If you do sustained work, like render or transcode video, the Air only goes full tilt for 5-10 minutes then starts throttling until you stop doing the heavy work.

If that's something you do more than once in a while, definitely opt for the Pro. For any other workload that's less than maxing out CPUs, or just bursty, the Air has been excellent.

I still think the M1 Air was a better value overall. And I liked the curves to it more than the M2's boxy design.