Decisions Decisions....

[studIOS5]

Ok so I need all of your help here. I own a late 2013 retina macbook pro (base model) and I love the screen to death. I am however disappointed with 2 aspects of the computer. A) Storage and B) battery life. Though a ridiculous local craigslist deal, I have purchased an early 2014 macbook air and it is the 4gb ram 256gb storage option. I now have to decide if the retina screen is worth the trade off...

Any opinions?

 

[ZBoater]

My opinion is you still have a storage problem.

 

[studIOS5]

My opinion is you still have a storage problem.

Ha, while that may be true, 256 would certainly do the trick in terms of fitting all of my stuff on the drive and having room to grow. What's the outlook on pcie drives coming to the 3rd party market? Might just sell the air and wait it out till I can buy a bigger drive.


For those of you that have either had or seen both, do you think the screen is enough for me to keep dealing with the storage problem I'm having?

 

[ZBoater]

If you love the retina screen to death as you say, you may be disappointed in the MBA screen. I think the MBA screen is fine. When I need more room, I hook up to a Thunderbolt Display.

Only you can decide if you can "live" with the lower Rez screen. To me, the size, weight, thinness and battery life of the MBA are what I'm in love with.

 

[studIOS5]

If you love the retina screen to death as you say, you may be disappointed in the MBA screen. I think the MBA screen is fine. When I need more room, I hook up to a Thunderbolt Display.

Only you can decide if you can "live" with the lower Rez screen. To me, the size, weight, thinness and battery life of the MBA are what I'm in love with.

thanks for the insight! I really appreciate it. I think I'll use this air for the next couple of days and see if I can "deal" with the screen. So far it hasn't been too bad but defiantly noticeable.

 

[capathy21]

Ok so I need all of your help here. I own a late 2013 retina macbook pro (base model) and I love the screen to death. I am however disappointed with 2 aspects of the computer. A) Storage and B) battery life. Though a ridiculous local craigslist deal, I have purchased an early 2014 macbook air and it is the 4gb ram 256gb storage option. I now have to decide if the retina screen is worth the trade off...

Any opinions?

I switched from the 13 rMBP to the 13 MBA and I have zero regrets. As another person mentioned, the thinness, battery life, and overall performance of the Air beats out the retina display for me. Now don't get me wrong, the retina is way better than the Air's display, but to me it is worth the trade off. I would recommend using the Air exclusively for a few days and seeing if you get used to the display. If you keep going back and forth or comparing them side by side, the retina will keep pulling you. In the end it is up to you but it sounds like your only attachment to the pro is the retina display as was the case with me. If the Air had retina it would be the best laptop ever designed. For now I deal with the average screen to gain all of the other added benefits.

 

[flowrider]

What's the outlook on pcie drives coming to the 3rd party market?

Both Transcend and OWC have said they will be coming out with SSD Drives for the 2013, 2014 MBAs. I have tried the OWC SSD in my 2012 MBA with dismal results. I then tried a Transcend 480GB SSD, and it behaves brilliantly. I have written a review about how much I like it here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1729071/

My advice, wait for the Transcend Upgrade.

Lou

 

[studIOS5]

Both Transcend and OWC have said they will be coming out with SSD Drives for the 2013, 2014 MBAs. I have tried the OWC SSD in my 2012 MBA with dismal results. I then tried a Transcend 480GB SSD, and it behaves brilliantly. I have written a review about how much I like it here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1729071/

My advice, wait for the Transcend Upgrade.

Lou

I appreciate your opinion and response thanks a lot! Definitely gives me a lot to think about.

 

[studIOS5]

I switched from the 13 rMBP to the 13 MBA and I have zero regrets. As another person mentioned, the thinness, battery life, and overall performance of the Air beats out the retina display for me. Now don't get me wrong, the retina is way better than the Air's display, but to me it is worth the trade off. I would recommend using the Air exclusively for a few days and seeing if you get used to the display. If you keep going back and forth or comparing them side by side, the retina will keep pulling you. In the end it is up to you but it sounds like your only attachment to the pro is the retina display as was the case with me. If the Air had retina it would be the best laptop ever designed. For now I deal with the average screen to gain all of the other added benefits.

We'll I ended up sticking with the MacBook Air. I agree with all your points and don't regret the decision at all. If I change my mind it won't cost me anything to get back into a pro based on the stupid good deal I got on the air. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[CausticSoda]

I have a 13" rMBP and an 11"MBA. Apart from size, I can really barely notice any difference whatsoever between the screens.