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Do you have ANY regrets or second thoughts on your MBA purchase?

Nikomanz

Nikomanz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2012
129
6
Washington, D.C.
For all of those who have purchased a MBA either a long time ago, or just recently, do you guys have any regrets about your decision?

If you don't, what are some things you would like to change on the MBA.

In my case, I am absolutely satisfied with my recent MBA purchase, and the only thing I am struggling with is dealing with my low storage. But other than that my MBA is blazing fast, hands down beating my Mac Mini, and Pc in terms of performance.
 
I just recently got a MBA and I have zero regrets. I do miss the processor power and graphics card from my (now defunct) MBP but it's perfect for my everyday computing.

For now, there's no point in putting more RAM or disk space into a MBA, unless they put in a faster processor, but MBP has that covered and they're expected to get a complete makeover this year. I may purchase one so I can get back to my gaming but I'm not sure what their plans for the 17" MBP are.
 
I got the best MBA out at the time (6 months ago) and am very happy with it. My daughter now wants one for her college graduation so I'm hoping the next generation comes out very soon.
 
Similar story here, top spec. 13" 256GB. It's a fantastic Mac, and I was under no illusions abut storage, but I'm pretty disciplined about not putting junk on it, as a studio tool it's fast, but I have to keep an eye on the space. On small projects i can leave my MBP at home, but big stuff that needs space requires me to use my Pro.

The MBA is light, fast and a joy to use. If Apple make a 15" with a decent sized SSD and 8GB of Ram, I'm there. Apart from that I love it.
 
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1335115/ (just a few posts down) :)

I got an 11" so I'm full of regret. I knew at the time i should've got the 13" but if you ever see the 11" in person it's such an impressive and cute little machine. Unfortunately a few months later the tiny screen started giving me eye issues and the battery life made having such a small device pointless because I'd constantly be monitoring the battery in fear I'd run out at the wrong time.

I'll probably sell and go for a next gen 13" the current one is great but were so close to an update that i would rather just wait.
 
I regret not having enough money to get the TB display to go along with my Air. The Air is incredible for traveling and even for mobile in-office and in-home computing. I will get the TB display though, for those times when I am stationary at the office and would prefer the bigger screen for spreadsheet work.
 
jmgregory1 said:
I regret not having enough money to get the TB display to go along with my Air. The Air is incredible for traveling and even for mobile in-office and in-home computing. I will get the TB display though, for those times when I am stationary at the office and would prefer the bigger screen for spreadsheet work.
Click to expand...
Just wondering, but if you dont have money then why would you need a $1000 Apple Thunderbolt Display for spreadsheet work?
 
KittyKatta said:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1335115/ (just a few posts down) :)

I got an 11" so I'm full of regret. I knew at the time i should've got the 13" but if you ever see the 11" in person it's such an impressive and cute little machine. Unfortunately a few months later the tiny screen started giving me eye issues and the battery life made having such a small device pointless because I'd constantly be monitoring the battery in fear I'd run out at the wrong time.

I'll probably sell and go for a next gen 13" the current one is great but were so close to an update that i would rather just wait.
Click to expand...


Well, that thread was mostly for size choices, I was curious if people had any other regrets or second thoughts on their MBA purchase.

For me it came down between the 13 MBP, or the 13 MBA. I decided to go for the air, and haven't looked back since, it's a beautiful computer in an out, and compared to my mac mini, this computer just flies!

Out of the next gen of macs coming out this year with ML, I really think I'm just buying the mini, if a refresh comes out. I think my MBA is already enough for portability, and it fits my laptop needs.

Unless they really throw it out of the park with the MBA this summer, which I doubt it because I think apple is looking to catapult the MBP, and not necessarily the air.
 
Low storage, no USB 3, no ethernet/sata/hdmi port. Let's be honest, if it wasn't a gift, I would never have bought it. It's worth about $800, max, how it comes configured.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Low storage, no USB 3, no ethernet/sata/hdmi port. Let's be honest, if it wasn't a gift, I would never have bought it. It's worth about $800, max, how it comes configured.
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Sure ... If you throw it into a 'windows quality' box ....

I have a Mac Pro, 17" MBP, an Air and a few windows machines at the office. The Air is the BEST computer purchase I've ever made.
 
entatlrg said:
Sure ... If you throw it into a 'windows quality' box ....

I have a Mac Pro, 17" MBP, an Air and a few windows machines at the office. The Air is the BEST computer purchase I've ever made.
Click to expand...

If you notice in my sig, my main computer is a Dell laptop. I'm sorry you haven't had good experiences with every non OS X computer, but I have. And in my opinion - since that what the question was, right? A question of opinion - the Macbook Air is too limited in its options to be much more than a vessile for facebook and iTunes, and "productivity software". To me, that's a $500 computer. But since it looks pretty, and has an apple logo on it, we can make it an $800 computer. But certainly not a $1000 computer, or even a $1300 computer.

----------
stoked_dude said:
Coming from the guy who hasn't purchased a new mac since the G4 mac mini. I would be sour about Apple too if I couldn't afford a nice machine.
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1- that's uncalled for
2- That's a flat out lie. I've owned (which I suppose means purchased in this context, too) 2 macbook pro's, including a max spec'd 15", and a Macbook air.

Quite frankly, I've been more satified with my Dell than any Apple laptop I've used lately. That's not a definition of my net worth, but rather an acknowledgment that Apple can't make a laptop that can play games without burning me, no matter how much money I am willing to spend.

And yes, I can play Skyrim on max settings on an $800 Dell without burning myself. When Apple can make a $800, or heck, a $1800 laptop that doesn't burn my legs while I game on it, I'll consider one.
 
@KittyKatta:

Have you tried running the 11" MBA with a second monitor hooked up to it? You can make the big one your main by dragging the menu bar to it. I do this frequently with my MBP 13". I've been considering switching to the next 11" MBA because I can plop a cheap 22"-24" monitor almost anywhere I need screen space.

---
 
no regrets

i have no regrets, but i will tell you a couple of interesting things that i did of have happened.

1 - buy a 128 gb sd card at 133x speed, and use it to store all your music, movies,etc. plenty of space on that card for that.

2 .about 6 months of using the mba, is started to notice a halo effect in the center of the screen. turns out its right behind the apple logo on the lid. I brought it to the apple store an they told me its due to pressure on the lid. Take your MBA, and if you press on the apple logo you will notice it will move up and down slightly. so apparently pressure on the lid can actually damage the panel below. apple wasnt going to replace it under warranty, but i argued they sell this as an ultraportable - if it cant handle the travel it shouldnt be advertised as such. They did replace it, and i am alot more careful with it now.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
...
And yes, I can play Skyrim on max settings on an $800 Dell without burning myself. When Apple can make a $800, or heck, a $1800 laptop that doesn't burn my legs while I game on it, I'll consider one.
Click to expand...

No offense, but why would want to play games with a laptop on your legs? I use my MBA on my legs most of the time but not for playing games. If gaming was important to me I'd have a much better setup than trying to do it with a laptop.
 
bcaslis said:
No offense, but why would want to play games with a laptop on your legs? I use my MBA on my legs most of the time but not for playing games. If gaming was important to me I'd have a much better setup than trying to do it with a laptop.
Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but I work at a desk infront of a computer all day long and when I get home it's the last thing I wants to do. Having a notebook on the couch infront of the TV is much better than coming home from a desk to a desk just to game on.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Low storage, no USB 3, no ethernet/sata/hdmi port. Let's be honest, if it wasn't a gift, I would never have bought it. It's worth about $800, max, how it comes configured.
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying. I've had the same unibody macbook since the end of 2009, I maxed out whatever I could on the little guy, but it still hangs when too many things are open - the bottleneck being the old C2D. I was about to jump on the macbook air with last year's release, but I am happy I didn't precisely for the reasons you cited. I still can't believe the cheapest macbook air being sold comes with a pitiful 2GB of ram and 64GB flash drive.

For $999 you can buy much better machines. Heck, at that point I'd throw Mac OS out the window and settle for Windows or even Ubuntu. But I digress, I will finally go for a macbook air this year if, and only if, it includes USB 3.0. I move large files around constantly, and that would be the single best upgrade for me. But at the end of it all, I may settle for a new, redesigned, lighter macbook pro if I can put my current SSD and 8GB ram in there.
 
VI™ said:
I don't know about you, but I work at a desk infront of a computer all day long and when I get home it's the last thing I wants to do. Having a notebook on the couch infront of the TV is much better than coming home from a desk to a desk just to game on.
Click to expand...

IMHO if gaming is so important to somebody (which it is to me) why not purchase a ps3 or an xbox 360? Yeah I know, the graphics might be a tad subpar, but if you hook it up to a 42" Full HDTV, it looks really nice. And you get to play with a controller sitting at a comfortable distance with nothing in your lap.

When it comes to my computer needs, I don't consider gaming such an important factor, and i don't believe gaming standards are a fair benchmark judgement to laptops or computers.

But thats just my opinion.
 
VI™;14666579 said:
I don't know about you, but I work at a desk infront of a computer all day long and when I get home it's the last thing I wants to do. Having a notebook on the couch infront of the TV is much better than coming home from a desk to a desk just to game on.
Click to expand...

How about a laptop table. There's hundreds of styles out there that are perfect for couch computing, whether it's a floor model that slides under your couch, or one thats more portable.

Plus, if you use a mouse an most gamers do, you're going to need a table / tray of some sort.

Vostro's and Latitudes not real hot on the bottom while gaming? That's just not true.
 
None whatsoever. I purchased the first MacBook Air back in early 2008, and have progressed through to the 11" i7 that I purchased last July. It's a great machine, and the 2011 addresses virtually all the compromises that were inherent in the earlier models. The only things I'd like to see on the next version are a higher resolution screen and USB 3.0. I think we'll see the later with the adoption of Ivy Bridge, but the screen resolution might be how Apple differentiates the Pro from the Air lines. We'll find out soon enough.
 
Nikomanz said:
IMHO if gaming is so important to somebody (which it is to me) why not purchase a ps3 or an xbox 360? Yeah I know, the graphics might be a tad subpar, but if you hook it up to a 42" Full HDTV, it looks really nice. And you get to play with a controller sitting at a comfortable distance with nothing in your lap.

When it comes to my computer needs, I don't consider gaming such an important factor, and i don't believe gaming standards are a fair benchmark judgement to laptops or computers.

But thats just my opinion.
Click to expand...

How are the MMOs on PS3 and XBox?

entatlrg said:
How about a laptop table. There's hundreds of styles out there that are perfect for couch computing, whether it's a floor model that slides under your couch, or one thats more portable.

Plus, if you use a mouse an most gamers do, you're going to need a table / tray of some sort.

Vostro's and Latitudes not real hot on the bottom while gaming? That's just not true.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, my mouse worked just fine on the couch.
 
entatlrg said:
How about a laptop table. There's hundreds of styles out there that are perfect for couch computing, whether it's a floor model that slides under your couch, or one thats more portable.

Plus, if you use a mouse an most gamers do, you're going to need a table / tray of some sort.
Click to expand...

I used to play games with just the touchpad. It's quite easy to do, especially with non-FPS's. A casual game of starcraft or any ARPG is easily playable with just a touchpad. No table needed.

entatlrg said:
Vostro's and Latitudes not real hot on the bottom while gaming? That's just not true.
Click to expand...
Well, actually... it is. After playing Skyrim for a few hours, I took my computer off my table and put it on my lap, because someone else on this forum had asked me how warm it got while gaming. It was warm on the left side, but not hot.

I thought maybe it was just the superb heat dispersion, but last week my laptop didn't suspend properly and it ended up rebooting in my bag, and going into the bios. There's no thermal clocking, so I get home about 20 minutes later, pull my laptop out, and it's drained about 20% of its battery while running everything on max. And you know what? The bottom still wasn't hot. About 5 minutes later the fan stopped going full blast and it was back to its normal semi-warm temperatures.

I can't even begin to explain the difference between Apple's obsessive decissions to make everything slimmer and slimmer at the expense of heat disbursion, and a sane PC manufacturer that creates a laptop that's capable of disbursing heat without burning your lap.
 
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