The battery life is fine. You aren't likely to get the advertised 12 hours from the 13 inch, and this thing charges FAST even with brightness and keyboard light up. Seriously, went from 2% to 25 in about 15-20 minutes, while listening to music and using Xcode.
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Programming on the Air
- Thread starter joshlalonde
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The battery life is fine. You aren't likely to get the advertised 12 hours from the 13 inch, and this thing charges FAST even with brightness and keyboard light up. Seriously, went from 2% to 25 in about 15-20 minutes, while listening to music and using Xcode.
That's what I would suggest. Don't be afraid about the CPU. I am currently running projects that are far bigger than any of my college projects and the i5 deals fine with it.
When testing database master slave configurations, I ran three Ubuntu virtual machines on the air with the i5. I run Xcode, Android Studio, Photoshop, Sketch and a Java virtual machine for the server side code. At the same time.
The Best Buy advisor does NOT make his suggestions based on solid experience.
Not true, Retina Macbook pros have better performance than airs do. They have better specs. more than 299/300 games will let you scale your resolution down to 1440x900, 1920x1200, 1920x1080 or whatever a person would like. I have not read the thread so the Air might be the best for OP, i just wanted to answer your comment about gaming on retina displays.
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Second on this. The CPU performance of the Air is very good. With fast memory and SDD, the Air is a very good programming machine (of course with external display).
The i5 Pro 13" has about the same CPU performance of i5 Air 11"/13". Its GPU performance is better, but that's not relevant for programming.
The i5 Pro 13" has about the same CPU performance of i5 Air 11"/13". Its GPU performance is better, but that's not relevant for programming.
Get the Air!
That's what I say.
I have been using a 2010 Air (first of the second generation) for full-time web and Javascript application development since Feb 2011. It has been great. No crashes at all. Less personality than my 2008 Pro before it, however.
These days it's just a tiny little bit slower than I would like, and I am getting a new one next week. A new air. Not a 13" pro, which I considered, or a 15". It depends on what kind of work you're doing. Compiling? Rendering? Editing video or a million photos? A MPB will be better suited.
I like the air because of how light it is. I can chuck it around a bit. Plastic screen, over glass. The 13" pro is too small under the keyboard and the 15 too heavy.
If it were my only, only computer it would probably not be an Air, but it's what I chose then and what I will be using for the next few years as my work computer. I know that I will generally never reach the maximum capacity of any i5 or i7 for more than a few seconds. The giant battery is cool. You probably don't need the fancy screen, and 1440 usable resolution >1280, interpolated or not.
I would not buy a 13" pro. I even just read that it can't (officially cannot due to non-"H" processor) run a 4k screen at more than 30hz. (The base 15 can.)
Air all the way. Few regrets possible. It's the invisible computer in a way the 13" pro is not due to the latter's heavier qualities.
Fast, light, cheap, and limits higher than your own.
That's what I say.
I have been using a 2010 Air (first of the second generation) for full-time web and Javascript application development since Feb 2011. It has been great. No crashes at all. Less personality than my 2008 Pro before it, however.
These days it's just a tiny little bit slower than I would like, and I am getting a new one next week. A new air. Not a 13" pro, which I considered, or a 15". It depends on what kind of work you're doing. Compiling? Rendering? Editing video or a million photos? A MPB will be better suited.
I like the air because of how light it is. I can chuck it around a bit. Plastic screen, over glass. The 13" pro is too small under the keyboard and the 15 too heavy.
If it were my only, only computer it would probably not be an Air, but it's what I chose then and what I will be using for the next few years as my work computer. I know that I will generally never reach the maximum capacity of any i5 or i7 for more than a few seconds. The giant battery is cool. You probably don't need the fancy screen, and 1440 usable resolution >1280, interpolated or not.
I would not buy a 13" pro. I even just read that it can't (officially cannot due to non-"H" processor) run a 4k screen at more than 30hz. (The base 15 can.)
Air all the way. Few regrets possible. It's the invisible computer in a way the 13" pro is not due to the latter's heavier qualities.
Fast, light, cheap, and limits higher than your own.
All I care about is being able to run Visual Studio, which I can certainly do. I think I'll go the bootcamp path. I imagine VMs are battery costly.
So I think I'll get the Air 13" 4/256 i5. Test-drive it and let you guys all know. You just have to wait until I get back from vacation. Oh and actually buy it
So I think I'll get the Air 13" 4/256 i5. Test-drive it and let you guys all know. You just have to wait until I get back from vacation. Oh and actually buy it
Whatever you buy, there's a couple of things you may want to save a bit of budget for:
- an external harddrive for backups
- a good bag and/or casing
- or maybe tweak the home owners insurance so it covers accidents outside the house
That machine is going to take a beating
- an external harddrive for backups
- a good bag and/or casing
- or maybe tweak the home owners insurance so it covers accidents outside the house
That machine is going to take a beating
I use a Macbook Air 11'' for programming, but most of the time is connected to my 23'' monitor.
I really need a large display when I work, that's why I have a 27'' iMac at office and the 23'' display at home.
If I didn't have the 23'' at home I'd have bought a 15'' Macbook, I don't think is possible to work on a 11 or a 13'' all the time
I really need a large display when I work, that's why I have a 27'' iMac at office and the 23'' display at home.
If I didn't have the 23'' at home I'd have bought a 15'' Macbook, I don't think is possible to work on a 11 or a 13'' all the time
It's definitely possible; I do it without ever hooking up to an external monitor on a 13" 2013 MBA (Xcode mostly, Eclipse occasionally, and Windows 8 in a Parallels VM at times too). It certainly helps that the 13" Air has the same resolution as the old 15" MBPs, though. Still, I think that next time around I might see if I can live with the 11" display, just to get even more portability. I think the biggest drawback there will be that the iPad simulator will require some scrolling even in landscape mode, or scaling down, which I don't really like.
Well of course is possible, sometimes I have to work on the 11'' without external display but I cannot say that I'm working comfortably with such a poor resolution.
I used to work full time on a 12'' some 7 years ago, now I'm still young but I cannot work for 10-12h with small fonts due to the low resolution.
God bless the 27'' I have at office, I have plenty of space for my windows and I can use bigger fonts in xcode and in terminal. It is restful to my eyes and I'm more productive since I can have many windows opened at the same time, for example I can have the iPad simulator with the console from xcode and I can still have a look at the code, no need to move stuff around all like I do on the 11''
If you're going to run a VM, you should definitely get 8GB RAM. If you're going to stay in Boot Camp...then you still might want 8GB RAM, but it's less vital. Windows 8.1 is pretty light on RAM usage, but Visual Studio is massive.
I'd probably recommend 256GB of space if you're doing either; having a second OS isn't tiny no matter what you do. You might be able to get away with 128GB if you're using a VM (since Parallels and VMWare will keep the file size down to what's actually being used, rather than what's been partitioned), but I personally wouldn't.
Performance on the Air should be fine. If you're ever going to use the screen, though, go with the 13". The space difference between 1366x768 and 1440x900 is significant. I have an 11" Air and love it, but I knew what I was in for when I bought it.
I'd probably recommend 256GB of space if you're doing either; having a second OS isn't tiny no matter what you do. You might be able to get away with 128GB if you're using a VM (since Parallels and VMWare will keep the file size down to what's actually being used, rather than what's been partitioned), but I personally wouldn't.
Performance on the Air should be fine. If you're ever going to use the screen, though, go with the 13". The space difference between 1366x768 and 1440x900 is significant. I have an 11" Air and love it, but I knew what I was in for when I bought it.
I was in similar quandry as you and ended up going with a rmbp 2.4ghz/8gb/256gb from best buy.
I would recommend going to bestbuy or apple store and playing with both. The 13 inch Retina macbook pro really isn't too much bigger then the mba. off the top of my head i think the macbook air weighs 2.9 lbs and the rmbp weighs 3.4. The retina macbook pro also has a smaller profile.
The other big benefit is at bestbuy you can stack a now $100 education discount and a 10% off movers coupon (from mover packet at any usps office just walk in and ask for a movers packet/change of address packet) which lets you get the best possible deal. You can't really use that deal on a macbook air unless you are looking for a base model with 4gb or ram.
I went with the pro and I am very happy I did. More powerful computer so it will take time well, long enough battery life for any use I would need of it, smaller profile, still very light (close to air in my opinion), and best deal because it is sold as a base with 8gb and you can stack deals for it.
I would recommend going to bestbuy or apple store and playing with both. The 13 inch Retina macbook pro really isn't too much bigger then the mba. off the top of my head i think the macbook air weighs 2.9 lbs and the rmbp weighs 3.4. The retina macbook pro also has a smaller profile.
The other big benefit is at bestbuy you can stack a now $100 education discount and a 10% off movers coupon (from mover packet at any usps office just walk in and ask for a movers packet/change of address packet) which lets you get the best possible deal. You can't really use that deal on a macbook air unless you are looking for a base model with 4gb or ram.
I went with the pro and I am very happy I did. More powerful computer so it will take time well, long enough battery life for any use I would need of it, smaller profile, still very light (close to air in my opinion), and best deal because it is sold as a base with 8gb and you can stack deals for it.
I don't think you'll notice the performance difference during the first couple of years
unless you run "batch-job" kind of software. Like 3D rendering, photoshop filters which you run in batches over a whole folder, that kind of stuff.There are other differences that are much more pronounced: price, screen, weight, battery life, etc.
Since people have seemed to think the Pro would suit me better, can you please direct your pro-pro comments (sorry that was a mouthful) here?
It would help me greatly to see the argument from both sides. Also, I'm sure it'll help any students who have a similar situation to mine. Thanks guys! I really appreciate your comments thusfar.
It would help me greatly to see the argument from both sides. Also, I'm sure it'll help any students who have a similar situation to mine. Thanks guys! I really appreciate your comments thusfar.
Update:
Apple just updated their Pro line, now the maxed-out Air cost the same as the mid-tier 13" Pro. So I've decided to get the Air!
Now I just need to make my final decision on the specs. My preferences are such:
1. i7 256/8 (maxed out air)
2. i7 256/4
3. i5 256/8
Which would you choose and why? I will be programming, but I will also be playing (light) games and running Visual Studio. So it should be fairly powerful.
Examples of games: Minecraft, Terraria, Skyrim... nothing intense, low settings are fine.
Apple just updated their Pro line, now the maxed-out Air cost the same as the mid-tier 13" Pro. So I've decided to get the Air!
Now I just need to make my final decision on the specs. My preferences are such:
1. i7 256/8 (maxed out air)
2. i7 256/4
3. i5 256/8
Which would you choose and why? I will be programming, but I will also be playing (light) games and running Visual Studio. So it should be fairly powerful.
Examples of games: Minecraft, Terraria, Skyrim... nothing intense, low settings are fine.
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If they are the same price, what swayed you toward the Air? Just curious. Also, I would choose option 3
If you need 256 you mine as well go with 8GB of ram. Unless you can find a good deal on a refurb or sale and in that case, you'd be fine with 4GB. I don't think i7 is necessary but that one is up to you.If you need a maxed out Air you shouldn't be buying an Air. The difference between the i5 and i7 when it comes to computing power is too little. If you want an increase in computing power you need to go for the MBP Retina because its cpu is significantly faster than the Airs.
The 13" Air and Pro Retina look very similar but there are some differences that stand out. The retina display is the most obvious (being retina and IPS instead of non-retina and TN like the Air) but another one are the two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The Air only has 1 and it still is the old Thunderbolt 1 version. This means that you can use a display and the gigabit ethernet adapter at the same time which you can't with the Air (you could use a usb3 network card instead but they don't work as good as the Thunderbolt one). If the display uses HDMI you can even free up both Thunderbolt ports.
The Pro also has a smaller footprint than the Air (look at the measurements for length and width). The non-wedged shape makes it more sturdier as well. When necessary you can upgrade to more than 8GB of mem and more than 512GB flash storage.
What you need to do is look at the expansion options. Do you need more storage and more memory? How about faster and more Thunderbolt ports? If the answer to all those questions is no then you could save some money buy buying the Air. If the devices cost the same I'd get the Pro because of the additional and faster Thunderbolt ports, HDMI and the much better IPS display.
The 13" Air and Pro Retina look very similar but there are some differences that stand out. The retina display is the most obvious (being retina and IPS instead of non-retina and TN like the Air) but another one are the two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The Air only has 1 and it still is the old Thunderbolt 1 version. This means that you can use a display and the gigabit ethernet adapter at the same time which you can't with the Air (you could use a usb3 network card instead but they don't work as good as the Thunderbolt one). If the display uses HDMI you can even free up both Thunderbolt ports.
The Pro also has a smaller footprint than the Air (look at the measurements for length and width). The non-wedged shape makes it more sturdier as well. When necessary you can upgrade to more than 8GB of mem and more than 512GB flash storage.
What you need to do is look at the expansion options. Do you need more storage and more memory? How about faster and more Thunderbolt ports? If the answer to all those questions is no then you could save some money buy buying the Air. If the devices cost the same I'd get the Pro because of the additional and faster Thunderbolt ports, HDMI and the much better IPS display.
Take into account a couple of things. I found programming on the MBA alone to be very annoying. It had nothing to do with CPU, RAM, disk space, etc...
The lack of screen real estate was the big one, both in terms of physical size and resolution. Also, all current MacBooks have glossy screens, which are hard to stair at (for me) for long stretches.
I would suggest you determine if the compute power is there for the types of development you plan on doing. Then determine if you will be hard core coding on the MBA as a first screen or will largely have a external monitor for the bulk of your coding.
TLDR: All your mentioned choices will be fine power-wise, the real question for a developer is screen real estate.
I want to jump in here with my 2cents too. Reading the whole thread, I think you'd be fine with an i5 MBA with 8gb ram. Eazy choice. The extra processing isn't a big deal going to the i7 or even the 13" rMBP. Your compiles might be 5 seconds faster (on a big codebase)... big deal.
The real choice, and it has been mentioned by a few in this thread, is the screen real estate. This is a VERY important thing for a developer. You want as much code on the screen as you can see. And you want extra windows open or running the app, etc...
I would look at it like this. If 90% or more of your dev time will be at a desk hooked up to a nice high rez monitor, then the 13" MPA will be great. Yeah, you'll have a low rez screen when you are on the go, but it wont be that often. I love the 11" MBA passionately but ultimately sold mine, because the screen real estate was just too low, even for regular computing, let alone programming. 13" MBA is just barely sufficient (both are good when using an external monitor as I said).
The 13" rMPB is huge here. Its default resolution sucks, theres not enough screen real estate. However, right out of the box you can run a scaled resolution of 1680x1050 which is great and even better than the 13" MBA. Every little bit of screen real estate counts when your coding. But, again, this is only important if you think you'll be coding while on the move instead of being at a desk using a nice external monitor.
So, IMO, it comes down to how much you'll be on the move vs at a desk on an external monitor. since all of them will be fine power wise (as long as you get at least 8gb ram).
Have fun, you'll love it either way!
I just switched from 2014 MBA to new 13" rMBP. Instantly better. Not just because of the retina display, but because of 1680x1050 setting. This is nearly perfect use of this screen, gives MORE than enough room for xcode/Android studio as well as another window.
I have an extra wide 2560x1080 display (Xcode and Unity) and once you get used to the larger real estate it's so difficult to unplug or downsize. I really want a 15in MBA!!!
That's why most people use external displays and a proper keyboard. This also allows for a more ergonomic workplace. There is nothing more important than that.
The display on a notebook is only going to be a real problem if you are programming a lot on the road. In that case you'll have a very complicated problem because you have to find something that is easy to carry around but still has a lot of screen real estate. You may want to rethink how you work on the road so it matches the screen real estate of whatever MacBook you'll end up with. The fullscreen mode and tools like bettersnaptool can help.
Btw, a display can be too big too. The problem with big displays is your ability to track what is where. When you have to continuously orientate where your stuff is on the display it makes working on it annoying and difficult to concentrate. That's why I switched from dual screen to single screen at work.