Base 13-Inch MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air

[Shanpdx]

MBA drawback - due to thermal (9 watts CPU/10 watts CPU) performance will slowdown after a while as well as Fan noise will kick in. If one can afford few more dollars MBP always a better buy.

Not sure why apple intentionally went from 15 watts cpu to sub 10 watts cpu in MBA in last few years.

Nope, we are not buying iPad Pro with keyboard anytime soon apple. thanks.

I am regular reader of many reviews such as theverge and so on, I like the below youtube for comparing the MBA Vs MPB as well as MBP low end vs MBP high end.

 

[Valiko]

Touch bar? If I sit outdoor, i don't see anything there.

Absence of touch bar crucial advantage in favor of air.
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I’ve never had a Touch Bar (and never a MacBook Pro) but I am excited about trying it out as I’m almost certain I will be purchasing a loaded 13” MBP very soon.

You will learn very quickly.
If you use macbook in docked mode, most probably you have external KVM: keyboard, video and mouse. And that touchbar is somewhere there to be useful.
If you use macbook in autonomous mode, you will have higher requirements to consistent keyboard.

 

[unculturedswine]

Bought 2018 MBA when it first came out. A month ago I upgraded to the quad i5 MBA... and I'm switching back to the 2018. The thermals on the 2020 are absolute garbage. It runs at a slower clock speed (1.1 vs 1.6) and while the turbo boost is higher it only can sustain it for seconds if you're lucky.

On my 2018 I could stream a Plex show and code a website all day without a problem. On my 2020 the fans are screaming the whole time and everything else is crawling.

I got an Apple Rep that was AMAZING who arranged for a full 100% refund even though I'm outside the 14 day return window.

 

[topmounter]

As the owner of a ‘17 Air and a ‘19 13” MacBook Pro, I would not consider the Touch Bar to be an advantage. It is nice that they brought back the physical Escape key on the new MBPs, but I’d still prefer to not have the MS Office Ribbon... err... I mean the Touch Bar.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The $999 base model does not have a sluggish processor.


For those of us looking to upgrade, it's smart to watch review videos and pay attention to performance data. Unfortunately it appears many are losing sight of the real world performance differences between the i3, i5, and i7 processors available on the 2020 Macbook Air.

Yes, it's true that the i5 upgrade is available for $100 and it does offer 2 additional cores. However, please note that while cpu benchmarking tools show a measurable multi-core performance improvement, that does not mean that the performance witnessed in usage will directly correlate to the indicated benchmark percentages, especially when taking into consideration the limitations of the Air's cooling implementation.

Additionally, the base i3 model is frequently offered at a significant discount in comparison to a custom ordered i5 model from Apple. Many suppliers offer the base i3 model for $950 and at times as low as $900 USD. Individuals will have to assess whether or not the $100 (and potentially $150 or even $200) upgrade price is worth the incremental increase in performance.

Let's not lose sight of the main benefit every 2020 MacBook Air purchaser receives, especially those of us upgrading from older systems. The new magic keyboard, the 10th gen CPUs and their improved graphics, and the faster low power memory are massive improvements to the vast majority of users.

If you have a real need for the additional cores and graphics of the i5 and i7 upgrades, by all means buy them. But let us be clear here, the available 2020 Air upgrades are not as significant as some historical upgrade offerings, such as going from 4 Gb of RAM to 8 Gb of RAM.

For my primary use cases of browsing, video playback, and writing software, I'm sticking with the base i3 model from a reputable retailer for $950. I'm certain it will be a massive upgrade from the 2013 Air I'm currently using. I'd rather save that $150 (or more) to upgrade to a new system sooner rather than marginally increase the processing power of a 2020 Air.

Besides, I can't be the only one who really wants to purchase an iPad-oriented MacBook with a permanent keyboard can I?

Apple always sells a ton of the entry level models, and I doubt the i3 Air will be any different. The i3 is sufficient for many.

But I keep my electronics for a long time. ime, that $100 quad-core upgrade is going to be worth it’s weight in gold in years 4 or maybe 5, through 7, 8, 9 or however long it lasts.

It’s a very well-priced upgrade that’ll give you at least an extra couple of years on the backend of the product life cycle. It’s more of a step function upgrade than a marginal upgrade.

 

[Arctic Moose]

that $100 quad-core upgrade is going to be worth it’s weight in gold in years 4 or maybe 5, through 7, 8, 9 or however long it lasts.

Not if it is throttled so bad that you can’t actually use the additional performance.

It’ll be interesting to see how it works with an external cooling solution, but that’s not an option for anyone intending to use it as a LAPtop.

 

[mcdasa]

i have seen no one who says that touch bar is really valuable.

 

[chucker23n1]

Wow, you're so clever. I never saw that coming.

Of course, you understand my real meaning - when someone says "95%" or "99%" they are making a generalization that equates to "the vast majority" - i.e., it's a figure of speech. But then how could people like yourself pretend to poke holes in an argument that wasn't there to begin with?

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Do yourself a favor, pal. Don't do that.

So, just to be clear: “Touch Bar is a joke to the vast majority of MBP purchasers” isn't your actual position either?

Maybe instead of incorrectly citing a logical fallacy, make an argument that you’ll actually stand behind?

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

You could, although I would recommend the $100 i5 upgrade.

The thing to consider with the Air is that it will have less thermal headroom than your current Pro. Those speeds can only be hit for relatively short periods of time. It's hard to say how much this will matter for you, but if it does, you're probably better off with a $1799 Pro.

Funnily enough in my country they'd charge $250 for the i5 upgrade… This is like so unfair. Do you guys not include the VAT or what's going on?
Why is there no such issue with PCs? And for example iPhone SE is actually $400 over here as well. I know it's an offtopic and I made a thread about it, but my question is just WHY?
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Bought 2018 MBA when it first came out. A month ago I upgraded to the quad i5 MBA... and I'm switching back to the 2018. The thermals on the 2020 are absolute garbage. It runs at a slower clock speed (1.1 vs 1.6) and while the turbo boost is higher it only can sustain it for seconds if you're lucky.

On my 2018 I could stream a Plex show and code a website all day without a problem. On my 2020 the fans are screaming the whole time and everything else is crawling.

I got an Apple Rep that was AMAZING who arranged for a full 100% refund even though I'm outside the 14 day return window.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Do you guys not include the VAT or what's going on?

Sales tax (VAT) varies a lot between states, and is never added until it is time to pay.

(This means that unless you are carrying a calculator and a sales tax table for the state you’re in you never know what you’ll need to pay until you get to the register. It’s barbaric.)

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

Sales tax (VAT) varies a lot between states, and is never added until it is time to pay.

(This means that unless you are carrying a calculator and a sales tax table for the state you’re in you never know what you’ll need to pay until you get to the register. It’s barbaric.)

So technically the "only $100 upgrade" isn't only $100 for Americans either?

 

[chucker23n1]

So technically the "only $100 upgrade" isn't only $100 for Americans either?

Virtually all retail prices in the US are without VAT, so that’s the correct point of comparison.

 

[Arctic Moose]

So technically the "only $100 upgrade" isn't only $100 for Americans either?

Correct, unless you’re in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire or Oregon, although Alaska does allow localities to charge local sales taxes. (Typically, just expect anything you buy to be 10% more expensive and you’ll be safe.)

 

[Jury]

From a previous MacRumors analysis, it's a shame the MacBook Air doesn't have a better CPU cooler, but it's still a great value.

There is some brain damage by the Apple employees who assigned to work on the development of mac products. As a matter of fact, it's unacceptable to sabotage the thermal airflow regardless if it is the cheapest model.

Since the introduction of 2015 Macbook, Apple is constantly making the new mac product that consists of huge trade-off and less amazing.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Virtually all retail prices in the US are without VAT, so that’s the correct point of comparison.

Not if you’re comparing to prices in pretty much any other country, where the price stated is the price you’ll pay.

 

[chucker23n1]

Not if you’re comparing to prices in pretty much any other country, where the price stated is the price you’ll pay.

Yes, but comparing prices across countries isn’t very useful. Yes, Apple tends to be even pricier in other countries (in part simply to stabilize exchange rates), but what are you gonna do?

 

[Falhófnir]

I do believe Apple does plan to move the MacBook Pro line to miniLED-backlit displays at 14" and 16" sizes. Latest rumors from Ming Chi Kuo says the Apple miniLED products are being pushed back to later in 2020 or even early 2021, so this might be why Apple decided to just drop the new keyboard and the new 10th Generation CPUs in the current 13" MacBook Pro as a stand-in until they are ready to launch the 14" miniLED model in Late 2020 / early 2021 along with the updated 16" miniLED MBP, miniLED iPad Pros and miniLED iMac Pro (all of which have been rumored by MCK).

In such a scenario, moving the MacBook Air at 13" to an ARM A14X CPU would allow for the portables market bi-furcation - ARM at 13" and below (MBA / iPad Pro / iPad / iPhone) and Intel at 14" and up (MBP).

Apparently Jon Prosser has now also suggested the next 16" will be an Arm/ mini LED model - which opens back up the possibility it won't be a slowly, slowly transition from the lower end of the market, but Apple will come out from day one showing their chips as the superior option. Arguably this is a better strategy as people already know Arm is good for small, power sipping designs, but it needs to prove itself on more powerful models. Coming straight out with a super powerful 16" which smokes the previous version in real world tasks will be a good way of breaking the perception.

In this case I expect the Intel MBP 16" and 13" to remain on sale alongside for maybe another 2-3 years, but I'm not sure they will get updated again, or if they do only getting the better Tiger Lake chips whenever they are available.

 

[otternonsense]

The Touch Bar is as much of an "advantage" as still sporting a butterfly keyboard.

No real effect on usability (rather negative, in fact) but a very real impact on price, I hope this DOA gimmicky tosh will soon join the other pies in the sky that dropped into the ditch of failed tech.

 

[Geordiekeith]

I laughed when I read "Touchbar" in the advantages section.

I would put the Touchbar in the definite disadvantage section. It is for that reason I am currently decided on replacing my early 2015 MacBook Pro with the i5 MacBook Air when I need to. Fortunately, having recently had the battery replaced in my 2015 MacBook, and with little need at the moment for a portable machine as there is no business travel, I can wait until later in the year when something more interesting like a 14" MacBook might appear.
My daughter was less patient, as she was expecting to "inherit" the 2015 MacBook so I just bought her the MacBook Air i5 - and funnily enough, for her the Gold option was also an advantage!

 

[otternonsense]

i have seen no one who says that touch bar is really valuable.

I actually do have a couple of colleagues who defend it after creating custom shortcuts with third party apps. Are they convincing anyone other than themselves? No.

 

[chucker23n1]

Apparently Jon Prosser has now also suggested the next 16" will be an Arm/ mini LED model - which opens back up the possibility it won't be a slowly, slowly transition from the lower end of the market, but Apple will come out from day one showing their chips as the superior option.

I hope not.

(I also really don't buy it. Apple's CPUs are good, but they're not magic.)

Arguably this is a better strategy as people already know Arm is good for small, power sipping designs, but it needs to prove itself on more powerful models.

Why does it need to do that, though? To appease pundits and analysts?

 

[BagODonits]

Hmm - my 2015 MacBook Pro (i5) currently has a 720 single core, 1594 multi-core Geekbench score. The computer runs everything I current need very well - I don't do video editing or games. The MacBook Air scores suggest that I could be fine even with an i3 2020 MacBook Air for several years if I bump it up to 16G RAM - does that make sense?

YES!
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MacBook Pro / 1.4GHz quad-core Core i5: 927 single-core and 3,822 multi-core
MacBook Pro / 1.7GHz quad-core Core i7: 1,036 single-core and 3,909 multi-core
So... is it worth it to pay an extra $275 for an i7?

If you are a Pro and a few percent faster getting your work done makes or saves you money then it may be worth it. For most probably not.

 

[BagODonits]

I won’t fault you for this, but it has been shown that the MBA does indeed support a screen brightness of 500 nits—just not on macOS. Using Windows 10 on the MBA, notebookcheck.net measure a screen brightness of 547 cd/m2. It seems that just like the new SE, Apple is limiting the function of hardware in order to segment its products.

That is possible but it is more complicated than just that reason. Running at lower brightness also increases battery life, increases display life, and allows you to purchase less expensive and more panels. Just because a panel can run at max brightness does not mean that it should.

 

[Falhófnir]

I hope not.

(I also really don't buy it. Apple's CPUs are good, but they're not magic.)



Why does it need to do that, though? To appease pundits and analysts?

Well I think what you say here is actually a very good answer to your question! Apple need a showcase machine to fully and quickly put to bed the lamentation over the loss of x86, and get people to stop saying 'I'm hanging onto my intel machine as long as possible' and get them to start saying 'Wow, what an incredible machine, I can't wait to upgrade!'. I'm very confident that the sooner they rip the plaster off as it were, the quicker all the angst over the transition will be forgotten and every will be happier on the other side. Drawing out the transition unnecessarily is likely to cause problems that don't need to exist.

 

[interessiert]

For me for example yes

Please, give us more details! Which app you use with assistance of Touch Bar?

Just for Emojis?
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Now we know: The first ARM-Laptops will be Mac Book Pro 13" 👍