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MBA/MBP weight difference?

T

ThomasSaysHi

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 16, 2012
5
0
Ive only had the chance to visit a Mac Store and quickly lift each but for those of you who own both, or have used both, how much of a noteiceable difference is the 13" MBA's weight in comparison to 13" MBP's in real world situations? Is it noticeable when I carry it in my backpack? On my lap? Picking up to carry around the house. I plan on taking it to school every day, as well as carrying it between my sofa, desk, and bed in my house and if its not too much a difference, I think the added power of the MBP as well as the generally nicer screen and extra storage would come in a little more handy. (I would be replacing the disc drive with an SSD if its not too difficult.

Also, is it very difficult to keep my current HDD, insert an SSD into the disc drive, and transfer my OS over to the SSD? Or is it something I should leave to a professional.

Thanks.
 
The difference is ~1.5 lbs, which is more than an iPad. It is a small but not trivial amount if you are carrying a lot of other stuff with you all day.
 
I think the most important factor in the weight difference is not when you have it in a backpack, but rather in your hand. I don't believe you're really going to notice a significant difference between a MBP and MBA in your bag when combined with other items.

However, the MBA is nice because it is nice and light on your lap, you can easily lift it with one hand, you can pick it up by the screen (no, it won't break if you're gentle, I've been doing this for a year), etc. These are the sorts of things you can't do with a MBP.
 
Its about 700g which is absolutely noting if its on your back. In terms of carrying it about on your hands, its noticeable yes; but not exactly a struggle.
 
I have a 13" MBP at the office,.. and my girlfriend has a 13" MBA at home.
There is a lot of difference if you carry it around a lot.

And the screen of the MBA is better in my opinion,.. simply because the resolution is higher.
 
Contrary to what has been said here, I had a Unibody Macbook and went to a MacBook Air and in my backpack it made quite a difference.
 
I just went from an MBA to a MBP because I needed more power for school. When I am carrying the MBP in my backpack, I don't really notice the weight difference. However, when I am carrying it around the house it is noticeable. Its not uncomfortable on my lap at all when I use it in the house.
 
The weight/thickness difference is the only reason I own an Air, even though it is very seldom that I get to carry it with me.
It was worth losing RAM/HDD upgradeability.

Air's higher screen resolution and lowered glare are a very nice bonus.
 
In a medium or large backpack, not that much difference, about the same as adding one more hardcover book.

However, carrying it around by itself, or in a small form fit case, a world of difference. After getting an MBA, I find I carry it around and use it in different settings much more often than my MBP. And an MBA that is with you is far more valuable than a MBP that isn't.

Decide which is your more likely usage.
 
ThomasSaysHi said:
Ive only had the chance to visit a Mac Store and quickly lift each but for those of you who own both, or have used both, how much of a noteiceable difference is the 13" MBA's weight in comparison to 13" MBP's in real world situations?

Also, is it very difficult to keep my current HDD, insert an SSD into the disc drive, and transfer my OS over to the SSD? Or is it something I should leave to a professional.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Both the weight and thickness are noticeable to me. I have used a 13" MacBook, and several MacBook Airs (13" and 11") since they first came out. The nice thing about the Air is that you can put it in a neoprene sleeve and it is still thin enough to slip into a document pocket of a briefcase or suitcase.

You can use Migration Assistant through Wi-Fi (or Ethernet if you buy the adapter), or if your current MacBook Pro has a Thunderbolt port, use Target Disk Mode to copy over the contents of your Pro to the Air.
 
Not totally relevant, since I have an 11" —but every time I pick up my girlfriend's 13" MBP, it feels like an absolute brick in comparison.
 
I upgraded to an Air a few years back from a 12" PowerBook G4, which is just a smidge heavier than the 13" MBP, and there was quite the difference. I carry my laptop around with me all day, every day, everywhere, so I definitely noticed the difference.
 
It's quite noticeable if you use a laptop / messenger bag. I tried a co worker's MBP and walked. I could feel the weight. I then tried my MBA and could barely feel anything.
 
Last edited:
lolwut89 said:
It's quite noticeable if you use a laptop / messenger bag. I tried a co worker's MBP and waked. I could feel the weight. I then tried my MBA and could barely feel anything.
Click to expand...

I loved the idea of Air from the start, thought that this was almost the ultimate laptop, i.e. there was hardly anything to cut away from it anymore. I just waited for the performance to catch up. It did, some 2 years later. I went to a local Apple retailer, saw all MacBooks lined up and picked them all up with one hand, one by one.

Air 13"? "Nice…"
Air 11"? "A tad lighter, not that much of a difference though."
MBP 13"? "Oh, that's heavy, I'm not going back there, ever!"
MBP 15"…

A laptop as thick and heavy as today's MB Pro? Two years from now we will all laugh at them like we laugh at brick cellphones from the early 80's.

But don't mind me, I was badly traumatised in 2005: had to carry a 4.8Kg 15" Dell with me, plus charger ;)
 
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