Air vs Pro 128GB

[TDHawks]

With the price being exactly the same right now, is there a benefit to one versus the other?

I’m going to be taking over a business in the next 30 to 60 years and will purchase a new laptop to run Quickbooks and other business reports. I have computers at work that I will use while there, this is going to be to transport to and from and to do a little bit of work on. There will not be any heavy duty work done on this so storage will not be an issue as I plan to buy an external drive to transfer files over to keep the storage on the low side.

So I guess at the end of the day, should I be leaning one way versus the other in terms of purchasing one?

 

[Theydonboi]

You're taking over a business in the next '30 to 60 years'?

 

[revmacian]

With the price being exactly the same right now, is there a benefit to one versus the other?

I’m going to be taking over a business in the next 30 to 60 years and will purchase a new laptop to run Quickbooks and other business reports. I have computers at work that I will use while there, this is going to be to transport to and from and to do a little bit of work on. There will not be any heavy duty work done on this so storage will not be an issue as I plan to buy an external drive to transfer files over to keep the storage on the low side.

So I guess at the end of the day, should I be leaning one way versus the other in terms of purchasing one?

Please specify the release years for the Air and the Pro. The 2018 MBA specs would suggest that it isn't much more powerful than the previous model, but the T2 chip in the 2018 MBA offloads much of the work from the CPU and that makes it more powerful than the specs would suggest.

 

[TDHawks]

You're taking over a business in the next '30 to 60 years'?

Lol, goofed there. Days.
[doublepost=1546554236][/doublepost]

Please specify the release years for the Air and the Pro. The 2018 MBA specs would suggest that it isn't much more powerful than the previous model, but the T2 chip in the 2018 MBA offloads much of the work from the CPU and that makes it more powerful than the specs would suggest.

2018 Air and 17 Pro, both 13”, 128GB

 

[revmacian]

Lol, goofed there. Days.
[doublepost=1546554236][/doublepost]

2018 Air and 17 Pro, both 13”, 128GB

I tested these two machines (same years and specs) during my pre-purchase research and found that the MBA performed almost identical to the MBP - another hint that the MBA specs are misleading. I say 'almost' because the 2018 Air didn't quite keep up with the 2017 MBP but was so close that the difference was negligible.

I had originally intended to buy the 2018 MBA, but I chose to purchase a refurbished 2017 MBP 13" with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD because the cost after tax was $2.00 less than the brand new 2018 MBA (same RAM and storage) before tax, and the MBP is a bit more powerful. The only drawback I found during my research was that the MBA took much longer to render video edits than the MBP did. But, the Air isn't designed for regular video editing habits to begin with so that is understandable.

I'm quite happy with the 2017 MBP, it's very fast, the screen is beautiful and I can't even tell that this is a refurb.. except that the box it came in is different than that of a new 2017 MBP.

 

[TDHawks]

I tested these two machines (same years and specs) during my pre-purchase research and found that the MBA performed almost identical to the MBP - another hint that the MBA specs are misleading. I say 'almost' because the 2018 Air didn't quite keep up with the 2017 MBP but was so close that the difference was negligible.

I had originally intended to buy the 2018 MBA, but I chose to purchase a refurbished 2017 MBP 13" with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD because the cost after tax was $2.00 less than the brand new 2018 MBA (same RAM and storage) before tax, and the MBP is a bit more powerful. The only drawback I found during my research was that the MBA took much longer to render video edits than the MBP did. But, the Air isn't designed for regular video editing habits to begin with so that is understandable.

I'm quite happy with the 2017 MBP, it's very fast, the screen is beautiful and I can't even tell that this is a refurb.. except that the box it came in is different than that of a new 2017 MBP.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Ghost31]

Which pro? The non touch bar pro? if its between that one and the new air, I'd choose the air. I just like Touch ID and the wedge shape of the air way too much

 

[acorntoy]

Pro:

Brighter screen (air 300 nits vs 500 pro), even if you don’t use at max, you’d be able to set the brightness lower on the pro with the same results, maybe saving battery. Air seems like it goes instantly from dim to bright while the pro definitely has a much wider range of brightness choices.
More colorfor screen (Pro is p3 while air is not)
More powerful graphics and sustained processor performance
Gen 2 keyboard. (At least 4 years warranty for dust due to apples current program)
Better FaceTime camera

Air:

Lighter (2.75 vs 3 lb, the difference is bigger than you’d think I love the new airs weight and am delighted by it and would still consider the pro relatively heavy laptop, have both for comparison)
Better battery life (12hr Air vs 10hr pro)
Gen 3 keyboard ( I love the gen 3 keyboard, hated the butterfly keyboard before it but this gen is amazing, prefer the gen 3 to my 2015)
Fully recycled body (better for the environment than the pro)
Touch ID


The pro seems like a better purchase unless you really want the new keyboard or need the battery.


I was in the exact same situation and got my mother the Air for Christmas as it was $60 cheaper and I knew the screen/power issue wouldn’t matter much as she uses an iPad Pro for 99% of things and just wants a computer for the 1% where the iPad is still not capable online, if your computer is your main device though I’d definitely choose the one with the better screen (pro).


Both computers are actually being used and work just fine with quickbooks and other light things needed to run a small business.

 

[Never mind]

For the fun of it I did a little comparison for you in what $404.00 more would offer over the Air.


Lenovo X1 Extreme 15.6 $ 2,235.00 tax included 20% Sale....

Windows Pro 64
CPU i7-8750H
DDR-4 16 Gb 2666 Mhz
256 Gb SSD
4K screen UHD HDR 3840 X 2160 400 nits
4 yr warranty
1050 Ti 4 Gb GPU
Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics
Intel Wifi Intel 9560 802.11AC vPro
Bluetooth 5.0
IR Webcam w/windows hello / finger print reader
Ports - 2 3.1 USB type A
2 - Thunderbolt 3
1 - HDMI Port
SD Card reader (full)
Smart Card Reader for security
......And you have a touch screen ontop of everything else.


MacBook Air $ 1,977.36 Tax incl

i5-1.6 ghz dual core only
617 gpu
256 ssd
3 yr warr
fewer ports
16 gb DDR-3 only
300 nit screen

 

[kreasonos]

With the price being exactly the same right now, is there a benefit to one versus the other?

I’m going to be taking over a business in the next 30 to 60 years and will purchase a new laptop to run Quickbooks and other business reports. I have computers at work that I will use while there, this is going to be to transport to and from and to do a little bit of work on. There will not be any heavy duty work done on this so storage will not be an issue as I plan to buy an external drive to transfer files over to keep the storage on the low side.

So I guess at the end of the day, should I be leaning one way versus the other in terms of purchasing one?

I would recommend the MBA for anything even remotely serious or business related. I could not in good conscious recommend an iPad for anything serious.

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

For the fun of it I did a little comparison for you in what $404.00 more would offer over the Air.


Lenovo X1 Extreme 15.6 $ 2,381.39 tax included 20% Sale....

Windows Pro 64
CPU i7-8750H
DDR-4 16 Gb 2666 Mhz
256 Gb SSD
4K screen UHD HDR 3840 X 2160 400 nits
4 yr warranty
1050 Ti 4 Gb GPU
Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics
Intel Wifi Intel 9560 802.11AC vPro
Bluetooth 5.0
IR Webcam w/windows hello / finger print reader
Ports - 2 3.1 USB type A
2 - Thunderbolt 3
1 - HDMI Port
SD Card reader (full)
Smart Card Reader for security
......And you have a touch screen ontop of everything else.


MacBook Air $ 1,977.36 Tax incl

i5-1.6 ghz dual core only
617 gpu
256 ssd
3 yr warr
fewer ports
16 gb DDR-3 only
300 nit screen

wow, that comparison is unreal, thank you.

 

[Never mind]

wow, that comparison is unreal, thank you.

Actually the price just went down another $146.00 bucks. Now $ 2235.00. Not bad

 

[acorntoy]

Actually the price just went down another $146.00 bucks. Now $ 2235.00. Not bad

You read what they wanted right? They could get their job done with a 2015 Air at $999 easily, a base 2018 MBA or MBP at 1.1k is a nice luxury but still way overkill for their work tasks, why would they spend 1.2k more to get a laptop that has a bunch of upgrades they will never need?

Storage isn’t an issue, running quickbooks doesn’t take more than 1GB of ram.

 

[Never mind]

You read what they wanted right? They could get their job done with a 2015 Air at $999 easily, a base 2018 MBA or MBP at 1.1k is a nice luxury but still overkill for their work tasks, why would they spend 1.4k more to get a laptop that has a bunch of upgrades they will never need?

Yes, I read it. But if you read mine it says, just for fun. And if you can get one like the Lenovo for just a little over $238 more, why not? Heck of a deal and one heck of a notebook. But you can get whatever you want, it’s your dime.

 

[acorntoy]

Yes, I read it. But if you read mine it says, just for fun. And if you can get one like the Lenovo for just a little over $250 more, why not? Heck of a deal and one heck of a notebook. But you can get whatever you want, it’s your dime.

It’s just a very strange post.

They could also get iMac pro which blast both out the water, but that isn’t really needed information.


You also ignored some of their needs, weight is important as this laptop is traveling a lot, the Lenovo weights 3.8 pounds vs 2.75 and 3 for the Macs respectively.

 

[kreasonos]

It’s just a very strange post.

They could also get iMac pro which blast both out the water, but that isn’t really needed information.


You also ignored some of their needs, weight is important as this laptop is traveling a lot, the Lenovo weights 3.8 pounds vs 2.75 and 3 for the Macs respectively.

He's just offering an alternative and there's nothing wrong with that. However, I will say to the OP be careful of Lenovo's support. Google their quality control issues and customer support nightmares. I'm not saying they aren't good computers, they are, but I do think with Apple you will have an easier time if something goes wrong and I also think things go wrong less often with Apple. And that's coming from someone who owns both a Thinkpad and a new Macbook Air. The thinkpad will blow both out of the water in terms of performance though.

 

[TDHawks]

So from what I have read, with the Pro I get a better screen, a faster dual core processor, and a good chance I’ll replace the keyboard at some point in the future.

With Air, I get a lighter and more portable laptop with the T2 chip which sounds good and bad.

So at the end of the day, it sounds like price point plays a large role with everything else being equal.

Am I missing anything?

I could snag a refurbished pro for $1099 or a new Air for $1149.

Thanks for all the insight and suggestions

 

[auxbuss]

So from what I have read, with the Pro I get a better screen, a faster dual core processor, and a good chance I’ll replace the keyboard at some point in the future.

With Air, I get a lighter and more portable laptop with the T2 chip which sounds good and bad.

So at the end of the day, it sounds like price point plays a large role with everything else being equal.

Am I missing anything?

Life on battery is better with the MBA. If you are going to use the laptop as a virtual desktop, then this is moot.

I paid ~1050 for the MBA. I wouldn't have paid 1200; so, yes, price was significant for me.

 

[lambertjohn]

So from what I have read, with the Pro I get a better screen, a faster dual core processor, and a good chance I’ll replace the keyboard at some point in the future.

With Air, I get a lighter and more portable laptop with the T2 chip which sounds good and bad.

So at the end of the day, it sounds like price point plays a large role with everything else being equal.

Am I missing anything?

I could snag a refurbished pro for $1099 or a new Air for $1149.

Thanks for all the insight and suggestions

If you live in a town with a Micro Center (www.microcenter.com) they have the 2018 Air 128GB model for $999 and the 256GB model for $1199.

 

[X Cruz 187]

With the price being exactly the same right now, is there a benefit to one versus the other?

I’m going to be taking over a business in the next 30 to 60 years and will purchase a new laptop to run Quickbooks and other business reports. I have computers at work that I will use while there, this is going to be to transport to and from and to do a little bit of work on. There will not be any heavy duty work done on this so storage will not be an issue as I plan to buy an external drive to transfer files over to keep the storage on the low side.

So I guess at the end of the day, should I be leaning one way versus the other in terms of purchasing one?

I was in the same boat while doing some research I came across this, let me know what you guys think?