13" Air or 13" Pro, your opinions

[yourtoys7]

I have an oportunaty to get 13" air i7/ 8/ 256 for very good price, but wondering what 13" macbook pro retina offers better.
Air, + battery life, + typing is soo much better, + lighter.
Pro, i5/ 8/ 256, + screen, + hdmi (not sure how ofter would use it, but nice to have).
what would you choose and why?

 

[willgreene99]

After using the 11" 2013 Air for several months now, I am going with a new 13" 2013 rMBP.

To me, the performance is similar for my uses. Web browsing, streaming music, watching videos, and extensive writing of multi-page documents. In fact, writing is the main point of using my Air.

The portability and battery life is great on the Air and I expect the rMBP to be a bit heavier but will lose some battery life.

The main reason I am going with the retina is that reading and writing are much clearer and crisper on the retina screen. When I place my Air next to the 13" rMBP, I am more comfortable with extended periods of reading and writing on that screen than I am on the Air's screen. The letters are not fuzzy and I gain some real estate.

I know that I will lose a few hours of battery life, but for me, the sacrifice will be worth it.

 

[yourtoys7]

that true on many points, but when i tried typing on pro for a while, i feel like sharp edge is cutting into your wrist, has anyone experienced that?

 

[mpantone]

Is it thirteen feet or thirteen inches? So confusing!

#spinaltap

 

[blesscheese]

that true on many points, but when i tried typing on pro for a while, i feel like sharp edge is cutting into your wrist, has anyone experienced that?

Yes! I use an Air and love it. In fact, I was thinking of the rMBP, but decided that when I upgrade, I'll get an Air. The slanted keyboard/palm rest is ideal for typing either at a desk, or in a chair. When I try the rMBP at a store, I don't notice it because I am standing and my arms angle down...I'm convinced that siting at a desk, the edges will rub ("cut") against my wrists, and I'll be uncomfortable.

I don't use it for heavy-duty tasks, but I do like portability, so the light weight and battery life are worth the (only slightly) reduced CPU power.

 

[calvol]

At the price points now, the rMBP is a no brainier unless 1/2 lb of extra weight is bothersome.

 

[yourtoys7]

At the price points now, the rMBP is a no brainier unless 1/2 lb of extra weight is bothersome.

the price that I can get the air for, not from the store but almost brand new, is almost 300 difference.

 

[Y So Jelly]

I would get the Air every time.

 

[robvas]

Retina screen is niiiice

 

[mvmanolov]

Retina screen is niiiice

12+ h of battery is nicer especially since that also means another 1/2 pound of weight you don't have to carry around. for a grand total of a whole pound... (which is now a lot if you are traveling/walking a lot)

 

[clukas]

For me the perfect machine would be an air with a retina display. Unfortunately we wont see this for another couple of years. I was wondering whether the difference in weight and portability is actually noticeable in real life?

 

[robvas]

12+ h of battery is nicer especially since that also means another 1/2 pound of weight you don't have to carry around. for a grand total of a whole pound... (which is now a lot if you are traveling/walking a lot)

10+ is still pretty nice. And the slightly smaller footprint of the Retina is nice too

 

[mscice]

I was in same boat as you.. but consider this

i7/8/256 vs 2.4/8/256 rMBP
AIR:
- faster
- its cheaper
- wayyy longer battery life
- more working space
- lighter!
- more portable

There is a reason why apple is moving away soon from retina... checkout the 1500 posts on yellowish issue on retina, some people have returned 5 macbook pros & still getting a defected one ..
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18486886#post18486886

AIR is a no brainer!

 

[theSeb]

There is a reason why apple is moving away soon from retina... checkout the 1500 posts on yellowish issue on retina, some people have returned 5 macbook pros & still getting a defected one ..
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18486886#post18486886

Yup, 1466 posts. But only 191 posters. Many of whom said that they have no issue. Even it if was 191 unhappy people, there were still many thousands of computers sold. Forums should not ever be used to try and prove some point, as the numbers usually are statistically insignificant.

 

[PDFierro]

I was in same boat as you.. but consider this

i7/8/256 vs 2.4/8/256 rMBP
AIR:
- faster
- its cheaper
- wayyy longer battery life
- more working space
- lighter!
- more portable

There is a reason why apple is moving away soon from retina... checkout the 1500 posts on yellowish issue on retina, some people have returned 5 macbook pros & still getting a defected one ..
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18486886#post18486886

AIR is a no brainer!

Wow. So wrong.

 

[yourtoys7]

I end up finding 4 weeks old 13" i7 8gb 128ssd windows user that couldn't get used to Mac. for 1100.

 

[cyberbro]

One point no one said yet.

The Pro has the flush mounted screen that is so much better looking in a High End Computer kind of way and so easy to clean.

 

[scaredpoet]

There is a reason why apple is moving away soon from retina...

Where exactly do you get this info from?

Anyway, it's really subjective based on individual preferences. For me, the lightness IS a big deal, and the advantage sod retina on a 13 inch screen don't outweigh the lightness of a MacBook Air, so I'm sticking with my Air for now.

 

[Chatran]

Actually, it is not really faster, except single thread (maybe light loading).

I was in same boat as you.. but consider this

i7/8/256 vs 2.4/8/256 rMBP
AIR:
- faster
- its cheaper
- wayyy longer battery life
- more working space
- lighter!
- more portable

There is a reason why apple is moving away soon from retina... checkout the 1500 posts on yellowish issue on retina, some people have returned 5 macbook pros & still getting a defected one ..
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18486886#post18486886

AIR is a no brainer!

 

[ohbrilliance]

I would go the rMBP every time. The weight increase is negligible and more than made up by the smaller footprint, the screen is just something else, and the battery life is very good. I get up to 12 hours usage at times.

 

[macfacts]

Consider this, if you do a google search for "thinnest laptop 2013" (im in canada using firefox) and click on the apple macbook air ad (which is the first ad for me) it goes to apples macbook pro retina page.

Is this Apple trying to upsell here or just them admitting that one is better than the other. hahahaha.

 

[Miat]

that true on many points, but when i tried typing on pro for a while, i feel like sharp edge is cutting into your wrist, has anyone experienced that?

The slight slope on the Air might seem a minor thing, but it makes a big difference to how long I can rest my hands on it. The edge on the pros cuts into my wrists after a while.

Though I have not tried using the thinner rMBP for any length of time, so they might be a lot better on this issue than the non-retina MBP.

 

[Serban]

probably when apple will merge the 11.6" and 13.4" into one 12.9" Macbook air 1440p it will be a no brainer for sure for those who don't need the extra power.

We will se in 2014

 

[Sarhir]

Air vs Pro

Glad to read this. I am struggling with fixing my older MacBook or getting an Air or Pro. I really like the weight of the Air and as I am 'fixin to travel more, would like a lighter computer but struggle with the lack of a hard drive. I actually use my hard drive. Ocassionally watch a movie on my computer, and frequently upload music or audio books to iTunes. I can then listen to them in my car via my iPhone.

OR.. fix the problems on my MacBook which will run a total of $430 (not sure it is worth it) and get an iPad or iPad mini. .....If money were no issue, would do both! alas, it is an issue....

SO.. folks, do you miss having a Disc Drive??

 

[dirtnnasty]

before I brought my rMBP, I had a WIN Notebook and I used the Disc Drive 3 times in two years (actually I didn't get rid of it). Two times to make a bootable flash drive... and one DVD.

I brought this rMBP because of mobility... with DVD and CD's I am not as flexible... Every necessary document I got on my dropbox and other files like setup etc I got either on the internal or on a flash drive...

I prefer my MBP instead of a MB Air...