Michal Ždanský This year, Apple introduced two great lines of its MacBooks with Haswell processors from Intel. Although in both cases it is not a radical change compared to last year's models, rather a better update of the existing ones, a lot has changed inside the devices. Thanks to the Haswell processor, the MacBook Air lasts up to 12 hours, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro finally got an adequate graphics card that can handle the Retina display.
For some users, it may have been difficult to decide which of these two computers to buy and possibly how to configure it. For the 11-inch MacBook Air and 15-inch MacBook Pro, the choice is clear, as the diagonal size plays a role here, in addition, the 15-inch MacBook Pro offers a quad-core processor and is an obvious choice for those looking for portable high performance. The biggest dilemma thus arises among the 13-inch machines, where we are defaulting to the MacBook Pro without a Retina display, which was not even updated this year and was more or less discontinued.
In neither case is it possible to upgrade the computers, both the SSD and the RAM are welded to the motherboard, so the configuration must be well considered with the following years in mind.
Display
While the MacBook Air has a higher resolution than the original MacBook Pro without Retina, i.e. 1440 x 900 pixels, the version of the MacBook with Retina display will offer a super-fine display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and a density of 227 pixels per inch. It should be noted that the MacBook Pro will offer several scale resolutions, so the desktop can offer the same space as the MacBook Air. The problem with Retina displays is the same as it used to be with iPhones and iPads - many applications are not yet ready for the resolution, and this is doubly true for websites, so the content will not look as sharp as the display allows. However, this problem will largely disappear over time and should not be part of your computer decision.
However, it's not just the resolution that sets the two MacBooks apart. The Pro version with Retina display will offer IPS technology, which has a more faithful rendering of colors and significantly better viewing angles, similar to the new iPhones or iPads. IPS panels are also used in monitors for professional graphics, if you work with photos or other multimedia, or if you use the computer for web design and graphic work, a MacBook Pro with an IPS panel is clearly a better choice. You can see the difference at the first glance at the display.
Performance
Compared to Ivy Bridge, Haswell brought only a slight increase in performance, however, in both cases, these are very powerful machines that are sufficient to work with Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro. Of course, it depends on the intensity of the operations, the 15-inch version of the MBP will definitely render videos faster, not to mention the large iMacs, but for moderate work with professional applications including Adobe Creative Suite, neither MacBook will suffer from a lack of performance.
In terms of raw performance, despite the different speed and type of processor (the Air uses a less powerful, but more energy efficient) both MacBooks achieve relatively the same results in the benchmarks, with a maximum difference of 15%. In both cases, you can upgrade the processor in an individual configuration from an i5 to an i7, which increases performance by about 20 percent; so the Air with the i7 will be slightly more powerful than the base MacBook Pro. However, to achieve this, it will often have to use Turbo Boost, i.e. overclocking the processor, reducing its battery life. Such an upgrade costs CZK 3 for the Air, while it costs CZK 900 for the MacBook Pro (it also offers a medium upgrade with an i7 with a higher processor clock rate for CZK 800)
As for the graphics card, both MacBooks will only offer integrated Intel graphics. While the MacBook Air got the HD 5000, the MacBook Pro has the more powerful Iris 5100. According to the benchmarks, the Iris is roughly 20% more powerful, but that extra power falls on driving the Retina display. So you can play Bioshock Infinite on medium details on both machines, but neither of them is a gaming laptop.
Portability and durability
The MacBook Air is clearly more portable due to its size and weight, although the differences are almost minimal. The MacBook Pro is only 220g heavier (1,57kg) and slightly thicker (0,3-1,7 vs. 1,8cm). Surprisingly, however, the depth and width are smaller, the footprint of the MacBook Air versus the MacBook Pro is 32,5 x 22,7 cm vs. 31,4 x 21,9 cm. So in general, the Air is thinner and lighter, but bigger overall. However, they both fit into the backpack without any problem and do not weigh it down in any way.
In terms of battery life, the MacBook Air is the clear winner, its 12 hours (actually 13-14) has not yet been surpassed by any other laptop, but it is not far behind the MacBook Pro's 9 hours either. So, if four extra real hours means a lot to you, the Air will probably be a better choice, especially if you work after coffee shops, for example.
Storage and RAM
One of the fundamental dilemmas with both MacBooks that you'll be dealing with is storage size. In other words, you'll be considering whether you can get by with just 128GB of space. If not, in the case of the MacBook Air, double the storage will cost you CZK 5, but for the MacBook Pro it's only CZK 500, plus you get double the RAM, which costs an additional CZK 5 for the Air.
Increasing the storage space can of course be solved in other ways. First of all, it is an external disk, then a permanently inserted SD card can be more practical, which can be elegantly hidden in the body of the MacBook, for example using Nifty MiniDrive or other cheaper solutions. A 64GB SD card will then cost CZK 1000. However, it should be taken into account that loading will always be many times slower than from an SSD disk, so such a solution is only suitable for storing multimedia files and documents.
Operating memory is an item that you should definitely not underestimate. 4 GB of RAM is the necessary minimum these days, and even though OS X Mavericks can squeeze the maximum out of the operating memory thanks to compression, you might regret your choice over time. Applications and the operating system have become more demanding over the years, and if you often work with several applications at once, you will witness jamming and the not-so-popular color wheel. So 8GB of RAM is the best investment you can make for a new MacBook, although Apple is charging more for the memory than its actual retail price. For both Air and Pro, the RAM upgrade costs CZK 2.
Other
The MacBook Pro has several other advantages over the Air. In addition to the Thunderbolt port (the Pro has two), it also includes an HDMI output, and the fan in the Pro version should be quieter. Both computers otherwise have the same fast Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. As the final price of the computer often plays a big role, we have prepared a comparison table with ideal combinations for you:
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It's not easy to decide which MacBook is best for you, ultimately you have to weigh it according to your own priorities, but our guide could help you make the tough decision.
Nice article, I dealt with the same thing and took the rMBP, which was about 2 liters more expensive than the same paper configuration of the Air, but in the end it is less powerful (i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 SSD). Maximum satisfaction.
And correct the mistake in weight there – Pro is heavier than Air by only 220g and not by half a kilo (1.35kg vs 1.57kg).
Thanks, I was looking at the 11″ MBA by mistake.
I should have a question. As you are looking at the Pro variant with 16GB RAM, I am considering a purchase and I don't know how they will decide. Will the 8 be enough in the future?
Depending on what you need it for. I have been working with FinalCut Pro X for a year and a half on both an iMac and a macbook, I have 8 GB of ram, but I will have to upgrade. A colleague has 16 GB on his iMac and it is readable when working with HD video files (which is a common standard these days). The Mavericks didn't help either.
I decided on a 13″ MBP with Retina, 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD drive... I decided on 16GB because of using Woken via VMware Fusion, but I have to say that I also had it like that at MBA, where there was 8GB of ram and it was enough for the rich . Considering that the memory is directly on the board, I would choose 16GB
So my Air has wi-fi 802.11ac…
True, I overlooked it. Thanks for the warning.
The price of these laptops is also high.
I bought an Aira first, then switched to a Pro. Its display has a native resolution of 3360 x 2100, the picture is unmatched and it has 16GB of memory, that decided it.
If the MacBook Air 11 had a 3G module, I wouldn't buy an iPad Air
a simple solution is a usb stick with a 3G card. I wouldn't even want an ipad for free :-(
Thanks for the article. So Airs have a regular TN panel? I switched from Pro to Aira 2 13 years ago and I couldn't help but wonder that the display is ``worse'' - by that I mean the color rendering and viewing angles.
Yes, the Air has a TN panel, if you look at the tests, it has pretty poor viewing angles. Pro has IPS. It is enough to put both of them next to each other, and the quality of the image can be recognized at first glance. This was also one of the reasons why I preferred the Pro for almost the same money, which is only 200 g heavier with more power.
would like a comparison article between the 11″ MBA and the iPad Air which is only 1,3″ smaller. There, I think, is a bigger dilemma than between a 13″ MBA and an MBP.
It's hard to compare a tablet and a laptop. Both devices have completely different uses.
in my opinion, the only difference between the two devices is the keyboard, nothing more. Even in the highest configuration, the 11″ MBA cannot be used for any work outside of iWork or Office and browsing the Internet. I wouldn't want to cut, render or draw anything on it. And after the latest iWork update, I think it's possible to replace the MBA with an iPad with a keyboard.
You can't replace an MBA with an iPad, and it can't be done the other way around either. It is completely pointless to compare these two devices - there are things that can only be done on the iPad, and things that cannot be done on it. And by the way, an MBA will take any job long ago. There are certain special activities that experts do for obvious reasons on more suitable machines, but otherwise an MBA can handle anything. I have many years of experience with this myself.
I'd like to imagine it that way and if there was an iOS version for Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator (not just sketching and editing tools) I'd buy an iPad instead of a MacBook. Unfortunately, this is not the case. So I would buy the 128GB version of the MacBook Air. But I currently have about 80 GB of data of jobs (books, magazines and other small things. When I run out of space, should I throw away or sell the MBpro? (I've grown out of lugging an external hdd around in a backpack - it's not good for it). I understood that in neither an additional SSD upgrade is not possible at all. Tomas B.
I don't know if your comment was meant seriously, and if so, you REALLY have to try top AIR and then you won't want anything else! .)
since I need performance, I immediately rejected Air. and since I need graphic performance, the only option was the rMBP 15″ in the highest configuration. I doubt that I would render photo-realistic images on a 13″ Air, and if so they would render for 10 hours. This is how the MBP renders for me in about 3 hours at the best possible settings, so it really looks like a photo.
I liked the fact that older MacBook Pros could be configured to, say, 750GB thanks to the classic HDD, or you could buy it outright. With today's much faster SSDs, it seems to me that this is a bit counterproductive for people who work with a lot of data, so they will pay a huge racket for a Macbook with at least a somewhat passable 500GB storage. Is there a solution here for the new Macbooks? Is there a place to put another disk? Thanks
It isn't. Either you connect an external one via USB 3.0 or a TB, or you have a NAS or cloud at home. I use a combination of cloud and NAS (including time machine support) and have access to data from all devices (Mac, PC, tablets, phones...) - a better solution than having everything on the local disk of one computer (including backing up important data in multiple places) .
Thanks!
I just want to point out that I have bought a mac for 13, 2,6 i5, 8gb, 256gb and at school I have a third of the brightness (the 4-5putiku ;DD ) with wifi on and safari with pages on, it stays at 100% for 14 hours, but it stays on , my brother's air will hold up similarly, I just want to point out that there is also a battery holder for it and it was an obvious choice for me :-).
I agree, the Pro with the same configuration usually lasts 10-12 hours on wifi during normal office work - I've never had a better laptop in my life (and I'm a switcher - a former cook :-))
Why is the old MBA still with an infrared port in the picture?
I have to post a little about the Macbook Pro with retina. He sent us an old MBP 15" at work (graphics defect from 2011) and so we ordered a 13" Retina with 256GB SSD and 16GB RAM, so quite expensive spas. The notebook is thin, light and powerful, but I was incredibly disappointed in several points:
1. Couldn't perform a restore from TimeMachine and even couldn't start the installation from the created Maverick USB flash drive, the only possibility of reinstallation was via recovery and internet = 3 hours of waiting and then importing the user from TimeMachine backup.
2. display - it's terrible to see the backlight diodes on the edges of the display - you can see it even on the last macbook, but with this retina it's extreme.
3. Iris graphics really can't keep up with the retina display - every kind of animated nonsense, such as, for example, enlarging some windows, etc. cannot be done without a glitch.
4. keyboard – everyone praises the air (and therefore retina?) keyboard. In my opinion, the Retina's keyboard sucks compared to my old 13″ Pro, it's just disgusting, both the material and the low grip. Of course it can only be about me.
5. I don't know why, but when I plug something into the USB socket, the USB socket feels empty and "cheap" - I don't know how to describe it, but it's just terribly strange...
Otherwise, the processing and performance as such are at a top level, but I don't know if it's worth the money when I take into account the fact that I don't expand anything on those laptops anymore :/
Strange, I don't notice the backlight "flowing" on the MBP 13″ Retina. The keyboard is IMHO a bit higher than on the Air.
Hey, I'm also surprised by your contribution. As for the display, I don't see any problems with the backlight, the USB port is caused by the wear of your connector, not the USB port in the Mac. The graphics work fine for me. CS6 may need to load more formats, which I would understand, but it's probably doing something more complicated, the keyboard is a bit taller, yes. but it suits me. But if the display seems strange to you, go to Apple, it must be defective :-), otherwise, note that with 16GB it does this, well. Otherwise, 15 cards can be configured for heavy graphics, etc.
I'm comparing it with an older 13″ macbook and I'm writing my observations here, if we only have a "defective" piece of hardware at all points, it's possible, but I doubt it. Of course, everything works fine, the note is great, but for a dozen it's just something that doesn't interest me so much and I'm terribly sorry :/
With time machine recovery. This is a Mavericks thing. As for booting from the flash drive… how did you do it? Boot on mavericks is done differently than on ML
I did it right - it worked elsewhere
Hi, Regarding point 3, does this work in retina mode? Have you tried the higher resolution scales (non-retina)?
I'm thinking of buying an MPB 13r 256GB 8GB RAM, I heard that the last model had a graphics problem, but I thought it was solved by the new model having twice the power.
As you say it's a lot of money and I have quite expectations, I'm upgrading from MBP 13 mid 2010 2,4 C2D 4GB Ram, SSD
People, what do you think would suit me for programming in Objective C (Exclusively for iOS). Do you think a 13″ Pro late 2013 would be enough for me (Cheapest variant with Iris graphics), or should I invest a few thousand more and buy with better equipment (If any). Oh, and I'd also like to know if the price of an iMac is somehow more favorable than that of a Macbook Pro (when we consider only HW). Thanks a lot.
the cheapest ones are enough for the rich
Well, I wouldn't take the basics, at least 8GB of RAM
I bought a 2013 13″ Air i7/8GB/512GB SSD – simply the top version, it is more than enough for graphics, when I work outside the house, it is the best solution, the fan has never started, I work with Ps, Ai, Id. In my opinion, the best choice. At home, I bought a 2013 27″ iMac i7/32/3TB FD/GTX780M – it’s the top version, it’s a 100-1 seat, but I can’t allow it on the Air ;)
No one likes brats...
why do you call me "braggart"? because I said Air is great? because I can earn money? why?
I've had an Air i3/5GB/4GB SSD for 256 months and everything works great, it can even create 3D graphics :)))
a bit of a typo: 2x computers. Otherwise, a nice alignment. It helped. "In either case the computers cannot be upgraded.."
Hello, Applejacks. So, as of today, I was at least 3 times away from ordering an MBP 13″, 8GB, 256 SSD. In my opinion, the most balanced option. The only thing I'm still wondering about is the processor. What do you think of the foundation? And will I get something extra for the middle one? (i5 2,6 GHz). Thanks in advance for your opinions.
The question is, what are you going to do about it, I also do chores on the computer and the stock i5 has always been enough for me so far. You will gain a few percent of performance with the medium - a few seconds saved in video rendering. With the i7, the increase will be higher again and again mainly for multimedia functions.
If the increase, then more to the i7, the 200 Mhz won't do that much. That's rather a better investment in 16 GB of RAM.
One more thing, it's not a priority, but has anyone tried reel 5 or StarCraft 2 in native retina resolution? I'm not delusional, but I'm a little afraid of the lower resolution and image quality. Thanks for the experience.
What display settings are you using on the Pro? I would like the version below 1440×900, but I don't know what effect it will have on image quality, performance, etc.
I didn't really understand what you meant.
1) You want to buy an older macbook, but it has a resolution of 1280x...
2) Or a new one that has a fixed resolution of 2550 (13) but gives you the option to set the size of application windows, etc... as if they were running at 1440?
Sorry for the unclear question. I thought I wanted an MBP with Retina, but I'd like to use it at scaled 1440x900 ie. not in that basic "Best for Retina Display" setting. Thanks.
I would like to ask about the experience with the lowest configuration of the latest MBP 13″ (retina), especially in terms of RAM - the base is "only" 4GB - is it enough for normal work, i.e. occasional work in photoshop? I'm more concerned with the overall fluidity of the system. In your opinion, is it worth upgrading the ram to 8gb in the future (I mean the horizon of several years)? I don't plan to ever do anything extra demanding with it, as I said, I'm more interested in the speed and fluidity of the system. Thanks. Otherwise I don't want MBair.
I would pay an extra 100 bucks for peace of mind in the future
I switched to the basic Air and I can't say enough... it even plays fun games like modern warfare 3 quite comfortably (for occasional gaming - otherwise I have a desktop PC)... I bought a small external 2,5 disk... keep it up... I have via bootcamp win 8.1 and also totally comfortable - I would just like to draw attention to a bug in the drivers for the wifi - I can't get a correct wifi - standard n - I had to keep the network on the gck looks different... I don't know if they will ever fix it because it's a bootcam driver... so if you want a fast network, just use a cable (usb)... this only works in windows...
It should be mentioned that the Air 11′ is able to display retina resolution on the external display. It is therefore the right choice for people who travel. 11′, it is able to fit into every hotel safe and if you simply need a large screen, connect it to an external display.
Hi, I have a question about the MBP 13, specifically the processor. Will i get iris pro or just iris graphics when i upgrade to nacore i7? I can't find it anywhere. Thanks a lot.