MacBook Air or Pro

[W&KO]

Time to upgrade my Mac mini, 600$ difference between the two below.

What really sets them apart, being a computer numpty I assume it’s the processor, but will I need it?

Uses, email, photos, web surfing/research, Netflix’s, maybe a bit of video editing, music.

This will be the computer we drag around the world.

13” Air
- 16GB Memory
- 1TB SSD Storage
- 1.6GHz Processor thingy.

Or

13” Pro
- 16GB Memory
- 1TB SSD Storage
- 2.4GHz Processor Thingy

[rar110]

Both are excellent laptops, with similar screen quality. Even before you could only see the pro was better if you put them side by side. Apple seemed to hold off putting a better screen on the air as the lower res screen placed less demand on the processing hardware.

The Air will be less noticeable in your bag, as smaller/lighter than the pro. Also size wise it will look slim and contemporary into the future.

If you like to keep a computer long term, the pro will cope better in the longer term with more demanding future OS and software. It will also do task heavy video editing a bit better. It’s not as portable as the air, but still a very portable laptop. On balance I would prob go with the pro.

I have a 2012 i5 13” pro with a 500G SSD & 13G RAM. Its still a great performer, but looks & carries like a brick compared to modern laptops.

[scarry]

I am no computer numpty,but i do use a 2012 pro for work.

When travelling,we take an iPad,as its so much smaller and lighter,and does everything that we want.
Its been all over the world.It takes a SIM card,which is helpful,but no doubt the later Macs do as well.

But as others have said if the new Mac's are now smaller and lighter,they may be the go.

[W&KO]

Re dragging around the world, it’ll be in the car with us.

We have an iPad (Pro I think)as well

[rar110]

iPad Pro is very good, fast, not bad with tasks, will do a lot of stuff easily like email, web browsing, basic photo editing and movies. But iOS environment is more limited than Mac OS environment.

I had a iPhone, iPad Pro and windows laptop for wk. I mainly used my phone for emails, web browsing, & AULRO [emoji6], and laptop for everything. So gave the IPad back as sat unused.

[Tote]

After a couple of Pros I've got an Air at the moment as I don't need the processing power for what I do which is mostly web browsing. The air only has a couple of USB-C ports and the equivalent pro had a sd card slot and a couple of extra ports if that matters to you. I started with a 17" HP windows laptop that weighed about 5KG and they have been getting smaller over the last 10 years. I just got sick of carting all the weight around the world. My air seems to run VMWare fusion OK although its only a windows 10 box on it.

Regards,
Tote

[350RRC]

Writing this on a MacBook 2017 in the bush, chez moi. on the Bellarine Peninsula while a little huntsman walks across the screen.

Just awesome machines.

DL

[W&KO]

Writing this on a MacBook 2017 in the bush, chez moi. on the Bellarine Peninsula while a little huntsman walks across the screen.

Just awesome machines.

DL

Air or Pro ??

[350RRC]

Air or Pro ??

Dunno.............. 8GB ram, 500 GB SSD, 12" retina display and only one 'port' for charging but you can plug cords in with an adaptor.

The other one I have is a 2007 or 2008 which couldn't be upgraded anymore. Has the CD burner /player in it. Awesome also........... original battery will still go all day.

If you use an iPhone with these things and everything is synced then for me life is a lot less stressful than it might be.

DL

[goingbush]

i have a 2018 Macbook Pro & my wife has a 2019 MacBook Air , the only reason we chose the Air over the Pro for my wife was the new Pro has the touch bar at the top, I think its stupid, Physical buttons are better IMO.

The 2019 MacBook Air has way more grunt than her old 2015 MacBook Pro , the only reason we upgraded it was because the retina display on prev machine delaminated.

Physically my MBP and her MBA are both virtually identical in size & weight.

[p38arover]

Why don't people post questions in the right area? It gets my blood boiling!

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/computers-and-it/

[DiscoJeffster]

Why don't people post questions in the right area? It gets my blood boiling!

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/computers-and-it/

Someone needs a hug

[prelude]

Mate,

If you want to do serious video editing; get the pro. The extra GPU and CPU resources will help you out. If you do not need it, the air is great! I have used pro's since 2005 (powerbooks back then) and have been using an air for the past 6 years and today it is starting to get slightly behind but it can still come along just fine for the workload (except serious video editing) you mentioned. The MBA I have had the top cpu (core i7) and max mem (8GB) and ssd that I could get. If you want a machine for the long run buy the top of the line model.

Longer battery life, lighter and cooler operation I love it. This is the first laptop in decades (I am not exaggerating, have been using laptops and notebooks since 1988) I can keep on my lap without burning it and I can work on it for hours. I did install an anti glare foil since I hate those shiny displays but other that that, they are wonderful.

Disclaimer: I use a mac pro at home so I do not need to do EVERYthing on mba.

PS. The new mba has that newfangled type keyboard that has had some issues in the past with dirt ingress. Not sure if that is still the case though. If you plan to take it around the world in a car (overlanding) dust might become an issue so a proper sleeve to store it in would be a good idea.

Cheers,
-P

[SpudHeadTed]

I currently use a MacBook Pro 2013 - it was the top spec at the time. It’s been going strong for six years and only now just starting to show signs of slowing down. ...It’s full of high res photos and videos.

I’d spend the $600 extra for sure. As others have said, the faster processor will handle increased requirements of new software and memory requirements better into the future. As such, I would also go for the highest memory/ram (I think it’s 16gb) available. Good idea to go for the 1TB storage option too.

Mine goes bush with me all the time. Its tough. It’s got one big dent in the aluminium lid and still works fine. I keep it in a tough full zip case too.

Macs are expensive computers compared to pc’s, but so much better in every way IMO. I’ll be buying a new MacBook Pro next year.