Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

can macbook air replace your macbook pro

can macbook air replace pro

  • yes

    Votes: 174 73.4%

  • no

    Votes: 63 26.6%
  • Total voters
    237
I just took delivery of an 11.6" 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD MBA. It's replacing my late 2009 13" MBP that had 8GB RAM and 500 GB Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid, so far this little guy sings. I miss the RAM from the old machine but this little thing is quick.
 
Of course it can replace a MBP.
A MBA ultimate 13" is almost identical to a MBP besides the storage.
Currently, I believe that the macbook air has took the place of the 13" MBP.

If you absolutely need an i5 or i7 (extensive video work) I think you should look elsewhere.
 
I love 11" Ultimate, but no way does it replace my i5 15" MBP...I convert a ton of video and the i5 is perfect for that for me...the MBA is my little ultra light portable that goes about everywhere with me but I need the power of my i5 15" MBP...
 
iExpensive said:
Of course it can replace a MBP.
A MBA ultimate 13" is almost identical to a MBP besides the storage.
Currently, I believe that the macbook air has took the place of the 13" MBP.

If you absolutely need an i5 or i7 (extensive video work) I think you should look elsewhere.
Click to expand...

i agree. i wonder how the 2011 update to 13/15 mbp will make them different from the air.
 
Not my macbook pro..

2.53ghz core i5
8gb ram
160gb ssd + 500gb hdd
HR AG

bootcamped with win 7 pro, final cut, aperture, adobe design, 2 vm machines
I couldn't fit anything onto the 256gb ssd of my 13" ultimate when I had it.

**Post this same poll in the macbook pro forum, and I am sure you will get different results. ;)
 
For me it could, I love my 11" ultimate.
Only downside that it has no gigabit ethernet, but Apple it not that stupid to put an ethernet connector on the Air :p
 
peapody said:
Not my macbook pro..

2.53ghz core i5
8gb ram
160gb ssd + 500gb hdd
HR AG

bootcamped with win 7 pro, final cut, aperture, adobe design, 2 vm machines
I couldn't fit anything onto the 256gb ssd of my 13" ultimate when I had it.

**Post this same poll in the macbook pro forum, and I am sure you will get different results. ;)
Click to expand...

Do you think there is much of a difference between the i5 2.4GHz and the 2.53GHz? I know you found none between the 1.4GHz Air the 1.6...
 
Last edited:
...

it can if you don't want a backlit keyboard and are willing to give up the optical drive, ethernet and firewire. If you need ethernet, firewire or appreciate the backlit keyboard then no it can't
 
it has ;)

new: late 2010 13" MBA 1.86 2GB 256GB
replaced: late-2008 15" MBP 2.4ghz 4GB 320GB

btw: i'm in a household with iMac, Mac Mini, and my old 15" MBP, o an the wife's Win7 box
so, if this is your only machine, i would think about an optical drive for tasks like to rip your netflix

zoog
 
Apple OC said:
I am very aware of both machines ... can the Air be boosted to 8GB Ram? No

plus I am waiting for the SSDs to come down in price to put in one bigger than what is available in the Air ... as I stated the Air is just too limited for me.

As far as speed goes ... the MBP is more than fast enough for my needs. :cool:
Click to expand...

For the 512 SSD to come down to a reasonable price? You'll be waiting awhile...
 
newdeal said:
it can if you don't want a backlit keyboard and are willing to give up the optical drive, ethernet and firewire. If you need ethernet, firewire or appreciate the backlit keyboard then no it can't
Click to expand...

the most important things to me are screen res and battery life.

i never use an optical drive.

i wonder what features the upgraded 2011 macbook pros will have. how much longer will there battery life be?
 
Yep

11" MBA 1.4ghz 2gb 64gb SSD

replaced:

13" MBP 2.66ghz, 4gb, 320gb HDD

My iMac does most / all of the heavy lifting, I got the MBP as soon as it was refreshed because it was better value than the white MB but as portable. The portability of the 11" air is in another league though and thanks to the SSD it feels faster too :cool:
 
If I was to use an iMac, I'd probably replace my 13" MBP with the Air. However, I like a portable studio, where I can do heavy lifting and be able to pack it in a small bag to do recording sessions (on location). It's also packing a 500GB 7200 RPM drive in there. To a degree, the cheap high capacity drive is one of the main reasons for it still being of use. I also like the possible use of Firewire, but I don't use it yet.

Drive space is needed, for me, mainly based on my heavy-lifting projects take up a lot of space, and it needs to be fast and internal.
 
90%+

Since I got my MBA 11 set up, I've been using by MBP 13 about once a week, mostly as a file server for my MBA, and to read a occasional SD card.
 
My 11" ultimate replaced my 13" MBP 2.26 8gb RAM 1TB. I now use the Air for basically everything while on the go, and when I need more power I connect it to my MP via LogMeIn and have the power of my 8 cores on my 11" Air. :D

Of course it can be a bit glitchy if your internet connection sucks. I transferred around 20gbs of disk images from my MP to the MBA in about an hour via wireless connection on both ends. Not bad in my opinion.

I'm excited to see this year's refresh of MBPs though, if they look like the Air and have been slimmed down and yet are still powerful I'd go back to an MBP. Portability is awesome with the 11" though.
 
i used my i7 mbp this weekend. i have been using an ultimate 13 air. the silent operation of the air is amazing. i could hear the mbp fans on and the weight. the air sure makes the mbp feel big.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

It does... My wife is now surfing on an oversized 17" uMBP. And I got a Ultimate 11". I'm quite happy with the performance. Mainly some XCode while commuting. For heavy stuff I have my iMac 27" monster at home. No need for the MBP my situation. Plus I have my iPad complementing the MBA.
 
For me, it has. The Air meets all my needs and has surpassed all expectations.
 
I replaced a 15" mbp and 13" macbook with an 11" mba ultimate. No brainer. The macbook replaced a mini as my media server, and I sold the mini and mbp. I am planning on replacing the macbook with a current mini server in the near future, tho.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back