Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which iPhone/MacBook combo for about same money?

Which iPhone/MacBook combo for about same money?

  • iPhone 5s 64gb + Late 2013 13" rMBP 8/256

    Votes: 16 50.0%

  • iPhone 6 64gb + Early 2014 11" MBA 4/128

    Votes: 16 50.0%
  • Total voters
    32
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
Since I have T-Mobile and have to pay full price for an iPhone 6, I'm trying to balance out where I'd rather spend extra money...on upgrading the iPhone from 5s to 6 or having a 13" retina MacBook Pro over an 11" MacBook Air?

Heres the choices. Which would YOU rather have?

A.) iPhone 5s 64gb + Late 2013 13" rMBP 8/256
or
B.) iPhone 6 64gb + Early 2014 11" MBA 4/128

Here's the links to the MacBooks for reference:
MBA: http://store.apple.com/us/product/GD711LL/B/refurbished-macbook-air-14ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
rMBP: http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-pro-24ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
 
Last edited:
C

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,452
1,243
Charlotte, NC
I'd get the iPhone 6. For as much as I use my MacBook, I still use my iPhone much more. So it gets preference whenever I make the decision between the two for which one to upgrade. Once you've held the iPhone 6 you'll never want to go back to a 5S or other iPhone model ever again.
 
Last edited:
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
The Doctor11 said:
Oh that's a tough decision! I actually can't decide!!
Click to expand...

I know, it is tough. Basically, which screen is more important...the phone or the laptop? rMBP obviously more powerful, and while I like having the 8gb RAM in the rMBP, I don't need the 256gb storage because I have a Mac Mini at home that is my media server computer. And realistically, the processing power of the MBA is probably just fine for my use. But browsing and programs like Excel are a little limited on the 11" display due to only 768 pixels in height.

Also, I don't think it really influences this decision, but I also have an iPad Mini 2 for any iOS usage that I want bigger than either iPhone.
 
L

lmtfi

macrumors newbie
Oct 16, 2014
17
5
dmk1974 said:
I know, it is tough. Basically, which screen is more important...the phone or the laptop? rMBP obviously more powerful, and while I like having the 8gb RAM in the rMBP, I don't need the 256gb storage because I have a Mac Mini at home that is my media server computer. And realistically, the processing power of the MBA is probably just fine for my use. But browsing and programs like Excel are a little limited on the 11" display due to only 768 pixels in height.
Click to expand...

You're going to be using the phone much more (if not 90% more) than the computer. Go iPhone 6.
 
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
lmtfi said:
You're going to be using the phone much more (if not 90% more) than the computer. Go iPhone 6.
Click to expand...

That is definitely true since I have the phone with me all the time. Hmmm...

I just can't believe that I may actually pay about the same price for the iPhone 6 as a laptop! :)
 
Last edited:
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
Well, at least there are no 64gb iPhone 6's around my area so I can't make the impulse buy (yet). They only seem to have 16gb and 128gb for some reason.
 
nepalisherpa

nepalisherpa

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2011
2,258
1,330
USA
dmk1974 said:
Since I have T-Mobile and have to pay full price for an iPhone 6, I'm trying to balance out where I'd rather spend extra money...on upgrading the iPhone from 5s to 6 or having a 13" retina MacBook Pro over an 11" MacBook Air?

Heres the choices. Which would YOU rather have?

A.) iPhone 5s 64gb + Late 2013 13" rMBP 8/256
or
B.) iPhone 6 64gb + Early 2014 11" MBA 4/128

Here's the links to the MacBooks for reference:
MBA: http://store.apple.com/us/product/GD711LL/B/refurbished-macbook-air-14ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
rMBP: http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-pro-24ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
Click to expand...

What are you going to be using your laptop for? Analyze that and you should know which combo to get.
 
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
nepalisherpa said:
What are you going to be using your laptop for? Analyze that and you should know which combo to get.
Click to expand...

My use on the computer is mainly web browsing, MS Word/Excel, rarely for video and photo editing, some light CAD work. Playing some music and videos. But really at least 80% of the time I'm in a web browser.
 
nepalisherpa

nepalisherpa

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2011
2,258
1,330
USA
dmk1974 said:
My use on the computer is mainly web browsing, MS Word/Excel, rarely for video and photo editing, some light CAD work. Playing some music and videos. But really at least 80% of the time I'm in a web browser.
Click to expand...

In that case, go with option B: iPhone 6 + 2014 MBA. I use my 2013 MBA for Photoshop, iOS coding, and web browsing, and it has handled every task without any issues.
 
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
nepalisherpa said:
In that case, go with option B: iPhone 6 + 2014 MBA. I use my 2013 MBA for Photoshop, iOS coding, and web browsing, and it has handled every task without any issues.
Click to expand...

I think task-wise, the 11" MBA will definitely meet my needs. Along with more power in the rMBP as well as more power in the iPhone 6 vs the 5s, it comes down to figuring out which larger and premium screen is more important to me...the iPhone 6 or the 13" rMBP?
 
M

mateo124

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2011
277
61
Personally, I'd look at it in the long run. Which will better serve you down the road? I'm pretty sure the Macbook will need to last you longer than the phone, which you'll likely upgrade in 2-3 years.
 
JWorld127

JWorld127

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2013
414
111
which ever combo has the retina mbp wins...easily. best computer ever made hands down...especially 15''
 
dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,389
464
Voting looks like it had petered out, but very close!
 
Z

zOne31

macrumors regular
May 21, 2012
137
29
For me, the retina display of the MBP outweighs the upgrade from the 5s to 6. Sure the iPhone 6 is a larger phone but I don't really have the need for Apple Pay or a slightly larger screen without that much better battery life (the 6+ is a different story). Of course your needs may be different.
 
L

luked14

macrumors 6502
Aug 1, 2010
387
58
Having used both MacBooks, I think the Retina 13" is a much more significant upgrade over the 11" Air than the iPhone 6 is over the 5S. Once you go to a Retina screen on a MacBook, it's hard to recommend anything else.

Also, the specs of the Retina 13" will take you further into the future. Since MacBooks generally last longer than iPhones, you'd get more for your money over time with the 5S and Retina 13".
 
willmtaylor

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
I don't understand how this is difficult, actually. You've said that you use your phone all of the time and you use your laptop primarily for web browsing, among other things, so the choice is easy: iPhone 6 & MBA.

Why would you pay the same amount for 2 pieces of tech that are a year old simply bc of slightly increased specs? Doesn't make sense to me.
 
sviato

sviato

macrumors 68020
Oct 27, 2010
2,427
378
HR 9038 A
I would say definitely go for the rMBP and hold off till you can afford the 6 or wait for 6s. That rMBP will last you a long time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom