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Chart of $1.2k-$1.6k rMB, MBA, ntbMBP differences

oneMadRssn said:
They’re all dual core and they’re all 8gb ram configureable to 16gb. The point of this chart was to identify the differences, but that is something they all have in common.
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Are there? Aren’t they all 802.11ac 2x2? Or are the MBP 3x3?
[doublepost=1540946473][/doublepost]

Thanks. I’ll update the table tomorrow. Where did you find that info?
Click to expand...


The TB MBPros are all 802.11ac Wave 1 3x3 going back to (and including) 2015. Up to 1.3Gb/s.
The nTB MBPro is 2x2 802.11ac Wave 1. Up to 867Mb/s.

The new MBA might be 802.11ac Wave 2 in either 3x3 or 2x2. Not too sure yet.

EDIT:
I originally stated the older MBA was 3x3 but it looks like 2x2 (so 876Mb/s).
12" Macbook is 3x3 Wave 1.
 
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oneMadRssn said:
They’re all dual core and they’re all 8gb ram configureable to 16gb. The point of this chart was to identify the differences, but that is something they all have in common.
[doublepost=1540946239][/doublepost]
Are there? Aren’t they all 802.11ac 2x2? Or are the MBP 3x3?
[doublepost=1540946473][/doublepost]

Thanks. I’ll update the table tomorrow. Where did you find that info?
Click to expand...

It’s on the Apple site (some regions show the spec, others don’t).
 
Does anyone have benchmark scores for the new custom CPU of the air? At 7W it should be quite a bit faster than the 12" MacBooks, at least.
 
The MacBook 12" have a 300 nit display (not 340) I believe, same as the new Air.

Also, the new Air use 7W CPU, rather than the presumed 5W CPU. source: https://ark.intel.com/products/189912/Intel-Core-i5-8210Y-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3-60-GHz-

Great work with the graph, if it isn't too much trouble, I would probably add the 13" TB as well - and at the very least, we should display keyboard revision which is very important. MacBook's have Gen 1? nTB has Gen 2 and the new Air/TB has Gen 3.
 
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You should at least include battery life.

20% more battery life over the MPB is definitely something to consider - especially for those on the road a lot who don't always have access to a power point. Battery life was one of the great things about the original 13" MBA.
 
Mopar said:
You should at least include battery life.

20% more battery life over the MPB is definitely something to consider - especially for those on the road a lot who don't always have access to a power point. Battery life was one of the great things about the original 13" MBA.
Click to expand...

Apple quoted battery life isn't accurate. 10 hour for nTB is underestimating while 10 hour for 13" TB is overestimating for example. 12 hour for old Air was underestimating and it is also probably underestimating for the new Air.
 
Ma2k5 said:
The MacBook 12" have a 300 nit display (not 340) I believe, same as the new Air.

Also, the new Air use 7W CPU, rather than the presumed 5W CPU. source: https://ark.intel.com/products/189912/Intel-Core-i5-8210Y-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3-60-GHz-

Great work with the graph, if it isn't too much trouble, I would probably add the 13" TB as well - and at the very least, we should display keyboard revision which is very important. MacBook's have Gen 1? nTB has Gen 2 and the new Air/TB has Gen 3.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and that actually goes a long way showing what a mess the Apple laptop line is now. I was planning to buy a laptop in this price and size range soon, but will delay my purchase:

- 12" MB: no 3rd gen keyboard, less bright screen (I compared it with the 13" MBP in the store, and found the difference huge), will not buy.
- 13" ntb MBP: no 3rd gen keyboard, will not buy.
- new 13" MBA: less bright screen, will not buy.
- 13" tb MBP: hate the touchbar (I use a 15" tb MBP in my lab, and find the touchbar only slows me down), too expensive, will not buy.

All it would have taken for me to be fine is to upgrade the 13" ntb MBP with 3rd gen keyboard, and maybe the last CPU in the corresponding range. The current line has all sorts of quirks and many people will feel the same for different reasons.
 
Could you please add the $999 old-school MBA (2017 update) to the chart? They still sell it. It has more useable screen real estate than the new one despite much less pixels, a 16/10 format (better for documents than 16/9), a more powerful CPU, a less powerful GPU, 2x USB A ports + a charging port, Thunderbolt 2, Magsafe, SDXC port. Looks like a steal to me if Retina display is not a must.
 
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Ma2k5 said:
The MacBook 12" have a 300 nit display (not 340) I believe, same as the new Air.

Also, the new Air use 7W CPU, rather than the presumed 5W CPU. source: https://ark.intel.com/products/189912/Intel-Core-i5-8210Y-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3-60-GHz-

Great work with the graph, if it isn't too much trouble, I would probably add the 13" TB as well - and at the very least, we should display keyboard revision which is very important. MacBook's have Gen 1? nTB has Gen 2 and the new Air/TB has Gen 3.
Click to expand...

I got the MB nits from here: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/macbook I couldn't find an apple.com spec on it. I updated the CPU info, thanks for the link. I'll add keyboard info, but I want to keep the TB models out of it. It's very clear why those are different and in a different price range, but this chart is meant to compare otherwise very similar models.

Mopar said:
You should at least include battery life.

20% more battery life over the MPB is definitely something to consider - especially for those on the road a lot who don't always have access to a power point. Battery life was one of the great things about the original 13" MBA.
Click to expand...
I'll add this.

kyjaotkb said:
Could you please add the $999 old-school MBA (2017 update) to the chart? They still sell it. It has more useable screen real estate than the new one despite much less pixels, a 16/10 format (better for documents than 16/9), a more powerful CPU, a less powerful GPU, 2x USB A ports + a charging port, Thunderbolt 2, Magsafe, SDXC port. Looks like a steal to me if Retina display is not a must.
Click to expand...
I agree with everything you said. The purpose of this chart is to compare the 3 super similar Apple laptops - to help people tell them apart with the nitpicky differences that Apple doesn't make clear. It's very obvious how the old MBA is different, so I don't think it belongs in this chart.
[doublepost=1540997986][/doublepost]Updated the chart up top, and also added this thought now that I've spent time looking at the differences:

The nTB MBP should really be called the MBPjr in my opinion. That isn't meant as a dig, I just don't think it's really a "Pro" Mac like the other quad-core models with the truly powerful CPUs. It is for those that want a bit more processing power and particularly for those working with visual arts due to the better screen. For example, light photography manipulation or video editing. Also, it might be a better choice for those that run light matlab sims, compile code, etc. These are tasks where the higher power CPU will be a benefit. Thus, the MBPjr is the better choice for a STEM college student.

The rMB is actually not such a bad deal considering the base SSDs are larger. Compare the 256GB rMB with the 256GB MBA - the rMB is $100 cheaper, but has a slightly lesser CPU. Also, it has less ports, a worse webcam, a last-gen keyboard, and a slightly smaller screen. If portability is at the top of a priority list, the rMB is the better choice though. I wouldn't recommend the rMB to a college student.

That leaves the new MBA - who is it for? It is for people that don't plan on doing anything that might need sustained CPU power, but want an additional port, an extra inch of screen, a better webcam, a slightly better keyboard, and the slightly better battery life. The new MBA might be the best choice for a non-STEM college student.
 
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It seems pretty straight forwards. If you're looking for 8/256 (for example) you can get:

* the 12" MB at $1,299,
* the MBA at $1,399, or
* the MBPro at $1,499.

So if you consider the MBA as the middle of the road devices, you can subtract $100 for a slightly smaller screen and loss of a USB-C port, and weaker CPU; or add $100 for a probably more powerful CPU.

It would be even simpler of course if the other features were standardized, such as processor generation, Touch ID and Wifi.
 
Howard2k said:
It seems pretty straight forwards. If you're looking for 8/256 (for example) you can get:

* the 12" MB at $1,299,
* the MBA at $1,399, or
* the MBPro at $1,499.

So if you consider the MBA as the middle of the road devices, you can subtract $100 for a slightly smaller screen and loss of a USB-C port, and weaker CPU; or add $100 for a probably more powerful CPU.

It would be even simpler of course if the other features were standardized, such as processor generation, Touch ID and Wifi.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think your way is the most concise way to put it, well done. +/- $100 for CPU or screen size.

It's just strange that Apple would have a lineup like this. As far as I remember, they've never had 3 models so close in spec and price to each other.
 
oneMadRssn said:
I got the MB nits from here: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/macbook I couldn't find an apple.com spec on it. I updated the CPU info, thanks for the link. I'll add keyboard info, but I want to keep the TB models out of it. It's very clear why those are different and in a different price range, but this chart is meant to compare otherwise very similar models.


I'll add this.


I agree with everything you said. The purpose of this chart is to compare the 3 super similar Apple laptops - to help people tell them apart with the nitpicky differences that Apple doesn't make clear. It's very obvious how the old MBA is different, so I don't think it belongs in this chart.
[doublepost=1540997986][/doublepost]Updated the chart up top, and also added this thought now that I've spent time looking at the differences:

The nTB MBP should really be called the MBPjr in my opinion. That isn't meant as a dig, I just don't think it's really a "Pro" Mac like the other quad-core models with the truly powerful CPUs. It is for those that want a bit more processing power and particularly for those working with visual arts due to the better screen. For example, light photography manipulation or video editing. Also, it might be a better choice for those that run light matlab sims, compile code, etc. These are tasks where the higher power CPU will be a benefit. Thus, the MBPjr is the better choice for a STEM college student.

The rMB is actually not such a bad deal considering the base SSDs are larger. Compare the 256GB rMB with the 256GB MBA - the rMB is $100 cheaper, but has a slightly lesser CPU. Also, it has less ports, a worse webcam, a last-gen keyboard, and a slightly smaller screen. If portability is at the top of a priority list, the rMB is the better choice though. I wouldn't recommend the rMB to a college student.

That leaves the new MBA - who is it for? It is for people that don't plan on doing anything that might need sustained CPU power, but want an additional port, an extra inch of screen, a better webcam, a slightly better keyboard, and the slightly better battery life. The new MBA might be the best choice for a non-STEM college student.
Click to expand...


Here are 12" and new 13" specs for display (300 nits SRGB aka non-P3) from Apple official.

https://www.apple.com/uk/mac/compare/results/?product1=macbook&product2=macbook-air-retina-13
 
Ma2k5 said:
Here are 12" and new 13" specs for display (300 nits SRGB aka non-P3) from Apple official.

https://www.apple.com/uk/mac/compare/results/?product1=macbook&product2=macbook-air-retina-13
Click to expand...
Thanks!

This caught my eye though - what does it mean?

upload_2018-10-31_12-7-12.png
 
Hey @oneMadRssn this is a great idea. Do you want me to provide you the prices in euros? For those of us who live on Europe Union. Also, I can tell you the weight in grams.

If you want them I'll copy them from the Apple website and give them to you. Although they will include my country's taxes (21% of VAT)
 
Populus said:
Hey @oneMadRssn this is a great idea. Do you want me to provide you the prices in euros? For those of us who live on Europe Union. Also, I can tell you the weight in grams.

If you want them I'll copy them from the Apple website and give them to you. Although they will include my country's taxes (21% of VAT)
Click to expand...

Yea, I've been meaning to add metric units. As for prices, are the prices in Euros the same for all member countries? If not, I think it would be too messy. What I will do is put it on Google Drive and that way people can copy it and adjust for their own use as needed.
 
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Rob9874 said:
I'm upgrading from an early-2011 MBP. I'm considering the new Air, with 16GB ram and 512 MB hdd, but at $1691 I'm wondering if the MBP with same upgrades would be a better bet at $1785. Thoughts, pros, cons?
Click to expand...

I don't envy your decision !... I recently went from a 2011 MBA (excellent laptop for its time) to a 2015 MBA.... the 2015-2018 MBA's are essentially the same... but, you are right... the 2011 is too old by today's standards.

Here's a suggestion.... buy both...and return one :)
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turbineseaplane said:
Great chart work OP..

Good lord what an f'in mess.
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looks like we are crossing the same threads ! I AGREE 100% !!

THANKS TO oneMadRssn for doing this !! excellent work !
 
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