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Should I get a MBA 13"?

R

rpearlberg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 22, 2010
669
30
I currently have a late 2013 13" rMBP 8GB/256GB. Bought on July 31, 2014. I mainly just use it at home, sometimes take it to work, but it mostly stays on the couch with me. Not sure why, but I recently got the itch to get an 13" Air. IF I was to switch, what would be most comparable? Should I get the i5 or i7? Stick with 8GB, or would 4GB be ok?

The main use is web browsing, watching videos, etc. I use iTunes and iPhoto, but don't do any serious editing, etc. I also use it to remote in to my work machine.
 
rpearlberg said:
I currently have a late 2013 13" rMBP 8GB/256GB. Bought on July 31, 2014. I mainly just use it at home, sometimes take it to work, but it mostly stays on the couch with me. Not sure why, but I recently got the itch to get an 13" Air. IF I was to switch, what would be most comparable? Should I get the i5 or i7? Stick with 8GB, or would 4GB be ok?

The main use is web browsing, watching videos, etc. I use iTunes and iPhoto, but don't do any serious editing, etc. I also use it to remote in to my work machine.
Click to expand...

you'll be fine with any of the 13 inch airs...
 
Any of the Airs would do just fine with the tasks you mentioned. However, if there's nothing inherently wrong with your rMBP, I'd think seriously before getting rid of it. It's a far more capable computer, and if you see your usage changing at all in the future, you might regret giving up the extra power. This isn't to say that the Air isn't capable, but the Pro does outperform it, no question. Also, don't forget you'll be losing the Retina screen on the Pro. Not a big deal for some people, but I've heard that once you get used to it, it's hard to go back to anything less.

Up to you ultimately of course. If you do go with an Air, I would probably at least bump up the RAM to 8GB to help future proof it. I don't think you're going to see a major difference in the i5 vs. i7 with the kind of tasks you're doing. That really only comes in handy if you're doing heavy, intensive tasks (none of which are the things you mentioned).
 
I was in the same boat as you. I originally bought a Late 2013 8/256 rMBP last year for $1470. Over a year later I sold it for $1000 cash on Craigslist and just ordered a 2013 11" 4/256 MBA for $857 from Apple because I wanted something even smaller, thinner and lighter but still fast and powerful enough to use daily, which consists of just web browsing, watching movies/videos, listening to music, emailing, and playing light games. It was the perfect choice for me. I bought one for my mom a couple weeks back and loved the size and speed of it. Do it OP. Also I don't even care about retina. The screen on the Air is fine.
 
The sheer weight and portability of this thing is awesome. Perfect for browsing and watching movies and stuff like that.
 
I have no idea why you would even consider those upgrades.
You would probably be best served with an iPad.
 
Meister said:
I have no idea why you would even consider those upgrades.
You would probably be best served with an iPad.
Click to expand...

Lol I’ve noticed that you recommend people to get iPads on here a lot completely avoiding there questions. You truly are an iPad warrior.

To answer your question OP any MBA model will do but you may miss the retina screen but other than that you will not notice any changes performance wise and I would suggest getting 8GB of ram incase you would ever need it storage is a work around
 
Airboy1466 said:
Lol I’ve noticed that you recommend people to get iPads on here a lot completely avoiding there questions. You truly are an iPad warrior.

To answer your question OP any MBA model will do but you may miss the retina screen but other than that you will not notice any changes performance wise and I would suggest getting 8GB of ram incase you would ever need it storage is a work around
Click to expand...

Thanks. I need to make up my mind, I've had a few offers on my rMBP and I don't want to keep them waiting...
I should probably just keep my current machine, but who knows.
 
Airboy1466 said:
Lol I’ve noticed that you recommend people to get iPads on here a lot completely avoiding there questions. You truly are an iPad warrior.
Click to expand...
I did not avoid the question. For use on the couch, the iPad seems perfect, while a laptop doesn't make too much sense. It's also cheaper and comes with a small, but retina display.

Airboy1466 said:
I would suggest getting 8GB of ram incase you would ever need it storage is a work around
Click to expand...

For this ...
rpearlberg said:
The main use is web browsing, watching videos, etc. I use iTunes and iPhoto, but don't do any serious editing, etc. I also use it to remote in to my work machine.
Click to expand...
... the OP does clearly not need any RAM or CPU upgrades.

----------
redheeler said:
I can understand not needing the power and wanting a thinner/lighter laptop. I recommended the Retina MacBook in the OP's other thread.
Click to expand...
Imo the new macbook is expensive and obtuse, but if the OP absolutely wants a laptop for some reason and doesn't mind the cost,the new macbook is the best solution for him.
 
I already have an iPad, but I use a laptop much more than the iPad. Plus, even with the iPad, you still need a computer of some sort.
 
I can understand switching to an 11" air - but why on earth would you sell a 13" rMBP for a 13" air?

The air is bigger (foot print wise), has less ram, and a non-retina display.

You're losing some nice things, and not really gaining much in terms of portability (actually, even losing in that respect).
 
David58117 said:
I can understand switching to an 11" air - but why on earth would you sell a 13" rMBP for a 13" air?

The air is bigger (foot print wise), has less ram, and a non-retina display.

You're losing some nice things, and not really gaining much in terms of portability (actually, even losing in that respect).
Click to expand...
I own a rmbp 13", but also use a mba 13" regularly. The mba feels much, much lighter to me. It has a weird charm, the rmbp doesn't have and is preferable as a couch laptop.
 
Looking at the 2014 MBA 13" i7, 8GB/512GB? Is that a good machine to replace the rMBP if that's what I decide to do?

Actually this is the one I'm referring to, it's a mid-2013. It would end up costing me about $150 out of pocket to "upgrade" to this one.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1853750/
 
Last edited:
rpearlberg said:
Looking at the 2014 MBA 13" i7, 8GB/512GB? Is that a good machine to replace the rMBP if that's what I decide to do?

Actually this is the one I'm referring to, it's a mid-2013. It would end up costing me about $150 out of pocket to "upgrade" to this one.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1853750/
Click to expand...

If you don't mind the display downgrade and larger footprint, sure. Not sure why you would go for it since for the same price you can get a rMB which offers neither tradeoff.
 
Meister said:
I did not avoid the question. For use on the couch, the iPad seems perfect, while a laptop doesn't make too much sense. It's also cheaper and comes with a small, but retina display.
Click to expand...

iPads don't make much sense for people who prefer the better ergonomics of a laptop even independent of the OS functionality - you don't have to hold it constantly, and you have a keyboard already attached if you need to type.

Tablet ergonomics make more sense in only a few scenarios; however, they are cheaper, I'll give you that.
 
dmitrivich said:
iPads don't make much sense for people who prefer the better ergonomics of a laptop even independent of the OS functionality - you don't have to hold it constantly, and you have a keyboard already attached if you need to type.

Tablet ergonomics make more sense in only a few scenarios; however, they are cheaper, I'll give you that.
Click to expand...
That is a matter of opinion. Myself and many others find iPads ergonomicaly far superior. If you kniw how, you can type much faster on an iPad, than on a physical keyboard.
 
dmitrivich said:
iPads don't make much sense for people who prefer the better ergonomics of a laptop even independent of the OS functionality - you don't have to hold it constantly, and you have a keyboard already attached if you need to type.
Click to expand...

I totally agree, I sold my iPad also because of that, much better to have a screen I don't have to hold all the time. IMO the Air is just perfect for couch browsing. And much more.
 
Meister said:
That is a matter of opinion. Myself and many others find iPads ergonomicaly far superior. If you kniw how, you can type much faster on an iPad, than on a physical keyboard.
Click to expand...

Its somewhat opinion based but mostly factual just one example no flash player sure you can buy a browser with flash but its a lot more complicated to get around pop-ups
 
rpearlberg said:
I currently have a late 2013 13" rMBP 8GB/256GB. Bought on July 31, 2014. I mainly just use it at home, sometimes take it to work, but it mostly stays on the couch with me. Not sure why, but I recently got the itch to get an 13" Air. IF I was to switch, what would be most comparable? Should I get the i5 or i7? Stick with 8GB, or would 4GB be ok?

The main use is web browsing, watching videos, etc. I use iTunes and iPhoto, but don't do any serious editing, etc. I also use it to remote in to my work machine.
Click to expand...

I do exactly what you do on my 2011 MBA. You're fine with an i5, but I'd get it with 256SSD and 8GB Ram just to make it future proof.
 
Missed a good sale last week via Best Buy. 2015 MBA 13" was $799 and with 10% movers came to about $719. I originally had my eye on the MBR but felt it was a tad expensive for that it currently offers. So not only did I save about $600 I got a totally capable computer. I got the 4GB 128GB base which for me is more than enough. I often plug it into my 27" monitor if I desire a more high resolution screen. And have a external HD to store stuff. Other than that the Airs screen is fine once you download a custom color profile. Helped tremendously with contrast and color. I did the same downsized from a MBPR so yes I have used the retina screen before. 13" MBA is more comfy on the lap in bed or couch compared to the MBPR. Seems to stay much cooler too.


I do plan to see what Apple does in V2 with the MBR. Hoping for a 14" version. I would possible sell my MBA and take a small loss for what I paid. No biggie.
 
ET iPhone Home said:
I do exactly what you do on my 2011 MBA. You're fine with an i5, but I'd get it with 256SSD and 8GB Ram just to make it future proof.
Click to expand...

My wife has the base Air and wanted accessing some Windows apps she used in her old (broken) laptop. I dropped the old HDD on a cheap USB3.0 enclosure and followed a tutorial for using an existing installation as a VirtualBox virtual machine. I configured the guest RAM to 1280MB and all the usual tweaks to make a VM work best (host I/O cache enabled, 3D/2D acceleration and so on).

Worked as expected from a VM running from an external HDD. Activity Monitor showed yellow memory usage sometimes, but it stays mostly green. She will not use this VM for so long, she is studying about some Windows apps for applying for work in the public sector (Brazil).

In short, I think 4GB is a pretty enough amount of RAM if you'll not use VMs constantly or won't run video editing apps on a regular basis. Otherwise, get 8GB. Even more, if performance is a concern, keep your 13" rMBP. These days, the Air is just a budget version of a 13" Mac laptop. The rMBP is nearly as lightweight as a 13" Air.
 
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