Mac Studio and MacBook Air A Deadly Pair

Is the Mac Studio and MacBook Air a deadly pair when it comes to pairing up these two devices? If you need the desktop performance of the M1 Max Mac Studio when you're in your actual studio, but you also want the portability of the MacBook Air without sacrificing performance on the go, then these two may be the most cost effective solution to meet those needs.

And with the M2 MacBook Air to be released whenever Apple decides, then will this be an even more perfect match up with these two Apple silicon devices?

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Kevin Ross
4845 Pearl E. Cir. STE 101
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[derekuhm]

Sold my 16 inch MacBook Pro and bought a Mac Studio + M1 MBA, couldn't be happier. I miss the XDR screen, but didn't want to carry it around and expose it to theft, falls, etc. I feel much more at ease with MBA out in the wild.

[KevinRossRN]

What do you think? Is it an unrealistic expectation to have an ultraportable that is (almost) exactly on par with the performance of this Mac Studio? In my experience, with working on the go, I've never really felt like I've wanted more out of the MacBook Air and haven't expected it to be a full desktop replacement. Sending you all my best, and let's hang out.

[per]

Hi Kevin, nice video. I originally picked up a 16" M1 Pro base model. Had a little bit of buyers remorse and thought I might as well pony up to the M1 Max 16" if I'm lugging around a massive heavy laptop everywhere. I thought the wacky idea of having M1 Max power at home and picking up an air for travel and couch work would a fun idea to try. Saw your video to confirm and picked up an M1 Max Studio and a discounted M1 air (down to just ~900 w/ Best Buy total tech membership right now). So total spent around 2900 for the pairing versus 3400 with a 1TB M1 Max 16". I can see myself using this pairing for the next 4-5 years easy.

[marcsequence]

More stuff...? in the FUTURE?!?! dang it, just once I want somebody to promise me stuff in the PAST! that would be refreshing, and trippy!

[ronsmith]

You articulated ALL of that information VERY well!!! Thank You! I use M1 iMac 8+8 16GB 2TB, 5th Gen iPad Pro 12.9, M1 MacBook Air 8+7 8GB 256 GB with Samsung T7 external SSD.

[CAMTechChris]

Hey Kevin, excellent video and super awesome studio setup you have!! My M1 MB Air has literally been a dream machine for me in so many ways. Even with my M1 Max 16” I still really love Air. For me the M1 Air, Mini and Max combo satisfies even my most inner neediness. Even with as tempting as the Studio Max is, I just don’t feel the need to make any changes to my current situation.

[AndrewMcSpadden]

I use also Mac studio for my daily, but have a m1 mbp 13" 8gb because of the fan - which I never hear. I'm just a business owner but I do a lot of webinars. I was rocking a mbp 16" m1 pro and then mbp 13" but I wasn't using the 16" as a laptop so I saved some money and got twice the computer.
Thanks to Costco for their 90- day return policy!!

The 8gb mbp regular m1 is still really impressive and great for my workflow when I'm remote.

[KiaraHargrove]

Great video Kevin, have a blessed day! Enjoyed this one! 💯

[t-swan]

Thought the same thing for the price of an M1 Max 16" MBP you could get the Studio and the Air, feels like a better bang for the buck

[newt]

This Mac studio (base model) was a huge upgrade for me coming from a maxed out Mac Pro 5, 1 (2 x 5690). That machine would heat up the room and was loud like my e92 M3 for the wrong reasons. I was looking for a little more ram than the M1 Mac mini and the value of the ports was a true selling point for my setup. Kevin, your incredible content on the external NVME enclosure led to the ACASIS USB4.0 purchase :) and quite frankly it is perfect for editing off videos. Thank you my friend! The next phase of Mac Pro is just beyond anything I would create and afford. This base model Mac studio was the perfect sweet spot for my needs and I think this little monster will last quite a while. I love your channel!

[muzikjay]

Completely agree. This is the best setup imo.

[zoltm]

Fantastic video Kevin, I have been using the MacBook Air with the Anker Mini Dock for almost a year now, it's all base on your recommendation. The MBA pairing with my well aged Apple Cinema HD Display is really nice. The combo replaced a 2009 MacPro 5, 1 single processor kit that served me for good years. Keep up with the great content!

[rick-dc]

hey, great video, liked and subscribed

[rtst_dj]

Loving my Mac studio (M1 Max) and it's been my daily driver for a 95% of my design work. It's actually very portable and I bring it back and forth from my home and work offices. But I also DJ and very occasionally work remotely outside those locations mentioned. I have a 10-gen intel i5 MBP and have been considering getting a M1/M2 MBA or the MBP 14". This video sort of answered the question for me honestly and I might go for the MBA. Just trying to decide between the M1 or the M2 version now 😓

[alang]

I spent a little time on my girlfriends MacBook Air 11" from 2014... wow I loved that tiny little thing after years of 15-16" MBP's. I think a studio + the newest air M2 would be perfect combo. You have the ultimate desktop setup, then the ultimate portable setup. Unfortunately I think 16" makes the most sense for me since I spend half my time traveling and I simply need that 16" screen real estate. I have analysis paralysis... I NEVER ever would've wanted a mini or air, but now Mac line up is so good and fast enough I have so many combinations I could get to replace my 2019 intel i9.

[Tigerex]

My thoughts exactly.
Great video.

One for home and stable and powerful with large monitor mouse and keyboard.

Actually quite portable too, with an added small mouse and keyboard as long as where you are going has a monitor or HDMI tv available, plenty of ports.

One for moving around the house and taking with you everywhere.

Only one USB port when charging making a dongle pretty much a most for anything not usbc.

Can do all the same single threaded apps just as fast, and multithreaded multicore apps, just slower with 16 gb, which I think is needed as ity gpu has no dedicated memory it is shared with the CPU.

This makes external ssds important as a fast way to share data between the two, without the risks of the cloud, privacy, no internet, dropouts, etc.

The biggest legitimate complaints are never any ram SSD or memory upgrades ever.

No egpu upgradeability ever.
Unless apple releases one in the future.

Extremely hard to get parts or repaired anywhere but apple and very high cost out of warranty, and no cash back if you do not use the warranty at all.

You can build your own PC or buy more powerful Intel and amd systems for cheaper, with the exceptions of some apps that make use of the video media engine encoders rendering chips, and even then it's close, plus you get way more apps optimized for x86 like 3d cad games, plus even more ports and upgradeability of ram SSD GPU CPU and multiple places to buy parts and get repairs. But windows😞 or Linux😕

So if I could have 3 systems total, that would be studio air and rtx based pc laptop or tower.

That would cover all my bases.

But to be honest a recent phone keyboard mouse and large display is all I really need.

We are spoiled and competition is good.


They will all be considered twice as slow in 2 years when 12k is starting and 8 k is normal.

Funny my phone has been doing 8k for two years, even though I have not used it but will soon as I have bought some clip on lenses for macro and ultra ultra wide and telephoto for moon, insects, nature, landscape and sports. and rumor is the iphone 14 will do 8 k as well as well.

[samfrazier]

Ok, now it's starting to get creepy (or a sign that we're both geniuses) b/c this is exactly the same setup I'm considering, ie M1 MacBook Air 16GB Ram and base-level Mac Studio. The debate is b/t this or a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Max. I'm also considering a 14" MPB M1 Pro but leaning against it as my edits are 9 camera live events with all kinds of framerates, codecs, etc. My 2017 iMac REALLY struggled with the last one. Currently using Premiere but have to switch to Resolve at some point b/c Premiere as about as buggy as that scene from Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom...

[Gadgetsu]

Hey Kevin! Awesome video! I was seriously considering a Mac Studio + MBA combo but think I'm still going to go with the MacBook Pro as I need that power to be portable as a student! The MacBook Air just can't hold up to my edits and it's making my editing time double due to the lag, freezes, and not being able to see changes in real time! Time to save up! 😁

[degs]

That’s exactly going to be my setup with Mac Studio and MacBook Air combo… I have toyed with the idea on 14 inch MacBook Pro but it is just a bit too heavy for daily commute to work. MBA is perfect for my regular work… can’t wait for the new M2 MBA!

[pseudonym]

Couldn't be happier to have found your channel. great content thanks so much !