I went through much the same thing over the past 3 months, trying to decide between the Mavic Air or a Mavic Pro. I watched countless videos, read a bunch of reviews, I like the Air because it was newer, smaller etc. but I liked that the Pro would fly further and a little longer. I came really close to buying a Mavic Pro, but in the end decided to go with the Mavic Air. I have had it a week so far and not a single regret with it over the Pro.
Why did I decide on the Air.... other than the range and battery length, I could not see any real advantages the Mavic Pro had over the Air. Having flown the Air up to 400' away from me, I don't care about that shorter range, for me I don't yet see a time where I will need to fly it past what the range of the Air is. The pictures it takes are great, the compactness of it is awesome, I am looking forward to tossing it in my camelbak pocket and taking it while I head out on my bike, battery life has been fine and I have 2 batteries so just swap them when one gets flat. I still can't get over how much tech is jammed into something so small. If I had to make the decision again, at this point I would still choose the Air.
Now, if I had a
Mavic Pro 2 budget, all bets would be off.