Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
M3 Air handles Figma and light Adobe tasks well. I was in the same situation and chose the M3 Pro for a better display and extra ports.
Arin said:
M3 Air handles Figma and light Adobe tasks well. I was in the same situation and chose the M3 Pro for a better display and extra ports.
With over 15 years in UI/UX and mostly using Macs, I can say the new Airs with Apple chips will outperform even the best older Intel Pros. I wasn’t a fan of the Airs until this generation, but now I love mine. The Air can manage most tasks well except for heavy photography or 3D design. For UI/UX work, the Air is truly the best value.
I prefer the Pro. I usually keep my Macs for at least 10 years, so I tend to get the best I can afford. My 14 year old 13” Retina display is still working with the original charger, and I use it in the living room so I won’t have to unplug my M1 from my office.
You’ll be good with the M3 chip and 16GB of RAM. Photoshop, Illustrator, and Chrome really need RAM. Figma runs great, since it’s browser-based.
The Air is enough for most tasks. I’m currently using a 2015 MacBook Pro for coding and design, and while it works, it’s starting to get old. I’m hoping to upgrade to the Air soon.
Quincy said:
The Air is enough for most tasks. I’m currently using a 2015 MacBook Pro for coding and design, and while it works, it’s starting to get old. I’m hoping to upgrade to the Air soon.
Same
I have a similar workflow. My MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM works well, but sometimes it slows down a bit with all apps open. If your wife works on mobile apps or light webpages, the Air should be perfect.
But if I had to suggest:
Go with a MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The Pro is more stable during video calls and when using Figma and Photoshop together, as it provides extra RAM for the GPU. And don’t worry about the fan noise; it’s very quiet.
Ellison said:
I have a similar workflow. My MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM works well, but sometimes it slows down a bit with all apps open. If your wife works on mobile apps or light webpages, the Air should be perfect.
But if I had to suggest:
Go with a MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The Pro is more stable during video calls and when using Figma and Photoshop together, as it provides extra RAM for the GPU. And don’t worry about the fan noise; it’s very quiet.
What would she need 32GB for? She’s not coding or video editing. The Air won’t overheat for her work. My Air only gets warm when gaming.
Ellison said:
I have a similar workflow. My MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM works well, but sometimes it slows down a bit with all apps open. If your wife works on mobile apps or light webpages, the Air should be perfect.
But if I had to suggest:
Go with a MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The Pro is more stable during video calls and when using Figma and Photoshop together, as it provides extra RAM for the GPU. And don’t worry about the fan noise; it’s very quiet.
What would she need 32GB for? She’s not coding or video editing. The Air won’t overheat for her work. My Air only gets warm when gaming.
More RAM means better speed. If she opens several files in Figma, Illustrator, and Photoshop along with apps like Discord and Spotify, the MacBook might get a bit slow.
I have 16GB and do similar work. If I were buying today, spending an extra 800 euros for more RAM makes more sense than upgrading later.
It depends on how long she expects to use it, but software keeps needing more resources.
Hadi said:
Ellison said:
I have a similar workflow. My MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM works well, but sometimes it slows down a bit with all apps open. If your wife works on mobile apps or light webpages, the Air should be perfect.
But if I had to suggest:
Go with a MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The Pro is more stable during video calls and when using Figma and Photoshop together, as it provides extra RAM for the GPU. And don’t worry about the fan noise; it’s very quiet.
What would she need 32GB for? She’s not coding or video editing. The Air won’t overheat for her work. My Air only gets warm when gaming.
More RAM means better speed. If she opens several files in Figma, Illustrator, and Photoshop along with apps like Discord and Spotify, the MacBook might get a bit slow.
I have 16GB and do similar work. If I were buying today, spending an extra 800 euros for more RAM makes more sense than upgrading later.
It depends on how long she expects to use it, but software keeps needing more resources.
I manage most of this with 8GB. 16GB on an M series is enough for this work, and the extra euro 800 for 32GB isn’t worth it.
Ellison said:
Hadi said:
Ellison said:
I have a similar workflow. My MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM works well, but sometimes it slows down a bit with all apps open. If your wife works on mobile apps or light webpages, the Air should be perfect.
But if I had to suggest:
Go with a MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The Pro is more stable during video calls and when using Figma and Photoshop together, as it provides extra RAM for the GPU. And don’t worry about the fan noise; it’s very quiet.
What would she need 32GB for? She’s not coding or video editing. The Air won’t overheat for her work. My Air only gets warm when gaming.
More RAM means better speed. If she opens several files in Figma, Illustrator, and Photoshop along with apps like Discord and Spotify, the MacBook might get a bit slow.
I have 16GB and do similar work. If I were buying today, spending an extra 800 euros for more RAM makes more sense than upgrading later.
It depends on how long she expects to use it, but software keeps needing more resources.
I manage most of this with 8GB. 16GB on an M series is enough for this work, and the extra euro 800 for 32GB isn’t worth it.
I manage most of this with 8GB.
You can do just about anything on a Windows machine with 8GB. It’s really about efficiency. I need to switch between tasks smoothly.
800 euros isn’t much when buying a machine that’s meant to last 4-5 years.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
I switched from MB Pros to a 15" M3 Air, maxed out on RAM at 24GB and 1TB for storage. The Air is fantastic and quiet. I connect it to an Apple Studio Display, and Adobe apps run fine, even with some light video editing. I just wish it had more RAM. 16GB is fine, but if you can, go for 24. If you need more, you’ll want a Pro.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
The M-chip is impressive.
Not sure about all models and prices, but consider an M1/M2 Pro Retina instead of an M3 Air without Retina. You might not need the M3.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
The M-chip is impressive.
Not sure about all models and prices, but consider an M1/M2 Pro Retina instead of an M3 Air without Retina. You might not need the M3.
M1 isn’t great for Figma.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
I have the Air and it works great.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
I have the Pro M2 with 16GB RAM, and it’s more than enough for Figma, Framer, Screen Studio, and multiple tabs open at the same time.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
I have the Pro M2 with 16GB RAM, and it’s more than enough for Figma, Framer, Screen Studio, and multiple tabs open at the same time.
Hey there u/justinsinkevicius! I’m thinking about getting a MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 16GB) for similar apps. I might use it for Blender, Illustrator, and After Effects as well.
I’m unsure about storage though. Is 512GB enough, or should I upgrade to 1TB?
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
The latest Airs, especially the M3 with 16GB or more RAM, are really powerful and many designers use them. The Pro is better for heavy video editing or 3D work.
Pax said:
Hi
My wife works as a UI/UX designer and we want to get her a MacBook but we’re unsure if the Air will be enough with the M3 and 16GB.
She mainly uses Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and has several Chrome tabs open.
Do you think the Air will be enough or will it struggle a bit?
And will the Pro be noticeably faster?
Thank you
I was also worried about getting the MacBook Air M3 with 16GB RAM for design tasks. It’s been just a month, but I’m amazed at what that laptop can handle. It’s small, quiet, and well built. I hope it doesn’t slow down in a few years. So far, I’m really impressed.