MBA or MBP Retina? Need advice

[AppleHeadCA]

Hello,

Got about 2,000$ from a relative for Christmas and I need a new PC.

I'm debating whether to get either:

a) MBA 13" i7 8GB RAM 256GB SSD

or

b) MBP Retina 13" i7 8GB RAM 256GB SSD

I've tested a MBA 11" i7 8GB RAM 512GB SSD model for a week before I returned it and wow, 12 hours of battery life easily, not to mention it was a beast despite its "tiny" screen size (yet still bigger than a full size iPad).

Portability was great (I mainly use it in bed or on my lap in my chair).

Anyways, the 13" MBA has an even longer battery life than the 11" which I could easily get 12 hours of use.

With that being said, my budget is 2,000$ so why not take the MBP 13" Retina into account I thought. Still the 13" MBA is the current king of battery life not to mention it is far less heavier than its 13" rMBP brother.

Decisions - I hate them :crying:

 

[rayz336]

I'd personally take the MBA but you really cannot go wrong with either

 

[AppleHeadCA]

I'd personally take the MBA but you really cannot go wrong with either

Sigh. I played around with the rMBP in the store and besides the pretty screen (if you're lucky and not having yellow corners, discolourations and ghosting issues), I can't explain trading the lightness and portability of the Air (hey, let's not forget battery life) for anything. I guess I'll go with a maxed out Air thanks

 

[AppleHeadCA]

Meh,

I decided to go with the exact opposite since I'm never pleased with anything lol and ordered a 13" Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM i7 500GB SSD. We'll see but I think the screen alone is worth the added weight and speed. Otherwise I'll return it and buy the Air. Meh ~_~

 

[mikeo007]

I've been looking at these two machines as well, but I'm probably going to wait until the next generation. Both machines are very similar at this point in performance, the main difference is the screen. That being said though, I'm not sure whether I'd prefer the crispness of the retina screen, or the increased working area of the 1440x900 screen on the Air. I've seen a retina 13" running at non-native resolutions, and it doesn't look very good, so you're basically stuck at the retina 1200x800 equivalent.

 

[iOS Gravity]

MBA

 

[Peter Cohen]

I'd go with the rMBP. Moderately faster graphics, much better display, Thunderbolt 2.

 

[AppleHeadCA]

Thanks, but I've returned my rMBP 13" and decided to go with a 13" fully loaded MBA. 19 hours of battery life and a beautiful Samsung display can't beat that! Very happy with my purchase.

 

[Fausty82]

Thanks, but I've returned my rMBP 13" and decided to go with a 13" fully loaded MBA. 19 hours of battery life and a beautiful Samsung display can't beat that! Very happy with my purchase.

Have you met RavenSword?

 

[Speedygi]

Depends on whether you want to run more graphics intensive games, in which case, the rMBP is the choice you should take.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[AppleHeadCA]

Have you met RavenSword?

Not sure what you mean by that^ but I've returned it because of IR and form factor issues (my wrists were in constant pain after using the rMBP for several hours). The way that I hold my wrists and the way that I type makes this a really big deal. Over extended periods of use I’ll find that the MBP starts biting into my wrists, whereas the MBA's form factor (wedge) makes my wrists feel more comfortable.

Also, had a still image on for 2 minutes and then switched to another image, the IR was there (LG screen?). Battery life was less than my previous machine (MBA 11"). For a 2000$+ machine that's a big no-no in 2013.

So, I've returned in, got a 13" i7 8GB RAM 512GB SSD MBA and I'm loving it. Beautiful Samsung screen (not a single issue with it), fast as lightning SSD, light, portable, amazing battery life. Well worth the money!

 

[AppleHeadCA]

Depends on whether you want to run more graphics intensive games, in which case, the rMBP is the choice you should take.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

That's what the PS4 and a 60" HDTV screen is for lol.

 

[Speedygi]

That's what the PS4 and a 60" HDTV screen is for lol.

You might want to have a good rMbP to play good PC games you can't get on the PS4...