Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
For me, resolution > color gamut. I simply cannot work on a Jurassic 1280x800 resolution (or 1360x768), which is why I went for the MBA 13" over the MBP 13".
 
What I keep seeing on here time and time again is people expecting all Mac products to be "professional grade." All it does is make those people look ignorant.

It's like walking into Sears and complaining that the Craftsman tools hurt your hands after using them all day. You think the problem is with THEM. The problem is YOU. Professionals know about, and pay more for, Snap-On and MAC.

The Air is priced so that everyone can afford it. The MacBook Pros (first, they are called "Pros") cost more, do more and aren't for everyone. To complain that they have different specs is silly. OF COURSE THEY DO!

Once, the Air was $1800 if my memory serves me. Guess what? That Air had a screen comparable to the Pro and replaceable components.

If Apple released such an Air these days with the new processor and chassis (just slightly thicker), I'd be all over it.
 
I don't think you are far off. I sold all my Macbook Airs after one evening with the new retina macbook pro.
 
Once, the Air was $1800 if my memory serves me. Guess what? That Air had a screen comparable to the Pro and replaceable components.

It did have a kind-of replaceable PATA drive. It also had Intel GMA integrated graphics and a heat distribution system that would turn off a core if you started running it hard. I had one.

Frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference between the Rev A and the 2009 MBA I had, or the 2012 I have now. But I much prefer the performance and battery live in this one.
 
I must have got lucky, my colors are fine. Or maybe my 2 year old sony vaio had such a bad screen this looks good.
 
New MAcbook Air's missed the mark

YEa, extra battery life is nice, but it wasn't really what air owners want most....retina was expected, not a nice to have, and touchscreen would have brought the air up to what PC ultrabooks are doing....seems like everyone knows that computing is headed towards tablets, except apple, who could so easily capture the whole enchilada with a combo iPad MBA.
again, 9 hr battery life is nice, ut when the rest of the computer is falling behind in technology...it just doesn't make it
 
YEa, extra battery life is nice, but it wasn't really what air owners want most....retina was expected, not a nice to have, and touchscreen would have brought the air up to what PC ultrabooks are doing....seems like everyone knows that computing is headed towards tablets, except apple, who could so easily capture the whole enchilada with a combo iPad MBA.
again, 9 hr battery life is nice, ut when the rest of the computer is falling behind in technology...it just doesn't make it

Is this a joke? or are you delusional?

Mobility and battery life are the two most important things for MBA users. You want a retina display? go buy a rMBP. The 2013 MBA is equipped with the latest processor and wifi technology. It also boasts a huge improvement in SSD speed and battery life.
 
YEa, extra battery life is nice, but it wasn't really what air owners want most....retina was expected, not a nice to have, and touchscreen would have brought the air up to what PC ultrabooks are doing....seems like everyone knows that computing is headed towards tablets, except apple, who could so easily capture the whole enchilada with a combo iPad MBA.
again, 9 hr battery life is nice, ut when the rest of the computer is falling behind in technology...it just doesn't make it

Are you on drugs? Ultraportable notebook users which don't like godly battery power? Please.
A Retina MBA in 2013 is a compromised machine. Like the laggy rMBP 13" from last year. Give them a year or two and they will do it. For now, Retina Display = more resources needed = heavier computers with lesser battery life.
I'm happy that they acknowledged the limits of ULV 2013 chips and just released a good, all-around machine, without overdoing it like they did with rMBP 13" 2012. The Air is the mainstream Macbook. It has to be balanced, without blatant flaws which can lead to disappointment, cheap enough to sell in high volumes and doesn't have to cannibalize the rest of the product line.
 
Are you on drugs? Ultraportable notebook users which don't like godly battery power? Please.
A Retina MBA in 2013 is a compromised machine. Like the laggy rMBP 13" from last year. Give them a year or two and they will do it. For now, Retina Display = more resources needed = heavier computers with lesser battery life.
I'm happy that they acknowledged the limits of ULV 2013 chips and just released a good, all-around machine, without overdoing it like they did with rMBP 13" 2012. The Air is the mainstream Macbook. It has to be balanced, without blatant flaws which can lead to disappointment, cheap enough to sell in high volumes and doesn't have to cannibalize the rest of the product line.

I couldn't agree more - the MBA is a workhorse type of machine. It just performs. I'm not really sure why they even released the rMBP 13" - Apple knows that it's too slow and below their standards. I'm sure they'll release a much improved version later this year, but for now, the MBA is definitely the better choice for most people who need sub-2kg notebooks.
 
I went and played with the newest Airs @ the fruit stand during lunch. Wow these airs are fast and spiffy! I thought the screens looked fine. No, they're not retina, but they look nice to me (and I'm on an old Wintel laptop so .... ).
 
Preach on!

What I keep seeing on here time and time again is people expecting all Mac products to be "professional grade." All it does is make those people look ignorant.

It's like walking into Sears and complaining that the Craftsman tools hurt your hands after using them all day. You think the problem is with THEM. The problem is YOU. Professionals know about, and pay more for, Snap-On and MAC.

The Air is priced so that everyone can afford it. The MacBook Pros (first, they are called "Pros") cost more, do more and aren't for everyone. To complain that they have different specs is silly. OF COURSE THEY DO!

Exactly. I knew what I was getting into when I bought my 2012 11" MBA, so I bought a cheap widescreen Dell monitor to use when I'm home.

Would I LIKE a better display on my laptop? Sure, but isn't weight and price more of an issue for an ultraportable computer than color correctness or a bunch of other stuff no one but designers should care about?

----------

Here's what I bet most people in something like an MBA:

Light weight.
Great battery life.
Ability to run a full OS.
 
I find it very disappointing that Apple does not use IPS displays in the new MBA. I am puzzled that they still use TN displays in 2013 and would rather pay a little more.

Calibrating the 2012 MBA helped somewhat but I am not going to buy the 2013 model with TN display but I am glad that they don't use retina displays since this would have killed battery life and they would run much warmer.
 
What really sucks is the big quality spread between MBAs of the same type, depending on the panel's manufacturer. I mean c'mon Apple, we all pay the same for these, why not give us the same quality ?
 
Hey I'm thinking about getting a 2013 MBA, but I watch a lot of HD films and series' so wondering if they will look on point?
 
How can you tell which display manufacturer you have. I don't see anything in the system report.
 
How can you tell which display manufacturer you have. I don't see anything in the system report.

Open up the Terminal and copy and paste this - ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

I've just purchased a new 2013 model, with 512SSD, 8GB, i7 in the UK and received the following response - LSN133BT01A02
 
Open up the Terminal and copy and paste this - ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

I've just purchased a new 2013 model, with 512SSD, 8GB, i7 in the UK and received the following response - LSN133BT01A02

so whos the manuf? sam or LG, or?
 
When you go in store and see a 13" retina and a 13" air side by side its got me beat how anyone could walk out with a air. Unless you forgot your glasses?
 
I find it very disappointing that Apple does not use IPS displays in the new MBA. I am puzzled that they still use TN displays in 2013 and would rather pay a little more.
My thoughts exactly. I would 100% buy an MBA with sRGB IPS with the same resolution (1440x900 for 13") for the same price as before rather than the 100$ less MBA with several-years-old TN display model.
 
When you go in store and see a 13" retina and a 13" air side by side its got me beat how anyone could walk out with a air. Unless you forgot your glasses?

the retina has that POS glass over it. so i prefer the MBA screen by a long shot
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.