Have any MBA buyers recently wished they'd gone MB Pro instead?

s2mikey · Oct 31, 2013

Im leaning towards a Pro vs an Air if only for the retina display and slightly beefier specs/connectivity options. But, lightness is in and you can save a few bucks too. Since most of my use of this laptop will be at home sitting on a table the portability isnt a huge plus for me. battery life *could* be since we do bring laptops all around the house with us.

I guess what Im asking is: Do you have any MacBook pro "remorse" as in after a few months you miss the power/usability of the Pro over the lightness and battery life of the Air?

Thanks.

jblock · Oct 31, 2013

Nope. Actually had the top of the line new 2013 MBP 13" for about a week and returned it. My 2013 ultimate 11" Air was faster in everyday tasks and ran much cooler. Yes, the MBP retina screen was better when they were side by side but to be honest it gave me a headache working on it all day. With the right profile the MBA screen works well for me. I really like the form factor and size and use it all day.

dizmonk · Oct 31, 2013

I've had both and I'm leaning toward keeping the Air... The retina is nice but not overwhelming....

I like the Air due to better typing on the keyboard, battery life, weight and speed...

s2mikey · Oct 31, 2013

Great - thanks..... lets get some more feedback but I suspect the Air may just be the ticket

nefan65 · Oct 31, 2013

I have a 2010 13" MBP, and deciding between the 11" & 13" Air. I like the rMBP, but I'd rather have better battery and portability vs screen...

entatlrg · Oct 31, 2013

I have a 11 and 13" Air, used Air's since the first 13" was introduced and have the recent models now. Also have the 13" rMBP, my wife has the 15" rMBP.

I chose the rMBP. It's leaps and bounds better, the display is incredible and MUCH better than the Air's. Can't understand the comments about headaches and heat on the rMBP.

The Air's screen gave both my wife and I eye strain, for me it's not suitable for hours of use. My 13" runs very cool and extremely quiet. Plus the smaller form factor, far better keyboard, spec's etc ... get the retina, you'll be glad you did.

You may get more suggesting the Air since since this is the Air sub forum, ask the same question in the MacBook Pro forum and it'll probably tilt the other way... I own both and have no bias except for the appreciation of good displays - after all it's what we spend hours staring at...

I had last years retina 13" and just received my new i7, 16, 1TB 13" retina. My 13" Air isn't being used, it's for sale and I'll keep my 11" because I like it's super small size.

s2mikey · Oct 31, 2013

entatlrg said:
I have a 11 and 13" Air, used Air's since the first 13" was introduced and have the recent models now. Also have the 13" rMBP, my wife has the 15" rMBP.

I chose the rMBP. It's leaps and bounds better, the display is incredible and MUCH better than the Air's. Can't understand the comments about headaches and heat on the rMBP.

The Air's screen gave both my wife and I eye strain, for me it's not suitable for hours of use. My 13" runs very cool and extremely quiet. Plus the smaller form factor, far better keyboard, spec's etc ... get the retina, you'll be glad you did.

You may get more suggesting the Air since since this is the Air sub forum, ask the same question in the MacBook Pro forum and it'll probably tilt the other way... I own both and have no bias except for the appreciation of good displays - after all it's what we spend hours staring at...

I had last years retina 13" and just received my new i7, 16, 1TB 13" retina. My 13" Air isn't being used, it's for sale and I'll keep my 11" because I like it's super small size.

Thanks - love the alternate opinion. And, yeah, this is the Air forum so I expect people to be pro-air. But, I figured I might find more users(if there are many) that bought an Air and now regret it.

mattferg · Oct 31, 2013

I'm in two minds about this - I have the i5 Air and got it at a very good price, but after using a 2012 rMBP the other day, I wish I had enough money to buy the Pro! If I was buying them today, and the base 13" had 8GB of RAM for that price, I'd absolutely go for the rMBP, every time. However, as it stands, I'm still happy with my Air, as I didn't want to spend much more than £940, and I wanted the RAM upgrade for sure!

cleung · Oct 31, 2013

I'm writing on a 3-year-old MBA 13 inch. My brand new MBP Retina 13 inch just arrived today. In terms of speed, there's no comparison but I expected it since my MBA is 3 years old. However, I cannot stop wondering if I should have ordered a MBA instead, perhaps even a 11 inch (something I hadn't really considered before).

I like how things are displayed on my MBA. I could change the resolution on my rMBP but it sort of defeats the purpose. I really like the MBA form factor and even though the new rMBP is already lighter than previous gen and slightly thinner, it still doesn't compare in my mind. The main reason why I ordered a rMBP instead was because I wanted to see how my website looks on one. I run a business with a business that has constant photo updates. I wanted to make sure I can see what customers with a retina display would see.

Ultimately, I don't think I'll return my new rMBP but I might be ordering a new MBA when they update it next time.

neteng101 · Oct 31, 2013

s2mikey said:
But, I figured I might find more users(if there are many) that bought an Air and now regret it.

I can't regret it - I had a "13 MBA on order to replace my "10 MBA (the one that began the whole revolution of flash storage/thin/portable/battery life/etc) earlier in the year but talked myself out of it and cancelled the order (13/1.3/8/256). Didn't even know that the rMBP's would get their price lowered.

Ended up with a late-13" rMBP 2.6/8/512 instead.

The choice is simple really to me. Unless you need that supreme battery life or an 11" micro, the 13" rMBP is the way to go. Its either screen or battery.

I'm not feeling any lag, I run at scaled 1440x900, but I've seen the freeze issue, so the only caution I'd give is to wait till that gets fixed. Then just get yourself the 13" rMBP, you'll thank yourself later for it... UNLESS you know you will run on battery for extended periods all the time.

old-wiz · Oct 31, 2013

I went for a maxed out 13" MBA as opposed to retina. I wanted the lightest possible and could not tell the difference between the two screens.

iCam · Oct 31, 2013

neteng101 said:
I can't regret it - I had a "13 MBA on order to replace my "10 MBA (the one that began the whole revolution of flash storage/thin/portable/battery life/etc) earlier in the year but talked myself out of it and cancelled the order (13/1.3/8/256). Didn't even know that the rMBP's would get their price lowered.

Ended up with a late-13" rMBP 2.6/8/512 instead.

The choice is simple really to me. Unless you need that supreme battery life or an 11" micro, the 13" rMBP is the way to go. Its either screen or battery.

I'm not feeling any lag, I run at scaled 1440x900, but I've seen the freeze issue, so the only caution I'd give is to wait till that gets fixed. Then just get yourself the 13" rMBP, you'll thank yourself later for it... UNLESS you know you will run on battery for extended periods all the time.

i just sold my 2013 MBA 13" i5/4/256 and picked up a new rMBP 2.4/16gb16/256. so far i enjoy the MBP waaaaay more. it is fast, great screen, compact and the battery life has been better then expected.

had money not been an issue i would have opted for a 2.6 and 1tb ssd.

lina231 · Oct 31, 2013

s2mikey said:
Im leaning towards a Pro vs an Air if only for the retina display and slightly beefier specs/connectivity options. But, lightness is in and you can save a few bucks too. Since most of my use of this laptop will be at home sitting on a table the portability isnt a huge plus for me. battery life *could* be since we do bring laptops all around the house with us.

I guess what Im asking is: Do you have any MacBook pro "remorse" as in after a few months you miss the power/usability of the Pro over the lightness and battery life of the Air?

Thanks.

Nope, I love my Air. Everyone that I talk to that loves their air. The only think that I hear people regretting is the size of the air. I myself almost bought and 11'' but went with the 13'' instead. I know a lot of people though who bought the 11'' and regret it.

xanotos75 · Oct 31, 2013

Well, I first purchase a Mid 2013 13" and returned it for an 11".
13 was good, but I use it more as a bed computer and as a remote desktop controller for the macs at the house.
Sure, the 11" is smaller, but can't beat the speed and power that 'little guy' has!

cerberusss · Oct 31, 2013

entatlrg said:
Plus the smaller form factor, far better keyboard, spec's etc ... get the retina, you'll be glad you did.

Is there a difference between the keyboards on the MBA and rMBP?

neteng101 · Oct 31, 2013

cerberusss said:
Is there a difference between the keyboards on the MBA and rMBP?

Key travel/depth/feel... the Air has less travel/feel for its keys but its far from bad. The rMBP has more travel so it feels better than the Air's to actually type on.

qawsed · Oct 31, 2013

old-wiz said:
I went for a maxed out 13" MBA as opposed to retina. I wanted the lightest possible and could not tell the difference between the two screens.

Man, come on! If people prefer the form factor of the air fair play, but the screens are very different.

For what it's worth I returned the 13/i7/8/256 air for a 13/8gb/256 rMBP. It's smaller and has a beautiful screen. I'm very happy with it, although I'm sure I'd have been happy with the air too.

ZBoater · Oct 31, 2013

s2mikey said:
Do you have any MacBook pro "remorse" as in after a few months you miss the power/usability of the Pro over the lightness and battery life of the Air?

Nope. The Air does everything I need done very, very well.

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qawsed said:
Man, come on! If people prefer the form factor of the air fair play, but the screens are very different.

I couldn't tell the difference on the screens either. It wasn't THAT obvious.

PDFierro · Oct 31, 2013

ZBoater said:
Nope. The Air does everything I need done very, very well.

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I couldn't tell the difference on the screens either. It wasn't THAT obvious.

The difference is obvious. I can't take a look at an Air screen the same way again.

s15119 · Oct 31, 2013

Not me. I'm thrilled with the Air. It's blazing fast, light, portable and a joy to use. I don't regret it one little bit.

yosemit · Oct 31, 2013

The retina display is beautiful. But no, I won't trade my MBA with a rBMP because the MBA fits my need the best. If retina MBA becomes available, then I will upgrade to retina.

ZBoater · Oct 31, 2013

PDFierro said:
The difference is obvious. I can't take a look at an Air screen the same way again.

Well, I could. I compared them side by side and the difference didn't live up to the hype.

MacSignal · Oct 31, 2013

I went from a 2012 MBA to the original version of the rMBP 13. What I miss most of all is the 1400 x 900 screen resolution of the MBA 13.

What I like best about the rMBP is the display. I also appreciate that the keyboard is a little less disappointing than the air. Both keyboards are lame compared to any cMBP.

For the kind of home use you describe, I would get the rMBP without hesitation.

If I did a lot of air travel, I know from previous experience, that the MBA's better battery life and lighter weight might lead me to a different preference.

Given that I don't have a need to do frequent air travel, the retina display was too much better than all of the Air's other advantages. YMMV.

s2mikey · Nov 1, 2013

Great stuff, everyone. I need to get to an apple store soon and check each one out. As you all saw, a lot of our usage will be with the unit sitting on a table plugged in so that screams rMPB. But, when you want portability and battery life the MBA is king. This all started with me being convinced that an iPad air was best for us but we need a full system in the house. Can't just do tablets, that won't cut it for us. So, the MBA was the closest thing to iPad lightness and battery life with some actual computing power.

Wish I could get one of each.... That's the best solution, right?

w00d · Nov 1, 2013

If the 13" rMBP had 1440x900 native resolution, I would consider it. I think the retina screen is nice to look at. But I'm not a fan of 1280x800. It would also be more appealing if it had a quad core cpu. I wish I liked the rMBP better, it is a nice machine, but currently the MBA is the best fit for me.

Have any MBA buyers recently wished they'd gone MB Pro instead?

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