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Better Value

roland.g

roland.g

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 11, 2005
7,485
3,271
the 2018 13” Pro is a better value than the just released Air.

Pro has:
Touch Bar (which I kind of like)
Quad Core
Only .25 lbs heavier
Iris v UHD graphics
Brighter
True Tone display with Wide Color
Faster charging brick with slightly less battery life
2x the TB3/USB-C ports
Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2

Configuring the two machines with 16GB RAM (or 8 as the upcharge is the same) and a 512GB drive, the Air is only $400 less.

Going with a 1TB in the Pro and 1.5TB in the Air (because Apple is oddly not offering a 1TB size), they are the same price.

Pro seems like a much better value. Not sure why I would consider the Air.
 
As an owner of the new 2018 MBA and 2017 MBP, I agree with you. I believe the nTB MBP 13inch still uses the 2nd Ten butterfly keyboard. Also the performance between the two (synthetic benchmarks) the MBA is pretty much the same as the 2.3GHz nTB MBP 13 inch just FYI, and I believe the new 8th gen processor (vs. the MBP's 7th gen) has something to do with it.
 
Cosmo M3 said:
As an owner of the new 2018 MBA and 2017 MBP, I agree with you. I believe the nTB MBP 13inch still uses the 2nd Ten butterfly keyboard. Also the performance between the two (synthetic benchmarks) the MBA is pretty much the same as the 2.3GHz nTB MBP 13 inch just FYI, and I believe the new 8th gen processor (vs. the MBP's 7th gen) has something to do with it.
Click to expand...
Personally I am debating on replacing my 2012 Air with either a 15” Pro or 13” Pro. Had Apple replaced the Air and MacBook lines with 12” and 14” Airs or MacBooks, I would have considered a 14” Air/MacBook for the additional screen real estate. However, if I can deal with the extra weight of the 15” to get the screen, though I have no real use for 6 Cores, I will go with the 15”. If not I will get the 13” Pro as it a better value to me. Like I said I like the TouchBar, want more and newer technologies, and ultimately it is about whether the larger Pro is too heavy. I also want a 1TB internal drive and can’t understand the 1.5TB in the new Air.
 
Cehape said:
„Only“ 400€ at 2000€ is 20%.
Click to expand...

When it is due to last 3-5 years minimum, is it such a big difference? Generally budget concious people wouldn’t be looking at Apple in the first place - and it usually becomes a value for money and need proposition.
 
roland.g said:
the 2018 13” Pro is a better value than the just released Air.

Pro has:
Touch Bar (which I kind of like)
Quad Core
Only .25 lbs heavier
Iris v UHD graphics
Brighter
True Tone display with Wide Color
Faster charging brick with slightly less battery life
2x the TB3/USB-C ports
Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2

Configuring the two machines with 16GB RAM (or 8 as the upcharge is the same) and a 512GB drive, the Air is only $400 less.

Going with a 1TB in the Pro and 1.5TB in the Air (because Apple is oddly not offering a 1TB size), they are the same price.

Pro seems like a much better value. Not sure why I would consider the Air.
Click to expand...


Value is subjective.
 
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Cehape said:
@Ma2k5: Ok, if you look at it this way, then everyone should get a fully loaded 2018 MBP, because budget doesnˋt matter.
Click to expand...

How did you conclude that?

It’s a balance of needs and value for money, so for most getting a fully loaded machine is never a good idea. Fully loaded machines also rarely are value for money, and it will be needs based driven. Sometimes you get something more than you need and perhaps in some extreme scenarios, less than you need, due to value for money.

To take an extreme example, if all you do with your computer is Safari, you don’t need a powerful CPU. If you had two machines, one with a single core and another with quad core (with everything else the same), with the quad core costing an extra $100, even though you’re needs are met by the single core, value proposition makes the single core variant not value for money, so you end up getting the quad core.
 
I was at the Apple store today picking up an iPad and I checked out the Air. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed at all. Picking it up it felt exactly like a 13” Pro, except with a slight wedge. The wedge is super thick at the thinnest point when you compare it to the 12” MacBook. I was actually super interested in it when I saw the keynote, but seeing it in person it just wasn’t anything special. There is nothing “Air” about the design.
 
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roland.g said:
the 2018 13” Pro is a better value than the just released Air.

Pro has:
Touch Bar (which I kind of like)
Quad Core
Only .25 lbs heavier
Iris v UHD graphics
Brighter
True Tone display with Wide Color
Faster charging brick with slightly less battery life
2x the TB3/USB-C ports
Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2

Configuring the two machines with 16GB RAM (or 8 as the upcharge is the same) and a 512GB drive, the Air is only $400 less.

Going with a 1TB in the Pro and 1.5TB in the Air (because Apple is oddly not offering a 1TB size), they are the same price.

Pro seems like a much better value. Not sure why I would consider the Air.
Click to expand...

As previously stated ---> Value is subjective.

The Air has advantages, they may just not appeal to you. Many, including me, view the TB as a worthless gimmick.. I want touchID without the gimmick! That's the main draw for me to the Air....

The nTB Pro is without a doubt a better value if someone does not care about touchID. I put a high value on it and am willing to pay more for it... What I have zero interest in is the TB....

I have the Air with a 256GB SSD. I dig it but it's not perfect. The screen is kinda dim and so far I am getting some lag but I've only had it a few hours. I am also hopeful the 3rd gen KB is better than the 2nd gen on the nTB....

I have zero, zilch, none, nada interest in the TB and would not spend an extra cent for it... As said, value is subjective... What you value - I don't and what I value - you don't..
 
raqball said:
As previously stated ---> Value is subjective.

The Air has advantages, they may just not appeal to you. Many, including me, view the TB as a worthless gimmick.. I want touchID without the gimmick! That's the main draw for me to the Air....

The nTB Pro is without a doubt a better value if someone does not care about touchID. I put a high value on it and am willing to pay more for it... What I have zero interest in is the TB....

I have the Air with a 256GB SSD. I dig it but it's not perfect. The screen is kinda dim and so far I am getting some lag but I've only had it a few hours. I am also hopeful the 3rd gen KB is better than the 2nd gen on the nTB....

I have zero, zilch, none, nada interest in the TB and would not spend an extra cent for it... As said, value is subjective... What you value - I don't and what I value - you don't..
Click to expand...
Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to like the Air. I have an Air. I just was surprised that the pricing was so close or the same for such similarly spec’d machines (RAM and storage). That was my observation.
 
Although I’m using a 2018 15”, I think that an updated nTB Pro would hit a sweet spot. Say, quad core 15W CPU, Touch ID but no Touch Bar, 3rd gen keyboard, and 2 TB3 ports.
 
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