In that case, if you are dead set on Apple (this is a case where looking at a windows laptop might make sense), I would go with the Pro 8. The Air seems to be for someone who is using it to scroll TikTok and browse the web. It’s not built for long working sessions and can overheat with the lack of fans with heavy use.

This is just my limited opinion though. I’m relatively new to the MacBook world, having spend 20 years with windows machines. Someone with more knowledge than I may be able to offer up a different view.

Pro. Lack of fans on the Air will kneecap you on any compute heavy stuff like games or creative cloud.

Going into the next few years, I think locally run LLMs, especially as a new developer are going to be a big thing; in which case the RAM is going to be the driving factor. But if you are doing any sort of heavy computing, the lack of fan is going to hurt. Personally, I would say if there is any way to muster up another few hundred dollars, I would look at the 14in M3 Pro 18gb. It covers the weaknesses of both the other models, and should have no problem lasting you through school and a couple years into your first job