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Pro vs. Air

H

HeyKatie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 7, 2012
547
85
Hey!

I'll be heading back to College in Sept and would like to upgrade my late 2011 MBP. I'm eligible for the school to pay for my new laptop because I have a disability but I am struggling to decide which one I should get. If I get the 13" Air with 8gb of RAM and 512 SSD it's a heck of a lot cheaper then the rMBP with the same specs. I feel greedy asking the school to pay a lot since I don't really need the HD space I just WANT it. What are the pros and cons of each model?
 
Air has a lower quality screen, slightly slower, lighter weight and better battery life.

Retina is slightly faster, much better screen, more external ports, a little heavier and worse battery life.
 
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Weaselboy summed it up mostly in basic terms, but it would help a lot to know what specifically you will be using the computer for, and what you value or prefer out of a laptop.
 
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Dark Void said:
Weaselboy summed it up mostly in basic terms, but it would help a lot to know what specifically you will be using the computer for, and what you value or prefer out of a laptop.
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I'd be using it for school work, mostly Microsoft Office and Excel, surfing the web, and watching movies. Since I'm going to be taking it back and forth to school I'd prefer it to be light, the rMBP is a lot lighter than my late 2011 model. Like I stated above I have a visual impairment and I like that the screen of the Pro is clear. I haven't had enough time to sit down and play around with an Air to really compare the two.
 
It sounds like a Macbook Air with a Retina Display would be the perfect machine for you. I know they don't exist, and the closest to it would be a Macbook with Retina Display. Is that machine one you would consider? It has the display you're looking for and is even lighter and more portable than the Air.
 
HeyKatie said:
I'd be using it for school work, mostly Microsoft Office and Excel, surfing the web, and watching movies. Since I'm going to be taking it back and forth to school I'd prefer it to be light, the rMBP is a lot lighter than my late 2011 model. Like I stated above I have a visual impairment and I like that the screen of the Pro is clear. I haven't had enough time to sit down and play around with an Air to really compare the two.
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Thanks for elaborating. It sounds like the Air would better suit you given what you've explained here, that is if you mainly don't mind the difference in screen resolution. That is arguably the largest difference between the two in terms of specs - everything else is quite similar, especially in the realm of the usage that you've listed. Due to your visual impairment, you may prefer the sharpness of the retina display, but keep in mind that higher resolution essentially means everything is scaled to where it is smaller and can fit more on the screen. Text, icons, menus, windows, etc will all be more consolidated on a larger resolution screen. This may lead you to prefer the Air, as if you change the resolution of the rMBP, you won't be utilizing to its full potential in a sense, and you can therefore take more advantage of what the Air has to offer.
 
Andres Cantu said:
It sounds like a Macbook Air with a Retina Display would be the perfect machine for you. I know they don't exist, and the closest to it would be a Macbook with Retina Display. Is that machine one you would consider? It has the display you're looking for and is even lighter and more portable than the Air.
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I'd definitely get a MacBook if it has more then just the USB-C port! I am going to go to Staples and try out the Air before I make my final decision but it sounds like a good choice for me esp since it has a battery life, and I'll be at school for 8-10 hours a day.
 
If the rMBP would be easier on your eyes, I'd certainly go for the 13" rMBP. I have one and I love it. You can adjust the text to be larger or smaller(getting more on the screen), so you dont' have to worry about the resolution
 
HeyKatie said:
I'd definitely get a MacBook if it has more then just the USB-C port! I am going to go to Staples and try out the Air before I make my final decision but it sounds like a good choice for me esp since it has a battery life, and I'll be at school for 8-10 hours a day.
Click to expand...
Have you considered buying a USB hub that adds USB-A, HDMI, and/or SD card readers to the USB-C port? Perhaps the benefits of the Macbook outweigh the cons of adding a hub to the USB-C port?
 
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Andres Cantu said:
Have you considered buying a USB hub that adds USB-A, HDMI, and/or SD card readers to the USB-C port? Perhaps the benefits of the Macbook outweigh the cons of adding a hub to the USB-C port?
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Will a USB hub still allow me to charge the machine if need by while still having an external drive or my phone plugged into it as well?
 
class77 said:
If the rMBP would be easier on your eyes, I'd certainly go for the 13" rMBP. I have one and I love it. You can adjust the text to be larger or smaller(getting more on the screen), so you dont' have to worry about the resolution
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That's what I like about the pro when I use the zoom feature it's not horrible cramped on the screen. I don't really notice to much of a difference between retina and none though.
 
This is what I'm looking at:
13-inch MacBook Air
  • 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
  • Intel HD Graphics 6000
  • 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
It's $2,069.03 after tax which is $100 or so cheaper than the Pro with the same RAM and SSD.
 
I have both a 15" MB Pro and 13" MB Air. If you are going for the 13" screen I strongly suggest the MB Air.

Why?
While the Air screen is not a retina, it will appear larger due to a lower resolution which should appear easier to read.
The 12 hour battery life of the MB Air is actual and very nice to have.
Lighter weight and if you are hauling it around a lot you will notice the extra weight of the MB Pro.
 
HeyKatie said:
This is what I'm looking at:
13-inch MacBook Air
  • 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
  • Intel HD Graphics 6000
  • 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
It's $2,069.03 after tax which is $100 or so cheaper than the Pro with the same RAM and SSD.
Click to expand...

Just to throw it out there, have you considered purchasing the refurbished version of the same model? Same model, same warranty options, but cheaper. If that matters.
 
Don't feel bad about wasting all of our taxpayer dollars. The government never does. Get the rMBP.
 
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MacBoook160 said:
Just to throw it out there, have you considered purchasing the refurbished version of the same model? Same model, same warranty options, but cheaper. If that matters.
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This is a good idea and something I hadn't thought about before. I am not sure yet if I am going to still keep my MBP as well as whichever new model I get or sell my old one.
 
HeyKatie said:
This is a good idea and something I hadn't thought about before. I am not sure yet if I am going to still keep my MBP as well as whichever new model I get or sell my old one.
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I noticed that the 2015 rMBPs are also in the refurb store now, too. I recently purchased an 11'' Macbook Air myself.

Here's the 13'' Macbook Air

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air/13

Here are the 13'' rMBPs:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

Whatever you end up getting, enjoy it!
 
It's okay no worries. Like I said the school is going to be paying for the computer so technically money isn't an issue but I feel guilty asking for more then I would need.
 
HeyKatie said:
This is what I'm looking at:
13-inch MacBook Air
  • 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
  • Intel HD Graphics 6000
  • 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
It's $2,069.03 after tax which is $100 or so cheaper than the Pro with the same RAM and SSD.
Click to expand...

You must not live in the US. The retail price for that in the US is $1599.

EDIT: whoops, missed that this was already discussed.
 
HeyKatie said:
It's okay no worries. Like I said the school is going to be paying for the computer so technically money isn't an issue but I feel guilty asking for more then I would need.
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It's your decision but I don't even know why you want the 512GB drive. For your intended uses (Office, web, movies) I don't know what you think you might have that would possibly take up so much space.

Not only is this a question of taking advantage of whatever system is paying for the laptop, but it makes things that much worse if the laptop is stolen or damaged.
 
motrek said:
You must not live in the US. The retail price for that in the US is $1599.

EDIT: whoops, missed that this was already discussed.
Click to expand...

Well wait a minute…. the OP said the $2069 price included taxes. Where I live, sales tax is 7%, so that $1599 Mac actually costs $1711. If we factor in the current exchange rate for Canadian Dollars ($0.79), HeyKatie's $2069 CDN Mac would be $1626 USD. That's $85 USD cheaper than what I would pay here. :)
 
motrek said:
It's your decision but I don't even know why you want the 512GB drive. For your intended uses (Office, web, movies) I don't know what you think you might have that would possibly take up so much space.

Not only is this a question of taking advantage of whatever system is paying for the laptop, but it makes things that much worse if the laptop is stolen or damaged.
Click to expand...

I like to keep all of my TV show on my local drive because I've had too many problems with my external drives failing and me losing everything then having to re download. :(
 
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