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MacBook 12 or MacBook Air

T

Tam1314

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 13, 2015
44
6
Hi Folks, my work is doing a discount buy on some laptops. The two Apple ones are MacBook 12 and MacBook Air. I haven't quite decided what one to buy yet.
The MBa is 13" 4Gb RAM with 128GB flash storage.
The rMB is 8Gb RAM with 256GB flash storage.
The main uses for the laptop will be Photoshop, iTunes and maybe NetFlix at times.

What one should I go for.
Thanks in advance
 
I think the rMB is a better option in part because you have more ram and more storage, and a better screen.
 
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I think that's the way I'm goin, was a wee bit worried about only having that one port. But I can buy an adaptor for transferring my photos from my camera or iPhone.
 
Tam1314 said:
Hi Folks, my work is doing a discount buy on some laptops. The two Apple ones are MacBook 12 and MacBook Air. I haven't quite decided what one to buy yet.
The MBa is 13" 4Gb RAM with 128GB flash storage.
The rMB is 8Gb RAM with 256GB flash storage.
The main uses for the laptop will be Photoshop, iTunes and maybe NetFlix at times.

What one should I go for.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
I have them both. The single most frustrating aspect of the MBA is it's low res display.

When everything else I have from Apple has retina, it's equivalent resolution or higher, suddenly the MBA's low res display looks rather poor.

Reach for the money and buy the MB with retina, you'll be so happy you did. :D
 
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It's looking that way, I'm sure my photoshop programme will thank me
 
I´ve been using MBA 4 years ago until one week ago I purchased MB and I´m happy with the change
I do not miss anything less. The display is better
The sound is perfect

I use the MB for music, Work, photos, videos and films, internet, and can with everything and more
And the design, Amazing
 
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I love the MBAs .. Apple's "air" lines of laptops .. but I can't live with the low res screens .. I need more real estate on the screen and the retina screens are just so awesome and crisp .. you should consider the retina screen in your decision .. the "air" line of laptops are awesome, otherwise .. personally, I would get the RMB .. but you also need to keep in mind the lack of ports, etc. .. I'm most definitely eventually getting myself the RMB .. I'm just thinking I should wait for the next version ..
 
I have never had an Apple laptop before.
My company are doing a discount buy for their employees and the Air &12 are roughly the same price.
The only drawback I see is just the one port on the rMB, l would need to buy a usb extension lead to be able to download pics from my SLR.
 
Low-res TN air screen = no thank you for me; I've tried it before and didn't care for it. I wish the USB-C accessory situation were a little bit better, but that will come in time.
 
work issued me a 13" MBA (i5/8GB/256), which has been OK. Frankly, i hate the screen. After my woman's 11.6 MBA took a dump, I replaced her MBA with a 12" rMB, that I found an open box deal on. I was so blown away by it that she began complaining about me hogging her computer. SO, I kept an eye out, and found another open box rMB. People make a big deal about horsepower for productivity, but I'm more about screen quality and real-estate. Though it;s physically smaller, the rMB screen allows me to be much more productive. I like it! Now, my 13" MBA will gather dust.
 
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Tam1314 said:
Hi Folks, my work is doing a discount buy on some laptops. The two Apple ones are MacBook 12 and MacBook Air. I haven't quite decided what one to buy yet.
The MBa is 13" 4Gb RAM with 128GB flash storage.
The rMB is 8Gb RAM with 256GB flash storage.
The main uses for the laptop will be Photoshop, iTunes and maybe NetFlix at times.

What one should I go for.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Not seeing a single good reason to prefer a 13" MacBook Air over a MacBook.

iphonedude2008 said:
Very true. A bezel less tablet would be amazing. It would need palm rejection, but it would really revitalize the market.
Click to expand...
WHat ?!?
Are you speaking about a Mac or an iPad ?
 
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If you aren't doing anything too intensive the rMB is by far the better choice, I think. Earlier this month I picked up a 2015 11" MBA for use as a secondary machine. It was a bit nostalgic as my first Mac was a 2010 11" MBA. The 2015 was great, powerful enough and lots of ports and small, but after using high res displays for the past few years I just couldn't warrant spending that much on such a low quality panel. So I picked up an rMB, put it through my work flow and found it handled it without a problem. Back the MBA went.

I have no regrets so far and love this little machine. I think you'll be surprised at what it can handle for it's weight and size, and the screen is just fantastic. Have fun with it! :)
 
When purchasing a retina MacBook, it's really worth considering the CPU upgrade. Benchmarks indicate a 15% performance delta between the 1.1 GHz MacBook and the 1.3 GHz MacBook. If you watch any videos on this machine, I think that 15% will make a considerable difference.

Skyline's mobile part is projected to be about 15% faster than the equivalent Broadwell Core M. Based on my experience with this 1.1 Core M, which is just short of the mark, when the Skylake or Kaby Lake refresh drops, I'm going to get the max processor available and hopefully enjoy a 20-25% total improvement.
 
maflynn said:
I think that's a good choice, nothing is perfect but overall the rMBP is a better option over the MBA imo.
Click to expand...

The Retina MacBook Pro has a CPU with a 28W TDP, whereas the Retina MacBook has a 6W CPU. My RMB is already plenty warm in the lap, so I cannot imagine a 28W CPU. Must be blazin'. And noisy, with the fan. The RMB is silent. And it weighs just about half what the MacBook Pro weighs. MacBook Pro is a better choice than an Air these days, for sure, but golly, cool(er), light, and silent are attractive properties. All in all, this is a great product and it certainly points the way to the second or third iteration of Retina MacBook being astounding.
 
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