How many people use MBA13 exclusively for design/web design?

[dxr808s]

I am a graphic designer and I also maintain and design web pages.

Currently I use a 24" imac that is getting long in the tooth and was thinking about replacing it with something more portable.

I LOVE everything about the MBA13. The only thing that scares me is the screen size.

To anyone in design, do you use a MBA without an external monitor to do professional work? Are there any pros and cons you can list upon doing so? Are you satisfied or do you always feel like you want/need more?

 

[Suraj R.]

I am a graphic designer and I also maintain and design web pages.

Currently I use a 24" imac that is getting long in the tooth and was thinking about replacing it with something more portable.

I LOVE everything about the MBA13. The only thing that scares me is the screen size.

To anyone in design, do you use a MBA without an external monitor to do professional work? Are there any pros and cons you can list upon doing so? Are you satisfied or do you always feel like you want/need more?

I don't use it for graphical design but the 13" MBA is perfect. I have it connected to a 23" HP 1080p LED monitor and for me thats the perfect combination. All the power wherever I need it, and the screen real estate at the desk.

 

[mac82]

I don't use it for graphical design but the 13" MBA is perfect. I have it connected to a 23" HP 1080p LED monitor and for me thats the perfect combination. All the power wherever I need it, and the screen real estate at the desk.

If you don't use the Air for design, then saying it's perfect isn't really helpful. It may be a wonderful machine in general, but is it wonderful specifically for design?

The Air has a severely reduced colour gamut; it can only display about 65% of sRGB colours (the small colour space) and is considerably worse for Adobe RGB (the large colour space). So, if your work depends upon reasonably accurate colours, you won't be seeing the same thing that most desktop monitors display (100% sRGB). Anything that looks right on the Air's screen will appear over-saturated on a decent display. That being said, you could do your work on the Air's display while you're out, and then colour correct on an external monitor when you get home. Or just get a 13" rMBP and avoid the hassle.

 

[ok.Eric]

I've had the new air for a few days now and the one big thing detracting me about it is that at the bottom of the display, there's a slight gradient fade effect that's about 1/2" tall.

I feel like this could be an issue when working with gradients in Photoshop, probably not really, but there's a chance right..

Here's a thread that talks about the issue, unfortunately it has been around since 2011 and affects all Airs from what I can tell (I went to the Apple store the other day for this issue and all the Airs on display there had this issue) - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1195183/

I'm leaning toward returning the Air and waiting for the updated Macbook Pro.

 

[entatlrg]

I do a LOT of drawing design, the 13" screen may seem small in the beginning but I adjusted quickly, that was a long time ago, now I rarely connect to my TBD, (don't like working at a desk).

BUT having owned a few 13" MBA's in the past, and I still buy Air's for my staff, however I strongly recommend the 13" rMBP. For the many hours spent staring at a screen doing design work the difference is night and day. I still have 13" Air around and own a 2013 11" Air for couch surfing but for real work, long hours, especially doing design work you'll be SO GLAD you went with the 13" rMBP.

I urge you to try it ... comparing at an Apple Store doesn't cut it ... wait until you get home in dimmer light, then compare, the Air burns your eyes, let alone the narrow color gamut...