still a good choice?

[vapor2k]

So I’m fairly new to coding, I will be going to university here in Canada in either Computer Science or Software engineering.

I own a MacBook Pro Retina 13inch late 2013. 8gb RAM and 256GB SSD. Light usage in this past 3 years, only 150 battery cycle used... still going strong

Now I also recently got a MacBook Air 2017 8gb RAM and 256GB this one is brand new. Now I really like this laptop, my only complaint is the TN Panel of course, which is not that bad but really far away from the Retina display.

My question is which one should I keep since I will have to give one to my sister. Is my MacBook Pro retina still a safe choice? or should I stick with the MacBook Air which is brand new...

PS: I posted a similar post on the MacBook Air section, I want to get the insight from the MacBook Pro section as well.

 

[SurfaceBookUser]

I would keep the Pro just because the display on the Air is so bad. When you're looking at code all day, a crisp, high-density display makes a big difference for reducing eye strain and making your time more enjoyable.

 

[casperes1996]

I'd keep the Retina if it were me honestly. The MacBook Air isn't exactly up to date tech wise even though it's new. To keep the cost down, Apple doesn't really put any of the good stuff in the Air. Still newer chips than the Retina, but the Retina still has better chips, and a fan to run higher TDP chips.
And the battery cycles are nothing

 

[jerryk]

Keep the Pro. Better machine for coding. After 10 hours of staring at the screen (typical programmer day) your eye's will thank you. But for more comfort consider an external monitor. The more code you can comfortably see, the better.

 

[vapor2k]

Thank you all for you answers, my main concern is the longevity of my MacBook Pro, even if I did not use it that much it is still 3-4 years old. I do have an external monitor at home..But I will be coding at school, coffees, library and so on.

 

[jerryk]

Thank you all for you answers, my main concern is the longevity of my MacBook Pro, even if I did not use it that much it is still 3-4 years old. I do have an external monitor at home..But I will be coding at school, coffees, library and so on.

Assuming you are moving to school. I would definitely take your monitor with you. Computer Science is one of those subjects that takes a lot of time. It is often 99 failed attempts to 1 successful attempt. So lots of long nights and weekends.

 

[vapor2k]

Assuming you are moving to school. I would definitely take your monitor with you. Computer Science is one of those subjects that takes a lot of time. It is often 99 failed attempts to 1 successful attempt. So lots of long nights and weekends.

Well we have a lot of universities in my town, so I can comeback to my house everyday, But yea of course a monitor will be used for sure no matter which laptop I'm using

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you all for you answers, my main concern is the longevity of my MacBook Pro, even if I did not use it that much it is still 3-4 years old. I do have an external monitor at home..But I will be coding at school, coffees, library and so on.

I honestly don't think that's a problem. If you're thinking battery, well, based on charge cycles it's in good health. If you're thinking other components, they're still faster than the Air (aside from SSD speed and RAM speed). I know pure computational speed isn't all, and you may be missing some fixed function blocks the Air has, but really the MBP is fine today and going forward in your studying time.

 

[Sterkenburg]

As others have suggested as well, keep the MBP. Although it might be a few years old, it's still the superior machine and 150 battery cycles are nothing (I had an old 2009 MBP which went through 10 times as many cycles before the battery became completely unusable). Worth keeping it just for the retina screen, I think.

Best of luck for your studies!