mba 2018 / 256gb or mbp touchbar i5 256gb ?

[UKBeast]

Hi,

I mainly use my computer at home for office apps, excel, outlook. Safari, itunes , some youtube watching.

my current mbp 2010 is aged and slow on main tasks like browsing. So, now I am inbetween mba 2018 and mbp 2018 touchbar , in Turkey the price differecence between these two is 450 usd. does it worth to go for mbp ? there are good discounts for mbp touchb.

*i do not do video editing or photo editing, i do not play computer games.
*i prefer silence over performance
*i do not have budget to upgrade my comp every few years, the computer i buy today must be at least 6 years performance proof for task I do.

 

[brianone]

I had the MBP 13 512gb touch bar recently for about 30 days before returning. I really thought it was a beautiful machine and loved everything about it, however I also have the 3rd gen Ipad Pro 12.9, which I love and hated the redundancies of having the two machines. So I returned the MBP. Several weeks later, I found myself longing for a mackbook again, as I have certain work which can be done on the Ipad Pro, however would be easier on the macbook. To save some money, I decided to give the MBA 2018 a try and so far so good. I did notice some slowdowns when running Excel yesterday, however I am sure that it was due to a large amount of data that was being uploaded from onedrive that was running in the background.

I will continue using for a few days, before I make my final decision. I am trying to stay away from the MBP non touchbar as it is the 2017 model and has been plagued with Keyboard issues.

 

[Wingzfan61]

I've had the 2018 13" TB i5 MBP in 512gb/8gb configuration since launch and recently picked up the 2018 256gb/8gb MBA and there are definitely some things I notice right off the bat that are "different" (I refuse to say bad) on the Air vs Pro.

The screen on the Air is obviously not as good and its noticeable to me because I've used the Pro for long enough to appreciate True Tone and the P3 wide-color gamut. The Air is much cooler color wise and is doing a number on my eyes right now. I'll get used to it and had I not been using the Pro before this, I would never know the difference. The brightness isn't an issue for me. Im currently at 50% and its perfect.

Speed wise, the Air is quick but even on things like boot up, the Pro is quicker obviously. Ive ran through my main apps I use day to day and the Air is handling them just fine. I don't do any video editing and the photo editing I do is very limited. We're talking basic prints for work that consist of simples lines and measurements. Other than that its used for mainly Quickbooks, Word, Excel etc.

I got the Air for 4 reasons:
1. I am tired of carrying my Pro back and forth to work everyday so the Pro will stay there and the Air stays at home and goes on vacation with me.
2. I would like a bit better battery life while I'm away from a plug which is rare during business hours so another reason the Pro goes to work. I primarily run into issues when Im out and about. I can get 7-8 hours on the Pro but I'd like to see if I can get a bit more on the Air.
3. I was intrigued by the Air and always liked them. Nothing more than being a tech whore.
4. I have a 30w Anker portable battery that was made to charge the Air on the go. It doesn't do so great with the Pro. When Im on long flights, like to Germany, I don't have to mess with the outlets on the plane which seem hit or miss if they will work or not.

My advice after owning both is if you need a computer to last 6 years and be performance proof then absolutely go for the Pro. It will be much better at future proofing simply due to the much better processor. If you want a computer that will do the tasks you do today in 6 years and don't plan on getting into a new video or photo hobby then the Air will work but its hard to say what kind of demand Office apps will require in in the next 6 years. Excel can be a bit of a hog depending on what you're doing in it. If you want slightly longer battery and don't care about the screen brightness and lack of P3 wide-color gamut, then the Air will be great.

That being said, the Pro is a better buy if you can afford it imo.

 

[BuCkDoG]

I made the switch to the MacBook Air and Im not looking back, especially for the price. Another big reason is the wedge shape design that tapers makes it easier to type on these very controversial keyboards. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Isamilis]

I made the switch to the MacBook Air and Im not looking back, especially for the price. Another big reason is the wedge shape design that tapers makes it easier to type on these very controversial keyboards. Just my 2 cents.

How about 2nd hand pro which is cheaper, compared to 2018 Air?

 

[tmmacops]

Just so your'e aware the 2018 MBA has the T2 chip, and does the unplanned reboot/KP's like the MBP. I've had one for about 2 weeks now, and it's done a few times. I went through 2 MBP's w/TB. The only one that didn't do it was the MB, but was a tad small for my tastes, and the KB wasn't as good as the MBA.

 

[auxbuss]

Just so your'e aware the 2018 MBA has the T2 chip, and does the unplanned reboot/KP's like the MBP. I've had one for about 2 weeks now, and it's done a few times. I went through 2 MBP's w/TB. The only one that didn't do it was the MB, but was a tad small for my tastes, and the KB wasn't as good as the MBA.

I've had my MBA since launch day (pretty much), and I've never experienced the unplanned reboot. Just another data point.

 

[BuCkDoG]

How about 2nd hand pro which is cheaper, compared to 2018 Air?

I would still go with the Air over the Pro not only because of the $$$ savings, but also because it draws the least amount of heat, which in my opinion is the main reason behind the sticking keys problem. The least power drawn, the longer the keyboard will stay in tact. These machines are way to thin for the amount of heat they consume and add in the fact that they are aluminum, your just asking for bending metal to occur.

 

[Wingzfan61]

but also because it draws the least amount of heat, which in my opinion is the main reason behind the sticking keys problem.

That wasnt what I found when testing the Pro vs the Air over the weekend. The Air was consistently hotter than the Pro and took longer to cool. From what I see with the 2 devices, the Pro has much better airflow.

 

[BuCkDoG]

That wasnt what I found when testing the Pro vs the Air over the weekend. The Air was consistently hotter than the Pro and took longer to cool. From what I see with the 2 devices, the Pro has much better airflow.

Well of course its going to have better Airflow, it has an extra fan lol. I was referring to the 7 Watt Y processor Dual Core versus a 28 Watt Quad Core CPU. Im glad you did some testing though because it certainly could be correct. I just went with assumptions and did no testing myself.

 

[Wingzfan61]

Well of course its going to have better Airflow, it has an extra fan lol. I was referring to the 7 Watt Y processor Dual Core versus a 28 Watt Quad Core CPU. Im glad you did some testing though because it certainly could be correct. I just went with assumptions and did no testing myself.

I was shocked at how much hotter the Air runs to be honest. I was under the impression that the 7 watt processors advantage was to run much cooler. Im beginning to wonder if thats why the Airs battery life isnt any better than my Pro.

 

[BuCkDoG]

I was shocked at how much hotter the Air runs to be honest. I was under the impression that the 7 watt processors advantage was to run much cooler. Im beginning to wonder if thats why the Airs battery life isnt any better than my Pro.

It certainly could be honestly. I am just as shocked as you quite honestly but Im glad you did do some extensive testing to confirm your findings. I would certainly pass this along to others to enlighten them on this. I just wish the 13 and 15" MBP came without that stupid Touch Bar. I really like having the function keys back on the MBA.

 

[Wingzfan61]

It certainly could be honestly. I am just as shocked as you quite honestly but Im glad you did do some extensive testing to confirm your findings. I would certainly pass this along to others to enlighten them on this. I just wish the 13 and 15" MBP came without that stupid Touch Bar. I really like having the function keys back on the MBA.

I posted a thread the other day comparing the 2 models.

On the touchbar, I ended up setting the default to always show the function keys instead of all the app specific keys. Not the same as physical buttons but not terrible either.

 

[BuCkDoG]

I posted a thread the other day comparing the 2 models.

On the touchbar, I ended up setting the default to always show the function keys instead of all the app specific keys. Not the same as physical buttons but not terrible either.

Right that’s what I did as well. It’s not terrible but not horrible either.

 

[Dave245]

If that's all you are going to be using the machine for, i would get the Air over the Pro. The Macbook Pro has more bang for the buck, however if you don't need that power it becomes a waste.