ving a 13" MIs there any advantage to haBA over the 15" Retina?

[Cicatrix]

Is there really any advantages to the 2012 MBA 13" over the new 15" Retina MBP other than weight, and costing $400.00 cheaper? I was initially going to get a 15" Retina but now am looking at the 13" and it seems to be a pretty damn good upgrade minus the Retina Display. Maybe I'll save some dough and just pick up the 2012 MBA. I dunno. To anyone who chose to get a new 2012 MBA over the new MBP Retina, what was your reasoning?

Sorry about the title typo's I don't know what the hell happened.

 

[Mjmar]

I went with the Air over the retina Pro because I don't want a notebook with such a large footprint. Plus the Air is lighter, and as a comp. science student it makes the most sense to me because I will need to bring my computer everywhere with me.

 

[roland.g]

I just started grad school and am getting a 13" MBA over the Retina. Retina wasn't even a consideration, not because of price, though I would prefer not to spend $2,200, but mostly for weight. I would even consider the 11" MBA but I just can't get past the idea that it is too small, and the fact that the battery is rated at 5 instead of 7 hours.

I am replacing my 2008 unibody MacBook which is 4.5-5 lbs and at just under 3 the MBA makes sense. The Retina weights approx. what my MacBook does, and I don't want the extra weight. Not to mention I don't feel I need a 15" screen considering I have a 2011 27" iMac at home. I will get a Thunderbolt cable so I can use the iMac as a second screen.

 

[Cicatrix]

portability is pretty much the determining factor here I guess. well, that and price, but if I'm spending that much what's a few Hun more. since I don't really go anywhere with my laptop I would not even be utilizing the airs biggest advantage.
and, woah! 5 hours bat life on the 11", I did not know that. that is short!

 

[KylePowers]

Assuming you spec it out the same (8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD), then no, not really.

The MBP does have a quad-core CPU though, and Nvidia graphics. So it's definitely a lot more powerful when it comes to computationally intensive tasks and graphic intensive tasks (which are probably fairly uncommon to the MBA's targeted demographics).

But if you need dual TB ports, then the 15in is really your only option.

Size-wise, they're close. The 15in is less than 2in wider, less than 1in longer (I think), and less than 2lbs heavier. But for me, that's enough to not want it, despite how awesome its internals are.

I think the 2012 MBA is definitely one heck of an upgrade! Wish I didn't already have a 2011 version