is the 13" MBA the new sweet spot for Mac Laptops

underblu · Nov 21, 2012, 08:59 PM

Been thinking of adding a MBA to go along with my awesome Sandybridge 17" MBP.

I really don't like the iPad I picked up recently. It kinda sucks for anything other than movies and web browsing and even there I'd prefer a laptop (for web browsing)

That led me to look at the 13" MBP and the 13" MBA.

I have to say the 13" MBA seems to be a price performance leader here.

While the MBPs have higher clocked dual core chips this speed bump doesn't seem like a significant performance difference

The MBA offers better resolution than the cMBp 13", in a much smaller lighter more portable package

While the rMBP provides superior resolution to the air and a light and thin form factor, it still doesn't best the air in portability and it's high resolution display will likely come at a penalty in ultimate graphic performance. Not to mention it cost several hundred more than the MBA

Just my thoughts here.

mohsy90 · Nov 21, 2012, 09:11 PM

Agreed. The MBA will eventually replace what used to be the 13" MBP spot as the most popular "go to" laptop for consumers. It's lighter, has a better screen resolution and comes with an SSD. The SSD compensates for the lower processor speed and actually makes the Air way faster than the base MBP.

Definitely the sweet spot mac.

xekret · Nov 21, 2012, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by underblu

Been thinking of adding a MBA to go along with my awesome Sandybridge 17" MBP.

I really don't like the iPad I picked up recently. It kinda sucks for anything other than movies and web browsing and even there I'd prefer a laptop (for web browsing)

That led me to look at the 13" MBP and the 13" MBA.

I have to say the 13" MBA seems to be a price performance leader here.

While the MBPs have higher clocked dual core chips this speed bump doesn't seem like a significant performance difference

The MBA offers better resolution than the cMBp 13", in a much smaller lighter more portable package

While the rMBP provides superior resolution to the air and a light and thin form factor, it still doesn't best the air in portability and it's high resolution display will likely come at a penalty in ultimate graphic performance. Not to mention it cost several hundred more than the MBA

Just my thoughts here.

I'm with you on the iPad bit, doesn't really do it for me after owning it. I myself prefer the 13" retina over the Air, but if I had to buy right now I would definitely get the Air. It makes more sense money wise to me. I am going to hold off if I can until next year for the spec bump and hopefully the retina will have a better onboard GPU. Just my .02

Mrbobb · Nov 21, 2012, 10:11 PM

Didn't somebody say the 13" Air is Apple's best seller?

But are you gonna buy statistics or are you going to buy something SUITABLE FOR YOU?

throAU · Nov 21, 2012, 10:17 PM

For most people, yup.

Nov 21, 2012, 08:59 PM	#1
underblu macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2010	is the 13" MBA the new sweet spot for Mac Laptops Been thinking of adding a MBA to go along with my awesome Sandybridge 17" MBP. I really don't like the iPad I picked up recently. It kinda sucks for anything other than movies and web browsing and even there I'd prefer a laptop (for web browsing) That led me to look at the 13" MBP and the 13" MBA. I have to say the 13" MBA seems to be a price performance leader here. While the MBPs have higher clocked dual core chips this speed bump doesn't seem like a significant performance difference The MBA offers better resolution than the cMBp 13", in a much smaller lighter more portable package While the rMBP provides superior resolution to the air and a light and thin form factor, it still doesn't best the air in portability and it's high resolution display will likely come at a penalty in ultimate graphic performance. Not to mention it cost several hundred more than the MBA Just my thoughts here.
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Nov 21, 2012, 09:11 PM	#2
mohsy90 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New York	Agreed. The MBA will eventually replace what used to be the 13" MBP spot as the most popular "go to" laptop for consumers. It's lighter, has a better screen resolution and comes with an SSD. The SSD compensates for the lower processor speed and actually makes the Air way faster than the base MBP. Definitely the sweet spot mac. __________________ The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it.
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Nov 21, 2012, 10:17 PM	#5
throAU macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Perth, Western Australia	For most people, yup. __________________ MBP (early 2011) - Core i7 2720 2.2ghz, Hires Glossy, 16GB, Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Mac Mini (mid 2007) - Core2 Duo 1.8, 2gb, 320gb 7200 rpm iPhone 4S, iPad 4
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Nov 21, 2012, 10:11 PM	#4
Mrbobb macrumors 68030 Join Date: Aug 2012	Didn't somebody say the 13" Air is Apple's best seller? But are you gonna buy statistics or are you going to buy something SUITABLE FOR YOU?
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