MBA/MBP for university/2nd device

[hryuen]

Hello guys!

I've recently finished my first semester in university (computer science) and I managed to get through it entirely without any notebook. For the upcoming second semester (October) however I would like to have a Macbook with me.

I already have a pretty strong iMac 5K Retina at home so the Macbook would be my second and portable device. That is why I thought that the Macbook Air 2019 (base model) would be a great idea.

My use cases:

• primarily for school/lectures
• travelling
• exchange semester (which I will be doing next year)

Up until now we did much of the basic programming stuff in Java and a bit of C – that does not require any powerful computer but there is more to come. I also would like to get into iOS/macOS development sooner or later (but I could use my iMac for this as well).

The apps that I use:

• Apple Pages, Numbers, Keynote
• Microsoft Word & Outlook
• Adobe InDesign (no big files though)
• Adobe Photoshop (no heavy editing)
• we will be working with Eclipse/IntelliJ in 2nd semester
• probably other software for programming in the future? .. idk

I read several threads and tests about the recent MBA and MBP and I'm aware that the Pro base model is far more capable with its 4 cores than the MBA. But since I would use it only for the stuff I mentioned above I thought a MBA 2019 would be more than enough.

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I live in Germany if that matters. I would like to buy the Macbook before my second semester which starts in October. Right now there is a back to school offer with the following prices:

• Macbook Air – 1125,20 €
  
• Macbook Pro – 1350,11 € ( so plus ~225 Euro)

_________

I honestly don't know if I should really pay that much more for a Pro model since I have my iMac at home. All mentioned models are the base models with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. I think that is more than enough since my 256GB SSD in my iMac still has 160GB of free storage. Most of my files are on iCloud and I also wouldn't mind another external SSD.

So what would be your advice? Is the MBA a good choice in my case?

 

[mroy16]

A MBA seems reasonable enough. It's worth asking whether an iPad would suit your needs at a lower cost, though. With a desktop at home, do you really need the full functionality of a laptop when you're away? Otherwise, the only consideration is if you'll want a 256 GB model so that you can store all of your applications and work files locally while on the go.

 

[ChrisChaval]

for what you are most probably going to do with it in the future, go with the pro, most definitely

the air has a re-labelled m3 cpu on steroids (they call it i5 but is not the u version of the i5 but instead just a y-processor, the bigger brother of the m3). I own one. For my needs it is ok. For you it would be now, but in a couple of years ...?

for 225 more you will get a much more capable machine (touchbar included, if you like it or not)

Just get the just released 2019 13 inch mb pro, not the 2017 model which wouldn't be worth it