Hi - I am about to buy MacBook Pro 2015 - I use the Pro for my creative writing, photo editing (20,000 photos), and iTunes. Although Pro has retina display, since I don't play games or watch/make videos, is it justified? Or should I get MacBook Air? Anyone with similar question(s), please let me know. I have to make purchase before 12/31. Thanks!!
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Do I really need MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air?
- Thread starter billwerth
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If you edit photos, the retina is a superior screen. It uses IPS which provides much better colour reproduction than the air's TN panel.
It's also overall more powerful, making render times and effects go faster. Whether that's worth it to you is entirely subjective.
You don't specify what screen size you want. the MBP is the only 15' screen, handy for photo editing. The added GPU also speeds up photo editing but isn't essential. Another question is disk space required. My 12k Aperture library is 65gb in size. If your library grows a bunch it may exceed the capacity of the Air.
Any current Mac will handle your other needs easily unless your iTunes library is massive.
Any current Mac will handle your other needs easily unless your iTunes library is massive.
TBH the best thing about retina is how good text looks for long term screen interaction it is far more important to me than how photos or videos look and the main reason for a retina screen in my opinion.
I own a 13" MBA and a 15" rMBP mid 2015 and I can assure you that you do not want a MBA for your intended use. The MPA screen is lacklustre, the battery will last you an average of 4 hours, it lags when working with heavy apps - such as loading 100+ photos, the real estate is small. I would say the MBA is best suited for light browsing, word processing and e-mails - it'll be great for portability but in the long its not practical. The 13" rMBP is almost the same price as the 13" MBA but is significantly more powerful.
Test out the rMBP as most retailers have 14 day return and if you aren't satisfied then opt for the MBA, you have nothing to lose.
Test out the rMBP as most retailers have 14 day return and if you aren't satisfied then opt for the MBA, you have nothing to lose.
Even the portability is not necessarily a win for the MBA depending on your preferences. The footprint of a MBA is slightly larger and the depth at the max is essentially the same (I know the MBA tapers way down, but that does nothing for me.). The biggest advantage is the weight of the MBA is 0.5 lbs. less. No way would 0.5 lb. weight savings be worth it to me for a significant performance downgrade.
I just went through this as I was looking at buying a 2nd backup machine to keep around the house and leisure travel (light duty - surfing, email, some photos, video watching, maybe light word processing or simple spreadsheet work). I assumed the MBA would be fine, but once I looked closer, the relatively small amount of $$ differential was well worth it to me to not have to compromise.
I just went through this as I was looking at buying a 2nd backup machine to keep around the house and leisure travel (light duty - surfing, email, some photos, video watching, maybe light word processing or simple spreadsheet work). I assumed the MBA would be fine, but once I looked closer, the relatively small amount of $$ differential was well worth it to me to not have to compromise.