Torn Between 15” M4 MacBook Air and M4 MacBook Pro — Both 24GB/512GB at $1800

I’m a full-stack developer working with React, Node.js, Docker, Nginx, and running a lot of Chrome tabs, Notion, and Cursor IDE. I’ll be connecting the laptop to a 4K monitor for most of my work.

Right now, I use a base model M1 MacBook Air (8GB/256GB), and it’s starting to show its limits. Two main issues:

• The 8GB RAM is a real bottleneck
• It gets hot when I’m in a Zoom call and coding at the same time — and I live in a place where summers are extremely hot already

I know many people say the Air is "more than enough," but I’m concerned about sustained performance and thermal throttling in my climate. Since both the 15” M4 Air and M4 Pro with 24GB/512GB are around the same price ($1800), I’d love to hear from anyone who’s used both or made a similar choice.

Would the Pro be worth it for better thermals and sustained performance? Or is the 15” Air good enough with the M4 chip and extra RAM?