13" rMBP ($1350) or 12" rMB ($1150)

[Maukey]

I just recently purchased a SP4 w/ Type Cover. I purchased it because I was looking for kind of a do it all device that could act as a Tablet and Laptop. I really am impressed with it as an overall package, however, 3 key factors have forced me to make a decision to return it. First, poor battery life, Second, mediocre use as a tablet, and Last, high maintenance (constant updates, patches, etc.).

I am now kind of back to the drawing board. I have decided that I need to give up on trying to find one do it all device and just settle for a dedicated Tablet for office use and when I travel internationally, and a Laptop for my day to day uses. I know I will either be getting the 64GB LTE Model of the iPad Mini 4 or the iPad Air 2. I now have to make a decision on my laptop. I am considering either the 13" rMBP i5 w/ 8GB Ram and a 256GB SSD for $1350, or the 12" rMB Core M w/ 8GB Ram and a 256GB SSD. I am also open to other suggestions if there are better values out there. Here are my needs in a laptop:

1) It needs to be able to handle Web Browsing with up to 10 tabs at a time while downloading files/videos at the same time, Viewing 1080p Videos w/ VLC/Netflix/Youtube/etc., Using Air Video HD to stream 1080p MKV Videos to my new Apple TV, on rare occasions encode 1080p videos using Handbrake, and possibly in the future use Logic Pro to create music tracks.

2) Long Battery Life. The SP4 only got me about 5-6 hours just web browsing. That's unacceptable for me.

3) Portability. I will sometimes carry this laptop with me in a backpack with my iPad of choice for shorter trips/commutes.

Which would you choose in my situation and why? Thanks in Advance

 

[T5BRICK]

1) It needs to be able to handle Web Browsing with up to 10 tabs at a time while downloading files/videos at the same time, Viewing 1080p Videos w/ VLC/Netflix/Youtube/etc., Using Air Video HD to stream 1080p MKV Videos to my new Apple TV, on rare occasions encode 1080p videos using Handbrake, and possibly in the future use Logic Pro to create music tracks.

Either one will perform all of these tasks just fine. The rMBP will outperform the rMB in the heavier tasks, but not by a huge margin.

2) Long Battery Life. The SP4 only got me about 5-6 hours just web browsing. That's unacceptable for me.

The rMBP will win here, but not by a huge margin.

3) Portability. I will sometimes carry this laptop with me in a backpack with my iPad of choice for shorter trips/commutes.

The rMB will win here. Although the 13" rMBP isn't exactly a heavy computer at 3.5 lbs.

Which would you choose in my situation and why? Thanks in Advance

I went with the rMBP earlier this year because I wanted the connectivity options and I absolutely hate the new keyboard on the rMB.

 

[trevpimp]

Since I don't like the rMB keyboard I would go with the rMBP.
And you never know when those extra ports might come in handy without needing to purchase extra accessories

 

[Samuelsan2001]

For that use case I would get the rMB and forget the tablet. To be honest it's so thin and light and small it'll be just as portable as a standard ipad air and will do everything you need. Encoding in handbrake won't be the quickest but other than that you should be fine.

 

[maflynn]

The SP4 is getting lots of updates to address the instability (and I suppose battery life), but it seems you're unhappy with it and will be returning it.

Your list of uses are such that the rMB will fit your needs.

 

[Maukey]

The SP4 is getting lots of updates to address the instability (and I suppose battery life), but it seems you're unhappy with it and will be returning it.

Your list of uses are such that the rMB will fit your needs.

I honestly think it's a great device. It's really more so frustration. A couple of days ago I was streaming 1080p MP4 Christmas movies via Air Video HD for my son from my SP4 to my new ATV while surfing the web; this in itself was very cool to be doing this on a tablet so easily. I started about 9am w/ 100% battery life, at 12pm I was down to like 51%. It concerned me in the case where I'm using this on the road as a tablet. I'm so indecisive lol, looking for the perfect solution. I may keep the SP4. I really would like assurance that the battery life will see improvements because it is an amazing device.

 

[tiguanito]

I honestly think it's a great device. It's really more so frustration. A couple of days ago I was streaming 1080p MP4 Christmas movies via Air Video HD for my son from my SP4 to my new ATV while surfing the web; this in itself was very cool to be doing this on a tablet so easily. I started about 9am w/ 100% battery life, at 12pm I was down to like 51%. It concerned me in the case where I'm using this on the road as a tablet. I'm so indecisive lol, looking for the perfect solution. I may keep the SP4. I really would like assurance that the battery life will see improvements because it is an amazing device.

Battery life is the reason why I returned my SP3 last year. The problem with Windows (like Android), is you can't get a consistent battery life. Sometimes an update, an application, a driver, etc will conflict with the suspend, or will take more CPU than expected, and kills your battery. There is a lot more maintenance with a Windows machine, it needs to be optimized. SP4 doesn't really improve that , infortunately. Otherwise it's a very nice machine. It like the keyboard of the SP4 more than the one on the IPP or rMB.
The MBP is in a different category. If you can live with the extra weight, it's a great 13" laptop with no major issue.

 

[doitdada]

I have owned both a rMBP 13" and a rMB 12" at the same time. It was easy to keep the rMB 12", sold the 13". I bring my retina MacBook everywhere, and it handles any action I would do on my lap or connected to an external monitor.

I would opt for a 13" if it had quad core and 16GB ram as baseline.

 

[Badrottie]

I just recently purchased a SP4 w/ Type Cover. I purchased it because I was looking for kind of a do it all device that could act as a Tablet and Laptop. I really am impressed with it as an overall package, however, 3 key factors have forced me to make a decision to return it. First, poor battery life, Second, mediocre use as a tablet, and Last, high maintenance (constant updates, patches, etc.).

I am now kind of back to the drawing board. I have decided that I need to give up on trying to find one do it all device and just settle for a dedicated Tablet for office use and when I travel internationally, and a Laptop for my day to day uses. I know I will either be getting the 64GB LTE Model of the iPad Mini 4 or the iPad Air 2. I now have to make a decision on my laptop. I am considering either the 13" rMBP i5 w/ 8GB Ram and a 256GB SSD for $1350, or the 12" rMB Core M w/ 8GB Ram and a 256GB SSD. I am also open to other suggestions if there are better values out there. Here are my needs in a laptop:

1) It needs to be able to handle Web Browsing with up to 10 tabs at a time while downloading files/videos at the same time, Viewing 1080p Videos w/ VLC/Netflix/Youtube/etc., Using Air Video HD to stream 1080p MKV Videos to my new Apple TV, on rare occasions encode 1080p videos using Handbrake, and possibly in the future use Logic Pro to create music tracks.

2) Long Battery Life. The SP4 only got me about 5-6 hours just web browsing. That's unacceptable for me.

3) Portability. I will sometimes carry this laptop with me in a backpack with my iPad of choice for shorter trips/commutes.

Which would you choose in my situation and why? Thanks in Advance

Now you didn't mention you wanted retina display but you say long battery life I know one you should buy a MacBook Air "13 it has a best long battery life than any other Mac line.

 

[lparsons21]

I voted rMB, and also voted with my wallet for it. That's because I like the simplicity of it all and don't need/use all the connectivity that is on the rMBP. I still have my late 2012 rMBP 13" that I probably will sell at some point.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'd rather have the Pro model.

Superior in every way.

 

[matt2053]

I've wanted so badly for the 12" rMB to work out for me. I've owned and returned one twice now I really loved the thinness. I really loved the look and feel. I really loved the fact that it was fanless.

I'm a minimalist at heart and the design of the rMB really spoke my language.

However for me the rMB just ended up not being powerful enough for me. There are a few use cases where it just didn't perform, mainly around screen sharing or video streaming. I often host online meetings and have to share my screen or webcam and this would sometimes grind the rMB to a halt. I would lose audio for several seconds at a time because the CPU was so busy processing the video. So if you ever have to do any kind of GoToMeetings or things like that then I strongly recommend the Pro.

The second thing about it that bothered me was simply it being slow in general. Click, beachball, wait... ok go. Too much of that. Larger Excel files would open instantly on my Pro and take several seconds on the rMB. Installing applications seemed to take much longer too, although that's not something I do very often. Just something to note.

Battery life also makes it hard to give up the Pro. If I turn my brightness down to about 50% and do light office work and web browsing, I've gotten over 14 hours out of this thing on numerous occasions. The rMB claims up to 9 hours but in real life usage I was getting *maybe* 7 to 7.5 hours. MBP gets 10 hours easy, and like I said up to 14 if I need to stretch it out.

The final thing for me was screen size. The extra inch might not seem like much but it made a big difference to me. For all day usage I really came to appreciate the extra comfort on the 13" display.

When I want to go thin and light or ultraportable, I just grab my iPad Air 2. That thing paired with a nice keyboard is quite capable in a pinch.

 

[Serban]

Battery lover? go get and buy a Macbook Air
Future man? go get the Macbook
Normal man? go get the Macbook Pro

 

[Warbrain]

I just had this same consideration and settled on the 13" rMBP. I tried out a MacBook in the store with a few use cases in mind and it failed terribly. I had iTunes, Notes, Mail, and Safari all open. Opening new tabs in Safari, in quick succession, took a few seconds to load the favorites page. I'm sure it's a great computer but if you're going to do any kind of processor heavy work at all you're going to be better off avoiding it for now. I loved the keyboard and the size but the processor is holding it back.

If I had the option of waiting I would have for the next MacBook but the way my finances are right now it made sense for me to buy now. There's no harm in doing either but I don't like always waiting for the next great thing.