff, which is annoying, but it's fast so it's not that bad. Had to drop the second display, so that's a minus.

Personally I like it because it doesn't sound like I'm working near a helicopter.

There are tasks that the M1 excels at, and there's things that it really can't do, (like run certain Figma projects in the browser, or run multiple simulator or preview windows from Xcode). Overall Xcode is more performant, however I might subconsciously closing things I don't need (like browser tabs) in the M1 rather keeping them open like I did before.

Eagerly awaiting the pro machines.

What? I have no such problems and the second display works too.

 

[bainfu]

Sorry for the confusion. I meant the "Second" External Display. Right now it only connects to one. I'm assuming you mean the Figma problems?

 

[One2Grift]

Hiya, first post so don't shoot me if I should post something that has been talked about too much.

So I'm currently working on a MacBook Pro (first gen. retina, mid-2012, see attached image for specs). It is just turned 9 years and it works, but it is starting to be slow.

Now, I'm a graphic designer, but I don't work as it more than freelance anymore. So I mostly use my laptop for light to medium work in Photoshop and I work a lot in InDesign on some 2-3 week projects every year. And my old MBP have done the job.

Like many others I have been waiting lately for the new 16" MacBook Pro with whatever M chip Apple puts in it, always saying I can wait another 6 months and see what happens (for the last few years). And I probably can wait another 6 months to see what comes.

But then I just learned that from tomorrow (Thursday) until Saturday the national equivalent of Best Buy in Norway is having a -20% discount on Macbooks. So I'm wondering if I should just buy the Macbook Air M1/8GB RAM/256GB SSD. Then in 6-12 months just sell it when the new 16" MacBook Pro's becomes available. If I'm able to sell it for the same price I buy it (-20% off retail) I might not even loose anything on it.

What I need to know is just that the MacBook Air can do the job I need for the time period mentioned (6-12 months). Again, mostly Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, light to medium work (I'm rarely the guy who works with huge files many above 3GB or big enough to cover a wall). I otherwise have an iPad Pro (2018) and Apple Watch series 3, so I'm curious about the features I can use those with.

All input would be greatly appreciated ? Sadly the chain do not sell 16GB Macbooks with the M1. So it is mostly for me just a question about Macbook Air M1, or maybe Macbook Pro 13" M1.

I have the money for both, so that is not a big deal. But maybe the Macbook Air might be easier to resell later?

This may be a case of if you have to ask then best to play it safe, go with the 16gb. Use cases between users just isn’t going to be precisely the same. All the advice in the world from users won’t necessarily be right for you.
Your other alternative is roll the dice and go with the 8. If you end up needing 16 then sell the 8 and buy the 16. Resale value on the 8 is probably solid and you’re looking at a loss to of 125(the warranty is still in place).

So play it safe and pay 200 up front, or save the 200 but possibly end up paying the 200 + another 125 (loss on reselling the 8). Life is a gamble ?