Keep MacBook Air or get Retina MacBook Pro?

[barry.wiestling]

So I got a MacBook Air for Christmas with 8gb Ram and the 126 SSD hard drive. This thing functions flawlessly.

I am however underwhelmed by the display. It seems very dull and hard to use after using Retina iPads and iPhones.

I'm debating returning it and getting the Retina MacBook Pro. What are your opinions? Is this a good idea?

 

[JTravers]

Depends whether you need the added portability and battery life of the Air. If you don't, then you'll probably enjoy the retina MBP more.

 

[barry.wiestling]

Thank you. The portability and battery life aren't huge for me. It will mostly be staying at my house to use in the evenings and such. This MacBook Air just seems so solid and smooth and I feel like the retina may add some lag for me.

 

[JHUFrank]

For me, the trade off has been an inferior display on the MBA, to the worse battery performance on the rMBP. I have to admit I can live with about 20% less battery life for this display.

 

[Amplelink]

Thank you. The portability and battery life aren't huge for me. It will mostly be staying at my house to use in the evenings and such. This MacBook Air just seems so solid and smooth and I feel like the retina may add some lag for me.

Sounds like you just answered your own question. If I were in your shoes, I'd opt for the rMBP.

 

[pilotkid]

I just sold my late 2013 MBA 11' and yesterday bought a 15' rMBP. I can't believe the difference in the screens. Saying its like night and day doesn't do it justice. After I got the rMBP and I opened up the Air to check somethings things out the screen looked horrible. That said, if you need portability then the Air is absolutely the way to go. But the 15' MBP is still plenty portable enough, at least for me anyways. Its very thin and for its size I don't think its too heavy at all. The screen out does all of the negatives! Not to mention the extra power the MacBook Pro gives you, on the 15's you get a Quad Core i7 and 16GB ram with the base model.

 

[TechZeke]

Thank you. The portability and battery life aren't huge for me. It will mostly be staying at my house to use in the evenings and such. This MacBook Air just seems so solid and smooth and I feel like the retina may add some lag for me.

It won't be as smooth, that's for sure. Overtime I got used to it on my 15" rMBP, but at first it was pretty laggy coming from my silky smooth 2012 15" cMBP with a 480GB SSD.

With that said, the drastic increase in screen quality is more than worth. Also, like I said, you get used and don't notice that it's less smooth after a month or so.

 

[MrGimper]

I recently replaced my 13" 2012 Air with a 2014 13" rMBP.

It's a better machine in every aspect. I actually get better battery life on the retina as my Air was the 2012 model.

I don't regret for one minute sacrificing a bit of weight and thickness. You have to remember that the footprint of the 13" rMBP is actually smaller than the Air, which many people overlook.

 

[TRC-WA]

Depends whether you need the added portability and battery life of the Air. If you don't, then you'll probably enjoy the retina MBP more.

Agreed... I got my 13" MacBook Air 17 months ago and just upgraded to the 15" Pro yesterday. Got it for $290 off with the Best Buy sale and mover's coupon.

This machine is so sexy.

Sold the Air for $500 on Craigslist.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I have a feeling that OP has already made a decision deep inside.
Go for the Retina MacBook Pro.

 

[theycallmetc]

The display is nice...but it's not the reason I got the rMBP. I got it because of the extra processing and graphics power.

I love the Air, I think it's the perfect on the go everyday computer. However, the rMBP makes a pretty compelling case for the perfect on the go desktop replacement (if you're locked into OSX that is).

If I wanted a casual use computer, I'd take the Air over the rMBP 13 though.

 

[Meister]

It's size,weight, battery,speed vs screen, ports and processing power.
Take your pick.

 

[Naimfan]

So I got a MacBook Air for Christmas with 8gb Ram and the 126 SSD hard drive. This thing functions flawlessly.

I am however underwhelmed by the display. It seems very dull and hard to use after using Retina iPads and iPhones.

I'm debating returning it and getting the Retina MacBook Pro. What are your opinions? Is this a good idea?

Yes.

The Air screen is awful. Go get a rMBP. Heck, I'd rather work on a cMBP screen than an Air. But then, the Air is not my cup of tea . . .