Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which of these 3 MacBook Air configs is the best deal?

  • $749.00 - M4/16/256

    Votes: 10 21.3%
  • $899.97 - M3/24/512

    Votes: 15 31.9%
  • $949.00 - M4/16/512

    Votes: 22 46.8%

  • Total voters
    47

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,484
539
Looking to possibly upgrade my college kids from their 13" MBA M2/8/256 laptops to one of these 3 (all in the 13" size again). I'd again also add AppleCare+ to them. I checked and each of them have 105 GB - 115 GB free storage space on them.

The M4 pricings are what I'm guessing the net will be once the BTS sale starts again with the usual free $150 Apple GC. The M3 is one that I ordered the other day from Costco as an option (can of course return).

What do you think? Which would YOU buy of these 3? Thanks!
 
Last edited:
This is an easy choice. M4/16/512

Why?


Right now they both have 100 GB+ of storage free. That’s unlikely to change significantly before the next upgrade. Unless you know they’re going to do something specific in the future that requires way more storage than they currently use. For example, one is going to have his own YouTube channel. Even then they could make do with external storage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
This is an easy choice. M4/16/512

Why?


Right now they both have 100 GB+ of storage free. That’s unlikely to change significantly before the next upgrade. Unless you know they’re going to do something specific in the future that requires way more storage than they currently use. For example, one is going to have his own YouTube channel. Even then they could make do with external storage.
Thanks for the reply. But I guess, then wouldn't you be suggesting the 256 instead of the 512? They do each have 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive (I have the family plan which we use) that is used for directly backing up their iPhone photos and videos.
 
I suspect you’re looking for people to rationalize the cheapest low storage option… but how long will they keep it? It’s probable their needs will grow beyond minimal, especially with Apple intelligence. The keep it minimal jockeys will talk of how much money you will save with external storage, but that’s a disaster waiting to happen for college kids throwing things into a backpack on a daily basis not to mention the organizational tasks. And don’t forget apple silicon uses disk storage for ram swaps. I consider 512 minimal for organizational speed and ease of use. If you need to rationalize it, for the price of one day at Disney world or a good concert seat, you get a computer that will hold its value longer.
 
I suspect you’re looking for people to rationalize the cheapest low storage option… but how long will they keep it? It’s probable their needs will grow beyond minimal, especially with Apple intelligence. The keep it minimal jockeys will talk of how much money you will save with external storage, but that’s a disaster waiting to happen for college kids throwing things into a backpack on a daily basis not to mention the organizational tasks. And don’t forget apple silicon uses disk storage for ram swaps. I consider 512 minimal for organizational speed and ease of use. If you need to rationalize it, for the price of one day at Disney world or a good concert seat, you get a computer that will hold its value longer.
Somewhat. They are marketing and accounting majors and haven't really needed the extra horsepower nor storage it seems (after 3 full years of college).

I guess I'm also trying to prioritize which is most important relative to the other...the processor v RAM v storage.
 
It’s probable their needs will grow beyond minimal, especially with Apple intelligence
Yeh, well, I am one of those jockeys. Predicting future needs is a game fraught with errors, mistakes and overall failure. My computing needs have not increased 10% in the last 5 years, if that much. I am not going to spend three, four, five hundred dollars more today for something I will more than likely not need.

The myth of Apple intelligence is just that. No one knows what it will take, if anything. It may run on servers, it may run in the GPU, it may not run at all. Apple intelligence is certainly not going to obsolesce millions of laptops or desktops overnight.

I worked at the University of Tennessee for 14 years. My experience on computer use, except for specialized courses, is that computer use was mostly WEB, some documents, a spreadsheet or two. Engineering courses and math courses needed Matlab. Even with that software the computing needs were relatively modest. Files were stored on school servers, not on the actual student's computer. Local storage was lightly used. I suspect that for most college students a Chromebook would serve quite well.

I have a M4 Pro, not because I needed it, but because I wanted it. I wanted TB5, I wanted extra ports, I wanted the high speed SDXC card support, the 24 GIG 1TB is what Apple had in the store. I bought it. I do professional sports photography. I take several thousand images per event. I use LR and PS and have never had an issue with performance. Even when I had my M2 Air which I took on the road which performed extremely well. Images are stored in the cloud, for recovery, for safety, and for others to access. The high speed SDXC card slot is probably the biggest benefit. I use less than 150 GIG of storage.
 
Last edited:
I guess I'm also trying to prioritize which is most important relative to the other...the processor v RAM v storage.
I would prioritize the RAM over the storage, but only slightly. Until really advanced studies are done in college the minimal configuration of the AIR or PRO would more than suffice. Storage can be managed using the cloud or external devices. Certainly not as convenient but really how often are many files accessed? Files can be moved from offsite storage to onsite when needed.

Given the choices the M4/16/256 would suffice. I use less than 150 GIG on my M4 pro.

But to each their own. This is just my opinion, my needs, my desires. It is your money, your decision. You won't go wrong with any of the choices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmk1974
The $749 M4/16/256 is the best choice I think.

The M4 chip ensures longer software support and better AI support. 256 GB of storage is fine for the average user and will be fine for years to come.

I wouldn't go for the M3 model as the previous model your kids currently own is an M2 model. Nothing much has changed. Honestly would probably wait for an M5 or M6 model before upgrading, because even the base M2 with 8 GB RAM is no slouch. ;)
 
Thanks for the reply. But I guess, then wouldn't you be suggesting the 256 instead of the 512? They do each have 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive (I have the family plan which we use) that is used for directly backing up their iPhone photos and videos.
Yes. You’re upgrading from M2 so that means a short upgrade cycle. Right now they have 100 GB free. Unless they plan on doing something different in the next few years that should be more than enough
 
Yeh, well, I am one of those jockeys. Predicting future needs is a game fraught with errors, mistakes and overall failure. My computing needs have not increased 10% in the last 5 years, if that much. I am not going to spend three, four, five hundred dollars more today for something I will more than likely not need.

Well... first of all we don't need to exaggerate to make a point, it's not $500 we are talking about but $200, and what that means is really a personal matter, might mean more to you than to me for example, we don't really know what it means to the OP, but here is the thing.. define 'need.' That is also subjective. There is no doubt that with a computer that uses ssd as ram buffer, that more ssd is actually a good thing. Need it? maybe not. Good thing you have it, yes. And lets not forget SSD's have a more limited lifetime in terms of reads and writes than spinning platters of rust, so yes, again, a bit more in storage space helps.

but cool you have decided you don't need more. cool for you. but I never ever assume what works for me works for everyone, and yeah, my computing needs have increased much more than 10% over the last few years? why? I am manipulating 4k video with AI tools and 61 MP photography files. So yeah, again what works for you, doesnt work for me. what works for college kids, two old farts like us have zero clue.

but $200 over 4 or 5 years of lifetime? seriously? going to cheap out on something thats likely less than someone's coffee budget. Except no doubt you dont drink coffee so on one does.

So whatever you need, my advice was for college kids just starting out in the computing lives. $200 just isnt that much when there is a real benefit.

just saying.

btw, thanks for all the words on your computer cred. bully for you.
 
I guess I'm also trying to prioritize which is most important relative to the other...the processor v RAM v storage.

Well the good news is.. when you think of where we were with Intel computers, it's all good. The thing is, it's hard to prioritize in a linear fashion because it is a balance. We can argue 8 gb wasn't enough, but now we all have 16 gb and that's likely enough for 99.5% of what people need. The outliers are people doing AI, manipulate large data files (photoshop or movies for example).. so that's easy to judge. If you are doing that, you need more, if not, you probably don't. But storage? Everyone can use more than 256 gb, especially when the computer uses SSD for RAM swapping, because the bottom line is the computer works better if you have extra space available. And sure storage space can be managed with external drives and judicious pruning of what you are using etc.. but thats a headache if you have to constantly do it. I dont know about your kids, but mine, if there was a speed bump (managing space) then it created problems. So yeah, once you got 16 gb ram, then I would look to increasing storage. as for processors, the reality is there is little difference between one generation and the next.. to feel a difference you really need to jump several generations. So... I would make sure you have enough RAM and storage before worrying about processor. But really one can drive themselves crazy worrying about what is 'best.' There is no best. It's all good. I don't advice buying for the minimum, or the maximum, but somewhere in between, like goldilocks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kayak49
I'd say the M3 with 512 GB and 24 GB of RAM (unpopular vote I see).

Why?

Performance difference on the CPU side between M3 and M4 is there somewhat, but not to the point where a machine like a light usage ultra portable is likely to be significantly impacted.

Far more likely: you'll run into memory and storage limitations first.

Less than 512 GB storage on a premium ultrabook is insane in 2025.
24 GB of RAM will give you a little additional headroom for future requirements in terms of application memory consumption and macOS background processes. It will do more for machine viability in the long run than the CPU difference.


BUT if it was me, I'd save a little more money to get the M4 with 24GB and 1TB. 512 GB is imho bare minimum in 2025 and the sweet spot in terms of value for money (in Apple's lineup, considering impact to BOM cost vs. machine usefulness) is 1TB.

If you ever want to run a parallels virtual machine of Windows 11 that does much useful for example, you can consider 200 GB or so completely gone (if you want snapshots), even without installing much into it.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply. But I guess, then wouldn't you be suggesting the 256 instead of the 512? They do each have 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive (I have the family plan which we use) that is used for directly backing up their iPhone photos and videos.
Don't get a 256. It's just too small, like the size of what you get on an iPhone at this point. You're looking for them to last a few years, so build in a little wiggle room for extra drive space.

The RAM is more something that used dynamically, and 16 GB is absolutely fine in my experience. I'm running the exact M4 Air with the same specs you list as the third choice, often with gobs of stuff running and it just never slows down.
 
Last edited:
Yeah 16 GB is probably fine today, but if you want to run either a VM or an LLM of any significant quality, 8 GB or more for either of those is trivially consumed.

You may not do that today, but products may include such features built into the software in the future (particularly, LLM/local intelligence).

If you're planning to use the machine for a few years, buy now, cry now... future you will probably thank you for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmk1974
Looking to possibly upgrade my college kids from their 13" MBA M2/8/256 laptops to one of these 3 (all in the 13" size again). I'd again also add AppleCare+ to them. I checked and each of them have 105 GB - 115 GB free storage space on them.

The M4 pricings are what I'm guessing the net will be once the BTS sale starts again with the usual free $150 Apple GC. The M3 is one that I ordered the other day from Costco as an option (can of course return).

What do you think? Which would YOU buy of these 3? Thanks!
M2, M3 and M4 are all very powerful CPUs. If app usage is such that one meeds M4 over M3, one probably needs the much stronger MBP. E.g. I am running an M2 MBP pretty aggressively, but with lots of RAM I feel zero need for an upgrade to M4 or even M5 for that matter. The only reason I may upgrade 2026/2027 is because I crave a nano-texture display.

More RAM will be a big deal even at the MBA low end over the next few years, exacerbated by apps integrating AI into operations more and more [watch Apple's WWDC Keynote]. IMO the $899 M3 with 24 GB RAM and the 512 GB SSD is very clearly the best choice unless you find a 32 GB option somewhere.

Usage of a laptop at uni is a special case, ultra mobile. Students really do need to carry all their work on the internal SSD, so I would also consider the larger 512 GB SSD as an important plus.

P.S. Make sure they understand how important daily backup is. Along with mobility goes vulnerability to theft and breakage. Lots of PhD students have lost their entire theses when they lost a laptop that was not backed up. 2025 IMO students should auto-backup to the cloud.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: dmk1974
They are marketing and accounting majors and haven't really needed the extra horsepower nor storage it seems (after 3 full years of college).

That suggests there should have been a 4th choice in the poll — “Keep what they have”! 😁

Sounds as if there isn’t a compelling reason to upgrade at all!

They'll be graduating next year, getting jobs, going onto graduate or professional school, or taking a sabbatical year. They'll know better then what they need — and could even buy it themselves!!
 
The $749 M4/16/256 is the best choice I think.

The M4 chip ensures longer software support and better AI support. 256 GB of storage is fine for the average user and will be fine for years to come.

I wouldn't go for the M3 model as the previous model your kids currently own is an M2 model. Nothing much has changed. Honestly would probably wait for an M5 or M6 model before upgrading, because even the base M2 with 8 GB RAM is no slouch. ;)
IMO "longer software support" is irrelevant. Either M3 or M4 will provide more than 4 more years of support. And either M3 or M4 will be plenty strong as long as one does not get into games/3D, in which case M4 would perhaps be substantially superior.

RAM and mass storage are likely to matter, however.
 
IMO "longer software support" is irrelevant. Either M3 or M4 will provide more than 4 more years of support. And either M3 or M4 will be plenty strong as long as one does not get into games/3D, in which case M4 would perhaps be substantially superior.

RAM and mass storage are likely to matter, however.

I think the key point is they already have an M2, what really is the M3 going to bring? Sure we all agree Ram and Storage, but 16 is fine for the applications the OPO describes and so the extra year of development and support the M4 brings, not to mention trade-in, does make a strong case for the M4, 16 gb, 512 storage. But really in the end, why be so black and white on something which really is a matter of opinion? Both choices are fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Allen_Wentz
Not the first one. 256GB is almost as much a trap today as 8GB RAM was when you got the M2 originally. It will run for a few years, but in the long run a small drive will become a problem before the M2/M3/M4 chip differences becomes important.

Coin toss between the second two. M3 is cheaper, available today, doesn't require guessing how tariffs will change back to school sales, and has more RAM as a small bonus. M4 will have at least an extra year of software support and a $50 difference is pretty small.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.