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I'll say it loud - I prefer MBA over MBP retina

I like my 11" Air very much. I just miss a second Thunderbolt port or hdmi connection so I can have Gigabit Ethernet and a display connected at the same time.
I find the screen better on the Airs than the Retina MacBook Pros.
Surfing the web is a pain on the Retinas.
 
sysProgrammer said:
i7 is as fast in the real world terms as the retina i7 although to get retina i7 its 200 more.
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No it's not! The i7 CPU in the MBA is a low voltage CPU, the i7 in the MBP is a full power mobile CPU. So that's the reason why it's so much more expensive.

The rMBP 13" actually has a smaller footprint than the MBA although the MBA is thinner at its thinnest point thanks to the tapered design.

If you are happier with a MBA then great, but the rMBP is a better computer. This cannot be questioned.
 
Steve121178 said:
Well not really. If you pick a MBA over a MBP based on your cost and needs then fine, but that doesn't change the fact that the MBP is a better machine thanks to the vastly superior screen & innards.
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Oh now I understand what you meant. Fair enough, but given most people in this forum have a MBA because it's suits their daily and/or professional needs your point of view may be moot.
 
Prefer the rMBP in every way. Even the design. The 13-inch rMBP is a no brainer over the MBA unless you really need 12+ hours of battery.
 
Me too, I much prefer the sleek design of the MacBook air then the bulkier retina MacBook Pro. If Apple ever launched a retina MacBook air, it's going to be a dream come true for me

Plus, the MacBook air's silver bezels are antiglare and fingerprint resistant
 
Steve121178 said:
Well not really. If you pick a MBA over a MBP based on your cost and needs then fine, but that doesn't change the fact that the MBP is a better machine thanks to the vastly superior screen & innards.
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According to me mba is better than mbp. Mbp has a superior screen but it's not better laptop than mba. It might have a faster processor, but it's still not a better laptop. According to you, screen's quality and the cpu's speed might make it better than mba but not according to me. Being less heavy and thinner laptop are more important facts for me that makes a laptop better or not. So it depends to people not to what you said. No offense buddy. It's just how it is.
 
Yebubbleman said:
Again, with an extremely minimal difference in weight, how do you figure this? The 13" rMBP even has a smaller footprint than the 13" MBA.
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2.96lbs versus 3.46lbs doesn't seem like much; .5lbs difference. Both aren't heavy, that's for sure. The fact that both are light-weight laptops is what makes that half pound difference especially pronounced. Put another way, the rMBP is 17% heavier than the MBA (when comparing the 13" models).

Also worth taking into consideration is the weight of the chargers. The MBA uses the smaller and lighter 45Watt charger; the rMBP uses the slightly heavier and larger 60Watt charger. On the topic of chargers, you'll be reaching for it slightly more often with the rMPB With the MBA, one can leave the charger at home and comfortably get 10 hours of browsing, typing, etc. The rMBP user is more likely to need a charger.

So while the difference is small, we're talking about small things in general. The difference is quite pronounced when you make it relative.
 
DwainTR said:
According to me mba is better than mbp. Mbp has a superior screen but it's not better laptop than mba. It might have a faster processor, but it's still not a better laptop. According to you, screen's quality and the cpu's speed might make it better than mba but not according to me. Being less heavy and thinner laptop are more important facts for me that makes a laptop better or not. So it depends to people not to what you said. No offense buddy. It's just how it is.
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Well, to be picky, the MBP is a better computer. As I said, this is a fact. You like the MBA better because it's 200g lighter ;)
 
Steve121178 said:
Well, to be picky, the MBP is a better computer. As I said, this is a fact. You like the MBA better because it's 200g lighter ;)
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No the MBP is not a better computer. It is not better than MBA. What does better computer mean? The Mac Pro is a good computer and it will kick both MBP and MBA combined in processing power and performance. Would you want to carry Mac Pro with you to the coffee shop?
 
Steve121178 said:
... You like the MBA better because it's 200g lighter ;)
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You're psychic?? :eek:

Actually I like the MBA because it's more efficient for my needs. I like it because it has an incredibly longer battery life as well and because it's thinner, smaller, etc There are many things I like about it.
 
I think the word "better" is very qualitative. It kind of varies from person to person as to what "better" is. For some people, a ~$200 Chromebook is better than a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro because it satisfies their needs (very low price, only word processing and web surfing, etc.)

But I think it can be generally agreed that MacBook Air is relatively perfect. It strikes a nice balance between 3 things: performance, aesthetics, and price. This is unusual for most other laptops, which usually only have 2 of those 3 things.
 
For what its worth, I prefer the rMBP over the MBA, the MBP dissipates heat better than the Air. I have noticed this to be an issue when you run parallels 8. Not sure if they have optimized that in ver 9.
 
iLuvMyMacToo said:
Well that's interesting. I get 13 hours battery time on my 13" MBA i7/256GB/8GB If I'm doing some full on photo editing or watching plenty of YouTube that may drop to around 11 hours.
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Well, you have a Haswell chip and the 2012 MBA doesn't-- and a newer battery so, as advertised, the 2013 machine has much better battery life than the 2012. Just curious whether you are running Mavricks or ML? It has been difficult finding real world comparisons-- there are a number of complaints about Mavericks having worse battery life than ML. Clearly the stats cited in the July 18 article are on ML so I am curious are you running ML?
 
Tried both in the Apple store

I was at the Apple store to checkout both, though I had already made up my mind and have a new MBA on the way. While the screen on the 13" rMPB is nice, I couldn't get over the lesser resolution with very minimal usable screen real-estate. Additionally, I much preferred the keyboard on the MBA versus the rMPB. It seemed like the key travel distance and responsiveness wasn't as good on the rMPB. Definitely felt like a cheaper keyboard in these newer systems - not sure if it's cost cutting or space saving.

In my normal work use, the screen resolution isn't going to matter much and I'd much rather have the nearly double battery life and weight reduction. I also noticed that the lid the MPA was easier to lift and open (only needed 1 finger) than the rMBP system. I needed two hands to open the lid on the rMBP, presumably due to stronger magnets holding the lid closed and the heavier lid supporting the retina display.

Anyhow, that's my two cents after utilizing both for about an hour this afternoon. I feel like I made the right decision with the 2013 MBA :)
 
I'm currently selling my 6 month old 13" rMBP. I just bought a 13"MBA to replace it. I LOVE the MBA!!! I don't miss the retina screen at all.
 
I also prefer the MBA but with the recent rumors of a new form factor coming out next year, I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the current model.
What to do, what to do....
 
OceanView said:
I also prefer the MBA but with the recent rumors of a new form factor coming out next year, I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the current model.
What to do, what to do....
__________________
21" iMac, Mac Mini, MBP 13" & 15", iPad, Nook HD+, Samsung Note III & S4
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If you have 2 desktop macs, 2 MBPs, an iPad and 3 others then with all sincerity, where does the MBA come in?
 
MacLC said:
If you have 2 desktop macs, 2 MBPs, an iPad and 3 others then with all sincerity, where does the MBA come in?
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And why is that relevant to you?
How and what computers I use really should not come into this discussion as I didn't ask which computer I should get.
In any case I don't need to justify what I buy to a stranger online.
 
OceanView said:
And why is that relevant to you?
How and what computers I use really should not come into this discussion as I didn't ask which computer I should get.
In any case I don't need to justify what I buy to a stranger online.
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It's relevant because you are posting about deciding whether or not to buy a macbook air and you have chosen to make visible to all poster's who participate in this forum what other products you own.

Many people purchase a product to fulfill a functional purpose, and he was replying to help guide you since you expressed a dilemma.
 
Fallingreason said:
It's relevant because you are posting about deciding whether or not to buy a macbook air and you have chosen to make visible to all poster's who participate in this forum what other products you own.

Many people purchase a product to fulfill a functional purpose, and he was replying to help guide you since you expressed a dilemma.
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Again, it really isn't.
Upon purchasing a new laptop, I will be selling one of my other ones.
So again, it is not relevant.
Do you know how I use my computers?
 
I love both my Air and Retina, but I just can't get enough of the screen. My side hobby includes Photography, and the pictures look amazing.
 
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