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13" MBA vs. 13" MBP 2011 Review
- Thread starter Help Please
- Start date
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I own a 11" MacBook Air and a 17" MacBook Pro. Guess which gets more use? The Pro. Why? Because it's superior. The ONLY argument people have against the Pro line is the weight, and quite frankly, I'm thinking there are quite a few "girly men" out there in the world.
MacBook Air
But then, the price of the machine derails its value in these arenas when compared to a 13" MacBook Pro that isn't all that much heavier, quite frankly.
MacBook Pro
Just scratching the surface. The reality is that the Pro IS the better option for people who want to get stuff done efficiently. The Air's ONLY true benefit is the weight, and it's not even that much lighter than the 13" Pro. Anyone who thinks it's some astronomical difference are likely the same people that claim that Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper are totally different.
Don't get me wrong. Again, the Air is a great little machine for taking notes or doing quick lookups. But as a productivity machine it just doesn't cut it compared to the Pro.
MacBook Air
- Nice for quick lookups
- Nice for note taking
But then, the price of the machine derails its value in these arenas when compared to a 13" MacBook Pro that isn't all that much heavier, quite frankly.
MacBook Pro
- Can upgrade the RAM yourself (this is HUGE)
- Can upgrade the hard drive yourself (also HUGE)
- Performance-wise runs circles around all of the Airs
- Battery life superior to all of the Airs in real-world usage
- More screen-res options
- Faster graphics performance especially when using the DisplayPort
- Ethernet port when needed (no need for another adapter to get on a non-WiFi network)
- Line-in jack for recording
- Backlit keyboard (no matter who debunks this, it is a feature that should never have been removed, regardless of whether it's "needed" or not)
Just scratching the surface. The reality is that the Pro IS the better option for people who want to get stuff done efficiently. The Air's ONLY true benefit is the weight, and it's not even that much lighter than the 13" Pro. Anyone who thinks it's some astronomical difference are likely the same people that claim that Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper are totally different.
Don't get me wrong. Again, the Air is a great little machine for taking notes or doing quick lookups. But as a productivity machine it just doesn't cut it compared to the Pro.
Comparing a 17" laptop to a 11" laptop is like comparing apples to oranges. Obviously the 17" is going to be loaded with plenty more features, bigger / better screen, quality, etc. Everyone knows that. This thread is comparing the 13" Air vs the 13" Pro, a more likely comparison for consumers.
11" Air vs 17" Pro? Two WAY different kinds of computers, especially for needs and wants.
Son I am appoint...
I concur. Extremely silly comparison. The whole point of having a laptop for me is portability. Why would you want to lug around a 17" laptop?
If I needed that much computing power I would use my development machine that makes the 17" look like a toy.
I'm a regular in this community and have never attempted, nor had any interest of trolling. I was just giving a reason why the MacBook Pro isn't on the top of the list. It's a damn shame, too, because before the update I had cash in hand and was looking to buy a MacBook Pro of some sort. If you cannot handle other people's opinions respectfully, then do not join forums.
Apple has always had a lineup where they try to upsell you, or rather, just get you to buy the more expensive model which most of the time you won't need.
The current lineup is even moreso that. I can understand it, because Apple is a company and people will still buy their computers, but man... I was excited to buy a 13" Pro because Apple was riding on the "good graphics card is just as important as a good processor" wagon. They threw that all out the window.
Exactly. It's not even a logical comparison. Thin and light vs Desktop replacement? That's a silly comparison.
I hate to say this...
But after trying both the 13" Ultimate and the 11" Ultimate (which brought up the eye issues), I have to agree with this. I'm writing using a few screenplay apps and sending the PDFs back and forth through emails, but both MBAs battery time were depleted REALLY quickly. This is with brightness turned way down, not keeping Safari open etc.
Then there's the fact that I probably do need a Pro even though writing is key for me now (I may have to pare down my set (get rid of the iMac) so I'll need a machine that can do everything my iMac can and have the optical drive.
My OCD is making me loopy but...I'll live with the extra weight (even though
I wish every Mac laptop weighed the same as the 13" Air)
but realistically if I'm going to spend this kind of money I need to get something with more oopmh and something a little bit more powerful in the battery charge department.
Regarding the weight differences, they do make a difference to this arthritic, slim woman. But I'll deal.
I still think Help Please's review is right on the money for many aspects but I also have to agree with your points which really do apply to me. Now that I've tested both MBAs.
I thank you both.
Perhaps somewhere down the line when the Air's battery life and internals are more current), I'll jump for the 13" again.
At least, I know the 11" is absolutely out of the question for me personally.
But after trying both the 13" Ultimate and the 11" Ultimate (which brought up the eye issues), I have to agree with this. I'm writing using a few screenplay apps and sending the PDFs back and forth through emails, but both MBAs battery time were depleted REALLY quickly. This is with brightness turned way down, not keeping Safari open etc.
Then there's the fact that I probably do need a Pro even though writing is key for me now (I may have to pare down my set (get rid of the iMac) so I'll need a machine that can do everything my iMac can and have the optical drive.
My OCD is making me loopy but...I'll live with the extra weight (even though
I wish every Mac laptop weighed the same as the 13" Air)
but realistically if I'm going to spend this kind of money I need to get something with more oopmh and something a little bit more powerful in the battery charge department.
Regarding the weight differences, they do make a difference to this arthritic, slim woman. But I'll deal.
I still think Help Please's review is right on the money for many aspects but I also have to agree with your points which really do apply to me. Now that I've tested both MBAs.
I thank you both.
Perhaps somewhere down the line when the Air's battery life and internals are more current), I'll jump for the 13" again.
At least, I know the 11" is absolutely out of the question for me personally.
It's all about your needs, like you said. For some people like me, who mostly use their computer for student associated tasks, such as MS Office, Internet browsing, Light gaming, etc., the Air is the perfect machine for portability and power. But when you need more power for CPU intensive tasks, there's no doubt I would take the Pro over the Air.
I wanted to refute this point too.
You have to tailor your system to your needs.
I can program real time applications (running Parallels) on my MBA while rocking out to iTunes, and surfing the internet with multiple Chrome tabs open. I mean, I can't run a simulation with 5000 entities, but I know the limitations and wouldn't try to push that.
If I needed more muscle I would go to my development box.
You have to figure out what you want from your device and then make your decision. You can't make it something that it isn't.
I chose the Air over a MBP because I wanted something that I could easily carry around with me or do intense coding sessions outside on my porch with my daughter in the swing.
I'm not lugging around a 17" for that.
I agree. I run VMware Fusion and Windows 7 on my 13 inch Ultimate MBA. I have at least a couple of Windows apps and 5 or 6 OS X apps open on my desktop at all times. The MBA does such a great job for me it has replaced my 17 inch MBP for all purposes except CD ripping.
The purpose of a laptop, it seems to me, is to provide solid computing power in the most easily manipulatable and transportable package possible. Although the 17 inch MBP is manipulatable and transportable to some degree, handling and moving an MBA is a vastly easier and more pleasant experience. Trust me on this, I've been there and done that.
That guy does not compare a 17" laptop to a 11" but the 13" MBA to 13" MBP, and I completely agree with them.
For the same amount of money one can choose a 13" MBP i5 128GB SSD 4GB RAM or 13" MBA C2D 128GB SSD 4GB RAM (If you have to buy an external OD then the MBA becomes more expensive). It seems highly illogical to get the slower computer (save 700 grams - big deal!). But, reality shows the MBA is powerful enough to satisfy the needs of its purchasers, besides, it's got a beautiful design. It's like comparing designers clothes vs ordinary clothes at a similar prices - if both could keep you equally warm you'd always pick the designers clothes. The big marketing point of the MBA is that it spurs desire and get the job done. It's a quite impressive product BTW. I see no reason why the ordinary user should pick the 13" MBP over the 13" MBA.
As a practical matter, the MBA's C2D processor is not a hindrance at all. Can you suggest when it is a hindrance to any user not one of the few who runs a program that places extreme demands on his computer's CPU?The MBA processor is a old... too old.. Go with the MBP, or wait it out for next gen MBA..
Finally, someone that actually READ the post.
The fact that I own the 11 MBA and 17 MBP is not the comparative point. The comparative point is Air vs. Pro - regardless of the size of the machine, because of course, from a processor/RAM perspective, the 13/15/17MBPs are not that distant from each other in this revision. However, no fair comparison can be made between ANY MacBook Air and ANY MacBook Pro for true productivity. That's my point.
If you want a super light laptop that can "get the job done" and aren't much caring about the price, then by all means the MBA will do fine. My point is to refute some of the false claims that someone made that are supposedly "advantages" of the Air over the Pro that aren't.
Beautiful display - if anything the MacBook Pro wins here. Press down on a MBP's screen, then press on a MBA screen. The quality of the MBP's screen is superior. Otherwise it's the same frickin panel.
Improved gaming performance. Seriously? You do realize that the GPU and CPU are the two main components for gaming - both of which are spanked by the MBP, right? MBA might have nVidia, but its chip is not all that.
Louder speakers. Than the 13? I find that laughable. The MBA has more treble. That's not "louder". Clearer, maybe. All of the Pros have louder audio than the Airs.
Thin and light. This, and the one below, are the ONLY two things the Air has as advantages. Period.
Overall amazing aesthetics.
Keyboard is very easy to type on. Same frickin keyboard as the Pro.
Fast boot and application load times. Throw a SSD into a Pro and it will smoke the Air.
When I talk about true productivity I'm talking about:
- Recording a 1080p RAW HD video.
- Importing into Premiere Pro for advanced editing and effects.
- Rendering the video at 1080p 29.97fps.
- Chopping and editing.
- Encoding and exporting into 1080p H.264 Quicktime using the Premiere built-in encoder or Handbrake (likely Premiere's encoder).
All while running a demo in one VM and music file management in another, with email open, Firefox, Chrome, Entourage, and Remote Desktop managing three other computers, with 10 network shares copying files. Guess what? That Air will start smoking, figuratively speaking. The Pro, like the iMac, will laugh it off and get it done. Might seem an odd use case, but it's not when you work in an industry where you need to get that type of stuff done constantly. It's a day in the life and the machine needs to handle it as such. The Air is not that machine. The Air is the machine I take when I want to just take quick notes, or do quick lookups, or remote to a customer's site really quick. Something small and painless where I know it won't choke.
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all of your points are based on a 17" MBP. They dont even hold for a 13" MBP.
Furthermore your arguments are extremely dubious
Beautiful display - the MBA's resolution is higher and it looks clearer even if its lacking in gamut
Improved gaming performance. not on the 13" MBP with HD3000. No way man
Louder speakers. Than the 13? I have never had the time to compare this so i cannot comment
Thin and light. Your argument on how we are all not arthritic old women is silly. i weight around 200 pounds and i am over 6" but i tote an 11" ultimate. i can easily carry a 17" but the question is why would i want to? its so heavy i would rather leave it home
Overall amazing aesthetics. The MBA looks so much better with its thin-ness. People look at a MBP and they go nice a Mac. People look at the MBA at they're startled at how thin it is not because its a Mac
Keyboard is very easy to type on. Same frickin keyboard as the Pro.
Fast boot and application load times. It has been proven multiple times in videos go look it up yourself. The MBP does not smoke the MBA in startup/boot timings EVEN with an SSD. This is due to the parallelism built in by Apple and its OSX optmisation
Easyyyy. This is simply my opinion and out of ALL the people that have commented on this thread, you sir are the first person to flame me for what I have said. I don't know if you're mad that I said you were comparing the 17" MacBook Pro vs the 11" MacBook Air and felt the need to attack me back or whatever the case may be.
Beautiful display - I was comparing the resolutions between the 13" Pro and the 13" Air, where the Air has a 30% higher resolution. Press down on the screen? What does that have to do with the resolution / colors? I don't know.
Improved gaming performance - No, I didn't know that about the CPU and GPU, thanks for the enlightenment. It has been shown everywhere that the 320m outperforms the HD 3000, that's a proven. Don't believe me? Mroogle it
Louder speakers - Obviously, this was strictly opinion, I don't have a decibel meter laying around. I simply played the same song on the Air and Pro and thought the Air was louder and more clear than the Pro.
Keyboard is easy to type on - Yes, it is the same keyboard, besides for a few different keys on the top. However, like Hellfire88 said, "I think the key travel is a bit more shallow on the Airs than the Pros since the airs are thinner so less room for the keys to depress; at least it felt that way for me with the MBA 11.6" I had." That's why I felt it was easier to type on the Air.
Fast boot / application load times - I even said in the review, you could easily put a SSD in a MacBook Pro as well (sigh), but since it wasn't standard, that's why I gave it the advantage over the Pro.
Ignorance is bliss.
I travel each week for work and I am required to carry a Lenovo T410. The best I can say for that Thinkpad is what a POS. It has an i5 CPU and runs Win7. It weighs too much. It's too slow, my MBA runs Win7 faster. Why does the track pad have pimples all over it? I don't know anyone that can use it. Try pulling that thing out of your bag on the plane and setting it up on your tray to work or watch a movie. For some unknown reason it's setup to connect to Verizon Wireless as a Wifi connection, for which we don't have an account, and on startup it has a lot of trouble locating a Wifi network because it keeps trying to force VW on you. Our IT department can't do anything about this. And why all the constant on screen harassment about Lenovo care when you're trying to get some work done. Hopefully I will soon have permission to use my MBA for work.
And then *(pretty please)* she asks, I have hopefully come to my senses. My i3 2010 21.5 iMac is in GREAT shape. Perfect in fact. I do not intend to replace it for several years. It does everything I was telling myself I <needed> to buy the 15" MBP for.
The 13" Air was the most comfortable of the Pros/Airs I've test run over the past 2 weeks
, and so I'll be picking up another 13" Ultimate Air tomorrow. it's what I need in a portable since I have a wonderful desktop already. I feel like such a boob with all the back and forth, but this is a lot of money so for my money I want the best machine. I <think> the 13" Ultimate Air is that machine
. I do agree with Help Please's assessment of the speakers between the 13" models of the Air and Pro.
The scratchy U.K. Hardcore and Southern fried metal I listened to sounded a lot better on the Air than it did on the 13" Pro. And that's another reason why I'm giving the 13" Ultimate Air another go.
(please don't let this be famous last words)
And then *(pretty please)* she asks, I have hopefully come to my senses. My i3 2010 21.5 iMac is in GREAT shape. Perfect in fact. I do not intend to replace it for several years. It does everything I was telling myself I <needed> to buy the 15" MBP for.
The 13" Air was the most comfortable of the Pros/Airs I've test run over the past 2 weeks
I feel like such a boob with all the back and forth, but this is a lot of money so for my money I want the best machine. I <think> the 13" Ultimate Air is that machine
I do agree with Help Please's assessment of the speakers between the 13" models of the Air and Pro.
The scratchy U.K. Hardcore and Southern fried metal I listened to sounded a lot better on the Air than it did on the 13" Pro. And that's another reason why I'm giving the 13" Ultimate Air another go.
(please don't let this be famous last words)
I hate feeling like a boob too
I was happy to get 6 hours out of my MBA 11" yesterday. An hour over claimed limit. Not bad.
Excellent
The 13" MacBook Pro, the 2011 edition, BLOWS AWAY the Air. There isn't a single spec that lacks except the GPU and not by much. Other than that, the machine makes the poly MacBook and the MacBook Air look like toys in comparison.
As for your boot time myth, you want videos? Dude, I've DONE IT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BraqTSUtf0U
No crap about "that's an 11!!!!" The processor is the same strength on all of the Airs. The SSD is no faster in any of the Airs. Doesn't matter. Properly configured standard laptop or tablet with a SSD will ALWAYS smoke an Air. Asus Eee Slate burns it fierce.