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2012 MBA 11' vs 13" or MBP Retina 15"?

sparkie7

sparkie7

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 17, 2008
2,612
319
Ok, I'm seriously thinking of getting one of these.

Lets deal with the MBA 11 vs 13" — the 11" is more appealing size wise of course. but lacks the additional screen height. And the SD card. Everything is pretty much the same against the 13"?

I have waited till now to buy a MBA as I have always wanted 8GB RAM in a new laptop.

With the MBA 13" vs Retina MBP 15" — there's not a 13" Retina MBP at present so the next best thing is the 15". Personally I cannot stand the glassy screen, is  going to offer a matte screen option? These new retina's are true desktop replacements with maxed out 16GB and SSD storage, and Intel 4000 GPU.

Any hints if  will bring out a 13" retina?
 
I was in the same boat as you. At first I wanted the rMBP but I decided against it because I didn't want another 15" laptop. Then I was leaning towards the 13" MBA but debated on waiting till October for the rumored retina 13". But since I needed something now and really wanted the ease to take one with me more, I bought the 11" and I love it. I was worried that the lack of vertical height or possible eye strain that forum posters have mentioned would bother me, but those haven't been an issue. I personally prefer glossy screens too, so that wasn't a factor in my decision.

It really fits my needs the best. I have my desktop pc for serious muscle or gaming but I prefer working in OS X so I can hook up the MBA to one of my monitors if want the extra real estate. Then I can disconnect it and slip it into its sleeve and head out the door.

It really depends on how portable you want your laptop to be. I found myself putting off tasks or projects because I didn't want to hassle with getting my 15" MBP out and it wasn't because I was lazy, the environments just didn't provide enough comfortable space for it.
 
cool thanks. my only concern is the 11" is missing the SD slot, which can come in very handy..
 
I can't imagine why someone who could get a rMBP would even think about the Air. If you can get the rMBP, I don't see why you shouldn't get one. It's everything you could ever ask for.
 
Wirelessly posted

I bought a SD card USB adapter when I got my 2010 11" MBA. used it once or twice. but since getting the iPhone 4s and photostream, I never use the SD.

they're $10 on amazon so if you like the 11" form factor, I wouldn't let the lack of the SD card slot get in the way.
 
Retina MacBook said:
I can't imagine why someone who could get a rMBP would even think about the Air. If you can get the rMBP, I don't see why you shouldn't get one. It's everything you could ever ask for.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I think it's funny that many clump the 13" Air and rMBP into the same category. They're not even close to the same in terms of performance! They're not the same form factor either! Why is it one or the other? If you're looking for a similar computer categorically to the Air, it's the 13" MBP..not the 15" rMBP.
 
I'm kinda in the same boat. Like the specs of the rMBP, but can work with the form factor of the Air. I like the horsepower of the pro but will probably never push it to the limits of the hardware. So do I get the rMBP for the potential of having the needed horsepower or do I save some coin and get the Air that will mostly meet or exceed my computing needs for a mobile form factor. Still have the iMac for heavy duty stuff.

This is the debate I'm having. So thank you for starting this thread.
 
Retina MacBook said:
I can't imagine why someone who could get a rMBP would even think about the Air. If you can get the rMBP, I don't see why you shouldn't get one. It's everything you could ever ask for.
Click to expand...

I could have gotten one... I really *wanted* one, but decided the updated 11" would suit me better. I'm just too used to the smaller form factor now to go back to a larger laptop (ie. I regularly use it my lap kicked back on a couch), and I pretty much weighed that against the option of the desktop space afforded by being able to choose 1920 x 1200. But this wasn't terribly obvious at first, I spent an hour at my local Apple store playing with a rMBP.

As an odd turnabout I went thru the same motions when the original Air (the one in 2008) was released, but opted for a 15" MBP at the time, too worried that the Air would be underpowered.

Very eager to see if retina Airs are released with Haswell.
 
I had this debate in my head and was thinking of starting a thread.

Don't like the 13-inch MBP: resolution, hard drive, ram, size. 15-inch is nice, but once I configured to how I wanted It'd be roughly the same price of the base rMBP. I also feel the 13 and 15 MBP's are going to be moved over to magsafe 2 and refreshed sooner than air will drastically change.

For once I wanted to buy a computer I actually kept for some time.

Since I got rid of all my computers at this point. In the end I decided I want a solid laptop, but ultimately the rMBP is overkill for my on the go.

went with 13-inch air i5/128/8
 
thanks guys. it seems that the best balance for all features is the MBA 13".. thought that 11" form factor is still pulling for attention!
 
The retina is super nice, can't lie. I used it for a week then returned it for a 13' MBA. it's just too big for me personally.
 
my head tells me the 13" MBA is the right choice. but the 11" is just cooler..
 
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