Yep, that's a decent price for sure. You're probably right about the screen but for those of us that are used to retina displays it is quite the downgrade. Not saying I won't get an MBA. I still might.
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Going back to an Air
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Yep, that's a decent price for sure. You're probably right about the screen but for those of us that are used to retina displays it is quite the downgrade. Not saying I won't get an MBA. I still might.
My work issued me a 13" MBA a couple years ago, and I just can't bear to use it. I only use it for situations where I absolutely need a certain level of VPN access, which are rare. I mainly use a 27" iMac with a couple 27" external displays. For a laptop, i just got the new 12" rMB. People talk about CPUs driving productivity, but for me it;s all about the real estate. I'm much more productive on my 12" rMB with a mobile CPU than I am on the 13" MBA with core CPU. I can have more windows open and just do more.
After a few years with retina displays and Surface pros, working with the 13" MBA feels like stepping back in time. If you look around you can find open box rMBs. We bought two, each for under $1k.
After a few years with retina displays and Surface pros, working with the 13" MBA feels like stepping back in time. If you look around you can find open box rMBs. We bought two, each for under $1k.
In the Summer 2014, Best Buy was selling the 4/128 11" MBA for $650. (That was and still is cheaper than an iPad of similar storage capacity) Too tempting to resist... so I didn't. I use it daily and although I would've loved for it to be retina, the only time that it is really noticeable is when I switch between the MBA and my Air 2.
Well I'm pretty used to retina displays but I bought the MBA for that Best Buy price. So far I can make do with the resolution. We'll see how I feel about it within the return period.
Don't be fooled people. I've been using retina displays for years with my iPhones and iPads and can testify that the MacBook Air screen is not bad at all. You can even get a the $849 price discounted by 50 bucks with the best buy student coupons making it even more of a deal. Sure the display isn't as good as a retina display (obviously) but it's certainly more than useable.
I think the key here is that people need to look at the screen themselves, to see if it's usable and how productive they'd be with it. Personally, I still have very good eyes. I tend to crank the resolution to the point where the GUI and text are very small, which gives me more room to work with - and I'm used to having lots of room to work with. But for people who's eyes are worse, or who tend to only work on one thing at a time, the MBA screen might work out just fine.
Thai is beyond speeds, feeds, and specifications. One needs to play with both systems side by side, and try to emulate the way in which they'd use it. Its' personal computing... LOL
For me, the MBA screen is just horrible. But that's my perception - yours might vary.
Thai is beyond speeds, feeds, and specifications. One needs to play with both systems side by side, and try to emulate the way in which they'd use it. Its' personal computing... LOL
For me, the MBA screen is just horrible. But that's my perception - yours might vary.
iPads are junk for creation of any length of time. Minimal touch up maybe, but anything more then you need a real computer.
I've long ago stopped trying to wade through the hyperbole of "the MBA screen is a fuzzy mess... totally unusable". If people want to believe that without seeing for themselves then that's on them. I know a few who believed the hype and passed up on killer sales only to discover that the screen is quite adequate and well worth the price.
Sure it's usable. I could make the same argument about my 14-year-old Apple LCD Studio Display.
But that doesn't mean I would pay $800 for one
Sure it's usable. I could make the same argument about my 14-year-old Apple LCD Studio Display.
But that doesn't mean I would pay $800 for one
That's a little different...that's a completely irrelevant product that no one would buy today while the Air is one of the best laptops on the market right now.
My point is the usability argument is a poor one. Just as someone wouldn't purchase a 14-year-old Apple Studio Display to use with a modern Mac, I wouldn't pay $800 for a 5-year-old display when there are better options available.
I wonder if people are still buying the Thunderbolt display for $1K...
It's still a moot point. You're not buying a MacBook Air for its display like you would a rMBP so it's display is slightly less important. Obviously if it had an 8bit display, that's another story, but it's an average display and certainly useable. No one is gonna go out and buy the Studio Display or the Thunderbolt Display anymore because there are much better displays that can be had at much cheaper prices. That's not really the case with the MacBook Air.
Yep, that's what my wife and I did this summer. We both got 11' Macbook Airs for $650. We both have iPad Mini 2s and use both every day - wife takes her to college 8 hours a day (I take mine to work and connect it to a Dell Ultrasharp 24'). The 11' form factor is about perfect. Reading on the screen for hours is enjoyable imo - I'll take the 10+ hours of battery life over a retina display imo - for now (cost being a big factor).
Ever since getting my 11" 2013 Air, I've been using laptops a lot more for general usage rather than tablets. Of course tablets have there uses, with portability being one of the key points, but the 11" Air hit a sweetspot for me at the time. I still have an iPad mini 2 which I use on occasion but currently I am mainly using a 2015 13" rMBP as I love the high res screen. It's the one thing my 11" Air was missing, and to be perfectly honest, the 12" rMB just doesn't cut it for me in terms of the price and hardware. Recently my girlfriend bought a 13" 2015 Air and I have to say that it's battery life for her usage (work mainly) is phenomenal.
I have had exactly the same experience. Plus, there are some awesome deals on the MBA. Also, I would suggest that folks go to the Apple store and put the MBA and rMBP side by side to check the difference. I am sure it can be noticed, but it is really not that big of a difference for most people. If you bring along someone that doesn't know there is suppose to be a difference, and ask them to describe which screen is better and why....my guess is most neophytes wouldn't be able to do it.
"Retina" display is an Apple marketing term, and once indoctrinated into the hype, it's easy to believe you can't live without it...but you can. So, when folks say the MBA screen is unusable, I just have to laugh. I use one everyday for work and home. My daughter is a college student and my son is a HS student, and they use their MBAs all of the time for school work. If you go to a college campus, you will see tons of students using the MBA. Walk into a Starbucks....half the laptops are MBAs. Why? Thin profile, light weight, terrific trackpad, OS X, Built-in Apps, 12 hour battery life, and affordable pricing.
If someone values a retina display and other features of the rMBP, then by all means buy the rMBP. It is going to be about 30% more than the MBA base model. That's fine, and it might be the best choice for you. After buying, just don't go onto tech forums and post nonsense about the MBA display to justify the decision.
I think that's an excellent idea, since everyone's eyes are different. What's unusable for me, may be just fine for you, and vice-versa.
But also do play with the scaled resolution settings, in both systems. When you crank the resolution down on the rMB, you're at an "effective" display of 1440x900, which is exactly the same as the 13" MBA. To my eyes, that puts both of them in the same productivity range (eg. the same number of windows that I can open). But the rMB's fonts and image reproduction look much better, again that's to my eyes.
But many will find that cranking the 12 down like that makes it unusable, and they may have trouble reading text and GUI elements. If you're one of this people, than the r12 may actually be less productive, as you'll have to lower your scaling resolution, thereby giving you less effective real estate than the 13 MBA.
There is no right or wrong answer, except what your eyes tell you. Mine tell me that I absolutely love the rMB screen over both MBAs, but YMMV.
But also do play with the scaled resolution settings, in both systems. When you crank the resolution down on the rMB, you're at an "effective" display of 1440x900, which is exactly the same as the 13" MBA. To my eyes, that puts both of them in the same productivity range (eg. the same number of windows that I can open). But the rMB's fonts and image reproduction look much better, again that's to my eyes.
But many will find that cranking the 12 down like that makes it unusable, and they may have trouble reading text and GUI elements. If you're one of this people, than the r12 may actually be less productive, as you'll have to lower your scaling resolution, thereby giving you less effective real estate than the 13 MBA.
There is no right or wrong answer, except what your eyes tell you. Mine tell me that I absolutely love the rMB screen over both MBAs, but YMMV.
I should add that when you crank the brightness up on either the 11" or the 13" Air, the image quality is still great and you notice the pixel pitch a lot less. Still very much usable and in fact I wouldn't mind using the the 13" Air at all if I had to switch from the Pro, love the form factor and the weight is still noticeably lighter than the 13" Pro.
I got a MBA 2010 13" and a rMBP 2014 14" so switch back and forth often. The MBA screen really isn't bad at all; I must confess I don't see the difference nor the big deal. Maybe the word retina helps Apple sell their boxes for a few more euros.
I have my iPads small and large, but never sacrificed any of my laptops, nor did it even occur to me since they're my tools for work. In fact I can't begin to imagine doing so since I've streamlined my lifestyle/workstyle. Now I rarely handle any snail mail or other old ways of doing things.
99% paperless took what seemed to be ages to achieve but the present benefits are quite nice. As much as I enjoy iPads for content consumption and entertainment that's where their usefulness stops for me.
Agreed, and that's why I got rid of mine for a MBA. It's frustrating to use for anything more than consumption. Content creation, typing papers, etc can be really cumbersome and all need a mouse to actually do them effectively.
If I'm sitting at my desk, of course I'm using the iMac.
But if I'm out of the house, or even in another room of the house, my mid-2011 11" MBA does everything I ask it to do, including RAW photo edits in Lightroom. To those who profess emotional attachment to retina screens, I say, enjoy the view, and the price tag. The rest of us will be getting work done.
But if I'm out of the house, or even in another room of the house, my mid-2011 11" MBA does everything I ask it to do, including RAW photo edits in Lightroom. To those who profess emotional attachment to retina screens, I say, enjoy the view, and the price tag. The rest of us will be getting work done.
My rMBP broke so I went back to my old classic MBP for a few months - The downgrade in screen res was horrible at first! Just "upgraded" to a MacBook Air and couldn't be happier! The screen is higher res than the old MacBook Pro but I can promise you from using all 3 Apple screens as of late that the Retina screen is simply a luxury, not a necessity.
i have been using a Macbook pro 15 inch plus an iPad for years and recently bought a top of the range 13 Macbook Air. Best decision i ever took and regret not doing it sooner. I have not picked up the iPad since I acquired the Air and cannot see myself using it again. Will either list it on eBay or pass on to family member soon.
The screen on the air does not bother me.
The screen on the air does not bother me.
I cannot see buying the 12" Macbook and returning the 13" MBA I picked up for $849.
I'm new to the Macs but steer me right if I am wrong. The Macbook will be lighter and better resolution and better battery life. Anything else?
What throws caution into the wind is the processor and graphics, and of course an extra $300 but that was even more till the Macbook went on sale so a better consideration now.
The resolution isn't bothering me on the MBA per se but having better would be nice.
I'm new to the Macs but steer me right if I am wrong. The Macbook will be lighter and better resolution and better battery life. Anything else?
What throws caution into the wind is the processor and graphics, and of course an extra $300 but that was even more till the Macbook went on sale so a better consideration now.
The resolution isn't bothering me on the MBA per se but having better would be nice.