Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Which is better? 2020 MacBook Air or 2017 13” MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter dmk1974
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I’m in the exact same place. I have a 2017 MBP but the keyboard is playing up. I’m one of those types who really can’t be bothered to go through the whole getting it fixed experience. Lazy, I know.
My friend wants to buy it for a reasonable price. Shall I sell and get the MBA?
I don’t do video editing or heavy work. Spreadsheets and PowerPoint is about it.
Worried about the display quality compared to Pro.
My friend wants to buy it for a reasonable price. Shall I sell and get the MBA?
I don’t do video editing or heavy work. Spreadsheets and PowerPoint is about it.
Worried about the display quality compared to Pro.
The air will have the new keyboard, the 2017 pro will have the problematic one. For light use, the air should be quite good. They have retina displays now, so not exactly the same but pretty good anyway. The only real question is the processor speed. If you can afford to bump up the air’s processor to an i5, you should be in good shape.
For a high schooler? 2020 MBA for sure!
Plenty of power for normal daily usage, newer, lighter, and doesn't come with a flawed-by-design keyboard.
Plenty of power for normal daily usage, newer, lighter, and doesn't come with a flawed-by-design keyboard.
Thank you all for your comments so far. I use a base 13" 2017 MacBook Pro (bought new almost a year ago) and I've been very happy with it. I don't know any different on the keyboard, but I have read about the issues even though I've always thougth it works well for me.
My wife has a 2018 retina MacBook Air that I bought around Christmas 2018. Still works great for her and really seems comparable for "normal" use to my MBP. I like that he MBA has that finger ID which is convenient.
So, for the 2020 MBA, I agree it may be the front runner. Benchmarks seems about the same as my 2017 MBP even though the 2020 MBA is an i3, but newer gen. Same RAM and SSD size. Both have 2x TB3 ports which is handy when we hook up to external monitor, drive, power, etc.
Maybe I'll get the 2020 MBA for myself and pass my daugther the 2017 MBP or give my wife the 2020 MBA and pass my daughter her 2018 MBA. I'm happy with my MBP and plan to use for a few years still, but if there's going to be a new machine in the house, I may take it
My wife has a 2018 retina MacBook Air that I bought around Christmas 2018. Still works great for her and really seems comparable for "normal" use to my MBP. I like that he MBA has that finger ID which is convenient.
So, for the 2020 MBA, I agree it may be the front runner. Benchmarks seems about the same as my 2017 MBP even though the 2020 MBA is an i3, but newer gen. Same RAM and SSD size. Both have 2x TB3 ports which is handy when we hook up to external monitor, drive, power, etc.
Maybe I'll get the 2020 MBA for myself and pass my daugther the 2017 MBP or give my wife the 2020 MBA and pass my daughter her 2018 MBA. I'm happy with my MBP and plan to use for a few years still, but if there's going to be a new machine in the house, I may take it
I gave my daughter my 2017 MBP and kept the 2020 MBA for myself. Pretty lateral in perfomance. Touch ID to login is nice on the MBA. Little surprised and disappointed that the 256 SSD in the MBA is quite a bit slower than the 256 SSD in the older 2017 MBP. Per benchmarks at least. Haven't really noticed beach balls or any issues loading apps or files yet, but just in the first few hours of use. Nice machine though.
Definitely a lot more "springy" I'd say compared to the 2017 MBP. The keys never bothered me on the MBP though. Every keyboard I use for my work laptop, this home Mac, desktops....they all have different keyboards and button presses.
If anything, I'd also say the MBA keys light up brigher at a lower "dot" brightness setting. So far so good!