Hey guys.. i’ve been not keeping up with mac or other brand laptops for many years, my 15” macbook pro has serve me very long.. but its due time for a major upgrade.. i’ve been looking for verious brands, initially thought that i might find something better elsewhere... but then again i started to read about praises on the M1 apple chip.. so, please advise me on few questions below. But first, i’m going to spec to highest end laptop possible, with budget cap up to RM15k.

1. Is the M1 macbook a big deal? Is there any other powerful laptop brand to compete this within my budget?
2. Between M1 and i9 macbook pro (top spec) which one to go?
3. I realize macbook air now having similar spec to macbook pro.. how to even choose between them? If macbook air is as powerful as the pro, then the air is a better choice because its lighter and more portable?

Any advise will be appreciated and thanks in advance

I work in bioinformatics field so i handle big data, the analysis would be reference matching and statistical mostly.. but that aside, I'm looking for a long term or future proof laptop.. i don't do game much, or would say i don't play game lately except a bit on mobile phone.. i also use laptop for some music softwares and video editing just for hobby