Anyone switched from a Pro to an Air?

[badlydrawnboy]

I have a 2018 MBP TouchBar with 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 w/ 16 GB RAM and 1 TB HD.

I'm thinking of switching to a new MBA with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB HD, for three reasons:

• Keyboard. I still have issues with my MBP and I'm tired of dealing with them.
• Heat. I often use the MBP in my lap and it feels like it's going to burn a hole in my legs sometimes.
• Battery. My favorite Mac notebook ever was my 2013 MBA, which got almost 13 hours on a single charge.
• Noise. The fan on my MBP doesn't go on that often, but when it does, it's annoying.
• Weight. The weight of the MBP doesn't bother me too much, but an extra .75 pounds will be noticeable.

I have an iMac Pro in my home office, and I use that to do most of my work. The laptop is for work/personal travel and for the 1-2 days a week where I work outside of my Wework office. I do have an LG 5k external monitor at my Wework office, but from what I gather the MBA can drive one 5k or two 4k monitors.

I love TouchID, but have no use for the Touchbar, so the MBA seems perfect in that regard.

Just wondering if anyone else has made this switch, and whether they have any regrets. Thanks!

 

[Apple2GS]

I have a 2017 MBP 15" for work and a personal 2019 Air. I find that I keep the Pro on the desk and use the Air around the house and when traveling. The size and weight make the difference and the keyboard is better on the Air. You could see what Apple will offer as a trade in.

 

[ghanwani]

I had a 2017 nTB and decided to trade in and get a newer machine for an improved keyboard experience. I got a 2019 4TB3 MBP 16/512 which I ended up returning because I was getting headaches for some reason. I then got the 2019 2TB3 MBP 16/512 and returned that because I decided I wanted physical function keys. I am now using a 2019 MBA 8/256. Pretty happy with it so far. It definitely runs cooler than the MBPs. The graphics feel a bit weak — it takes longer for some graphics-heavy websites to load in chrome, although there are no issues with safari.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I had a 2017 nTB and decided to trade in and get a newer machine for an improved keyboard experience. I got a 2019 4TB3 MBP 16/512 which I ended up returning because I was getting headaches for some reason. I then got the 2019 2TB3 MBP 16/512 and returned that because I decided I wanted physical function keys. I am now using a 2019 MBA 8/256. Pretty happy with it so far. It definitely runs cooler than the MBPs. The graphics feel a bit weak — it takes longer for some graphics-heavy websites to load in chrome, although there are no issues with safari.

Thanks. I recently switched back to Safari from Chrome, at least on my MBP (I still mostly use Chrome on my iMac Pro), so the graphics shouldn't be an issue.

I've been reading some rumors that Apple may release a new MBA with Ice Lake processors and a scissor keyboard later this year or spring of next year. If that's legitimate, I think I might wait. I know the 3rd generation butterfly is better than the previous two generations, but I'd really prefer a scissor keyboard. And the Ice Lake processors would be a nice step up.

 

[ghanwani]

Thanks. I recently switched back to Safari from Chrome, at least on my MBP (I still mostly use Chrome on my iMac Pro), so the graphics shouldn't be an issue.

I've been reading some rumors that Apple may release a new MBA with Ice Lake processors and a scissor keyboard later this year or spring of next year. If that's legitimate, I think I might wait. I know the 3rd generation butterfly is better than the previous two generations, but I'd really prefer a scissor keyboard. And the Ice Lake processors would be a nice step up.

Totally makes sense to wait if you can. For me it was a bit late since I traded the old one. But the rumors are part of the reason I spec’d the latest buy at 8/256 without AppleCare with the intention of trading/upgrading as soon as a better option is available, rather than trying to get one that I intend to keep for a longer time.

 

[djfirth]

Yes, sort of. I had a 2017 13" nTB Pro i7/16/512. Perfectly fine machine that gave me no trouble. But, I missed the old form factor. Over the past 6 months I sold it, picked up a mint condition 2015 MBP 15" i7/16/1T to be the heavy lifter for home, my side gig in AV, and wherever I decide to lug it. I just picked up a 2015 Air 11" i7/8/512 to be the travel machine, which will likely replace an iPad Pro 2nd gen 12.9 (coding and spreadsheets aren't really the iPad's forte and I need to do both). I previously had 11" Airs for 4 years when they first came out, so getting back to a machine that I loved. So, no, you're not the only one to consider "stepping down".

 

[AustinIllini]

Honestly, depending on what you do with it, the Air is a better choice. I came from a 15" MBP and honestly, that thing was loud and ran pretty hot a lot of the time. Now, of course it was a lot more capable, but I find the Air is just the right machine for my daily use (typical enterprise Apps, some Pixelmator, web browsing) and a Pro would probably be overkill for me.

I will say my wife's rMB is coming to the end of its keyboard support life and I'm strongly considering replacing it. She keeps her macs for a long time (4-5 years) and she might be better off with a Pro 13". Haven't decided yet. I was thinking about getting it for her birthday in November, but I'm having second thoughts if Apple is going to upgrade the keyboard.

 

[MacRazySwe]

I previously had the 13” MBA (2011) and later the rMBP (2013). When it was time for a new laptop I thoroughly researched the model you have, the 2018 13” MBP TB vs the 2018 13” MBA. I had decided on one of the two.

I went with the Air for the same exact reasons you mentioned. The 2018 Pro ran hot to the touch, with fans spinning and worse battery life as a result - just like my previous Pro.

Since I don’t do any heavy lifting these days, I decided that the Air was the better choice for me. Price wasn’t so much a factor, rather it was more about what I wanted from a modern laptop. Thickness (all is relative), heat and noise wasn’t it.

The Air has been fantastic.

It is very silent (I hardly ever hear it) and always cool to the touch. The battery life is really, really good.
It obviously doesn’t have Pro level performance, but it handles everything I throw at it. The only thing that slightly upsets it is video editing, not really a problem for me.

Try it, sounds like it might be just what you’re looking for.

 

[hellopupy]

Im also strongly contemplating the new 16" MBP for the performance and 32GB ram capacity but since I have a 2014 MBA I don't know if I can adapt to the new change.

I really prefer if MBA would have 32GB. Anybody here with the 16GB ram MBA can share their experience with how it handles everything? Does the ram ever max out? I often run multiple apps, cloud based spreadsheets and have moderate to heavy browser activity. Just want to know if the 2019 MBA 16GB can actually handle that confidently for a few years.

If not the 16" MBP will have to do but I'd love to do without a lot of the mentioned heat/fan/weight/size issues.