I am a Student. So my budget is allowing me 2 things, mb air m2 base model or m1 with 16gb ram. I plan to upgrade to Macbook pro a year or 2 later if its needed.
I can’t wait as my current laptop has stopped working. I have been using windows for my entire life and this will be my first macbook.
Programming -
I will be using Python, SQL mostly on this laptop. I plan to do Data engineering and basic python development on it, although I don’t think I will be doing too much heavy tasks. I am one of those rare souls that focuses on just 1 thing at a time. So If I am programming I’ll be using browser tabs and an IDE or a code editor. And if I am video editing, only those apps will be open.
Video editing - I won’t be doing too much heavy work here either. I will just be editing some screen recorded videos.
P.S. - I have done a lot of research which suggest m2 is good for both as long as the workload doesn’t get too heavy for example 4K videos etc, docker. Which I won’t be using at least for now.
Dont get 8gb ram. M1 Air all the way. Runs cooler, similar performance, cheaper, and you can get 16gb with it for the same price as 8gb with m2, which is important.