> even that is quiet compared to the helicopter noise of the last MacBook pro I had through my last employer.
It's worth noting that this MBP was almost certainly an Intel model. The new ARM-based Apple laptops rarely have audible fans. This isn't to discount your recommendation, however.
It did leave me confused why people recommend Mac's, after I had to use them again for work in 2017, replaced with an even worse 2019 edition. The hardware was down the toilet in terms of keyboard quality and heating to uncomfortable temperatures.
I completely understand where you're coming from, I hated my 2019 also. It was quite warm even on idle. If a external display was connected the GPU had a bug where even at idle it used a lot of power and the whole machine was hot hot hot. Any work what so ever would make the fans unpleasantly audible.
M1/M2 Macs are in a completely different league. I'm on a 16" M1 Max and it is just a dream from a noise / temperature point of view. The fans _never_ come on during normal web dev work. And the laptop is cold to the touch. I only hear the fans come on during gaming and heavy compiling.
To speak to this: I’ve triggered my 14” M1 Max MacBook Pro fan in two scenarios: Stable Diffusion, and Minecraft. At no point have I heard it run when I’ve been doing Actual Work.
It's worth noting that this MBP was almost certainly an Intel model. The new ARM-based Apple laptops rarely have audible fans. This isn't to discount your recommendation, however.