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Macbook air or Macbook pro

Hi Apple-Community,

I need your help. I'm from Germany and studying here for 1 year at an Highschool. Now I allready have a Windows PC, it is almost 3 years old. Before I got it, I was using my mothers Macbook Pro. And I was impressed how easy it is to work with it and I had an overall good feeling with the Macbook. Now as I m here I would like to get a Mac too. But I cant really decide between the Macbook Air or Pro. When I'm back in Germany I still have to complete my school( 2 years) After that I was planing on going to a college/university. But maybe, maybe not I would like to spend 1-2 years abroad working in social project or something like that. I would generaly use the mac to watch movies, internet, some photo editing and movie cutting. for both system I prefer 13'' Thanks for your help.

MacBook

Posted on Dec 30, 2013 5:53 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 30, 2013 7:25 PM

The NEW macbook Pro and Air are EXTREMELY close in form factor


The newest macbook Pro is essentially a larger macbook Air with Retina display and options for speed in increasing prices up to an independent graphics and quad core processor.


both Air and new Pro now have PCIe SSD and permanent RAM.


The Air is the lightweight portable form factor, fast to boot and shut down, but with longer battery life than any of the macbook pro in 13"


Now the new macbook Pro and macbook Air are extremely close in form factor and nature.


both have 802ac wifi

both have permanent RAM, no superdrive

both are slim profiles and SSD


The only real differences now between Air and Pro....are (in the most expensive Pros) faster processors and quadcore processors and top end model autonomous graphics and the Pro has HDMI output.....and of course the retina display



both are now "very good for travel"


Other than features the form factor of the Air and Pro are VERY close now,....so now its merely a matter of features and price more than anything.



You need an external HD regardless of what you get for backups etc. Drop into an Apple store and handle both and make your choice based on features, such as Retina or non-retina, .... both at a distance now look like the same computer.


The Pro weighs more, ....but nowhere near what it used to just a month ago on the older macbook Pros


The NEW macbook Pro is a different creature entirely than the older macbook Pro, .....the new Pro is thicker than the Air, but id frankly call the NEWEST Pro a "macbook Air with Retina display" , or


Maybe a “macbook Air PRO with Retina display”


Instead of Air VS Pro now,.....its really a smooth transition from Air to pro without comparing say, 2 different creatures, now its like contrasting a horse from a race horse.


Either one in 8gig of RAM (preferably)... the 4gig upgrade costs very little, the I7 you will notice only 15% faster on heavy applications over the I5, and NOTHING on most APPS.....I5 has longer battery life.



As you see below, the non-Retina 13" AIR is 82% of the Macbook with Retina display in resolution


there is no magical number of pixels per inch that automatically equates to Retina quality.

http://www.cultofmac.com/168509/why-you-might-be-disappointed-by-the-resolution- of-those-new-retina-display-macs-feature/

User uploaded file



A huge internal SSD isnt a game changer for anything, you need an external HD anyway


what you WONT READ on Apple.com etc. is that the larger SSD are MUCH FASTER due to SSD density


"The 512GB Samsung SSD found in our 13-inch model offers roughly a 400MB/s increase in write speeds over the 128GB SanDisk/Marvell SSD"

http://blog.macsales.com/19008-performance-testing-not-all-2013-macbook-air-ssds -are-the-same



Here is an excellent video comparison between the 11” I5 vs. I7 2013 Macbook Air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDqJ-on03z4



http://www.anandtech.com/show/7113/2013-macbook-air-core-i5-4250u-vs-core-i7-465 0u/2


I5 vs. I7 performance 13” Macbook Air 2013


Boot performance

11.7 I5 ……11.4 I7

Cinebench

1.1 I5….1.41 I7

IMovie Import and Opt.

6.69 I5….5.35 I7

IMovie Export

10.33 I5…8.20 I7

Final Cut Pro X

21.47 I5…17.71 I7

Adobe Lightroom 3 Export

25.8 I5….31.8 I7

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Performance

27.3 I5…22.6 I7

User uploaded file



Reviews of the newest Retina 2013 Macbook Pro


13”

Digital Trends (13") - http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-...h-2013-review/

LaptopMag (13") - http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/lap...play-2013.aspx

Engadget (13") - http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/m...-13-inch-2013/

The Verge (13") - http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/30/5...ay-review-2013

CNet (13") - http://www.cnet.com/laptops/apple-ma...-35831098.html



15”

The Verge (15") - http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/24/5...w-15-inch-2013

LaptopMag (15") - http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/lap...inch-2013.aspx

TechCrunch (15") - http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/lat...ok-pro-review/

CNet (15") - http://www.cnet.com/apple-macbook-pro-with-retina-2013/

PC Mag (15") - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426359,00.asp

Arstechnica (15") - http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10...-pro-reviewed/

Slashgear (15") - http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro...2013-26303163/



Macbook Pro processor and configuration options:

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

User uploaded file

Macbook Pro ports:

User uploaded file



Macbook Air (13") ports:

User uploaded file

6 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Dec 30, 2013 7:25 PM in response to LudwigfromBerlin

The NEW macbook Pro and Air are EXTREMELY close in form factor


The newest macbook Pro is essentially a larger macbook Air with Retina display and options for speed in increasing prices up to an independent graphics and quad core processor.


both Air and new Pro now have PCIe SSD and permanent RAM.


The Air is the lightweight portable form factor, fast to boot and shut down, but with longer battery life than any of the macbook pro in 13"


Now the new macbook Pro and macbook Air are extremely close in form factor and nature.


both have 802ac wifi

both have permanent RAM, no superdrive

both are slim profiles and SSD


The only real differences now between Air and Pro....are (in the most expensive Pros) faster processors and quadcore processors and top end model autonomous graphics and the Pro has HDMI output.....and of course the retina display



both are now "very good for travel"


Other than features the form factor of the Air and Pro are VERY close now,....so now its merely a matter of features and price more than anything.



You need an external HD regardless of what you get for backups etc. Drop into an Apple store and handle both and make your choice based on features, such as Retina or non-retina, .... both at a distance now look like the same computer.


The Pro weighs more, ....but nowhere near what it used to just a month ago on the older macbook Pros


The NEW macbook Pro is a different creature entirely than the older macbook Pro, .....the new Pro is thicker than the Air, but id frankly call the NEWEST Pro a "macbook Air with Retina display" , or


Maybe a “macbook Air PRO with Retina display”


Instead of Air VS Pro now,.....its really a smooth transition from Air to pro without comparing say, 2 different creatures, now its like contrasting a horse from a race horse.


Either one in 8gig of RAM (preferably)... the 4gig upgrade costs very little, the I7 you will notice only 15% faster on heavy applications over the I5, and NOTHING on most APPS.....I5 has longer battery life.



As you see below, the non-Retina 13" AIR is 82% of the Macbook with Retina display in resolution


there is no magical number of pixels per inch that automatically equates to Retina quality.

http://www.cultofmac.com/168509/why-you-might-be-disappointed-by-the-resolution- of-those-new-retina-display-macs-feature/

User uploaded file



A huge internal SSD isnt a game changer for anything, you need an external HD anyway


what you WONT READ on Apple.com etc. is that the larger SSD are MUCH FASTER due to SSD density


"The 512GB Samsung SSD found in our 13-inch model offers roughly a 400MB/s increase in write speeds over the 128GB SanDisk/Marvell SSD"

http://blog.macsales.com/19008-performance-testing-not-all-2013-macbook-air-ssds -are-the-same



Here is an excellent video comparison between the 11” I5 vs. I7 2013 Macbook Air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDqJ-on03z4



http://www.anandtech.com/show/7113/2013-macbook-air-core-i5-4250u-vs-core-i7-465 0u/2


I5 vs. I7 performance 13” Macbook Air 2013


Boot performance

11.7 I5 ……11.4 I7

Cinebench

1.1 I5….1.41 I7

IMovie Import and Opt.

6.69 I5….5.35 I7

IMovie Export

10.33 I5…8.20 I7

Final Cut Pro X

21.47 I5…17.71 I7

Adobe Lightroom 3 Export

25.8 I5….31.8 I7

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Performance

27.3 I5…22.6 I7

User uploaded file



Reviews of the newest Retina 2013 Macbook Pro


13”

Digital Trends (13") - http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-...h-2013-review/

LaptopMag (13") - http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/lap...play-2013.aspx

Engadget (13") - http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/m...-13-inch-2013/

The Verge (13") - http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/30/5...ay-review-2013

CNet (13") - http://www.cnet.com/laptops/apple-ma...-35831098.html



15”

The Verge (15") - http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/24/5...w-15-inch-2013

LaptopMag (15") - http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/lap...inch-2013.aspx

TechCrunch (15") - http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/lat...ok-pro-review/

CNet (15") - http://www.cnet.com/apple-macbook-pro-with-retina-2013/

PC Mag (15") - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426359,00.asp

Arstechnica (15") - http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10...-pro-reviewed/

Slashgear (15") - http://www.slashgear.com/macbook-pro...2013-26303163/



Macbook Pro processor and configuration options:

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

User uploaded file

Macbook Pro ports:

User uploaded file



Macbook Air (13") ports:

User uploaded file

Dec 30, 2013 9:15 PM in response to PlotinusVeritas

What would you rather pick: MacBook Air 1.7Ghz 8Gb Ram 256Gb special partner store: 1470 D with Tax. or

MacBook Pro Retina 2.6Ghz 8Gb Ram 256 I can get it with educational pricing at apple store for 1570 D with Tax.

I read through several articles and Digitaltrends.com had the 13'' Pro for this years Editor's choice! When I was considering to buy an Macbook my first thought was: I want a Pro. Then I realized I might not need the power of the Pro, the Air will be fine. Now more and more I feel unsafe with the Air. For some reason I'm scared of breaking something. Though it as some new internals(Haswell processor) the overall thing is from 2011. The Pro is newer, when I think of it, I think its stable. The main idea has been on the market for several years, and it proved that it's good. And the articles just supported my opinion. They recommend the Air >>just for those who want OSX but can't affort a Pro. And as the Pro is just 100D more and for me in euro 72(that's a peanut if you considering buying a Mac), I think I go with the Pro just because I have a better feeling in my tummy, and I atleast think with the Pro I am better prepared for that what comes.


Again thank you for your great help, you really made it easy to decide for me.

Dec 30, 2013 9:34 PM in response to LudwigfromBerlin


Thats easy, for $100 more youre getting HDMI output and importantly the Retina display.


Air would be fine to be sure, but for $100 more youre getting much more for your special cost.


Air been on the market in 2008, that regard its no concerns.



Yes, best choice, youre correct for $100 more its not a choice worth considering in your case. 😉

Dec 31, 2013 4:04 AM in response to LudwigfromBerlin

With 72 euro difference, I would concur with Plotinus - go for the late 2013 13" retina MBP.


I purchased a MBA for its small form factor (went for 11") to partner my iMac but had grief with the well documented freeze to black screen. As a result, I agreed an exchange, paid the difference (a lot more than 72 euro!) and bought the new retina MBP. The screen is stunning (that is not to say the MBA screen was poor) and the processor power difference noticeable. Although battery life is a bit less than the 13" MBA it's about the same as the 11" MBA. Anyway, the battery lasts long enough for a full days use. I am very happy with the decision.

Macbook air or Macbook pro

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