Talk to me about MacBook vs MacBook Air

[ssledoux]

Let me start off by saying I have NEVER had a desire to own a laptop, and I'm honestly still not sure I want one. My current setup is iMac, iPad Air 3, iPhone 11. I'm semi-contemplating a change to a MacBook Air and mini 5.

I still need something that operates MacOS. I make photo books and have not been able to figure out a way to make custom books with iOS. Believe me, I've tried. If I could I'd have an iPP and call it a day.

I LOVE the iPad mini for a lot of reasons, but I need a portable device for when I meet clients, and I cannot justify having an iPad Air AND a mini, AND my computer, AND my phone. It's just unnecessary overkill. My thoughts are if I have a laptop, I could use it when I meet with clients, and when I'm doing my photo books, but have an iPad mini for consumption/reading, etc.

So, if I were to go with a laptop, what would be the pros/cons of MacBook vs MacBook Air. I literally have no clue at this point. It's (a laptop) the only Apple device I've never owned.

 

[casperes1996]

The MacBook was last updated in 2017, uses the old, less reliable, less comfortable keyboard. For those two reasons alone, I would say the Air is a better choice. - That is, the 2020 Air. The MacBook is smaller and lighter, but the Air isn't exactly a bulky device.

For photography work it might be worth noting that the Pros come with a DCI-P3 screen and the Air just regular RGB, though they are both good retina displays and the just released Air will be a better deal unless you need a lot more out of the computer and need to go all the way to a 16" Pro. - In essence, I don't think the MacBook is a very good option for anybody really - unless we're in very, very niche cases and at that only a really really good used deal.
You want the Air I'd say . - And if you can afford it, I highly, highly recommend the quad core processor over the i3. Whether that's picking the base model and just upgrading the CPU in the BTO options or picking the second tier model, either way, the difference between the i3 and the i5 is huge and much bigger than the price gap. The i7 would likely be a minuscule difference.

 

[hftvhftv]

The MacBook is discontinued, and for good reasons (terrible keyboard, single USB C port, fan-less design). With the use case you've described, the entry level model with the Core i3 and 256GB of storage will seem fit for you as it's a tertiary device.

 

[akash.nu]

I wonder if the OP got mixed up between MacBook Pro and MacBook since the latter is discontinued now.

 

[ssledoux]

I had no idea they discontinued the MacBook. I may have seen that in passing, but since I've never really had an interest in the laptops (my kids had them a LONG time ago - iBooks it's been so long), I guess I wasn't paying attention. I'm definitely not interested in a MB pro, so the Air would likely be what I'd need to be looking at.

I'm still torn about giving up my iMac and going laptop, but I wanted to at least know which one to look at. ;-p

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Personally, I dislike staring at small screens for hours at a time.

I have a 13" MacBook Air 2019 that I use pretty sparingly, mostly when I'm on the road. Notebook computers in general have bad ergonomics (wrong neck ankle, wrong arm angle, wrong wrist angle), poorer keyboards, and generally poorer displays.

The vast majority of my computing time is spending in front of a 27" LG 4K UHD monitor with a proper keyboard at the right height.

The MacBook 2017 was discontinued. I owned one. I replaced it with the 2019 Air. The MacBook 2017 has one of the worst keyboards I have every used. It's slimness and lightness was fine for carrying but as soon as I turned it on and started using it, it was unpleasant.

Anyhow, if I were in your shoes, I'd get the new MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. No reason to upgrade the CPU.

I would wait for whenever the next new Mac mini is released. The recent update was just a storage increase.

As for the iPad mini 5, that's really your call since it's for personal use. I love my 5-year-old iPad mini 4.

 

[ssledoux]

Honestly, I've thought of that. I definitely do like my iMac for size, and having the screen at a height that works.

Truthfully, if it weren't for doing custom books, I wouldn't need anything other than an iPad, and I would possibly be able to work around doing them on an iPad if I weren't so behind, and didn't have so many that needed to be done. Perhaps I need to just use my iMac to get completely caught up on that over the next few months, and then maybe go back to iPad only. I bought the iMac a year ago because I had gotten so far behind on my books, and because my p/t job had some work from home potential. I've since left the job, so I no longer need it for that purpose. If I could just do the books on an iPad I'd be set!

 

[akash.nu]

I mean it all depends on your usage to be honest. An iMac for me will just gather dust. I’ve got bigger screens where I need them but I’m pretty mobile with my laptop since I work remotely at times and also when I’m in the office I need to take my laptop in for various meetings, presentations etc. So a stationary Mac is no good for me.

Just depends on what you do. From what you described I think your idea of getting caught up and then abandoning is the best plan.