Picked up a MBr for $860 and a MBA 13 for $727. Which would you keep?

[Queen6]

Wow, this is new to me, I did not realize macbook Air's do not have IPS displays... unbelievable... thank you for this enlightenment.

The Air only employs a TN display panel, nor is it a good one, colour accuracy, shift & viewing angles are poor for 2015. A point worth considering is when buying the Air is that far more of your hard earned $$$$ goes directly to Apple`s coffers than any other portable Mac. Personally I want my money to go directly into the hardware...

This industry is suffering from low oil prices now, and consultants (contractors) are the first ones taking the hit, unfortunately.

Very true, equally competent people are always in demand, especially those that can prevent downtime, therefore saving significant cost. Looking to be heading to Kuala Lumpur & Ho Chi Minh City just after the new year. Am a great believer in opportunity, and that you have to make, equally one must deliver. As is often said in my industry "your only as good as your last job"

Q-6

 

[macbook_21]

If the rMB had keyboard keys with more travel which didn't bottom out so harshly, that would be a step in the right direction. I do like the extremely light and super slim form factor but it gives up far too much in everyday usability and versatility for me.

The rmbp would be close to ideal, were it not for the price. I'm trying to stay right at the $1K price point. Right now, an $800 base model mba is working out pretty well for me. Add tax and maybe $85 for a 2 TB external hard drive with case, and I've got a ton of storage under my price point.

 

[SteveJUAE]

It was the switching to and from Tablet mode that was the problem. When I switched to portrait mode it went all sorts of glitchy.

I would say the exactly the same on various points of OSX simply as I do not use it more than a few hours a year.

I find it totally confusing and inefficient of course this is a very simplistic and totally biased view point and probably very in accurate therefore such comments on any OS should largely be taken with a pinch of salt as they are hugely personal

 

[SteveJUAE]

The rmbp would be close to ideal, were it not for the price. I'm trying to stay right at the $1K price point. Right now, an $800 base model mba is working out pretty well for me. Add tax and maybe $85 for a 2 TB external hard drive with case, and I've got a ton of storage under my price point.

At last the bottom line "Price" one you fix this as you have found it's a one horse race at this price point unless you consider 2nd hand or open box etc or other OS's and little point in discussion if you cannot justify spending more

 

[macbook_21]

I was surprised to see any mac laptops available under $1K when I was browsing through various black friday ads. $850 seemed like one heck of a price. Sure, the 4 GB RAM/128 GB SSD capacity aren't especially generous, but to be expected for an entry level SSD equipped laptop.

What really amazed me once I got the laptop home were:

1. the absolute silence of drive--it's eerily quiet.

2. the HD streaming is astonishingly smooth. It's not perfect, but it's such a massive improvement over my macbook early 2008, this improvement alone made the purchase worthwhile.

Aside from that:

3. the much faster startup restart times are very welcome.

I paid about $1500 for my 2008 macbook and used it as my primary machine for nearly 8 years--spending just about half that, I expect to be able to upgrade in approximately half the time or less.

 

[MrXiro]

I would say the exactly the same on various points of OSX simply as I do not use it more than a few hours a year.

I find it totally confusing and inefficient of course this is a very simplistic and totally biased view point and probably very in accurate therefore such comments on any OS should largely be taken with a pinch of salt as they are hugely personal

I do not appreciate your curt attitude calling my opinion on the matter "a pinch of salt" while contributing nothing to this conversation.

This "biased" experience is only one that a person that has used both devices can contribute. Being that I purchased an iPad Pro, Surface 3, Macbook Air and a Macbook Retina within the last month it's a fair assessment by me that Windows OS, while not bad isn't the the wunderkind OS that can be both a tablet and a PC at the same time. But the biggest offense to me by Windows is that all of your settings aren't under "Settings" ,as Control Panel still exists and to further "fine tune" your settings you have to dig deeper within the OS to find these other "settings". That is both unintuitive and poorly implanted. The glitchng issues I had were minor but they still exist. I never have rotation issues with an iPad and I expect the same performance out of a device that is supposed to be able to handle being both a PC and a tablet.

I don't hate Windows, its fine but they but the time for them to do a complete overhaul is well past. They're now just building stuff on top of old stuff and that just doesn't work.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I was surprised to see any mac laptops available under $1K when I was browsing through various black friday ads. $850 seemed like one heck of a price. Sure, the 4 GB RAM/128 GB SSD capacity aren't especially generous, but to be expected for an entry level SSD equipped laptop.

What really amazed me once I got the laptop home were:

1. the absolute silence of drive--it's eerily quiet.

2. the HD streaming is astonishingly smooth. It's not perfect, but it's such a massive improvement over my macbook early 2008, this improvement alone made the purchase worthwhile.

Aside from that:

3. the much faster startup restart times are very welcome.

I paid about $1500 for my 2008 macbook and used it as my primary machine for nearly 8 years--spending just about half that, I expect to be able to upgrade in approximately half the time or less.

The MBA is a fine laptop just a little tired and it's a shame you could not spring for the rMBP or rMB that may look a little better in 4 years time, however enjoy as it will be like a breath of fresh air after your old 2008 model

 

[SteveJUAE]

I do not appreciate your curt attitude calling my opinion on the matter "a pinch of salt" while contributing nothing to this conversation.

This "biased" experience is only one that a person that has used both devices can contribute. Being that I purchased an iPad Pro, Surface 3, Macbook Air and a Macbook Retina within the last month it's a fair assessment by me that Windows OS, while not bad isn't the the wunderkind OS that can be both a tablet and a PC at the same time. But the biggest offense to me by Windows is that all of your settings aren't under "Settings" ,as Control Panel still exists and to further "fine tune" your settings you have to dig deeper within the OS to find these other "settings". That is both unintuitive and poorly implanted. The glitchng issues I had were minor but they still exist. I never have rotation issues with an iPad and I expect the same performance out of a device that is supposed to be able to handle being both a PC and a tablet.

I don't hate Windows, its fine but they but the time for them to do a complete overhaul is well past. They're now just building stuff on top of old stuff and that just doesn't work.

Sorry if you think my opinion is curt but if we bring the differences of OS in to every chat we end up with the usual monologs of OSX vs Windows which has been flogged to death a zillion times already.

It's a given if you buy a Mac or a Windows you accept the interface warts and all on either system

I'm still waiting to see what the Pro stands for on a IPP and that's a 1K doodling device running a mobile OS with minimal hardwire connectivity and your worrying about screen rotation is not a smooth as an Ipad

 

[macbook_21]

The MBA is a fine laptop just a little tired and it's a shame you could not spring for the rMBP or rMB that may look a little better in 4 years time, however enjoy as it will be like a breath of fresh air after your old 2008 model

The rMB is a boutique model with limited functionality, very uncomfortable keyboard and retina display that is essentially wasted on such a small display. I don't like the colors, either. There are no selling points there.

I may wind up with an rMBP in the very near future, and I acknowledge the clear differences in spec and ports, but for those who don't work professionally in photography or video editing, the retina display is probably not critical.

There are also some clear deficiencies as well: shorter battery life, an extra half pound of weight, and what I consider to be a dated esthetic.

Spec for spec, the rMBP should be a logical choice for me, but it's a challenge for me to get past one simple issue: I just don't like how the computer looks, in addition to the other issues.

As I have said before, the MBA form factor would be awesome with a fuller complement of ports, edge to edge display (r), and the mbp's power specs. I believe a cnet reporter desired the same, and I heartily agree.

To put it concisely, I would love an mbp and I might just buy one soon, but I'm ambivalent since neither the mba nor mbp seem anywhere near ideal.

 

[macbook_21]

Sorry if you think my opinion is curt but if we bring the differences of OS in to every chat we end up with the usual monologs of OSX vs Windows which has been flogged to death a zillion times already.

It's a given if you buy a Mac or a Windows you accept the interface warts and all on either system

I'm still waiting to see what the Pro stands for on a IPP and that's a 1K doodling device running a mobile OS with minimal hardwire connectivity and your worrying about screen rotation is not a smooth as an Ipad

I have to admit that I find your responses rather irritating and judgmental as well. Your main problem is your inability to distinguish between your own personal biases and objective facts. It's too bad that you lack an artful or tactful way of responding, since you don't mean any harm. It just seems you lack the judgement to fashion a response wherein you understand the subjectivity of your own personal opinion.

Hopefully, knowing that multiple parties, rather than just a lone wolf finds your style offensive and myopic may help you to figure things out. Good luck.

 

[MrXiro]

deleted

 

[MrXiro]

The rMB is a boutique model with limited functionality, very uncomfortable keyboard and retina display that is essentially wasted on such a small display. I don't like the colors, either. There are no selling points there.

I may wind up with an rMBP in the very near future, and I acknowledge the clear differences in spec and ports, but for those who don't work professionally in photography or video editing, the retina display is probably not critical.

There are also some clear deficiencies as well: shorter battery life, an extra half pound of weight, and what I consider to be a dated esthetic.

Spec for spec, the rMBP should be a logical choice for me, but it's a challenge for me to get past one simple issue: I just don't like how the computer looks, in addition to the other issues.

As I have said before, the MBA form factor would be awesome with a fuller complement of ports, edge to edge display (r), and the mbp's power specs. I believe a cnet reporter desired the same, and I heartily agree.

To put it concisely, I would love an mbp and I might just buy one soon, but I'm ambivalent since neither the mba nor mbp seem anywhere near ideal.

I agree with you there on the rMB having limited functionality. But I'm not sure what you mean by "shorter battery life, extra half pound of weigh and a date aesthetic".
The battery life in on par with the 11 inch MBA which is basically what this laptop is aimed at replacing. Definitely not the the killer battery life of the 13 inch MBA but it's not horrible. It's by no means a one size fits all laptop either though. I think for what it is it's not bad and what it is also fits my usage which is writing and surfing. It's meant as a second "on the go" computer but not as your primary device. Though for a college student, etc it wouldn't be a bad primary if all they need it for is taking notes, homework and watching some netflix in bed.

I wouldn't this a Boutique laptop, just a new class of lower end. I'm sure it's the beginning of the MBA replacement with some upgraded features; i.e. screen, speaker. The keyboard isn't "bad" per se. Just not typical with the way most of us type; which is striking down hard onto the keys like a deranged pianist. After a period of adjustment it does become a little more intuitive to type o this keyboard. I've since put my MBr in a case and with a little more height it seems a little better now too.

I think when/if the Macbook drops down to the $800 mark it would be the must have laptop for road warriors who are always on the go.

As for the MBP... I think that is the best all around laptop computer in the Apple world right now. It has everything people need in a computer including the retina display and for $1299 is pretty fairly priced for consumers at the entry level. The only reason I chose the lower end models MBA and MBr is because I was looking for something in the cheaper categories/price range since this is my 2nd computer (3rd if you count the iPad) and didn't want to spend a lot for my secondary machine.

 

[Queen6]

The rMB is a boutique model with limited functionality, very uncomfortable keyboard and retina display that is essentially wasted on such a small display. I don't like the colors, either. There are no selling points there.

I may wind up with an rMBP in the very near future, and I acknowledge the clear differences in spec and ports, but for those who don't work professionally in photography or video editing, the retina display is probably not critical.

There are also some clear deficiencies as well: shorter battery life, an extra half pound of weight, and what I consider to be a dated esthetic.

Spec for spec, the rMBP should be a logical choice for me, but it's a challenge for me to get past one simple issue: I just don't like how the computer looks, in addition to the other issues.

As I have said before, the MBA form factor would be awesome with a fuller complement of ports, edge to edge display (r), and the mbp's power specs. I believe a cnet reporter desired the same, and I heartily agree.

To put it concisely, I would love an mbp and I might just buy one soon, but I'm ambivalent since neither the mba nor mbp seem anywhere near ideal.

Bottom line is the rMB does not meet your needs and or usage/workflow, equally for many it does meet their need fulfilling the ultra portable space, that Sony VAIO left vacant. The 13" rMBP is by far Apple`s most balanced portable. The Air is on borrowed time until Apple can reduce the rMB price point to the same level, equally it`s a solid entry level Mac for those on a limited budget or do not require the aspects of the higher level Notebooks.

Q-6

 

[boltjames]

The rMB is a boutique model with limited functionality, very uncomfortable keyboard and retina display that is essentially wasted on such a small display. I don't like the colors, either. There are no selling points there.

Unless you are making a major motion picture on a notebook the RMB has no limitations at all, the keyboard is amazing, and the retina display is brilliant. For a frequent air traveler, daily rail commuter, or campus-walking student it's absolutely ideal.

The RMB is the future of personal computing, a notebook whose emphasis is on portability and usability; better get used to it.

BJ

 

[SteveJUAE]

The rMB is a boutique model with limited functionality, very uncomfortable keyboard and retina display that is essentially wasted on such a small display. I don't like the colors, either. There are no selling points there.

I may wind up with an rMBP in the very near future, and I acknowledge the clear differences in spec and ports, but for those who don't work professionally in photography or video editing, the retina display is probably not critical.

There are also some clear deficiencies as well: shorter battery life, an extra half pound of weight, and what I consider to be a dated esthetic.

Spec for spec, the rMBP should be a logical choice for me, but it's a challenge for me to get past one simple issue: I just don't like how the computer looks, in addition to the other issues.

As I have said before, the MBA form factor would be awesome with a fuller complement of ports, edge to edge display (r), and the mbp's power specs. I believe a cnet reporter desired the same, and I heartily agree.

To put it concisely, I would love an mbp and I might just buy one soon, but I'm ambivalent since neither the mba nor mbp seem anywhere near ideal.

That's the dilemma neither options are the best but I would prefer to go up than down, as I said enjoy your MBA I just got my old 2012 one back from my son will have a play with it, I agree the MBA KB is nicer than the rMB, but that does not bother me as the display had a higher priority amongst other things with the rMB.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I have to admit that I find your responses rather irritating and judgmental as well. Your main problem is your inability to distinguish between your own personal biases and objective facts. It's too bad that you lack an artful or tactful way of responding, since you don't mean any harm. It just seems you lack the judgement to fashion a response wherein you understand the subjectivity of your own personal opinion.

Hopefully, knowing that multiple parties, rather than just a lone wolf finds your style offensive and myopic may help you to figure things out. Good luck.

I'm not sure what your drinking but please let us know so we can avoid it as it seems you managed to contradict your own points, worse still you stooped to a more personal level of commentary

 

[dogslobber]

The RMB is the future of personal computing, a notebook whose emphasis is on portability and usability; better get used to it.

Last month you said it wasn't designed for plebs, miscreants, or those devoid of narcissistic tendencies!

 

[boltjames]

Last month you said it wasn't designed for plebs, miscreants, or those devoid of narcissistic tendencies!

That's a fact here in 2015. I said the "future" of personal computing. Take that to mean "in the future" perhaps 3-5 years from now. I can't continue right now, the sun is hitting my BMW at just the perfect angle to get a selfie in the drivers side window so I can post to Facebook how sad I am to see this year go, considering how successful it was for me.

BJ

 

[navaira]

Why Boltjames is one of the most successful trolls in the history of Internet is that half of the time he posts genuinely interesting observations, and half of the time... whatever this above is.

Never change @boltjames!

 

[macbook_21]

I agree with you there on the rMB having limited functionality. But I'm not sure what you mean by "shorter battery life, extra half pound of weigh and a date aesthetic".

The keyboard isn't "bad" per se. Just not typical with the way most of us type; which is striking down hard onto the keys like a deranged pianist. After a period of adjustment it does become a little more intuitive to type o this keyboard. I've since put my MBr in a case and with a little more height it seems a little better now too.

I think when/if the Macbook drops down to the $800 mark it would be the must have laptop for road warriors who are always on the go.

I was referring to the mbp, not rmb.

The rmb is a cute boutique laptop or rather, netbook. I enjoy typing comfortable and the rmb doesn't allow me to do that. Perhaps a silicone cover and case might ease the discomfort a bit. I don't see it as a viable option for people who type for extended periods.

The iphone touch screen keyboard was touted by apple as a viable keyboard and we've seen how well that's worked out.

I think it would be a huge mistake for apple to attempt to adopt the rmb keyboard design across the line.

 

[macbook_21]

Unless you are making a major motion picture on a notebook the RMB has no limitations at all, the keyboard is amazing, and the retina display is brilliant. For a frequent air traveler, daily rail commuter, or campus-walking student it's absolutely ideal.

The RMB is the future of personal computing, a notebook whose emphasis is on portability and usability; better get used to it.

BJ

The single usb c port is a major limitation. High res screens are welcome, always, but the lack of ports, extremely shallow travel keyboard, and limited battery life (compared to mba and mbp) are not.

To be clear, I use a laptop as my primary use computer, not a second (much less third) computer.

 

[macbook_21]

That's the dilemma neither options are the best but I would prefer to go up than down, as I said enjoy your MBA I just got my old 2012 one back from my son will have a play with it, I agree the MBA KB is nicer than the rMB, but that does not bother me as the display had a higher priority amongst other things with the rMB.

I'd like to move to the mbp as well--I was just slightly offput by it's rectangular design--the air seems much sleeker and more futuristic in appearance.

One minor advantage I haven't stated before as far as the mbp is concerned is that the rectangular shape allows for a better fit in my computer sleeve; very few have a tapered v shape of course.

Ultimately, both are fine computers and would suit me well.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I'd like to move to the mbp as well--I was just slightly offput by it's rectangular design--the air seems much sleeker and more futuristic in appearance.

One minor advantage I haven't stated before as far as the mbp is concerned is that the rectangular shape allows for a better fit in my computer sleeve; very few have a tapered v shape of course.

Ultimately, both are fine computers and would suit me well.

Yes MBA styling is almost classic reference point. I have bought seven of them (four for me, only 1 was a 13") vs only four of the rMBP for the kids

That was part of the attraction of the rMB for me it seemed a continuation of the design even if a bit jewelry shop niche, it may seem a bit minimalist but is quite admirable how it manages most day to day tasks.

Had they pushed the MBA updates re retina etc I may of opted for another over the rMB. It feels quite strange but pleasant to use the MBA again after the rMB and the keys are far more pleasant and not to dissimilar to the SP4 KB keys

Never been a sleeve man more of a speck case, much to the displeasure of my sons, but Mrs has a very nice case from Apple that was a real tight fit for her MBA but is now perfect for her rMB

 

[macbook_21]

I already have a fantastic high quality sleeve which fits reasonably well. The taper does not allow for a perfect fit--the sleeve is designed for conventional rectangular laptops.

I have a case for the mba as well; only $12.

Apple could still update the mba with a retina display, if they wanted too. I would love to see 14" edge to edge within the same form factor.

It's fine that apple wants to go thinner/lighter/smaller; we'll see what apple has in store for the mba and rmbp line.

 

[boltjames]

The single usb c port is a major limitation. High res screens are welcome, always, but the lack of ports, extremely shallow travel keyboard, and limited battery life (compared to mba and mbp) are not.

To be clear, I use a laptop as my primary use computer, not a second (much less third) computer.

Yet another of the types who compare the RMB to more pedestrian notebooks and act all shocked when it doesn't meet their expectations. We see one of you every month, same old arguments.

The RMB is not designed for someone slaving away in a cubicle developing code or assembling video projects. It does not exist for power users massively multitasking and straining processors to the max. The RMB is for the other 99% of the world that uses a computer for email, browsing, slideshows, video conferencing, and media consumption. For us, the most strain we put on a notebook is listening to Adele in iTunes as we change font sizes in Powerpoint. We don't need oversized screens, we don't want archaic VGA ports, we don't want to drag around SD slots, we don't like thick bezels and chicklet-styled keyboards, we don't want noisy fans, we're ready for a next-gen notebook for a wireless and portable world.

Apple didn't discontinue the Pro or the Air. Go buy one. You're in a sports convertible forum lecturing their owners on how disappointed you are that their cars can't transport lumber. You want a minivan. Great. Go buy one.

BJ