A rough experience after a few days of purchasing MBA 2018 rather than MB 2017

[alvincth]

After a series of thinking and trying for almost half a year, I decided to have a new MacBook Air replacing my 6-year-old one (also MBA which was released in 2012 and bought in January 2013).

There are now 2017-MacBook and 2018-MBA in the market so that I believe there are people who are struggling in choosing in between the two, besides MBA and MBP without TB. For me, portability is one of my concern and I am sure MB and MBA can totally satisfy my needs even I will do some graphic stuff in my computer.

12-inch MacBook, for me, has similar performance to the latest MBA. The weight is less than one kg which is a very attractive selling point. The real estate is good enough, especially better than 11.6-inch MBA which only has 16:9 screen rather than 16:10.

The differences between 12-inch and the 13.3-inch are quite close to each other, including the screen size, weight and performance, as well as some features like T2 chips, Touch ID. I found that if I need to choose one of them, I have to ask further, what features matter me most?

I do wish MB has Touch ID and T2 chips, but not at least in this moment. MB is the lightest and smallest, but the comparative advantage becomes less important for me especially when the new MBA is coming out. If I need to bring a device out, in my circumstance I can still work on my iPad Pro 10.5 and even iPhone X. Portability does matter to me but not that 'the lighter is better' case. I just don't want the weight heavier than, say 1.25kg, and thick in size, and that's why I never think of MacBook Pro.

The bigger screen does matter me a lot as I wish to learn design through websites through my computer (I wish to be more concentrated on self-learning on my laptop. I mainly want to sketch on my iPad. Division of labour.) Besides, MBA has a bit more colour than MB (full RGBs than standard RGBs, while I don't need P3 wide colour.). I do care more about battery than Pro performance (longer battery life is better in this case). As a result, MBA fits me more.

I finally choose the space gray 256GB MBA (no upgrading RAM) back home, and I am happy to use it till now. No regret for not choosing the smallest MB.

There are some bonuses when I use the machine,

• The butterfly keyboard is great for me, comfortable.
• The weight is much lighter than the old MBA as expected, even though their difference is only 0.1kg apart.

When I am satisfied with the new product, I have to point out that it is not easy to make a decision when choosing the Mac laptop, as some will struggle in between MB and MBA while others can be MBA and MBP. That's why I agree with some who say the MBA should not be here. Maybe I should choose a more innovative product (MB) instead and ignore MBA. But when I think I just want to make my life easier and create more things and values in my life, MBA is really for me, even though it is a product with features carrying from MB and MBP.

 

[Ghost31]

Pretty easy decision for me. The retina MacBook has a smaller screen that makes it feel too much like a tablet with a crappy keyboard attached and it’s also slightly less powerful. It’s got the older butterfly keyboards that feel worse, a 480p webcam, no Touch ID and is more expensive. I don’t see why anybody would get it.

But my MacBook Air 2018 has been a solid little laptop for me with absolutely no regrets.

 

[Shirasaki]

Butterfly keyboard and all of those bad reps can easily turn myself away from any new MacBook laptops. I don’t like the feeling either. Maybe I will get used to it after all, but I don’t want to spend $2000 just to fix the forking keyboard.
My current 2014 MacBook Air 11.6” is extremely portable but quite a bit slow comparing to newer machines. Keyboard still hold though. And two large USB ports means using Most accessories is okay.
I want to upgrade, but I don’t know if the new one can hold another four or five years.

 

[AutomaticApple]

After a series of thinking and trying for almost half a year, I decided to have a new MacBook Air replacing my 6-year-old one (also MBA which was released in 2012 and bought in January 2013).

There are now 2017-MacBook and 2018-MBA in the market so that I believe there are people who are struggling in choosing in between the two, besides MBA and MBP without TB. For me, portability is one of my concern and I am sure MB and MBA can totally satisfy my needs even I will do some graphic stuff in my computer.

12-inch MacBook, for me, has similar performance to the latest MBA. The weight is less than one kg which is a very attractive selling point. The real estate is good enough, especially better than 11.6-inch MBA which only has 16:9 screen rather than 16:10.

The differences between 12-inch and the 13.3-inch are quite close to each other, including the screen size, weight and performance, as well as some features like T2 chips, Touch ID. I found that if I need to choose one of them, I have to ask further, what features matter me most?

I do wish MB has Touch ID and T2 chips, but not at least in this moment. MB is the lightest and smallest, but the comparative advantage becomes less important for me especially when the new MBA is coming out. If I need to bring a device out, in my circumstance I can still work on my iPad Pro 10.5 and even iPhone X. Portability does matter to me but not that 'the lighter is better' case. I just don't want the weight heavier than, say 1.25kg, and thick in size, and that's why I never think of MacBook Pro.

The bigger screen does matter me a lot as I wish to learn design through websites through my computer (I wish to be more concentrated on self-learning on my laptop. I mainly want to sketch on my iPad. Division of labour.) Besides, MBA has a bit more colour than MB (full RGBs than standard RGBs, while I don't need P3 wide colour.). I do care more about battery than Pro performance (longer battery life is better in this case). As a result, MBA fits me more.

I finally choose the space gray 256GB MBA (no upgrading RAM) back home, and I am happy to use it till now. No regret for not choosing the smallest MB.

There are some bonuses when I use the machine,

• The butterfly keyboard is great for me, comfortable.
• The weight is much lighter than the old MBA as expected, even though their difference is only 0.1kg apart.

When I am satisfied with the new product, I have to point out that it is not easy to make a decision when choosing the Mac laptop, as some will struggle in between MB and MBA while others can be MBA and MBP. That's why I agree with some who say the MBA should not be here. Maybe I should choose a more innovative product (MB) instead and ignore MBA. But when I think I just want to make my life easier and create more things and values in my life, MBA is really for me, even though it is a product with features carrying from MB and MBP.

Well said!

 

[Macdctr]

the problematic "butterfly style" keyboard is enough to keep me from buying any of Apple's new laptops...