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billwerth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2009
6
0
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!!
 

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
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!!
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.
 

glenthompson

macrumors demi-god
Apr 27, 2011
2,982
842
Virginia
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.
 

billwerth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2009
6
0
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.
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.

Thanks so much! Yes, I'll go with the Pro. Have a good holiday!
 

billwerth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2009
6
0
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.

Thanks for the quick advice - Pro it is! Have a good holiday!
 

Samuelsan2001

macrumors 604
Oct 24, 2013
7,729
2,153
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.
 
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Amethysa

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2015
8
2
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.
 

UPBaylor

macrumors member
Sep 30, 2014
69
16
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.
 
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