2015 Air v 2017 Macbook

[chillip]

currently have a 2015 air 11inch i5 4gb 128gb and it’s still good. Have the chance to buy a new 2015 MacBook 12 inch i5 8gb ram 512gb for £999. Apart from the screen is it worth the upgrade? Thanks

 

[EugW]

The 2015 MacBook has a terrible keyboard, and it's somewhat slow. BTW, there is no such thing as a 2015 i5 MacBook. You probably mean m5.

The 2017 has a MUCH better keyboard (although it's still not great), and even the 2017 m3 is significantly faster than the 2015 m5.

 

[filmbuff]

The 2017 Macbook is going to be a giant improvement from a 2015 11" Air.

 

[EugW]

The 2017 Macbook is going to be a giant improvement from a 2015 11" Air.

He was looking to get a 2015 MacBook (which I do not recommend).

 

[chillip]

I mean 2017 MacBook, sorry

 

[mikeray]

I have the 2015 MacBook, and although I love the little guy, I wouldn’t recommend it. Get the latest 2017 model! The first iteration (2015) is a little slow, it’s actually slower than the Air from the same year.

 

[The Samurai]

If the Air is doing everything it needs to, keep the dosh in your pocket and evaluate your options when you see the system is not doing what it should be, or taking longer to perform X option.

Seen as they didn't refresh the Macbook line this year, I am guessing we will be seeing a bump in spring like previous years.

 

[KPOM]

I mean 2017 MacBook, sorry

The 2017 MacBook is nice. It is roughly a lateral move from the 2015 Air (faster in short boosts, but will throttle more). The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but is an improvement from the 2015 MacBook. I really like the size, though. And the screen is a definite upgrade from what you have today.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Apart from the other comments £999 looks expensive to me.

2017 MacBooks start at £1059 at the Apple Refurb store and would be a much better buy IMO.
[doublepost=1546073265][/doublepost]....or this one from another recent thread...if still available...

https://www.johnlewis.com/2017-appl..._ffb10f80826ab5b314c12df62b8f9122&tmcampid=48

 

[lowkey]

As an owner of the base model 2015 MacBook for 3 years I can safely say I’ve never found it to be slow. It always feels quite zippy. The keyboard has never caused me any problems feel wise, nor performance wise.

There is no way I’d work on a non retina MBA. My mother in law had one and the screen quality is truly horrendous.

 

[bambooshots]

If you have the money, I'd say yes the Macbook 2017 is a better machine in every way. It took a bit of adjustment to get to the keyboard and the singular USB-C port, but I'd rather use my current 2016 MacBook rather than go back to the old MBA.

This coming from a guy that had a 2013 MBA until 2016.

 

[fokmik]

When i think when i bought the first macbook air 2010 model that has 900p was a top notch display....now it is a low budget ,horror display, and this in under 10 years of tech
Years are getting passed so quickly

 

[Howard2k]

When i think when i bought the first macbook air 2010 model that has 900p was a top notch display....now it is a low budget ,horror display, and this in under 10 years of tech
Years are getting passed so quickly

The posts that make me laugh are the ones that say that anything less than Retina is “unusable”

 

[MacPoulet]

When i think when i bought the first macbook air 2010 model that has 900p was a top notch display....now it is a low budget ,horror display, and this in under 10 years of tech
Years are getting passed so quickly

I think people complained about the Air’s display when it first came out too.

 

[fokmik]

The posts that make me laugh are the ones that say that anything less than Retina is “unusable”

unusable? of course not, horror to work with after your eyes are used to the retina? of course yes
There are still new displays with HD laptops display..so market still exist
[doublepost=1547632330][/doublepost]

I think people complained about the Air’s display when it first came out too.

i dont know how the first gen was...i think people complain about the heat and the ports under the hood...i was talking about the 2010 display that was very good and people love it, like now they love the MBP displays

 

[MacPoulet]

unusable? of course not, horror to work with after your eyes are used to the retina? of course yes
There are still new displays with HD laptops display..so market still exist
[doublepost=1547632330][/doublepost]
i dont know how the first gen was...i think people complain about the heat and the ports under the hood...i was talking about the 2010 display that was very good and people love it, like now they love the MBP displays

I don’t know, I have the 2010 Air and I’ve always thought it’s display was mediocre at best.

 

[fokmik]

for today standards of course...but in 2010 was on top

 

[EugW]

for today standards of course...but in 2010 was on top

The 11" MacBook Air screen was pretty mediocre even by 2010 standards.

I had been awaiting an 11-12" MacBook for a while, but when it finally came out as the Air, I didn't buy it because the screen resolution was not very ergnomic for Mac OS X of its time, and the screen quality was not good, with poor viewing angles.

The MacBook 12" screen is light years better, and not just because of Retina. However, I didn't buy it in 2015 either, because the CPU was too slow and the keyboard sucked. Finally bought in 2017 when the CPU got much better and the keyboard was improved. I had stuck with my previous 13" MacBook Pro all that time before 2017.

 

[retta283]

I think people complained about the Air’s display when it first came out too.

Somewhat old post, but the 2008-10 Air had a display that was close to the Pro, much better than the regular MacBook. The 2010 model (13 inch at least) was also considered to have an excellent screen from what I've seen. I've actually seen people say that the 2010-12 Airs had better displays than the pre-Retina MBPs, even though I kinda doubt that.

 

[EugW]

Somewhat old post, but the 2008-10 Air had a display that was close to the Pro, much better than the regular MacBook. The 2010 model (13 inch at least) was also considered to have an excellent screen from what I've seen. I've actually seen people say that the 2010-12 Airs had better displays than the pre-Retina MBPs, even though I kinda doubt that.

The 13" Air had an OK screen. However, the ergonomics were off because the pixel density didn't make for proper text sizing for the OS X version of the time. The 11" Air had a poor screen, and its pixel density related ergonomics were off too. The Pros' pixel densities were much more appropriate for OS X of the time.

This was solved with the Retina models, because with the Retina models you could choose basically any reasonable resolution you wanted and still maintain good text quality.

 

[DNAppleGold]

Back to your question. I still have a 2013 MBA and 2017 MB. My wife still uses the MBA and it works fine. However the MB is so much more a pleasure to use if your value portability. Smaller, lighter , better display , quieter, less lap heat, longer battery life. The difference is palpable and the MBA feels like a relic when I pick it up.