MacBook Pro M2 vs. MacBook Air M4

I'd buy the 2025 model but bump the storage to 1 TB - or I believe I'd be looking for additional external storage within a few years.

The 2025 also will presumably live long enough to continue running newer macOS versions than the '22 model will. The '22 MBP will may also be classified as obsolete (distribution stopped more than 7 years) within your time frame.

Adobe, MS and some developers currently support apps only compatible with the newest three macOS releases. Today that's OS 14 Sonoma, macOS 15 Sequoia and macOS 26 Tahoe. Tahoe may or may not be the last major release of macOS that the '22 MBP can run. It's too soon to know.

I also think the horsepower is there, but I have one concern. Some users, not all, have reported high temperatures while running pro apps like Adobe CS on M-series Macbook Airs. Also reports of that happening during extended movie viewing or video conferencing. Not every Macbook Air, but enough to get my attention.

M-series Macbook Airs have no cooling fans. They rely on convection cooling like the original iMacs which, no surprise, tended to run on the hot side.

M-series MacBook Pros have either one fan or two. My2024 M4 Pro 14" has two, and is probably the coolest-running laptop of any make I've used. And yes, I up-ordered mine with a 1TB SSD.

Again, not everyone has reported overheating but, having lost my first Macbook Pro years ago to overheating, I probably have a more cautious approach.

Keep your Mac laptop within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support

Note that the main screen on the 13” M2 MBP is not a touch screen. Only the Touch Bar that replaces function keys is a touch screen.

Also note that the 13” M2 MBP can drive only a single external display, and has no MagSafe 3 charging port.