Jim, congratulation on getting your new device.
What device are you copying your apps and data
from?
I get that you have a 2019 MBP so do you mean that?
Obviously you intend to have both devices running so you could as krs suggests, simply download the same apps (that you want to keep) from the developers or the App Store assuming you use the same Apple ID on both devices.
If you wanted to create a complete copy of your old MBP on the new one without cables involved you can use the wireless transfer method described here using Migration Assistant;
Move your content to a new Mac
Pay special attention to the "Select information to transfer" section.
I used this method for the first time when upgrading to my current M1 MBP from a 2015 MBP but I intended it as a
replacement not an
additional device. So I chose "Replace" in the above section.
I had already started up the new device, set up with my Apple ID and same user name, other than that it was empty.
I had ensured both devices were running the same macOS and version. Yes, I had to update the new M1.
I went to a lot of trouble to remove anything I did not want/need from the old device and updated all apps where possible.
The process takes a while, quite a while but
was completely successfully overnight. There were applications on the new device that required my registration details again, I had to login to email accounts as well but the process as a whole was pretty seamless.
The alternative is to buy an external SSD drive with a USB-C connector (you'll probably need one eventually), *clone your existing MBP, setup your new device, then drag and drop your personal data from the clone to the new MBP. In that case I would download fresh versions of your apps, except for self contained apps the ones that use an installer to place files in different places are better downloaded from the developers new. This is much the same as performing a "clean install" on an existing computer.
*You can easily clone your existing device with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper both of which offer free, no obligation, fully functional 30 day trials from Bonbich
Mac Backup Software | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software or Shirt Pocket
Shirt Pocket respectively.
A lot of your other data will be transferred from iCloud (once you login) like calendars, contacts reminders ect, anything you currently sync to iCloud. You may want to check your iCloud preferences if you don't want them to be the same.
Last but not least, I see you say you are purchasing the 256Gb MBA so do keep in mind your storage. i don't know the storage size of your 2019 device but if it exceeds 256Gb you might want to consider keeping the new MBA "lean and mean" with only essential apps and data on it.
