MacBook Pro or MacBook Air (13.3 inch)?

[ereks mom]

I know the MacBook Pro is more expensive and heavier, but it does have more features. So which would you choose? Why?

 

ETA: According to dh, who knows about these things 😉 I am a "heavy computer user." I like to have several tabs open at once, I do a lot of spreadsheet and word processing/editing/publishing stuff, including plenty of graphics/images/photos.

 

I also have:

1) a 10.6" Acer netbook (running Windows 7 on a 64-bit system with 3 GB RAM) that I've had for about 4 years, and it is starting to really lag when I put it through the paces

2) an iPad Air (16 GB)

3) an iPhone 5s (16 GB)

4) 2 antiquated desktops (Windows XP) that we rarely use (s-l-o-w)

5) 2 or 3 older laptops (Windows XP) that work okay but are somewhat sluggish

[Mama Geek]

My dh wanted to dual boot so that he could have the windows operating system as well.  He has that and I have an air.  The macbook pro is for heavy computing, the air is for light computing.  The pro has faster processing which requires more power and a heavier battery.  I am perfectly happy with my air, but I am not a big gamer and have no reason to dual boot.

[Guest]

I prefer the Pro because I use my iPad or iPhone for portability - just pair a Bluetooth keyboard for things like meetings. Given the functionality of an iPad I always thought the Air was a little silly and filled an odd market niche. If I need a real computer to chunk real data and programs, we use an iMac or a Pro. If we need something to do light productivity, email, phone calls, and media consumption, we use iPad and iPhones.

[Spryte]

We have both. I prefer the air.

[wapiti]

nm I actually have a Pro so I really don't have an opinion on what an Air can do.

[OnTheBrink]

Pro with retina display. 

 

 

[Guest]

Both are excellent laptops, you're not going to go wrong with either. It's a question of what you need it to do and what other devices you have, if you don't have a smartphone that syncs easily with the cloud then an air might make more sense. It just depends!

[ktgrok]

Love my pro. It's light enough. And the retina display is amazing. I can't stand to use my desktop now, because my old eyes are spoiled by the retina display. Everything is so crips. I'm sure I'd need reading glasses if it wasn't for how clear and crisp the display is. 

[ereks mom]

Thanks, ladies. 😊 I'm leaning toward the Pro.

[AmandaVT]

I love my air - I use it for home and work and am a heavy user. I like it much better than DH's pro. 

[Sara in AZ]

We've had both. I prefer the Pro.

[PeterPan]

Here are the benchmarks for the early 2015 macbook air and pro.  http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/2015-macbook-air-pro-benchmarks/

 

If you're editing photos, I definitely would have said move over to the pro.  My friend came over last summer, and while her air was fine for basic tasks, it was laggy with anything more complicated like text from dictation.  We NEVER have that problem on our macbook pro.  But I'm looking at these new benchmarks, and they're not *bad*.  They're definitely improving the Air's performance.

 

Have you thought about going imac?  I have the larger size imac, and I think I have 40 browser tabs open right now.  The machine is amazing.  Mine is several years old, but I put in a 3rd party SSD before that was an option.  Your price on an imac and macbook pro are going to be close when similarly spec'd, and you might find you like the larger screen.

 

The other thing the macbook pro is giving you is more connectability.  Well check, because they use the firewire to USB thing and even firewire to ethernet.  If there are slots you're used to having, make sure you'll have them on the air.

 

I've used our macbook quite a bit and it's a VERY nice machine.  If you were to consider an imac (which again, bump up with SSD, etc. etc.), you could use apple's trackpad or a wacom tablet.  I'm just saying the more power you are, the more that begins to become the answer.  Or tell him you can't live without the pro, that cool tower thing.  I don't have the budget for that, but wow-ee, lol.  Anyways, I would say you're definitely ok if you go pro.  If you go air you're risking underbuying or being frustrated in a few years when the requirements go up for the more processor and graphics intensive tasks you do.  

[PeterPan]

Ok, I have something to fess up to.  I never moved over to Lightroom CC (creative cloud) with the subscription fee thing, but today I did.  It is AWESOME.  Did I mention how awesome it is?  Wow.  Like I can have everything on my computer, sync the previews to the cloud, cull, organize, crop, edit, rate, etc. on my phone while I'm watching my ds' swim class.  This is AWESOME.  So worth the pitiful $10 a month!  

 

So I have no clue why I'm saying that, except the whole thing has shifted.  If you have a super fast upload speed and could load your full size or RAW or TIFF images fast enough, you could even use their web-based version and not even NEED a beastly machine.  I don't know, just thinking about it, depending on what software you're wanting to use.  

[mamajag]

So I can answer you completely, are you looking at the older non retina Pro or the retina? If the non-retina Pro, go with the Air. If the retina Pro, go with the Pro.

 

Hardware wise the non retina Pro is generations behind.  My husband and daughter have Airs and are heavy computer users. My husband is big time into Warcraft raiding. Either way you go you will have a competent machine that will do what you want. But avoid the non retina Pro. I can dig up an old post where I explain it all if you're looking at the non Retina...

[Guest]

Yes to retina.

 

And my husband surprised me with ordering our new family computer last night. It's going to be the bigger iMac, wall mounted. SO EXCITING!

 

(Inheritance from his grandmother came through - though they are not ridiculous on price we were still expecting to spend another year or so budgeting it in)

[mamajag]

Awesome! You're going to love it!

[ereks mom]

Oops! Double post!

[ereks mom]

So I can answer you completely, are you looking at the older non retina Pro or the retina? If the non-retina Pro, go with the Air. If the retina Pro, go with the Pro.

 

Hardware wise the non retina Pro is generations behind. My husband and daughter have Airs and are heavy computer users. My husband is big time into Warcraft raiding. Either way you go you will have a competent machine that will do what you want. But avoid the non retina Pro. I can dig up an old post where I explain it all if you're looking at the non Retina...

I definitely would buy new. My dil just bought a Pro and she loves it! I think I'll play around on hers and see how I like it. I already piddled a bit with EK's sweetheart's Air, and I thought that was what I wanted, but apparently the Pro is more of a workhorse. I'm just afraid that if I got the Air, which I love because of how light it is, I might not get the productivity that I need.