[mustangboy88]

I am getting my wife a MacBook for Christmas this year and this is the dilemma I am in. I can get a MacBook Pro (i5 3rd gen/500gb) or the Air (i5 4th gen/128gb). They both are similar in price right now with all the sales. Although the Air is newer, it's hardware is what it is. When talking to a local Apple rep he mentioned that the 2012 MacBook Pro can have hardware upgrades. So that being said, I plan to change the HDD to SSD in the near future and upgrade the RAM. If I go that route, does this make the Pro a better option than the newer Air? Or should I get her the Air still? Does the Haswell make that much difference over the Ivy Bridge? Keep in mind this is my wife, which is by no means a power user, but I would like to keep her future proof with a Mac as long as I can, hence the upgrade in hardware I would do later.

Your opinions please.

[Rene Ritchie]

If she wants power for video editing and other high-performance tasks, get the MacBook Pro.

If she wants portability and long battery life, get the MacBook Air.

Figure out what's most important.

Also: MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro: Which laptop should you get? | iMore

[mustangboy88]

Thanks Rene.

I guess my concern is how much longer will the 2012 MBP be viable vs. the Air? Should that be something I should consider moving forward. Guess that was my question about the Haswell vs. Ivy Bridge.

Thank you for the link.