MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro for 4K monitor: Air works for light use, Pro handles sustained loads

Regarding the MacBook Air: The Air supports one 4K display fine for browsing, writing, or light editing, but its fanless design throttles under sustained load — heat forces the chip to slow down after a few minutes of demanding apps like Final Cut or Lightroom. The Pro with active cooling avoids this, and 8GB RAM Airs struggle with memory swapping when driving the external display.