I own a 2017 12" MacBook and a 2017 MacBook Pro 13" with Touch Bar. I grabbed an air a couple of days ago from Best Buy on sale (paid around $500 with the sale, student coupon, and gift cards) and I do notice the difference in screen but it doesn't bother me. I never minded the keyboard on my pro and MacBook but man I can fly typing on this thing and I make fewer mistakes and the battery life on the air is insane! I used to have a 2015 MacBook Pro and I have missed MagSafe as well. Also, do any of the MagSafe adapters at Amazon work very good? It would be cool to have my MacBook and MacBook Pro to have MagSafe again. Thanks in advance.
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Do any other air owners with other MacBooks prefer the air?
- Thread starter Jacoblee23
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The MacBook air has an excellent form factor and useful ports. I certainly miss mine, but that screen is a deal breaker.
How can you say it doesn't bother you? It has a worse DPI than the original iPhone from 10 years ago!
There is no excuse for a new Mac with that screen in 2018 (or even 2015 for that matter).
How can you say it doesn't bother you? It has a worse DPI than the original iPhone from 10 years ago!
There is no excuse for a new Mac with that screen in 2018 (or even 2015 for that matter).
I prefer the form factor of the Air but if a regular MacBook gives me back the ports, will prob do that in my next upgrade. The single !@^$%& USBC is gonna kill me by annoyance.
I have an early 2015 air and late 2013 13" pro. I like them both but my air is my traveling machine.
I have a 15" retina MBP and as nice as the display is, I still prefer to use both my 13" and 11" MBA for "every day use". I prefer the extended battery life of my 13" and how light both AIRs are compared to my 15" rMBP. When I'm working on photos with Lightroom I will switch over to my 15" rMBP.
The 13" MBA has a PPI that is comparable to most chromebooks and low-to-mid range Windows laptops. The 11" MBA has a slightly higher PPI. Except for those who are "pixel-peepers", the screen on the Air is quite adequate. It is clearly not a show-stopper for many considering how well they continue to sell. They are the Apple product with the highest quality, period. Every other Apple product has issues... some small, some large. But the Air doesn't experience any of those, and hasn't in quite some time.
It's about choice. It may be hard for you to believe, but not everyone wants a retina display on their notebooks... and the other issues that go along with that high density screen.
I use my 2015 13" rMBP as my main machine now, but I had an 11" MBA in the past. When I see people with Air's around my University or wherever, I think of good memories with that computer -- I got to do a lot of cool stuff with it, and the form factor was excellent. But overall, I'm really happy that I got my MBP.
i have hires macbook pro, macbook and 3 imacs27 but my main computer is the 13" mba, it s the best overall, love the chassis and i don t care about the display
As above - I love the form factor. I used to have an 11" air for work (with a second screen) - loved that thing! So thin/light to carry around, and the design was gorgeous.
They're just too underpowered these days. 2 VMs + Xcode and the poor thing was choking.
They're just too underpowered these days. 2 VMs + Xcode and the poor thing was choking.
Agreed.
I have posted elsewhere that the MBA is the best computer that Apple ever designed, bar none. People who wok in Apple stores tell me that they rarely come in for repair, whereas the more temperamental and high maintenance rMB and rMBP devices do have issues.
Actually, I like the MBA so much that I have recently ordered another: A 13" CTO, (because the 11" - my favourite which I am still using is no longer available to order), 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD and a Core i7. The battery life is insane, and this is a reliable, fast , powerful, portable machine which comes with a sufficient number of ports, an excellent keyboard, and that wonderful MagSafe.
Someday, Apple will turn the rMB into the computer that it should be, once they discard their silly preference for form over function, whereas, by contrast, the MBA was that design nirvana represented by the fusion of form and function at its very best.
And that - when Apple makes the necessary changes (keyboard, sensible port policy, maybe even a MagSafe) is when I may consider purchasing it. But not until then.
I like the Air for many reasons and I think all it needs is an IPS display, Retina is not necessary as far as I am concerned.
I usually love the newest technology and use it whenever I can, however, the Air......Man, I love it.... I have sold my air, gone for a MacBook 12 inch, hated that, bought another Air....sold that and bought a 13inch MacBook Pro......couldnt get used to the clickety keyboard and the weight to size ratio didn't feel right when carrying. Bought another Air and I couldn't be happier.....The screen just doesn't bother me, The keyboard is great, the shape of the laptop is ace. Wasted a lot of money to come to the conclusion that in my case the Air is simply the most perfect Laptop ever made.
If they would make a MacBook SE that is essentially a spec bumped Retina Screened, but otherwise unchanged, MacBook Air - I would buy one absolutely the second I could.
I wish they'd get out of their own way and quit the "innovating" so much with at least one line of MacBooks.
Some of us just want a tried and true, reliable, computer with a great keyboard, lots of ports and no hassles.
I wish they'd get out of their own way and quit the "innovating" so much with at least one line of MacBooks.
Some of us just want a tried and true, reliable, computer with a great keyboard, lots of ports and no hassles.
We have a 2012 and a 2015 13" airs and we think they are the best computers Apple has ever made. Since Apple is abandoning the Mac line, the airs will be the best computers apple will ever make.
The very, very few times that the screen resolution makes a difference I just put the air in clam shell mode and add a screen. How hard is that? Remember, the screen resolution helps with the insane battery life.
The very, very few times that the screen resolution makes a difference I just put the air in clam shell mode and add a screen. How hard is that? Remember, the screen resolution helps with the insane battery life.
That just doesn't help us that use our laptops exclusively (or mainly) as laptops unfortunately.
I love the Airs - but guys, honestly - once you're used to Retina screens, it's just borderline impossible to go back and enjoy yourself at all (sadly).
For me, the air screen is fine. I fail to understand how a retna screen is mandatory for the vast majority of computing needs, sounds like a specious argument to me. The retna screen is just an energy and resource hog on a laptop for little practical value.
Although I had a first-generation MacBook Air, and used and loved it for a number of years, I never replaced it with another one. Next time I needed portability I compared the MBA and the 13" MBP available then and found that I preferred the MBP -- not only because of the retina screen and the smaller bezels but also because of availability of RAM and storage capacity. When the 12" MacBook came along, I had much the same feeling about it as I had when I laid hands and eyes on that first-generation MBA: instant attraction and love. The 2016 didn't offer 16 GB RAM, but for me its superb portability and its speedy m7 along with 512 GB SSD made it a winner over the MBA. These days, IMHO the MBA looks very dated, with its large metal bezels and non-retina screen. I much prefer the retina screen because everything looks crisper, sharper -- for aging eyes that's kind of important!
In 2017 almost as soon as the 12" MB was updated with the ability to have i7, 512 GB SSD AND 16 GB RAM, I was all over it and snapped one up. It is a terrific little machine and serves my purposes very nicely, although I'll admit that I would not want it to be the only Mac in the household. Looking at the choices available now, I again would choose the 2017 12" MacBook or a MBP over the MacBook Air.
In 2017 almost as soon as the 12" MB was updated with the ability to have i7, 512 GB SSD AND 16 GB RAM, I was all over it and snapped one up. It is a terrific little machine and serves my purposes very nicely, although I'll admit that I would not want it to be the only Mac in the household. Looking at the choices available now, I again would choose the 2017 12" MacBook or a MBP over the MacBook Air.
Perhaps for some people this is true... speaking for myself, I have to disagree. Rather then booting up my rMBP to run lightroom to do some work on a few pictures I took today I decided to use my 13" MBA for the task. I had no problem using the built-in display to work on my photos. The display, although clearly not the same resolution as the retina displays, is still not a bad display and is not a requirement to get things done. As far as I'm concerned a retina display on a laptop is one of those "nice to have" items that is not mandatory for "every day" use...
Oddly, I've been on both sides of this viewpoint. When I first got my MBP and LG 5K, I had a hard time looking at any other screen for a while. For most of the first year, any other screen just looked blurry to me.
Since then, it's like my brain adjusted like it adjusts to new glasses. I see the extra detail in the retina screens, but lower resolution screens stopped being so noticeable to me. Funny, huh?
I agree with what you pointed out but for every day use the lower resolution screens have not bothered me and I find myself using either my 11" or 13" MBA more than I use my 15" rMBP. What you stated regarding lower resolution screens stopped being so noticeable? True... I too find myself thinking this... yeah, it is kinda funny...
Honestly guys, I think you're likely outliers on the non-retina thing.
Is non retina horrendous?
Absolutely not!
But.. if they are ever going to bump the MBA again, it has got to go retina at this point, at least if they're going to except its audience to grow beyond where it is now (which I assume they'd hope for if they ever made a somewhat newer version).
I promise I'm not trying to create a conflict (not at all)...
I just think it's fairly objective to say that any "new MBA" needs to go retina and complete the "all retina on everything new they make" transition, especially heading into 2019
Is non retina horrendous?
Absolutely not!
But.. if they are ever going to bump the MBA again, it has got to go retina at this point, at least if they're going to except its audience to grow beyond where it is now (which I assume they'd hope for if they ever made a somewhat newer version).
I promise I'm not trying to create a conflict (not at all)...
I just think it's fairly objective to say that any "new MBA" needs to go retina and complete the "all retina on everything new they make" transition, especially heading into 2019
I agree with you
No conflicts here! It would be nice to see the new MBA have a retina display but unfortunately I doubt that Apple will do this. I hope I'm wrong though! If Apple does make the new MBA with retina display I really hope they will keep the keyboard as is...As always, it depends. Retina displays are great for text but for photographers, unless you double the size of images on your website (which makes them more attractive targets for image theft), they look fuzzy compared with native resolution displays such as the Air.
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