Macbook 12 vs Macbook Air

[fokmik]

Slower wifi on the Air.
And are you sure the camera is better? I thought it was a real step backwards? I could be wrong on thst point.

camera its better on the air vs the 12" Macbook....it is a step backwards vs the last gen Air or the current MBP but here on this topic, the Air has a better camera than the 12" Macbook
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I have the air now and have restored it with time machine. Battery life is pretty bad but I'm running a lot of things on it. The brightness on the screen is actually really bright and I don't think I would ever use it at max level.

Battery life is pretty bad? You should check it out

 

[Dodgeman]

camera its better on the air vs the 12" Macbook....it is a step backwards vs the last gen Air or the current MBP but here on this topic, the Air has a better camera than the 12" Macbook
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Battery life is pretty bad? You should check it out

For my needs the camera is the least important feature on the laptop.

 

[Dodgeman]

Just curious does the MacBook screen or laptop in general, does it feel a bit more flimsy than the other bigger MacBooks?
It seems when I open the current MacBook I have the screen feels a bit loose and shakes a bit when typing, which I am not the biggest fan of.
I think I will order the Air 2018 and use these two machines side by side and see how I feel about the differences. If the Air 2018 doesn't feel too big and the screen isn't as dim to my eyes then it'll probably be a keeper and I won't worry about the 256 memory as I don't think it will be huge issue for my basic usage. Plus I will save $100 .

 

[MacPoulet]

Haven’t noticed the screen wobbling on mine.

Personally, I couldn’t do 128gb again. I’m always running out of space on my 2010 MacBook Air.

 

[fokmik]

The screen wobbles like the others . Regarding the lid, yes being smaller and lighter its far easier to close/open and it feels a bit more flimsy

 

[snazzybunny]

No screen wobbles here eother

 

[Dodgeman]

Haven’t noticed the screen wobbling on mine.

Personally, I couldn’t do 128gb again. I’m always running out of space on my 2010 MacBook Air.

True but that a 2010. 9 years later. How early on did you notice the space was an issue?

The screen wobbles like the others . Regarding the lid, yes being smaller and lighter its far easier to close/open and it feels a bit more flimsy

Yeah glad you noticed that as well. Very light and small. Going to run a 2018 Air side by side and see.

 

[MacPoulet]

True but that a 2010. 9 years later. How early on did you notice the space was an issue?

Almost immediately. Mind you, I didn't get it in 2010, but in 2013 when I built it out of a bunch of dead MacBook Airs and spare parts.

 

[Dodgeman]

Almost immediately. Mind you, I didn't get it in 2010, but in 2013 when I built it out of a bunch of dead MacBook Airs and spare parts.

Aw I see, yeah I just picked up the Air. I can notice a slight difference in the screen. Everything is ok with the computer so far though. The keyboard is quieter that is for sure.

 

[PeterJP]

The macbook only has one USB-C port, whereas the new Air has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which is more versatile.

I would get the macbook only if you really need the portability and you're willing to sacrifise screen size and expandability for it. Get the Pro if you need more power. Otherwise, get the Air. It's a lovely new machine.

 

[ascender]

There's been a few good reviews of the Air recently which have come to the conclusion that the Air is the default Mac for most people. If you want more power, you go up to the Pro and if you want more portability you go to the 12" MB.

That's simplifying things slightly, but is a good starting point and I think a pretty fair summary.

For what its worth, having come to the 2018 Air from a 2018 MBP, I thoroughly agree with the sentiment. Its a very capable machine in a nice form factor.

 

[BornAgainMac]

The Macbook still has the older Butterfly keyboard. The one without the rubber protection under the keys.

 

[Dave245]

Has anybody tried running Pixelmator Pro on the MacBook Air? I’m considering the Air after my failed experiment with the Surface Pro 6. However I run Pixelmator Pro, Final Draft and a couple of other apps that I’m not sure would work on the new Air?

 

[Dodgeman]

Just got the refurb mabook 12 in.
Not a bad looking machine overall however I got one that had a battery cycle count of 16.
Wonder if I should place an order for another one due to the the cycle count on the battery life. Some people say they were getting them as low as 2-4 cycles.

 

[KB23]

Just got the refurb mabook 12 in.
Not a bad looking machine overall however I got one that had a battery cycle count of 16.
Wonder if I should place an order for another one due to the the cycle count on the battery life. Some people say they were getting them as low as 2-4 cycles.

Honestly, I don't think it will even matter in the long run. I know a lot of ppl are OCD when it comes to new computers, and justifiably so considering the price of Mac's these days. If it is really bothering you then I would say you should, if not I wouldn't bother. I would be more worried about the keyboard...the second gen keyboard is really a POS.

 

[Falhófnir]

You guys are all assuming Apple is going to continue manufacturing the 12” MacBook. Personally, I don’t think they are. I think the 12" MacBook is done, and the new 2018 Air is what’s going to replace it. My Opinion of course, and everyone’s going to scream and yell at me. But ask yourself this: why keep it in the lineup? Especially when the 2018 Air is a better computer all around? Guess we’re going to find out sometime this year, aren’t we?

The 12" MB was the replacement for the 11" MBA, the 13" MBA is the replacement for... the 13" MBA They sold the older pair alongside each other long enough and both had their followings, I don't see why this should be different (though they should rename the MacBook to the 12" MacBook Air and fold it into the line alongside the larger one).

 

[Dave245]

The 12" MB was the replacement for the 11" MBA, the 13" MBA is the replacement for... the 13" MBA They sold the older pair alongside each other long enough and both had their followings, I don't see why this should be different (though they should rename the MacBook to the 12" MacBook Air and fold it into the line alongside the larger one).

I wonder if they will make the 12” MacBook that experiment with ARM device, it wasn’t updated last year and I don’t know if they will even update it this year.

 

[Falhófnir]

I wonder if they will make the 12” MacBook that experiment with ARM device, it wasn’t updated last year and I don’t know if they will even update it this year.

If they're going to start small, it makes sense to me they'd make a dedicated iBook line or something, I think MacBooks will remain intel until such a point as Apple are ready to go all in on ARM. Apple's update schedules are screwy at the moment, I could see the nTB Pro being updated (spec bumped) alongside the MB at some point without a lot of fanfare.

 

[Dave245]

If they're going to start small, it makes sense to me they'd make a dedicated iBook line or something, I think MacBooks will remain intel until such a point as Apple are ready to go all in on ARM. Apple's update schedules are screwy at the moment, I could see the nTB Pro being updated (spec bumped) alongside the MB at some point without a lot of fanfare.

Yea they are definitely all over the place with update cycles at the moment, the iMac nor the MacBook saw an update last year. The Air got its first update in years and the Mac Pro is going to be this year according to Apple. I think with Apple being able to make such powerful chips (such as the one in the new iPad Pro’s) they could do ARM at some point.

At the moment I think they are focusing on the Marzipan thing, brining IOS apps to the Mac, they brought a few of their own apps last year, this year they will be letting developers create and bring their IOS apps to the Mac. It will be interesting to see if it gets more time at this years WWDC.

 

[Falhófnir]

Yea they are definitely all over the place with update cycles at the moment, the iMac nor the MacBook saw an update last year. The Air got its first update in years and the Mac Pro is going to be this year according to Apple. I think with Apple being able to make such powerful chips (such as the one in the new iPad Pro’s) they could do ARM at some point.

At the moment I think they are focusing on the Marzipan thing, brining IOS apps to the Mac, they brought a few of their own apps last year, this year they will be letting developers create and bring their IOS apps to the Mac. It will be interesting to see if it gets more time at this years WWDC.

Yeah I'm of the same opinion, eventually Apple will move macs to their own processors, Marizipan would seem to be a further step in this direction, merging together the different developer platforms. Ultimately I think it makes sense, and will probably be very successful, though there might be some short term pain.

 

[Dave245]

Yeah I'm of the same opinion, eventually Apple will move macs to their own processors, Marizipan would seem to be a further step in this direction, merging together the different developer platforms. Ultimately I think it makes sense, and will probably be very successful, though there might be some short term pain.

Definitely, can you imagine the power of the chips they will create, also they can update on their schedule rather then having to wait for Intels chips.

 

[radiologyman]

Just got the refurb mabook 12 in.
Not a bad looking machine overall however I got one that had a battery cycle count of 16.
Wonder if I should place an order for another one due to the the cycle count on the battery life. Some people say they were getting them as low as 2-4 cycles.

Difference is negligible, you still got a pretty much new unit. Getting 4th MacBook over it is abusing return policy

 

[Dodgeman]

Difference is negligible, you still got a pretty much new unit. Getting 4th MacBook over it is abusing return policy

Who said anything about a 4th?
16 cycles is a pretty much used unit.