Everyone is jealous. Because they don't have the newest apple product. Thats how it goes. Score 1 for the apple marketing team
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Are MacBook Pro users jealous?
- Thread starter CaliforniaKing
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Someone who buys a Pro wants Pro Abilities. So i dont think they are jealous over the MBA, which is quick and strong, but does not offer all the things the Pro can.
As a guy that has just gone from a 2011 MBP to a 2011 MBA I have to say whilst I am not overall greatly missing the MBP I do think the hi-res screen that I opted for with the MBP is something that I will particularly miss. There is a notable difference - also the waking up time between the 2 machines is noticeable (just, but still noticeable).
The fact that the Air is able to handle all of my activities (which are not demanding) extremely well and physically/cosmetically the thing is just way way above the MBP was enough for me to make the change. The MBA actually currently runs much quieter generally than my 2.2 i7 MBP with SSD which is great really.
I guess I came to the realisation that I simply do not require the power of the Pro and the Air is now at the stage where it can more than handle my needs.
(Plus I sold my MBP for £1600 and bought a MBA ultimate for around £1170 after my student discount etc.
)
The fact that the Air is able to handle all of my activities (which are not demanding) extremely well and physically/cosmetically the thing is just way way above the MBP was enough for me to make the change. The MBA actually currently runs much quieter generally than my 2.2 i7 MBP with SSD which is great really.
I guess I came to the realisation that I simply do not require the power of the Pro and the Air is now at the stage where it can more than handle my needs.
(Plus I sold my MBP for £1600 and bought a MBA ultimate for around £1170 after my student discount etc.
)i agree. bought the air 2 days ago and it reminded me how amazingly thin it is. for a split second there i missed having my air and was going to sell my 15" high res instead. but than after a few hours that feeling wore off. i don't even fully take advantage of the pro but i just feel like it'll be the more well equipped machine future wise. i should note that the 2 inch reduction also had me surprised. it was quite noticable.
its gonna be a bi*** my last year in college though. carrying this sucker blows. thats when i wish i had the air.
I have the most current high-end MBP and I am a bit jealous. Mainly jealous of the SSD speed and form factor.
Obviously, I can't have it all because a form factor MBA with a 500 GB SSD and dedicated GPU wouldn't exist
Both machines have give-and-takes.
question is
form factor >>>> over your pro features?
Jealous?
I'm putting my 2010 High-Resolution Anti-glare 2.66 Ghz i7 MBP on ebay this week because I don't see myself going back to it after getting ahold of the MBA. It'll be great for a power user, but my Mac needs are different.
So no, I'm not jealous at all.
I'm putting my 2010 High-Resolution Anti-glare 2.66 Ghz i7 MBP on ebay this week because I don't see myself going back to it after getting ahold of the MBA. It'll be great for a power user, but my Mac needs are different.
So no, I'm not jealous at all.
Funny thread. I'd say it might show us that the OP needs validation, or is still in teenage mode of thinking a gadget makes him/her more "cool" somehow. :-/
They're different machines, and different purposes.
The MBA form factor is cool, but the only real comparison is to the 13" MBP; the others simply blow away the Air entirely on everything. That doesn't mean the Air is worthless, but it has limitations vs ALL of the Pros - RAM, storage, lack of ethernet (please let's not compare a multi-system network on a single wireless channel vs switched Gigabit ethernet - the instant more than a single user exists, or NAS or media servers are introduced along with backups, major fail), lack of front row/remote support for those that use it (I don't, but some do). The only real comparison point is with the 13" MBP. Until the MBP is refreshed at least, the CPU power difference is pretty much equal. RAM, firewire, ethernet, optical drive, max storage space is not.
Some of those are down to individuals, as well as people thinking they need more than they actually do. Some people buying Pros might not really need 8GB of RAM, or 1TB of storage. Others may have a media server or NAS and rarely need large local storage, and may not have any firewire devices, nor use Gigabit ethernet even though it's vastly superior to wireless. In those cases, it's a tough call, and the Air might be a better deal. For someone with a desktop system at home, so for only casual or travel use, the Air might be a great deal. The Air would make a great second computer, or an occasional travel computer, or for those whose focus is more on document creation, lighter development tasks (meaning no virtual machines, let alone multiple), perhaps photo editing but not large numbers or amount of video editing, etc. The Air would be great for most students, unless they have a 500GB+ music and/or movie collection not on a NAS or in the could. The Air would be great for my Mom, and even overkill for some casual email/web/chat/skype focused users.
Where it starts to lack is for those that are doing specific types of professional work day in and day out. Now, if the Air had a maximum RAM of 8GB, and a Thunderbolt breakout box to include gig ethernet - it would really narrow the gap with the 13" Pro, so much that I would have considered one - 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and Gig ethernet - would have me considering one vs my 2011 quad core MBP, as it would still be less CPU power overall, but the SNB chips are really quite competent, and I could for the most part cope with a dual core vs quad core, if it had everything else and was at a significant savings, for ME. Certainly that would put it a LOT closer to the 13" Pro, neither having discrete graphics cards.
As it is now, for the Air vs the 13" Pro, it's form factor/weight, Apple SSD and slightly higher resolution (which is indeed needed on the 13" Pro, IMO), against much more storage, more RAM, optical drive, ethernet, firewire - that tradeoff is worth it for some, or not even a tradeoff at all for some, in favor of the Air, while for some professionals the Air is a non-starter. The Air in it's current incarnation is close to something I could use day in and out as a primary system, but not there yet, so it remains an iPad with a keyboard - a neat toy or second/third system, but not one that can replace my daily system I use for work.
What will be interesting to see is the next 1-2 generations of Pros and the Air. It's not impossible that all of the Pros start going the way of the Air, although if they remove some capabilities it's going to upset a lot of Pro users, and it's also a possibility of seeing the Air next gen or two replace the 13" Pro. Right now, it's not there yet for those who have decided they can cope with the smaller screen/res of the 13" Pro (maybe mostly using an external monitor), but need the extra RAM and storage, gig ethernet, etc.
They're different machines, and different purposes.
The MBA form factor is cool, but the only real comparison is to the 13" MBP; the others simply blow away the Air entirely on everything. That doesn't mean the Air is worthless, but it has limitations vs ALL of the Pros - RAM, storage, lack of ethernet (please let's not compare a multi-system network on a single wireless channel vs switched Gigabit ethernet - the instant more than a single user exists, or NAS or media servers are introduced along with backups, major fail), lack of front row/remote support for those that use it (I don't, but some do). The only real comparison point is with the 13" MBP. Until the MBP is refreshed at least, the CPU power difference is pretty much equal. RAM, firewire, ethernet, optical drive, max storage space is not.
Some of those are down to individuals, as well as people thinking they need more than they actually do. Some people buying Pros might not really need 8GB of RAM, or 1TB of storage. Others may have a media server or NAS and rarely need large local storage, and may not have any firewire devices, nor use Gigabit ethernet even though it's vastly superior to wireless. In those cases, it's a tough call, and the Air might be a better deal. For someone with a desktop system at home, so for only casual or travel use, the Air might be a great deal. The Air would make a great second computer, or an occasional travel computer, or for those whose focus is more on document creation, lighter development tasks (meaning no virtual machines, let alone multiple), perhaps photo editing but not large numbers or amount of video editing, etc. The Air would be great for most students, unless they have a 500GB+ music and/or movie collection not on a NAS or in the could. The Air would be great for my Mom, and even overkill for some casual email/web/chat/skype focused users.
Where it starts to lack is for those that are doing specific types of professional work day in and day out. Now, if the Air had a maximum RAM of 8GB, and a Thunderbolt breakout box to include gig ethernet - it would really narrow the gap with the 13" Pro, so much that I would have considered one - 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and Gig ethernet - would have me considering one vs my 2011 quad core MBP, as it would still be less CPU power overall, but the SNB chips are really quite competent, and I could for the most part cope with a dual core vs quad core, if it had everything else and was at a significant savings, for ME. Certainly that would put it a LOT closer to the 13" Pro, neither having discrete graphics cards.
As it is now, for the Air vs the 13" Pro, it's form factor/weight, Apple SSD and slightly higher resolution (which is indeed needed on the 13" Pro, IMO), against much more storage, more RAM, optical drive, ethernet, firewire - that tradeoff is worth it for some, or not even a tradeoff at all for some, in favor of the Air, while for some professionals the Air is a non-starter. The Air in it's current incarnation is close to something I could use day in and out as a primary system, but not there yet, so it remains an iPad with a keyboard - a neat toy or second/third system, but not one that can replace my daily system I use for work.
What will be interesting to see is the next 1-2 generations of Pros and the Air. It's not impossible that all of the Pros start going the way of the Air, although if they remove some capabilities it's going to upset a lot of Pro users, and it's also a possibility of seeing the Air next gen or two replace the 13" Pro. Right now, it's not there yet for those who have decided they can cope with the smaller screen/res of the 13" Pro (maybe mostly using an external monitor), but need the extra RAM and storage, gig ethernet, etc.
I have a 2.3 15" Quad Core Macbook Pro with Hi Res Matt Screen. This guy is my dream machine. I also have an 11" MacBook Air I take with me to Starbucks and such. If I had to choose just one it would be no contest. The MacBook pro gets the nod. I sold my iPad for the Air and this combination works really well for me.
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Heck no, I'm not jealous. The 13" MBP is much better than the Air. Good luck with your Air. You have fun upgrading it in the future, oh wait you can't. You also have fun carrying around external hard drives, SuperDrives, etc. I have an all in one laptop.
Heck no, I'm not jealous. The 13" MBP is much better than the Air. Good luck with your Air. You have fun upgrading it in the future, oh wait you can't. You also have fun carrying around external hard drives, SuperDrives, etc. I have an all in one laptop.
I get trolled so easily these days.
The main reason, I would argue, to purchase an Air, is portability. Other than that purpose, it's sort of ridiculous to own, but people will do what they want with their money and I can't argue their right to own whatever they want based on whatever motive for purchase.
Your post is just awfully bad. There is quite a performance difference between the two machines, and I'm sure you know that you can put an SSD in the MBP too. The MacBook Pro is not stuck in a hard place, it's a top seller.
There is a huge amount of hypocrisy when people brag about the Air but does anyone remember the obnoxious iMac bragging over this picture?
People were talking about the iMac superiority over a windows desktop because "It's all-in-one and isnt a mess of tangled wires". And that was on a desktop that never leaves the room you set it up with. Yet here we are with a mobility device and people are claiming that adding an ethernet, external drives, dvd or SD (11") is somehow "convenient".
The MBP is not a heavy machine and while it's thicker than the air, to the PRO user, the ability to have low cost high capacity internal drives, DVD, gigabit ethernet and firewire far exceeds the thin gimmick that has forced these features off of the Air.
it's already been said, but there is certainly a place for the pro. no jealousy here. glad to see the airs getting a much-needed update, and i am happy to see that everyone seems pleased with it.
for me, power trumps portability, so i don't see the advantage in paying more for less functionality: less power, fewer ports, no options for upgrades (like the 8gb ram i have), no optical drive, and all with the same battery life. my computer only leaves the house a few days each week, so no need for the portability of an air.
the air is a great product. no doubt. but, what is this curious obsession with seeing the two lines merged? i hope apple keeps a line for power users and another for ultra portables.
in the meantime, i'll be carrying around my ipad when i leave the house. it costs less than your air, has twice the battery life, and enables me to consume (read) as well as create content. how long until the mba gets merged into the ipad line
for me, power trumps portability, so i don't see the advantage in paying more for less functionality: less power, fewer ports, no options for upgrades (like the 8gb ram i have), no optical drive, and all with the same battery life. my computer only leaves the house a few days each week, so no need for the portability of an air.
the air is a great product. no doubt. but, what is this curious obsession with seeing the two lines merged? i hope apple keeps a line for power users and another for ultra portables.
in the meantime, i'll be carrying around my ipad when i leave the house. it costs less than your air, has twice the battery life, and enables me to consume (read) as well as create content. how long until the mba gets merged into the ipad line
Which PRO user ? I use my MBA professionally and high capacity internal drives, DVD, gigabit Ethernet and Firewire have 0 purpose in my workflow.
It depends on your workflow really.
I have both a 2010 11" Ultimate MBA - or what passed for "Ultimate" six months ago - and a 2011 15" i7 MBP. Let me tell you that comparing the two is akin to comparing an apple with an orange.
My MBP is, at the moment, being pressed into service as a desktop replacement. There's no way the MBA could suffice as a stand-alone machine; the MBP does and does it very well.
On the other hand, I love my MBA for travel into the urban jungle, but the MBP stays at home because I don't want to lug around five pounds of aluminum.
I can remember the Gil Amilio days when I made do with a PowerBook 520c or a 1400c and was happy to have it. I thought Pismo PowerBooks were the sexiest machines ever. But being somewhat spoilt for choice now - as the locals say - forces me to the realization that the two machines are vastly different in terms of capability, performance and purpose. The purpose distinction is what matters most to me.
My MBP is, at the moment, being pressed into service as a desktop replacement. There's no way the MBA could suffice as a stand-alone machine; the MBP does and does it very well.
On the other hand, I love my MBA for travel into the urban jungle, but the MBP stays at home because I don't want to lug around five pounds of aluminum.
I can remember the Gil Amilio days when I made do with a PowerBook 520c or a 1400c and was happy to have it. I thought Pismo PowerBooks were the sexiest machines ever. But being somewhat spoilt for choice now - as the locals say - forces me to the realization that the two machines are vastly different in terms of capability, performance and purpose. The purpose distinction is what matters most to me.
A little off the topic--I don't really see the point of having the 13" pro anymore. I wonder if they're going to start thinking about phasing that one out...