MacBook Air (2017) vs MacBook (2016/17)

[Neoaf]

Hi guys. I have a problem. I cannot decide which one to buy.
I'm looking for a used mac up to $800.

For that price I can buy used MacBook Air 2017 on craigslist, or sometimes even new (BestBuy discounts) or MacBook from 2016 or sometimes 2017. In most cases MB is around $100 more expensive than MBA. But is it worth it?

I'm not sure which one will longer maintain decent speed.

I also care about:
- durability
- reliability
- battery usage
- 8GB of ram

I will be using it mostly for:
- web browsing
- pages/word
- presentations on external screen
- quick photo editing (rarely in photoshop, mostly photos app)

Right now I have MacBook Air (2015 13" 1.6 8gb 128GB) from my company and it is suiting me well but i feel that web browsing is somewhat slow. Even when compared to my 2011 MacBook Pro.

Thank you in advance for advice.

 

[UnlikelyLass]

I had a MacBook Air for several years, and then traded up to a 2017 MBPro 13” no touchbar.

I have gotten used to the keyboard, but the Air’s is better. The MBPro’s monitor is head and shoulder better. USB C/TB 3 is great, but you have to get more dongles.

For your use case, the Air is probably better, but that’s mostly because I think the 2017 MBPro keyboard is probably less reliable in the long run.

YMMV.

 

[Neoaf]

I had a MacBook Air for several years, and then traded up to a 2017 MBPro 13” no touchbar.

I have gotten used to the keyboard, but the Air’s is better. The MBPro’s monitor is head and shoulder better. USB C/TB 3 is great, but you have to get more dongles.

For your use case, the Air is probably better, but that’s mostly because I think the 2017 MBPro keyboard is probably less reliable in the long run.

YMMV.

Thank you for your input. I also have USB C/TB 3 remote hard drive so dongles are not a problem, and also MacBook Air cannot be connected directly to the HDMI, so i will always have
I'm not considering MacBook PRO's because of their battery life and weight.

 

[charliemacos]

I highly recommend the MacBook over the Air because of the retina screen. I don't think Apple will make another new computer without a retina screen again. You'll notice the difference and you'll be happier with a sharper screen in the coming yeas I think.

You'll also get USB-C which is what future devices will be switching to.

All-in-all the MacBook, I think, will last you longer.

 

[GreatDrok]

I've had both a 13" MacBook Air and the rMB so I'll just jump right in and say I like the rMB better.

Why?

The display is way better since it is a Retina display and the Air's isn't, not that the Air's display was terrible, it was nice but it wasn't as nice as a retina screen. I also like the keyboard on the rMB despite what others might say. I've got both the 2016 rMB and a 2014 MBPro 13" at the moment which I switch between because I use one at home and one at work and the keyboard on the rMB is really nice once you get over the keys being such short travel. I find the MBPro keyboard (which is the same as the one of the Air) to be quite spongy in comparison and I type slower on it than I do on the rMB.

The Air wins on connectivity unless you get dongles for the rMB because you have a regular USB port, plus display port and an SD card slot, but all that can be added with a single dongle and when setting the rMB up on a desk screen having all the parts plugged into the dongle means you just plug in the single USB-C cable and you get power and other connectivity all at once. My MBPro and MBAir before it require(d) multiple cables to be plugged in to do the same thing. Of course the Air has a MagSafe connector and I do worry about the USB-C power cable but while the Air had great battery life, the rMB easily lasts 12 hours of use which is amazing, plus it is extremely light. My Air just had the old style trackpad so the one in the rMB is a revelation and I'm not sure if they've updated the trackpad on the current Air.

The Air is the past, the rMB is the future.