Seems to me like for most people for everyday use the Macbook Air is a fantastic machine that offers tremendous portability and relatively better display compared to the Macbook Pro. Has anybody here tried the Air and liked it so much that you eventually switch to it? For people that tried both computers but stuck with the Pro, what were some of your reasons - HDD space, optical drive, processor speed..? If you put in an SSD in the Macbook Pro would it be faster than the Air or does Air has some inbuilt design advantages when it comes to running an SSD because it was always designed to work exclusively with an SSD?
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Anybody switch from a Macbook Pro to an Air?
- Thread starter saintforlife
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i did, and it was fun.. now i'm changing back to the Pro setup because i want to play games, edit videos and photos and basically have much more storage to have movies and music with me.
The 13" Air was awesome, i loved it, and if i could afford having both machines i would totally do it! because it fits a student perfectly because of the weight.
The 13" Air was awesome, i loved it, and if i could afford having both machines i would totally do it! because it fits a student perfectly because of the weight.
I went from MBPro to MBAir and I'm fine. It really depends on what you plan to do with it. I can run FileMaker just fine on the Air along with Office and all the other day to day stuff I use.
When I need a little more, I've got my iMac. I find myself jumping on the iMac mostly when I need a bigger screen (I run an external display next to the iMac also), not because the Air isn't capable for what I need. I don't play games, etc. The occasional video editing I do is done at home on the iMac. I keep my iTunes library on my iMac due to HD size and I don't need to have on my MBA what I already sync to my iPhone.
I think of my MBA as an accessory to my iMac, even though I use the Air more often.
I love the portability of the MBA. It carries much better than my MBPro.
When I need a little more, I've got my iMac. I find myself jumping on the iMac mostly when I need a bigger screen (I run an external display next to the iMac also), not because the Air isn't capable for what I need. I don't play games, etc. The occasional video editing I do is done at home on the iMac. I keep my iTunes library on my iMac due to HD size and I don't need to have on my MBA what I already sync to my iPhone.
I think of my MBA as an accessory to my iMac, even though I use the Air more often.
I love the portability of the MBA. It carries much better than my MBPro.
I Have Both
The Air is great for portability, and is fast. My 17" pro is a heavy beast, but I use them both for different things.
The Air is great for portability, and is fast. My 17" pro is a heavy beast, but I use them both for different things.
I went from 2007 MBP to Rev A MacBook Air (SSD).
The perceived speed increase from the SSD was great at the time, and I was glad of the portability.
Since then I've bought an iPad. I always expected to stay with the Air line, but now I take the iPad everywhere instead of the Air a lot of the advantages of the slim and light form factor are lost on me. At the same time, a bigger screen and more grunt became desirable.
I'm now back on a MacBook Pro (again, SSD) and don't regret the decision one bit. The Airs are awesome and I would highly recommend them, but check carefully that the core benefit, that they're thin and light, is your core priority.
The perceived speed increase from the SSD was great at the time, and I was glad of the portability.
Since then I've bought an iPad. I always expected to stay with the Air line, but now I take the iPad everywhere instead of the Air a lot of the advantages of the slim and light form factor are lost on me. At the same time, a bigger screen and more grunt became desirable.
I'm now back on a MacBook Pro (again, SSD) and don't regret the decision one bit. The Airs are awesome and I would highly recommend them, but check carefully that the core benefit, that they're thin and light, is your core priority.
I went from a 13" Pro to a 13" Air. I hope I don't run into issues with only having 4GB of RAM now instead of 8GB.
I made the switch because I have a C2D 11" Air and the battery doesn't really last as long as I'd like (say a plane ride when you can't get to a charger). But the 13" Air really isn't that much more portable than the 13" Pro. It's just thinner and lighter, but when you put it into a case/bag it's really about the same size.
The biggest advantage of the 13" Air is the high-resolution screen. If they made the Pro with that screen I would probably have just kept the Pro since I also installed an SSD. The Pro (with an SSD) was faster because the Apple SSD's aren't very fast - especially the Toshiba.
I made the switch because I have a C2D 11" Air and the battery doesn't really last as long as I'd like (say a plane ride when you can't get to a charger). But the 13" Air really isn't that much more portable than the 13" Pro. It's just thinner and lighter, but when you put it into a case/bag it's really about the same size.
The biggest advantage of the 13" Air is the high-resolution screen. If they made the Pro with that screen I would probably have just kept the Pro since I also installed an SSD. The Pro (with an SSD) was faster because the Apple SSD's aren't very fast - especially the Toshiba.
Switched from 17" MBP to 13" MBA and loved every moment of it
RAM has not been an issue
Neither has storage (256 GB)
I even run VMWare Fusion and Win7 without a hiccup
RAM has not been an issue
Neither has storage (256 GB)
I even run VMWare Fusion and Win7 without a hiccup
This why I've always believed the Air is popular *mainly* because it has an SSD as standard. I suppose it has that "thin" coolness factor but as you say the 13" takes up the same footprint.
On a number of occasions I've watched people at an Apple store swoon over the perceived speed of the Air as they compare it to a MBP with the stock 5400rpm drive. Of course many really don't know why.
Depending on when the MB Pro's get SSD's as standard (not *if* but when...) I suspect the sale of 13" Airs might taper off. Indeed, it may one day be discontinued which is contradictory to what others here believe will happen to the MBP13.
After an iteration (or two) of the the 13" MBP I don't think the resolution alone of the comparable Air will be enough of a selling point.
Me too. Different tools for different jobs. But my wife is about to sell her 15" MBP and get a MBA. Her needs are mostly MS Office and iWork for presentations, and gaming is mostly Sim's 3. She will probably go with a 11" and get herself a quality portable projector. I need to research those more for her, I am not sure if there are any truly compact ones rated at enough lumens.
I actually have both. I like the Air for the portability and the Pro for its performance and storage.
Not going back but got my 11in MBA after my 17in MBP.
17in was a bit pain to carry around in public so I got the 11in.
Its so light you forget it was even in your backpack lol
17in was a bit pain to carry around in public so I got the 11in.
Its so light you forget it was even in your backpack lol