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College Student - Macbook vs Air?

S

shakopeemn

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2014
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I have a teenager going to college potentially for an education degree and wants to stay in the Mac family. It would be hard to recommend any Windows machine to compete with the battery life of an Air.

Is there any advantage to a Macbook over the Air at school? I know there's the Retina and screen size difference. I would configure both with a 512 SSD.

Appreciate your takes.
 
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The MacBook would be my choice simply because of the Retina display, but if you can wait until this fall, I'd recommend doing that instead.
 
shakopeemn said:
Thanks to both of you. Is Apple most likely updating both the Macbook and the Air this fall?
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They'll likely update the 12" MacBook, but the future of the Air line is up in the air at the moment. Nobody's really certain if it's going to be updated again, hang on as is, or simply be discontinued.

Disclaimer - This advice is coming from a current Middle School Robotics teacher that's been a Mac user since the late 90s. Something to consider since your student is thinking about an Education major!

So far as your original question, for student tasks, both are fine choices. The 12" MacBook would be slightly nicer to tote around all day in a backpack, although the Air really isn't that much heavier. The port situation is negligible with an adapter for the 12", so long as said student doesn't mind bringing a little dongle with them. Performance on the Air is a bit better, although it wouldn't be terribly noticeable for general usage. If the pricing is an issue, you can generally find better deals on a new Air from Best Buy or somewhere similar than you can on the 12". I've been using both an 11" 2015 Air and a 12" 2016 MacBook personally for a while now, and I find the two laptops comparable. The keyboard is a common whining point on the 12", and although I don't enjoy it quite as much as the Air, it's really not awful in my opinion. This coming from someone that writes multi-page lesson plans regularly.

Seeing as your child is planning on majoring in Education, either laptop would serve them well in a classroom environment in the future. I personally use an 11" 2011 Air in my classroom, and it does everything I need.

Biggest advantages of the 12" for a college student - Size & Weight, retina screen.
Biggest advantages of the Air for a college student - Better performance, arguably better keyboard.
 
One other thing that I noticed people overlook: you I can get 16GB ram in the Macbook but only half that in the MacBook Air. This is something would likely affect a minority of users, but for some of us, the extra ram really makes a major difference for some workloads where memory is bottlenecked but cpu isn’t.
 
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There is really no point on buying a MacBook Air unless it is heavily discounted, the advantages of the MacBook far surpasses any downsides of it.
 
13" 2015 MacBook Pro. Retina display. Superior connectivity. Excellent battery life. Quiet, reliable keyboard. Lightweight. Proven design. MagSafe. Fast.

Refurbished or lightly used is your best bet.
 
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I began college with an 11" MBA, but that was a few years ago. I've since upgraded to a Retina MBP. But if I was making this decision now, between the choices you listed, I'd probably go with the MacBook. The screen makes it hard to recommend the Air -- although some people might not mind the non-Retina display.
 
Personally, I'd say the better options would be between the 2017 or 2018 MacBook vs the 2017 or 2018 13" MacBook Pro.

The screen on the 13" Air is not ideal, and the machine hasn't been meaningfully updated since 2015.
 
dude forget the Air. I'm on my second 12 inch MacBook and keep giving my stuff away because im always wanting the newest MacBook. I got the keyboard replacement a week ago on the 2017 and keys feel slightly better. id wait for the 2018 and then buy that or if its not a huge improvement, id buy a discounted 2017 at best buy or BH. I bought all sorts of apple stuff and at end, end up using this 12 with enjoyment most of the time. Runs like a desktop when connected to my LG UltraFine 4k screen paired with a space gray Full size magic keyboard. I really like the full size magic keyboard with trackpad 2 and magic mouse paired to this thing. If apple makes this MacBook borderless and adds a thunderbolt 3 for external video card, ill be handing my current 2017 away to someone.
 
EugW said:
Personally, I'd say the better options would be between the 2017 or 2018 MacBook vs the 2017 or 2018 13" MacBook Pro.

The screen on the 13" Air is not ideal, and the machine hasn't been meaningfully updated since 2015.
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For what it's worth - I agree with this. My MBP is a 2015 13", so it was before the big 2016 update, but I still very much prefer it over the old Air I used to have. As far as specs, the new MBPs are even better.
 
shakopeemn said:
I have a teenager going to college potentially for an education degree and wants to stay in the Mac family. It would be hard to recommend any Windows machine to compete with the battery life of an Air.

Is there any advantage to a Macbook over the Air at school? I know there's the Retina and screen size difference. I would configure both with a 512 SSD.

Appreciate your takes.
Click to expand...

Take your teen to the Apple Store or to Best Buy or another retailer and have them kick the tires so to speak. Do they like the display? Do they find typing comfortable? Lift the laptop. Do they enjoy the esthetics of one over the other?

The MBA IMO is the nicest of the Mac portables for typing/word processing I've used in a long time. It's the probably the best for word processing I've tried. The tapered edge and large bezels give your hands A LOT of space for typing, and keystrokes are very quiet and comfortable. The palm rests for the MacBook are too small for me, and I have average sized hands.

Also, does your teen have corrected vision? A 12" display would be less than ideal if so. The MBA display is larger even if it is lower resolution. Also, while color saturation is far from ideal, the screen is very bright.

Battery life is phenomenal. Aside from processor intensive tasks, 12+ hours of use between charges is the norm (actual not theoretical).

Fourth, it has a large array of ports, which gives users plenty of flexibility for storage or file sharing.

The MBA was a big hit for apple for a variety of reasons. It's still selling very, very well.
 
tyusrex said:
Also, does your teen have corrected vision? A 12" display would be less than ideal if so. The MBA display is larger even if it is lower resolution. Also, while color saturation is far from ideal, the screen is very bright.
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That statement doesn't make much sense. The more statements like these you make, the more convinced I am you have very little experience with the 12" MacBook.

The native resolution of the MacBook is 2304/1440, which is run as if it were 1152x720. At that resolution, the pixel density is 226/113 ppi. However, with the 2017 model, they actually default it to 1280x800, and that resolution, the pixel density effectively is 126 ppi. And because it's a Retina screen, text remains uber crisp at that resolution even though it's non-native. There is also the option of 1440x900, which gives a pixel density of 141.5 ppi.

In contrast, the 13" MacBook Air has a 1440x900 screen, with a pixel density of 128 ppi. In terms of OS elements and font sizing, the smaller number is better. So, the native resolution of the 12" MacBook would be the best and by far much better than the MacBook Air in this regard. However, Apple no longer defaults to the native resolution. Their default is now 126 ppi, which is basically the same as the MacBook Air's 128 ppi, but with the slight advantage for sizing going to the 12" MacBook. However, the MacBook is still better overall for text quality.

For those with eagle eyes, they can choose the MacBook's 1440x900 resolution, but I don't recommend this for most people. But at least it's an option, and it still looks good.

On the MacBook Air, the only feasible resolution is the native 1440x900 resolution. Anything else and it will look like crap. If you have bad eyes, for a 13" screen a 1280x800 resolution is actually better at 113 ppi, but on the MacBook Air it looks absolutely horrible.

Now, if you want a 13" screen, then the only option here for someone with not-so-great eyes is to get the Retina MacBook Pro. Native resolution on that is 2560x1600 / 1280x800, and it looks awesome.
 
EugW said:
Personally, I'd say the better options would be between the 2017 or 2018 MacBook vs the 2017 or 2018 13" MacBook Pro.

The screen on the 13" Air is not ideal, and the machine hasn't been meaningfully updated since 2015.
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The 17/18 mbp's are garbage. The keyboards are loud, uncomfortable, and most importantly, unreliable. Also, unless this student comes from a millionaire family, they're probably looking to budget effectively. This means not repurchasing every peripheral, device or drive so that it is usb-c compatible. This means sticking with all of the existing legacy devices they've already been using. With a new mbp, this means dongles.

Someone just posted about how happy they are with their new mbp. All they needed was a THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR dongle to hook up all of their peripherals, drives and other devices! In essence, they needed a SECOND COMPUTER (basically an external Mac mini) to actually use their new laptop! The Mac mini (I mean dongle) didn't give them back MagSafe however.

Welcome to desk surfing 101!

So that's apple's dirty little secret. Yeah, their laptops are the lightest and thinnest. The problem is, you need to buy a second (Mac mini sized and priced dongle) or third external device (eGPU larger than most desktops), both of which are the size of a computer in order to get the lightest and thinnest to actually be useful.
[doublepost=1531946723][/doublepost]Put a MacBook and MacBook Air side by side. Look at the size of the icons. Oh, the icons on the MBA are larger and easier to see and use?

No problem, just increase the size of the icons and fonts.

Whoops, there's now less useable room on the 12" compared to the 13" after you matched icon size and fonts.

Wow! Can you believe it? The 13" screen is larger than the 12" screen?!?

Nod.

Say Yes.

EugW said:
That statement doesn't make much sense. The more statements like these you make, the more convinced I am you have very little experience with the 12" MacBook.

The native resolution of the MacBook is 2304/1440, which is run as if it were 1152x720. At that resolution, the pixel density is 226/113 ppi. However, with the 2017 model, they actually default it to 1280x800, and that resolution, the pixel density effectively is 126 ppi. And because it's a Retina screen, text remains uber crisp at that resolution even though it's non-native. There is also the option of 1440x900, which gives a pixel density of 141.5 ppi.

In contrast, the 13" MacBook Air has a 1440x900 screen, with a pixel density of 128 ppi. In terms of OS elements and font sizing, the smaller number is better. So, the native resolution of the 12" MacBook would be the best and by far much better than the MacBook Air in this regard. However, Apple no longer defaults to the native resolution. Their default is now 126 ppi, which is basically the same as the MacBook Air's 128 ppi, but with the slight advantage for sizing going to the 12" MacBook. However, the MacBook is still better overall for text quality.

For those with eagle eyes, they can choose the MacBook's 1440x900 resolution, but I don't recommend this for most people. But at least it's an option, and it still looks good.

On the MacBook Air, the only feasible resolution is the native 1440x900 resolution. Anything else and it will look like crap. If you have bad eyes, for a 13" screen a 1280x800 resolution is actually better at 113 ppi, but on the MacBook Air it looks absolutely horrible.

Now, if you want a 13" screen, then the only option here for someone with not-so-great eyes is to get the Retina MacBook Pro. Native resolution on that is 2560x1600 / 1280x800, and it looks awesome.
Click to expand...
 
tyusrex said:
Put a MacBook and MacBook Air side by side. Look at the size of the icons. Oh, the icons on the MBA are larger and easier to see and use?

No problem, just increase the size of the icons and fonts.

Whoops, there's now less useable room on the 12" compared to the 13" after you matched icon size and fonts.

Wow! Can you believe it? The 13" screen is larger than the 12" screen?!?

Nod.

Say Yes.
Click to expand...
Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about here. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't actually try this yourself, because the icons and fonts on the the models ARE THE SAME SIZE at default resolutions. And if you change the resolution on the 12" MacBook to use its native resolution, the icons and fonts on the 12" are actually BIGGER.

Yes, the 13" screen is larger, but if you want larger fonts and icons on a 13" screen by adjusting the resolution, the MacBook Air is exactly the wrong machine to buy. The machine to buy is the 13" MacBook Pro.
 
tyusrex said:
Welcome to reality, buddy.
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Reality is that if you adjust the resolution on the MacBook Air to get bigger fonts and icons, it just looks horrible. That's why your statement makes no sense at all. Really bad advice to recommend an Air to someone with problematic eyesight.

Anyone who has actually tested this would know that the machine to buy for this in the 13" size, is the MacBook Pro.
 
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I would definitely get the MacBook, at college/university it will be great, using the 12" MacBook in lectures and classes will be great compared with the bigger Air and MacBook Pro's. When i was at university a few years back i carried around a 2011 MacBook Pro (which was new to me at the time) it was a great machine BUT portability wasn't the best for lectures and getting work done anywhere, i only wish we had the 12" MacBook back then i would of brought one in an instant.

If i was you i would wait until later this year, i'm due an upgrade myself and currently waiting until Apple announces the 2018 MacBook. There is a strong rumour that they will be releasing a budget 13" Mac this year as well, depending on what it is and the specs it has that might be worth looking into when Apple announce it.
 
go with the macbook 12" ! I have all three MBA 13", 11" and the macbook 12". While I really love all of them. the macbook 12" is my machine of choice for most needs. Especially travel...
 
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Best Buy is sold out of 512GB models online for sometime after last blow out sale. Since they haven’t restocked they must know something.
 
burgman said:
Best Buy is sold out of 512GB models online for sometime after last blow out sale. Since they haven’t restocked they must know something.
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I'm not so sure about that.

In fall 2014 I bought an iPad Air 2. In fall 2015 Best Buy had a big sale on the iPad Air 2, as some were predicting new iPad releases shortly after that.

I ended up buying another iPad Air 2 and am glad I did, since Apple didn't release a replacement for it in 2015 or even 2016.

What Apple did release in 2015 was the iPad Pro, in November, but that was a higher tier market. Apple kept the iPad Air 2 around until 2017.
 
I would go with the MacBook, but is this planned to be a surprise for them, or can you ask your kid what they want?
 
EugW said:
I'm not so sure about that.

In fall 2014 I bought an iPad Air 2. In fall 2015 Best Buy had a big sale on the iPad Air 2, as some were predicting new iPad releases shortly after that.

I ended up buying another iPad Air 2 and am glad I did, since Apple didn't release a replacement for it in 2015 or even 2016.

What Apple did release in 2015 was the iPad Pro, in November, but that was a higher tier market. Apple kept the iPad Air 2 around until 2017.
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It's the out of stock for almost a month, not the sale.
 
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