MBA + ipad mini 3 or macbook best value for casual user.

[caramellhoney]

Hi.
I need some help with a decision. I just purchased the Macbook air from best buy for $799 11in 4gb/128
I originally wanted the gold macbook. But the wait times are discouraging. The guy in BB told me the mba processor is comparable to the 1.2ghz macbook I was considering and said this one would be less lag time because of the fan. From the reviews I read it seems the only major difference is the screen and track pad. I'm just a casual user fb, movies, email, TONS of photos, Internet. I have a first gen ipad mini that my kids have taken over so I figured with the savings I could get a new ipad mini. Just wondering if I made the right decision for my usage and budget. Or should I hold out for the MacBook.

Thanks.

 

[Jacoblee23]

Hi.
I need some help with a decision. I just purchased the Macbook air from best buy for $799 11in 4gb/128
I originally wanted the gold macbook. But the wait times are discouraging. The guy in BB told me the mba processor is comparable to the 1.2ghz macbook I was considering and said this one would be less lag time because of the fan. From the reviews I read it seems the only major difference is the screen and track pad. I'm just a casual user fb, movies, email, TONS of photos, Internet. I have a first gen ipad mini that my kids have taken over so I figured with the savings I could get a new ipad mini. Just wondering if I made the right decision for my usage and budget. Or should I hold out for the MacBook.

Thanks.

A lot of it depends on if you can deal with a non retina screen. I had an Air but couldn't deal with the non retina so sold mine for a mbpr.

 

[junkw]

depends if you are on a budget.

 

[Rhcpcjg]

i originally purchased a macbook air 13" base model as a secondary laptop at best buy for around $700 , but I ended up returning it because I couldn't get used to the non retina display and also I started to ran out of space within a few days after transferring my virtual machine, apps, music, photos, etc... I was lucky enough to find a retina space gray macbook at my local best buy, so I exchanged it. So far its working out perfectly, I like that i have 8gb of ram and 256gb ssd. I also own an ipad air 2, but since I got this computer, I've stopped using the ipad due to this computer's portability. IMHO you should return the air, and get a movers coupon (10% off) and a education coupon ($50 off) and get the new macbook. Its worth the wait. also try calling the best buys around your city and have them check their inventory, you never know. Good Luck!

 

[212rikanmofo]

Just get a MacBook Retina and you're all set, no need for iPad mini or iPad at all!

My setup is iPhone 6+ and MacBook, not missing my iPad at all.

 

[Rhcpcjg]

Just get a MacBook Retina and you're all set, no need for iPad mini or iPad at all!

My setup is iPhone 6+ and MacBook, not missing my iPad at all.

I believe the release of this laptop will affect iPads sales. Yes the iPad is a lot cheaper, but you can get more done on os x than on iOS. Battery life on both devices is comparable (9-10 hours) . Also portability of this macbook is incredible.

 

[caramellhoney]

I'I'm gonna go into the store and check it out again tomorrow. Don't really have a budget, just looking to get the best for my money. Time to upgrade my imac lol
Thanks

 

[Rhcpcjg]

I'I'm gonna go into the store and check it out again tomorrow. Don't really have a budget, just looking to get the best for my money. Time to upgrade my imac lol
Thanks

the price difference is worth it, not only you get retina display, which I'm sure you will enjoy a lot more than the outdated tn display of the macbook air, also you will get double the ram and double the hard drive storage space.

 

[caramellhoney]

the price difference is worth it, not only you get retina display, which I'm sure you will enjoy a lot more than the outdated tn display of the macbook air, also you will get double the ram and double the hard drive storage space.

That was my other hold up. I do feel like thats a little bit of space on the air.

 

[Kristine]

Just get a MacBook Retina and you're all set, no need for iPad mini or iPad at all!

My setup is iPhone 6+ and MacBook, not missing my iPad at all.

THIS.

I have gone from 15" high-end rMBP, iPad Air and iPhone 6 Plus to the 12" rMB and iPhone 6 Plus. Perfect for me. I don't see a use for an iPad Air with the 12" rMB (I also have a Kindle Paper-white for reading).

If you put the 12" rMB and the Macbook Air next to each other to compare, you will see how outdated the Macbook Air screen looks.

 

[RUGGLES99]

Don't fall for the retina bs, the 11 mba has a great screen and is powerful. With the usps movers coupon you can get an 11 at best buy for $720 and pay it off over 12 months with the bb store card. For what you do 4 gb of ram is plenty and 128 gb of storage is a lot. And with inexpensive pen drives you can add unlimited memory. This forum is the MBR choir preaching So of course they are pushing the MBR. It is a nice little laptop but not worth a whopping $1300, and that's just for the sluggish base model. The people buying this 1st year, dicey model are professionals who need the lightest, thinnest as road warriors, or kids whose parents are footing the bill. You'll be very happy with the mba.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Don't fall for the retina bs, the 11 mba has a great screen and is powerful. With the usps movers coupon you can get an 11 at best buy for $720 and pay it off over 12 months with the bb store card. For what you do 4 gb of ram is plenty and 128 gb of storage is a lot. And with inexpensive pen drives you can add unlimited memory. This forum is the MBR choir preaching So of course they are pushing the MBR. It is a nice little laptop but not worth a whopping $1300, and that's just for the sluggish base model. The people buying this 1st year, dicey model are professionals who need the lightest, thinnest as road warriors, or kids whose parents are footing the bill. You'll be very happy with the mba.

I'm not a road warrior and my parents certainly aren't footing the bill. The retina screen DOES make a difference and I encourage the OP to try a retina screen and regular screen side by side before buying. Also mine is anything but sluggish. Furthermore, I wouldn't' recommend a machine with less than 4GB of RAM nowadays.

 

[212rikanmofo]

I'm not a road warrior either. and I have the base model retina macbook, and in no way at all is it sluggish. I'm very happy with my purchase and am fully aware of what this machine is capable of. I bought it knowing exactly what it's perfect for. I already have a 27" iMac as my main desktop machine, for work and productivity and use the RMB as an iPad replacement. So everything else in between is unnecessary now. It's ultra portability is a huge factor for me.

 

[caramellhoney]

I'm not a road warrior and my parents certainly aren't footing the bill. The retina screen DOES make a difference and I encourage the OP to try a retina screen and regular screen side by side before buying. Also mine is anything but sluggish. Furthermore, I wouldn't' recommend a machine with less than 4GB of RAM nowadays.

That's what has me hesitant the ram
This comp needs to last a while

 

[rajivhifi]

rMB

MBA is out of question. I would definitely recommend the rMB and be done with it. I personally have the rMB and also an iPad. I use the iPad as a quick need device like checking my bank account or making a payment but most importantly to catchup on the daily news line 'USA Today' everyday morning on the throne. I don't need to lug my laptop in there.

Depends on your needs.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

MBA is out of question. I would definitely recommend the rMB and be done with it. I personally have the rMB and also an iPad. I use the iPad as a quick need device like checking my bank account or making a payment but most importantly to catchup on the daily news line 'USA Today' everyday morning on the throne. I don't need to lug my laptop in there.

Depends on your needs.

Just to chime in - there is a major disconnect here. Value for money, an 11" MBA with 8GB RAM + an iPad mini 3 16GB for the same money as a single device with a better screen and slower CPU/GPU wins every time in my book...

The iPad is worlds ahead for uses like those described above. You just grab it from the coffee table and do the specific task in no time flat. Apps are of a different character. Does your bank have a dedicated app for OS X? Exactly.

Wanna read the newspaper, a book, etc. the iPad form factor either at 7.9" or 9.7", and its interface is infinitely superior to any laptop form factor device. It is also better for interacting, casual typing (as in this forum post) than the iPhone 6 or 6+ (I've got the 6+). Typing anything more than SMS's on the phone is tedious. I have over 100 apps on my iPad, and about 30 on my iPhone.

For me it is actually harder to justify the 6+ than the iPad...

I think if they do a proper update to the next iPad mini, I'll go back to that size, and do the smaller iPhone next time around as well.

For me personally, the best setup for my mobile office I've ever had was iPhone 5, iPad mini retina, and 11" MBA. Now with the 6+ and iPad Air 2, I find the 6+ a bit more cumbersome than necessary, and the Air 2 harder to thumb type on, with no real increased utility from the screen size.

Obviously your preferences may or may no be the same or simlar to mine, that's a given. Just thought I would add another opinion to the mix!!

That said, my 2011 11" MBA is getting long in the tooth, and I really want to upgrade to the new MB - would love to get a 6S, a new iPad mini 4, and a 2nd gen MB rhrough my company earlier next year. That for me personally would be the ultimate setup.

 

[Serban]

I'I'm gonna go into the store and check it out again tomorrow. Don't really have a budget, just looking to get the best for my money. Time to upgrade my imac lol
Thanks

if you don;t have a budget, then go and buy an ipad and a macbook
i have all...from time to time the ipad is still ok, but if you go travel or in vacation a macbook is better even in a coffee shop
The ipad is ok when you have a macbook pro...the difference is there, but between ipad air and macbook not that huge anymore in dimensions and weight

 

[clyde2801]

I do leave my office every day on business with a computing device. I'm not travelling across the country or continents, only across town.*

My needs are fairly lightweight as computer usage goes. I'm not editing the next star wars, but accessing professional website, journals and scanned pdf's of documents, reading and returning emails and making notations on files.

I've bounced around between both air models, the 13" rMPB and various iPad plus BT KB combos (too heavy, too small or crappy of a screen, crappy KB, lousy battery life, needing OS rather than iOS, etc), but am loving the nMB.

Then again, you're probably not me, since I am me.** YMMV.



*That makes me what, a road reservist? National guardsman?
**Or, you are, which means that we/I am in a Doctor Who episode; that means one or both of us/me are soon going to die. Horribly.

 

[212rikanmofo]

The iPad is worlds ahead for uses like those described above. You just grab it from the coffee table and do the specific task in no time flat. Apps are of a different character. Does your bank have a dedicated app for OS X? Exactly.

Wanna read the newspaper, a book, etc. the iPad form factor either at 7.9" or 9.7", and its interface is infinitely superior to any laptop form factor device. It is also better for interacting, casual typing (as in this forum post) than the iPhone 6 or 6+ (I've got the 6+). Typing anything more than SMS's on the phone is tedious. I have over 100 apps on my iPad, and about 30 on my iPhone.

No, the iPad is not worlds ahead or even better than a RMB at all. Now that the new RMB is ultra portable, I find that I prefer to do everything on this device. I get way more options and flexibility. The iPad is quite limited. and why do I need a dedicated bank app when I have full blown OS-X, its simple enough to launch on Safari and easier to multitask. Can't really multitask on the iPad, it's a pain in the ass. And talking about cutting and pasting or doing anything keyboard related is also a PITA. I hate doing anything that requires extended usage of the keyboard on the iPad. To me the iPad is long gone and obsolete now. Come to think about it, the only thing the iPad is good for is a reading device or for those who like casual touch gaming. But my iPhone 6+ is perfectly capable of taking over those tasks.

I can do so much more now with my new RMB. I'm currently typing this comfortably in bed laying down. I find it difficult to position my iPad in bed when I watch movies or simply trying to read or surf the internet. At least with the RMB, I can place it on my lap or set it next to me since it has a base.

 

[z31fanatic]

If you can afford it, go with the new Macbook. There is no reason why should spend $800 on the Air and get such a poor screen.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

No, the iPad is not worlds ahead or even better than a RMB at all. Now that the new RMB is ultra portable, I find that I prefer to do everything on this device. I get way more options and flexibility. The iPad is quite limited. and why do I need a dedicated bank app when I have full blown OS-X, its simple enough to launch on Safari and easier to multitask. Can't really multitask on the iPad, it's a pain in the ass. And talking about cutting and pasting or doing anything keyboard related is also a PITA. I hate doing anything that requires extended usage of the keyboard on the iPad. To me the iPad is long gone and obsolete now. Come to think about it, the only thing the iPad is good for is a reading device or for those who like casual touch gaming. But my iPhone 6+ is perfectly capable of taking over those tasks.

I can do so much more now with my new RMB. I'm currently typing this comfortably in bed laying down. I find it difficult to position my iPad in bed when I watch movies or simply trying to read or surf the internet. At least with the RMB, I can place it on my lap or set it next to me since it has a base.

Yup, as I said, I didn't claim to be right, I just gave my opinion. We certainly don't have similar ones, and that is ok!

 

[caramellhoney]

At the Apple store. I do love the screen size and keyboard on the retina. But the Apple tech is helping me and another lady and she's saying the retina has a ipad processor with a screen and keyboard #
First time I've heard it described that way. She basically directed us both back to the mba

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Im watching YouTube videos on the retina its pretty nice

 

[vanimal]

Hell I got a MBA 13" last week for $799 2015 model. Came to $719 with movers coupon. I saved almost $600 not going with the MBR, and that's not pocket change. I loved it but it's a tad too small for me personally as im 6'4 230 with LARGE hands. I plan to keep my 13" MBA for a year hoping they release a 14" version MBR next year. My favorite footprint is the 13"MBA for my large hands, simply can't do the 11" keyboard wise. I tried the MBR keyboard in the store 4 times and it looked like a cute toy with my hands. I realize. Ow everyone is the same.

If they release a 14" version next year I'll sell my 13" MBA and take a small loss since I paid $719 for a $999 machine. i get the whole retina and non retina but I don't travel and I just use it on the couch and in bed. Otherwise i have it plugged into a 27" 4k monitor if I want a high resolution display. But otherwise the screen for around the house is fine. I don't use it for work it's strictly a casual machine. I had a 13" MBRP in the past I still prefer the Air because I never used the power and it's a bit more comfy resting on my chest in bed watching vids and stays cooler by a lot.

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At the Apple store. I do love the screen size and keyboard on the retina. But the Apple tech is helping me and another lady and she's saying the retina has a ipad processor with a screen and keyboard #
First time I've heard it described that way. She basically directed us both back to the mba

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Im watching YouTube videos on the retina its pretty nice

1080p vids like just fine on the MBA, it's the text crispness it lacks I think personally. Vids look great IMO.

 

[mattopotamus]

I have not touched my iPad since getting a macbook. It is easily just as comfortable to use, and I am 10000x's more productive with a keyboard. Even for casual things like browsing these boards.

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1080p vids like just fine on the MBA, it's the text crispness it lacks I think personally. Vids look great IMO.

color accuracy is pretty terrible too. I agree though videos look fine from a quality standpoint. It is really just the crispness in text.

 

[vanimal]

I have not touched my iPad since getting a macbook. It is easily just as comfortable to use, and I am 10000x's more productive with a keyboard. Even for casual things like browsing these boards.

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color accuracy is pretty terrible too. I agree though videos look fine from a quality standpoint. It is really just the crispness in text.

Yeah I'll agree. Downloading a custom color profile helped me a ton. I like punchy colors even if it's not "accurate". The one annoyance I have is you have to adjust the display a lot compared to my MBPR I used to have. The colors were great at any angle. I'm used to TN panels through from my gaming PC in the past. You can't get a ultra low Millisecond response panel with IPS Like a 1-2MS. Also TN panels have low input lag but crappy colors. I'll deal with it for now. And I do plug into my IPS 27" a lot.