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When buying your mac, how did you decide on getting an Air vs Mac Book Pro?

G

gizbug

Platinum Member
What were some factors that you took into account when making the decision to purchase your Air or Mac Book Pro?
I have an old windows laptop which is dead, and would like to replace that with an Apple laptop. I currently have a powerful windows desktop computer that I spend most of my computer time on when at home. I am a pilot who travels a lot, and have been using my iPAD 1 to replace my old windows laptop on the road. It has done a fine job.

I am now moving into a phase of my life where I am working on more reports for myself (MS word, but excited to try Pages). I also will be doing a lot of wordpress work and development. I am finding the iPAD is not an ideal tool for this. So I am now looking for an Apple laptop that I can take on the road, and use around the house. I've looking at 13 or 15 inch, nothing bigger than that. Would love to hear input from others. Thanks.
 
To me, at this point, the only real reason to get an MBP (and it is a valid one) is that you are not comfortable with the available SSD sizes on the MBA (128 GB and 256 GB). Both are great machines, and I have been using a 13" MBP for years now without complaint, but the MBA is a really really compelling package. There really is no disadvantage in usability in the 13" MBA relative to the MBP, other than storage space and some CPU/GPU limitations that you won't care about unless you are a gamer or doing intensive work like video production or the like.

On the other hand, the 13" MBP is still a very elegant, not excessively heavy machine, and allows you to swap in the HDD or SSD of your choice, while also having an optical drive (you also have the warranty-voiding option of pulling the optical drive out and replacing it with a second HDD/SSD).

I wouldn't buy either at this moment, since supposedly the replacement MBP is imminent. There are rumors of an MBA-thin 15" machine if that sounds appealing. I personally really like the 13" form factor, but obviously that's down to personal preference.
 
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I can always hook an external harddrive up to either though, no? If the 128 GB on the MBA isn't enough, just plug in my WD external. Also, I assume I can use my 26 inch computer monitor as a display as well as an external keyboard (basically just having the mac sit there, and use a bigger keyboard and bigger monitor (non-apple)
 
The screen rez on the airs is too high for my preferences, at least if I want to work on the machine for long periods. Native text size too small with Mac OS X.

The lower pixel densities of the Pros are a lot easier on the eyes.
 
gizbug said:
I can always hook an external harddrive up to either though, no? If the 128 GB on the MBA isn't enough, just plug in my WD external.
Click to expand...

True. However, if you are getting a laptop because you need mobility and you have important files on that external, having to carry it around with you seems less than idea.

For me, the decision comes down to primary machine vs. secondary machine.

The MBP is a better primary machine. It is a better choice to be your only computer. It can have more storage and more RAM plus it is faster.

However, if this is going to be secondary computer, I think the MBA would be a better choice given its size. Although you have to be careful here because if you are buying because you need a mobile computer in addition to your desktop, you may want to carefully look an iPad as well.

In the end, it really depends on what you use your computer for and much data you carry around. For me, I frequently run at least one virtual machine and have about 600GB of files between the OS, apps and personal/business data. Having the capability to run 16GB of RAM plus the extra storage make the MBP the best choice.

-Keith
 
look in the store at both of them
look at the galaxy desktop picture
the Air's screen quality looks like crap compared to MBP
 
Factors that I considered when purchasing my first apple laptop. These are not in any particular order.
Cost - at this price point, either was acceptable
Screen Size - wanted a 13" screen
Weight - the lighter the better for me
HDD capacity - have a main desktop PC w/ 2.5 TB of storage for media
Optical Drive - haven't used on in years in the computing world.
Ability to be a workstation replacement - not a necessity

Winner for me: 13" MBA w/ 128GB SSD.
 
My ideal portable machine (with today's OSes):

Good quality 13" matte screen at 1280x800
No optical drive (so low weight)
USB 3
SSD (preferably user replaceable)

Alas, such a machine doesn't exist, so I'm continuing to use my 13" MacBook Pro, in which I installed a 128 GB SSD.
 
I have a powerful desktop, so no need for a portable powerhouse. The MBA is ideal for a supplemental portable machine, or even a primary machine if you don't have heavy processing needs. The MBA sounds like the right one for you.
 
Puddle Jumper said:
This.

The LCD's in the Air are a very visible downgrade compared to the Pro.
Click to expand...
This #3.

😀


To answer OP's question as to why I chose Pro, is because of better screen quality and better viewing angles. MBP isn't superb due to the limitation of LCD tech, but it does have noticeable improvement over the MBA regards to picture depth, better blacks, and improved viewing angles... but that's because I crave for PQ. I have sensitive eye balls.
 
cheez said:
This #3.

😀


To answer OP's question as to why I chose Pro, is because of better screen quality and better viewing angles. MBP isn't superb due to the limitation of LCD tech, but it does have noticeable improvement over the MBA regards to picture depth, better blacks, and improved viewing angles... but that's because I crave for PQ. I have sensitive eye balls.
Click to expand...

it is true that the LCD is noticeably inferior, however after calibration it is not bad.
 
The screen quality, overall build (edge-to-edge glass), and ability to upgrade the memory is what led me to choose the MBP. I would have loved to have a smaller package overall, especially with a higher resolution panel, but the colors seemed so much more washed on on the MBA. That, plus the fact that I'd be stuck with 4GB of memory for good sealed the deal.
 
and to add my wife would have liked the Air better. but not at $200 or $300 more plus an external hard drive you have to hook up every time you access your data

i use mine only at home so if you're a road warrior your experience will be different. and people who bought one love them
 
I have a 13" MBP and my wife has a 13" MBA. It is true that the screen is better on the MBP but that isn't to say the screen on the MBA isn't good. It is still quite good and the higher resolution on the Air makes it about an equal tradeoff in my opinion. At home the lack of storage on the Air isn't a big deal because we have an UnRaid server to handle any extra storage needs. If thr Air needed to be used away from home for long periods of time the smaller storage might be a problem, but 128Gb is still a decent amount of storage.

I refused to go without an optical drive so the choice was clear to me. I still buy most of my music on CD and I like to be able to rip without plugigng in an external drive. My wife on the other hand values thin and light as her highest priority so the choice was clear for her. It pretty much comes down to what form factor you like better and whether the lack of an optical drive bothers you. Both are decent machines.
 
There were two things that really factored into my purchase of the MBA.

1) It wasn't going to be my primary rig. Because of this, long term upgrade options, optical drive, and overall brute power was not as important as portability.

2) That SSD is friggen fast for casual use.

I paid $1099 for my 128 gig 13" at Best Buy last fall which is a pretty good deal off. Couldn't come close to that with a MBP.
 
RAM

I upgraded my 2009 13" MBP to an SSD and 8 GB RAM and it is still snappy. I don't know if I could pay $1k+ for a new laptop and have half the RAM and no way to upgrade it.
 
The pros have dedicated GPUs, do they not. Good if you want to do any graphically intensive work. IIRC, the Air has only Intel integrated.
 
vi edit said:
There were two things that really factored into my purchase of the MBA.

1) It wasn't going to be my primary rig. Because of this, long term upgrade options, optical drive, and overall brute power was not as important as portability.

2) That SSD is friggen fast for casual use.

I paid $1099 for my 128 gig 13" at Best Buy last fall which is a pretty good deal off. Couldn't come close to that with a MBP.
Click to expand...

You can add a SSD to the Pro pretty easily and most of the aftermarket ones will be faster than what Apple ships in the Air.
 
vi edit said:
There were two things that really factored into my purchase of the MBA.

1) It wasn't going to be my primary rig. Because of this, long term upgrade options, optical drive, and overall brute power was not as important as portability.

2) That SSD is friggen fast for casual use.

I paid $1099 for my 128 gig 13" at Best Buy last fall which is a pretty good deal off. Couldn't come close to that with a MBP.
Click to expand...

I chose my MBA based on it's speed & light weight form factor, this computer is really a joy to carry with me to events. I got a great deal on it via the refurbished section at apple online.

I use a WD external drive for pics & itunes
 
I wanted thin and light more than I wanted the extra features, ports, etc, of the MBP. To get a discrete GPU would have required another 1000 dollar investment and I wasn't willing to pay that.
 
Puddle Jumper said:
You can add a SSD to the Pro pretty easily and most of the aftermarket ones will be faster than what Apple ships in the Air.
Click to expand...

Yeh, but it's just more money spent. A 128g SSD is still over 10% of the overall cost of what I spent on my MBA. I don't use the optical drive on my laptops and I just want some thing snappy and easy to carry. MBA fit the bill.
 
Puddle Jumper said:
This.

The LCD's in the Air are a very visible downgrade compared to the Pro.
Click to expand...

No. It's just the lipstick-on-a-pig layer on the MBP is smoother because - guess what - it's glass.

Screen quality isn't any worse. In fact, the Air screen is far more usable in varying light - for a glossy screen that is.

For a traveling notebook I'd get a Samsung 9 B if you're on a budget or a Sony Z if you're not - both better machines in their specific ways to an Air, or at least that's my experience in using all of them.

Other than that, if you're hell bent on going the Apple way, it just comes down to whether you need a bigger screen or a machine that can handle a bit of load / more graphics power before it starts screaming for air (which even the MBP's do anyway at the slightest provocation, but still).

Barely touch the 13-inch Air's TBH, usually use the 11-inch when I'm actually traveling with OS X needs - though for me, even this is less and less as I've got some Minis stashed away in a colo that I can remote control from actually decent Windows machines while on the move. But sometimes I actually need to be in front of an OS X machine and in that case, for me it invariably means picking up the 11-inch Air or the 17-inch Pro for obviously diverse reasons.
 
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