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Air or Pro?

Q

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macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 1, 2011
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Thinking of a Macbook before July; Macbook Air 13 128 or Pro 13 Retina both seem good - when my education discount expire. Are there any major refresh that would be good to wait for?

I imagine in the case of Air - they might do retina? (any eta?)
 
Don't plan on retina being available on any Macbook Air. That's what the new Macbook is for. If you think you need retina, go with the Macbook Pro; don't even hesitate.

No one knows what will happen with the MBA this cycle, and if Apple makes an announcement this month or in June at WWDC, whatever they do won't be available until sometime in the Fall. So take your education discount and go shopping. You're unlikely to find new equipment by July. Waiting until after WWDC wouldn't hurt, unless you have an itch that needs to be scratched.
 
Meister has it right, you need to tell us what you're going todo with it. It's like asking if you should get a truck or a sedan. They are both good for their intended uses, but if someone says, "get the sedan, I had a great experience with mine" and you frequently haul lots of big boxes, you'll be disappointed.
 
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Meister said:
What is your intended use?
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+1.

But, just for personal perspective here, unless you're doing heavy workloads the Air will likely be more than enough. Whichever one you buy, do pay more for RAM and/or Processing speed to at least future-proof yourself a little.
 
The Pro is worth it just for the screen alone. Upgraded from an Air, and the difference is night and day.
 
The Air is smaller and will have a better battery life. The Pro is a more powerful computer and has a couple cool features like a Retina screen and force touch (which I love).

Use would be nice to know, but basically if you are going to make spreadsheets, watch Netflix, and troll forums, you don't need the Pro. Audio, video, pictures, games? Get the pro.
 
xb2003 said:
The Air is smaller and will have a better battery life. The Pro is a more powerful computer and has a couple cool features like a Retina screen and force touch (which I love).

Use would be nice to know, but basically if you are going to make spreadsheets, watch Netflix, and troll forums, you don't need the Pro. Audio, video, pictures, games? Get the pro.
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...you fail to realize Trolls are agnostic when it comes to devices. THEY don't even know why they use what they use. They just patronize people who don't share their view.
 
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Melrose said:
...you fail to realize Trolls are agnostic when it comes to devices. THEY don't even know why they use what they use. They just patronize people who don't share their view.
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The word is also synonymous with "wander" or "stroll."
 
xb2003 said:
The word is also synonymous with "wander" or "stroll."
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For the local fisherman out for a pleasure cruise in eel-infested waters, sure. In today's internet-obsessed parlance I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who's online with any regularity who DOESN'T define as I did. :)
 
get the air, preferably the macbook air 11". i am traveling around the world for 2 years, oh how i wished i had the 11" mba instead of mba 13". the weight difference is noticeable. i wish i had the 11" because it's so mall, portable lightweight, and quite a capable computer.

sure the pro is more powerful with better screen quality, but you won't regret buying the lightest computer possible. whenever i see travelers with a mba 11", i get all jealous, and wish i had that.
 
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Go with the pro, i travel international every two weeks and it's never been a issue in terms of weight - the difference is easy to offset, just take out the charger and put it into your carry on case if it bothers you.

My "guess" is MBA will be retired very soon, it's now pretty dated but if you want something new and in the middle you could always go with the rMB which also has the better screen and good battery life. I also have an issue with the MBA screen and couldn't live with it personally, but not only for the obvious reason (retina) but because the surround is just distracting and i like the black it has on the pro version.
 
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AFEPPL said:
My "guess" is MBA will be retired very soon, it's now pretty dated but if you want something new and in the middle you could always go with the rMB which also has the better screen and good battery life. I also have an issue with the MBA screen and couldn't live with it personally, but not only for the obvious reason (retina) but because the surround is just distracting and i like the black it has on the pro version.
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Apparently you define "dated" as simply having next to zero expandability. The Air blows it out of the water when it comes to performance.
 
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Actually you should compare the Air with the regular Retina MacBook. Or is there a specific reason you have chosen to compare the low with the high end devices?
 
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Melrose said:
Apparently you define "dated" as simply having next to zero expandability. The Air blows it out of the water when it comes to performance.
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No, i didn't define anything...
Dated screen (1440x900 227 PPI), HD 6000 less performance, less base spec, cheaper price however..
 

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AFEPPL said:
No, i didn't define anything...
Dated screen (1440x900 227 PPI), HD 6000 less performance, less base spec, cheaper price however..
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The air is only dated in terms of its screen. Yes it is not as powerful as the pro but it is much more capable than the rMB. The only thing the rMB really has over the air is the Retina display. The air is still a capable machine for those who want a smaller laptop and don't mind the display.
 
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The rMB is not much slower, it much more expensive but it has the new tech and screen..
more than on par with a 2013 rMBP or last years 1.6Ghz MBA clocking 5094 for Multi and 2816 for single..
 

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The Air would be better if it was a few hundred dollars cheaper. Today, I think the Pro is the better deal today. But if I was going to use Bootcamp, I would get the Air over the Pro or even a dedicated Windows laptop from HP or Dell. Even Windows 10 doesn't display every application perfectly if you upsize the fonts for higher quality. Might as well go with the older and cheaper displays for Windows if using in Bootcamp mode.
 
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I will take MBA over any of the other options because it's not retina. IMHO, any tech that performs worse than "older" tech isn't worth the tradeoff--plus I can't stand lag, it interrupts my train of thought and reduces my productivity.

But it's nice they have both so we can each pick what matters most to us.

I upgraded to a 2013 13" MBA from a 2010 15" MBP with the same resolution, so to me, the MBA has a sharper resolution than my previous laptop.
 
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We commenters put much thought into what we write. Disagreements are frequent, but each response contributes to learning.

What really bites is when the Thread Starter is never heard from again after the initial post.
 
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