MacBook Air vs MacBook Images (For Size Comparison)

[w00tini]

Just in case anyone was wondering the differences between the two, I have taken the liberty of a few shots of the two of them. Love my Air, but the new MacBook is really hot and will probably be my road dog for a while :)

The new MacBook is very slim and extremely portable. More so than I had thought it would be. I was really on the fence about replacing the Air with the new MacBook but after seeing them in person in a store I was sold. I hope these pictures can help those that aren't near an Apple store in choosing.

In all of the shots, the Air is on the left and the new MacBook is on the right. Enjoy.

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/mbreview3.jpg (http://www.straferight.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9756)

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/mbreview2.jpg (http://www.straferight.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9755)

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/mbreview5.jpg (http://www.straferight.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9757)

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/mbreview7.jpg (http://www.straferight.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9759)

[marvel2]

Thanks for the pics. This will help a lot of people in their buying decision.

[w00tini]

No problem...

If anyone has any questions on real-world usage between the two, I'd be more than happy to answer. I use MS Office Mac 2008, DreamWeaver, almost every web browser, FTP clients, ect on them both and would be happy to share with the group on my experiences using both the Air and the new MacBook.

[timestoby]

looks like someone needed them palm rest sticker guard things lol.

[DaveOZ]

I have an Air and and seriously considering the MB for increased capacity. I've read lots on here about the new screen - how would you rate it compared to the Air. My Air screen is the best screen I have ever used.

[Dybbuk]

The size difference between the MacBook Air and the MacBook is now even more negligible than it was before. The Air is a beautiful machine, but it is really little more than vanity at this point.

[det2004]

I have an Air and and seriously considering the MB for increased capacity. I've read lots on here about the new screen - how would you rate it compared to the Air. My Air screen is the best screen I have ever used.

I think the screen on the air is gorgeous. The screen on my macbook is very nice, but seems a little washed out when compared to the air.

[Phrasikleia]

They are remarkably similar. Thank you for sharing the photos.

[marvel2]

I think the screen on the air is gorgeous. The screen on my macbook is very nice, but seems a little washed out when compared to the air.

The screen on the MB still has poor viewing angles.

To the OP, how far does the screen tilt back? Which one reclines further?

[det2004]

The screen on the MB still has poor viewing angles.

To the OP, how far does the screen tilt back? Which one reclines further?

No big deal, I'm not going to turn my computer sideways when I'm trying to use it. When it's on, I'm looking directly at it. I don't know why people can't just enjoy a product instead of getting microscopes out and looking at it from every angle imaginable trying to find fault with it.

[zer0tails]

thanks for the pics OP. I've more or less decided on the Air but the macbook is a very serious contender as well.

In terms of performance, is there a huge difference? My main tasks will be, word documents, huge spread sheets, youtube, itunes, adium, and safari all running at the same time.

Those tasks above, plus portability are the main things I need. The air will be a secondary machine for me.

thanks!

[marvel2]

No big deal, I'm not going to turn my computer sideways when I'm trying to use it. When it's on, I'm looking directly at it. I don't know why people can't just enjoy a product instead of getting microscopes out and looking at it from every angle imaginable trying to find fault with it.

Vertical viewing angles too. Check this (http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review) out. Scroll down and look at the comparisons between the MB and the MBP. They are straight on shots and the viewing angles look horrible on the MB.

[w00tini]

I have an Air and and seriously considering the MB for increased capacity. I've read lots on here about the new screen - how would you rate it compared to the Air. My Air screen is the best screen I have ever used.

there is no question in my mind that the Air and the MacBook have different screens. The Air looks perfect, clear, no haze... while the MacBook has a bit of that washed out look comparatively. That's the biggest trade off for me. But I'm still digging the MacBook more for my needs now.

[w00tini]

The screen on the MB still has poor viewing angles.

To the OP, how far does the screen tilt back? Which one reclines further?

The MacBook tilts back about 15 degrees further than the Air.

[Y2JDMBFAN]

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in. I have a first gen 1.6/80 MBA and just picked up the new Macbook 2.4G. When I first got the new Macbook I was amazed at the speed doing simple things over the MBA, no delays on the Macbook or spinning pinwheels when I would launch Safari, Firefox or iTunes. I did notice the weight difference between the two, and it is noticeable, but I could probably live with it based on the power of the new Macbook. However after doing a comparison finally on the screen yesterday I couldn't belive how much better the MBA screen was. It's colors and viewing angles are ALOT better than the Macbook. I calibrate both displays for 6500K and 2.2 Gamma using my i1 Display and X-Rite EZ-Color. I almost wish I could swap the screens on the 2. That would give me the best of both worlds. I already ordered more RAM and a faster HDD for the Macbook, but this baby may be going back for a gen 2 MBA. I figure I will get the high end MBA this time. Hopefully they are available soon...Decisions, Decisions...

Y2J

[w00tini]

thanks for the pics OP. I've more or less decided on the Air but the macbook is a very serious contender as well.

In terms of performance, is there a huge difference? My main tasks will be, word documents, huge spread sheets, youtube, itunes, adium, and safari all running at the same time.

Those tasks above, plus portability are the main things I need. The air will be a secondary machine for me.

thanks!
Great questions...

I used the Air as my work machine (I'm a sales professional) for the last 8 months and was more than pleased. for what you're using a laptop for from your post, you won't see much of a difference. the biggest thing is load times when opening applications because of the slower hard drive in the Air. I would estimate about 15-20 more seconds to load Word and Excel on the Air compared to the Mac.

I think you would be more than happy with the Air as your second machine given your list of programs. I know I was :)

[sangosimo]

thank you for the comparison

[silverblack]

No problem...

If anyone has any questions on real-world usage between the two, I'd be more than happy to answer. I use MS Office Mac 2008, DreamWeaver, almost every web browser, FTP clients, ect on them both and would be happy to share with the group on my experiences using both the Air and the new MacBook.

Please do. I'd love to find out how MS Office runs in the glassbook. (This is the one app that drives me nuts, being so slow, with my MBA)

[JRSimmons]

Please do. I'd love to find out how MS Office runs in the glassbook. (This is the one app that drives me nuts, being so slow, with my MBA)

I'm using MS '08 on my 2.4 Ali Macbook, with no problems.

It's just as quick as loading any other applications..

[w00tini]

Please do. I'd love to find out how MS Office runs in the glassbook. (This is the one app that drives me nuts, being so slow, with my MBA) hi silverback, as the poster above states... MS word 2008 works great on the new MacBook. I've noticed a lot of improvement in the load times of the applications as well as the overall snappiness of them when editing, saving, ect. Just be sure (when you reinstall office 2008 on your new MacBook) that you get all the downloads for it from the MS website. what a bitch that is, seeing as how the auto updater wont automatically update you correctly (you have to do each update individually) most of the time.

[bidwalj]

im starting to see the screen difference now myself as i have used it in depth.

I think for me the macbook stays as it runs much more quieter and cooler as the main comp. Ill consider if the Air again if they update its looks and keypad to that of the macbook and fixes the fan / core shutdown issues.

[zer0tails]

Great questions...

I used the Air as my work machine (I'm a sales professional) for the last 8 months and was more than pleased. for what you're using a laptop for from your post, you won't see much of a difference. the biggest thing is load times when opening applications because of the slower hard drive in the Air. I would estimate about 15-20 more seconds to load Word and Excel on the Air compared to the Mac.

I think you would be more than happy with the Air as your second machine given your list of programs. I know I was :)

thanks for replying to my question. Invaluable advice, i appreciate it.

15-20 second load times aren't a big issue for me. The most important thing for me is that it doesn't stall or freeze or slow to a crawl when running all those apps at the same time.

I might be considering the SSD version so maybe that might help with the load times.

[w00tini]

im starting to see the screen difference now myself as i have used it in depth.

I think for me the macbook stays as it runs much more quieter and cooler as the main comp. Ill consider if the Air again if they update its looks and keypad to that of the macbook and fixes the fan / core shutdown issues.

great point... i noticed that the Air runs quite a bit hotter than the macbook as well. i picked up the base model macbook so i'll be giving up the lit keyboard and the nicer screen (that the Air has), but the added power for load times, multi-tasking and video stuff is worth it for me. were i using this machine purely for a 'netbook' for light apps work and internet while traveling, i'd probably still go with the Air. they're so closely related, i'm almost confused why apple has them both in the lineup at this time. i mean, i get it... but its somewhat un-apple-like to have two sku's that nearly compete with one another. with that said, they each have advantages and everyone's mileage will vary. i will miss my Air when the eBay auction ends and off it goes to some lucky winner... but for now, i will rest assured that i've made the best decision for my needs at this juncture.

[w00tini]

thanks for replying to my question. Invaluable advice, i appreciate it.

15-20 second load times aren't a big issue for me. The most important thing for me is that it doesn't stall or freeze or slow to a crawl when running all those apps at the same time.

I might be considering the SSD version so maybe that might help with the load times.

good point about the load times. they're not bad at all, just a bit longer on the Air and a good trade-off for portability IMO. with regards to the SSD drive, keep in mind that it will eat up more battery life than the regular drive does so again, trade-offs. there's a good piece over on Anandtech.com where they A/B'd the SSD and the regular drive and found it not so impressive and a bit of a power hog.

[bidwalj]

thanks for the pics OP. I've more or less decided on the Air but the macbook is a very serious contender as well.

In terms of performance, is there a huge difference? My main tasks will be, word documents, huge spread sheets, youtube, itunes, adium, and safari all running at the same time.

Those tasks above, plus portability are the main things I need. The air will be a secondary machine for me.

thanks!

unless fixed in the 2nd gen, i honestly dont think you can do all that without it running on full blast fans or core shutdowns.

I only used ichat, firefox and as soon as you opened itunes or watched a video on youtube, the laptop would crawl to an halt and you had to close the lid to let it cool.

[w00tini]

what really hurts the Air is flash video. in fact, really any laptop takes a beating on youtube, ect... i never really understood how much CPU time those videos take when most of the heavy lifting is offloaded to the CPU. Yet, the next gen of Air should fair much better since its using the 9400m as a video crunching tool.

i can't wait till they start shipping so we can see how apple has improved the Air overall.

[aristobrat]

Ill consider if the Air again if they update its looks and keypad to that of the macbook and fixes the fan / core shutdown issues.
I'm curious as to how the new processor and chipset will help in regards to heat/fan/core shutdown issues on the MBA that's shipping in early November.

[sangosimo]

flash doesn't have any hardware decoding.

[aristobrat]

flash doesn't have any hardware decoding.
True, but it would seem that Apple has to make a whole new motherboard from the next gen Air. And since they're starting from scratch, I'm sure they've learned a thing or two from the last gen Air that they could improve upon on the upcoming one in terms of fan/heat/core shutdowns. (oh please oh please oh please) :)

[sangosimo]

it is getting a real processor this time around, so it won't struggle as much, but the macbook air is still going to stutter.

[w00tini]

true... i never had any core issues that i could notice hindering me using the machine in any way, but the Air does get quite warm when watching flash videos.
i hope they worked that out somehow.

[zer0tails]

well, I'll give it a shot anyways. But if it can't handle those tasks i listed, then it will not be for me. Because that's my minimal computing tasks already. There is always the 14 day return policy in any case :p

But I'm pretty hopeful Apple will have fixed those issues. I don't think they can ignore an issue like core shut downs.

Looking forward to posting pics and a review here when I get it. November 5th :D

[Bryan Bowler]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing the pics...

[Heavenkittykat]

I own the MBA and I absolutely love it. After seeing the new Alum MB in person, I still like the look of MBA. I still love the better portability and thinness of it too. So probably when I upgrade in 1-2 years from now, I will still get the upgraded MBA. By then, the MBA should be much better than it is now (better graphics, more RAM, faster speed, more hard drive space or SSD capacity). The 1.6Ghz/80 GB MBA that I currently have now is sufficient enough for all the things I do so an upgrade from this should be more than enough.

[w00tini]

hi heaven,

yes i agree that the MBA is plenty for most folks to use as their mobile computer. more so probably than most think, its a nice little machine with plenty of power. the only thing that worries me about the new model is the 9400m and the power it will draw from the battery. the power consumption will hopefully not be too much more than the current intel integrated GPU.

and yes zer0tails, we will need a review when you get your 2nd gen MBA :)

[ibosie]

Are we expecting the Nov '08 MBA screen to look as washed-out as the MB?

[Y2JDMBFAN]

I am wondering the same thing as far as the new MBA coming with a washed out screen...

[aristobrat]

Are we expecting the Nov '08 MBA screen to look as washed-out as the MB?
I'd be surprised if they touched the screen at all, seeing as how the exterior isn't really changing on this upcoming rev.

[ibosie]

Is it the screen hardware in the MB which makes it washed-out do you know - nothing to do with NVIDIA I mean?

[aristobrat]

Is it the screen hardware in the MB which makes it washed-out do you know - nothing to do with NVIDIA I mean?
IMO, since Apple introduced them a few years ago, there's always been a difference in quality (viewing angle, contrast, brightness, etc) between the MacBook screens and MacBook Pro screens.

[NC MacGuy]

Are we expecting the Nov '08 MBA screen to look as washed-out as the MB?

It looks so far like the only things changing on new MBA's are the guts. The screen and trackpad look to be the same. The guts are important though. Stopgap processor, GMA graphics, PATA storage will all be upgraded. Very big upgrades. Oh, and displayport which isn't really an upgrade....

The MBA has an awesome display and I'm hoping Apple doesn't screw up one of the great things the Air has going for it. Have one of each and the MB display can't even come close to the Air's brightness and lack of reflections.

[ibosie]

IMO, since Apple introduced them a few years ago, there's always been a difference in quality (viewing angle, contrast, brightness, etc) between the MacBook screens and MacBook Pro screens.

I agree - the differences now seem more marked, perhaps the Pro just got further ahead.

[ibosie]

It looks so far like the only things changing on new MBA's are the guts. The screen and trackpad look to be the same. The guts are important though. Stopgap processor, GMA graphics, PATA storage will all be upgraded. Very big upgrades. Oh, and displayport which isn't really an upgrade....

The MBA has an awesome display and I'm hoping Apple doesn't screw up one of the great things the Air has going for it. Have one of each and the MB display can't even come close to the Air's brightness and lack of reflections.

Is the PATA becoming SATA on MBA? I'd want SSD.

[aristobrat]

I agree - the differences now seem more marked, perhaps the Pro just got further ahead.
It's always seemed to me that Apple treats the Air as a "Pro" machine (thus giving it the nicer 13" display). Hopefully they don't change their attitude! :eek: :D

[ibosie]

It's always seemed to me that Apple treats the Air as a "Pro" machine (thus giving it the nicer 13" display). Hopefully they don't change their attitude! :eek: :D

lol, hope it stays that way my fingers, legs everything are crossed :)

[w00tini]

It looks so far like the only things changing on new MBA's are the guts. The screen and trackpad look to be the same. The guts are important though. Stopgap processor, GMA graphics, PATA storage will all be upgraded. Very big upgrades. Oh, and displayport which isn't really an upgrade....

The MBA has an awesome display and I'm hoping Apple doesn't screw up one of the great things the Air has going for it. Have one of each and the MB display can't even come close to the Air's brightness and lack of reflections.
i totally agree... the Air is a superior viewing experience all together. yet there are always trade-offs. its also a bit more expensive than the baseline MB. but still, with the Air being only 200 more than the upgraded MB, wouldn't it seem sensible to at least boost the upper tier MB to that same screen?

Oh well... maybe someone will find a way to lift and replace the screens :d