Any suggestions on whether I (Undergrad Comp Sci major) should opt for the full-spec MacBook Air (i7 10 gen, 1.2GHz Quad Core, 16GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB) or the premium 13 inch Macbook Pro (i5 10 gen, 2.0GHz Quad Core, 16GB LPDDR4X RAM, 512GB) as my main notebook.
For your situation I would go for the base processor MacBook Pro 2020 but upgrade the RAM and storage. Why? Because the base model 2020 MacBook Pro is going to outperform the core i7 MacBook Air in everything except the RAM speed, and the base model MacBook Pro is going to outperform the the core i7 15" MacBook pros from 2017 and before. Also the MacBook Air has no real cooling system it has a fan and it has a heatsink but they are not even connected. the MacBook Pro has a real cooling system that will make life a lot better for you.
Contact the school and ask them what they suggest and support. You want to be 100% compatible with other students working on team projects, with course apps/tools, and with your professors.
I agree that 256 GB storage is not enough.
ashwin2911 wrote:
Any suggestions on whether I (Undergrad Comp Sci major) should opt for the full-spec MacBook Air (i7 10 gen, 1.2GHz Quad Core, 16GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB) or the premium 13 inch Macbook Pro (i5 10 gen, 2.0GHz Quad Core, 16GB LPDDR4X RAM, 512GB) as my main notebook.
On the surface I can say 256GB of Storage is not much these days.
MacBook Air 2020 vs MacBook Pro 2020
