Choosing refurbished MacBook: M2/M3 Air vs. M1 Pro

I’m currently looking at newer 2023/2024 M2 and M3 15” MacBook Air, or slightly older 2021 16” M1 MacBook Pro.

If that MacBook Pro has a 16" screen, it is higher-end in several ways than any of those M2 and M3 MacBook Airs.

M2 and M3 MacBook Airs have

• Plain M-series processors
• Two Thunderbolt ports
• No HDMI port or SD-family card slot
• A limit of two active displays (total), including the built-in one. When you shut the lid of a M3 MacBook Air, it can drive two external displays. For the M2 models, the limit is still one with the lid closed.

16" M1-series MacBook Pros have

• M1 Pro or M1 Max processors, with more CPU and GPU cores. RAM options varied by chip, so a 16" M1 MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM would be one with a M1 Pro chip, and the base amount of RAM for that chip.
• Three Thunderbolt ports
• A HDMI port
• A SD-family card slot
• Fancier screens, with support for HDR (high dynamic range) playback of movies

Manuals, Specs, and Downloads - Apple Support

Both with 16GB memory and at least 512GB storage (same as before). The refurbished MacBook Pro is a lot cheaper, which is a serious consideration but would having a newer machine be worth the extra 100-150£ on a tight budget?

Note that

• 15" M2 and M3 MacBook Airs weigh 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
• 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pros weigh 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)

I use the laptop for personal and work - mostly via the web browser, and apps like Microsoft 365, Zoom, iPhotos, so nothing that requires really high performance, but it does need to be able to run a few apps at the same time (e.g. a video call alongside Microsoft 365 and a web browser). My daughter also has a separate profile for school homework using the web browser and Microsoft. 

That suggests that having enough RAM and storage may be more important than the processor, per se.

Any advice on which would be best for our use very helpful! I am hoping for a machine that is supported by Apple until 2030 at least.

In terms of the availability of repair parts and hardware service, Apple products become Vintage five years after Apple discontinues them, and Obsolete two years later.

Apple discontinued

• the 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pro in January 2023
• the 15" M2 MacBook Air in March 2024
• the 15" M3 MacBook Air in March 2025

So for repair purposes, the 15" M3 MacBook Air is the only one that will still be Supported by 2030. The 15" M2 MacBook Air will be Vintage (so repair may or may not be available), while the 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pro will turn Obsolete in January 2030 (at which point Apple might not bother stocking parts or offering service - other than battery replacement service - any more).

It's a bit harder to predict how many macOS upgrades each machine will receive, but

• the 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pro shipped with macOS 12 (Monterey)
• the 15" M2 MacBook Air shipped with macOS 13.4 (Ventura)
• the 15" M3 MacBook Air shipped with macOS 14.3 (Sonoma)

All will receive macOS 27 (Golden Gate), but for the M3 MacBook Air, this will be the third major upgrade, and for the M1 Pro MacBook Pro, it will be the fifth. I'm not sure if I'd count on the M1 Pro machine receiving macOS 30.

Apple currently uses M5-series processors in all Mac notebooks, with the exception of the MacBook Neo (which uses an iPhone chip).

So, when you say "refurbished", it makes me think that you're probably not looking at Certified Refurbished Macs from Apple's online store, but at used Macs being sold by someone else. Other sellers' "refurbishment" often is nowhere close to what you get with an Apple Certified Refurbished Mac. You also want to watch out to be sure you're getting a Mac that has been properly prepared for resale and that is not Activation-Locked.

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone – Apple Community (while written for iPhone and iPads, some of this also applies to Macs)

Given the above, some of us here on the forums prefer to buy only

• New Macs from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller
• Certified Refurbished Macs from Apple
• Used Macs from Other World Computing (which many of us consider to be a trustworthy supplier of Mac gear). I've bought RAM and accessories from them in the past but do not have any financial interest in them.

I'll take a break here, and address the merits of the particular models you're considering in another reply.

This is the link to the Apple U.S. store's listing of Apple-certified refurbished Macs:

Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple

Those are the only ones you can trust to be true Apple factory refurbs. Another others are highly suspect!!

➡️ NOTE: Apple certified refurbs are not available in all countries/regions. You can look at the the bottom of your country's Apple home page for this link:

That screenshot is from the U.S. home page.