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Earlier this summer I purchased a 15.4" MacBook Pro. It was my first Mac and I have come to really enjoy using it......much more than my Windows machines. So I am now looking at buying a smaller and lighter 13.3" MacBook for traveling. The battery life of the MacBook Air is really appealing (not that the MacBook Pro is terrible) and is obviously cheaper. But I really like the retina display as well. Dunno, I'm just undecided.

I've got an 11" MacBook Air that I've had for two years or so and couldn't be happier with it. It's incredibly light and plenty powerful enough for working on the road.

Thanks Jeff. I was hoping you'd chime in as I know that you're a Mac guy. So personally, you wouldn't spend the extra $$ for the Pro retina over the Air? It's $400 difference so it's not exactly pocket change.

For travel, I think the reduced size of the Air definitely wins out. Takes u about half the space in a bag as the MBP does which may not seem like much, but sometimes that's the difference between the bag closing and not.

jeffsmith wrote:For travel, I think the reduced size of the Air definitely wins out. Takes u about half the space in a bag as the MBP does which may not seem like much, but sometimes that's the difference between the bag closing and not.

Yeah, looking at the specs, the 13" MBP with retina display is 1.6 KGs while the 13" Air is 1.35 KGs. Not a huge difference, but the Air is certainly still lighter and has better battery life. It's the retina display, which I love, and the extra 4 GB RAM that has me on the fence. Just not sure it's worth the price difference for what I'm gonna use it for.

Love my 11" MB air. It's actually my main computer at work. I connect it to a monitor when at my desk. I travel a lot and commute to work on my bike so I appreciate the low weight. Best computer I've ever owned (out of approx a dozen laptops over the years, both PC and Mac).

If u already have a Mac if suggest something smaller as the other gents mentioned


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Is the 15" the retina version? If not, you've got nothing to lose by going for the Air. It's lighter, has better battery life, and is much more compact. I have the 15" retina and a 15" windows machine. I've gotten so used to the look and feel of the 15" retina that any other screen looks bad in comparison. You're at risk of doing that to yourself if you buy the 13" retina pro. Additionally, the difference in bulk between the 15" regular resolution and the 13" retina is not incredible. If you can get away with it, the ultimate travel setup is an iPad + external keyboard if you do a lot of typing.

Or buy this: https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/daru4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And take a nice bath in the 1200$ that you saved :p

Jon that's exactly what I've been looking for ... The only non-mac ultrabooks with a 1080p screen were either obscenely expensive, or filled with features I have no use for (windows 8, screens that fold over to make it a tablet, etc)

benwedge wrote:Is the 15" the retina version? If not, you've got nothing to lose by going for the Air. It's lighter, has better battery life, and is much more compact. I have the 15" retina and a 15" windows machine. I've gotten so used to the look and feel of the 15" retina that any other screen looks bad in comparison. You're at risk of doing that to yourself if you buy the 13" retina pro. Additionally, the difference in bulk between the 15" regular resolution and the 13" retina is not incredible. If you can get away with it, the ultimate travel setup is an iPad + external keyboard if you do a lot of typing.

My wife has an two mac laptops one is the air and on is the pro, she uses my ipad when she travels. Spend a couple of hundred bucks and get a good keyboard case ect and buy avplayer to watch movies on it.

benwedge wrote:Is the 15" the retina version? If not, you've got nothing to lose by going for the Air. It's lighter, has better battery life, and is much more compact. I have the 15" retina and a 15" windows machine. I've gotten so used to the look and feel of the 15" retina that any other screen looks bad in comparison. You're at risk of doing that to yourself if you buy the 13" retina pro. Additionally, the difference in bulk between the 15" regular resolution and the 13" retina is not incredible. If you can get away with it, the ultimate travel setup is an iPad + external keyboard if you do a lot of typing.

That's a really good point, Ben. My 15" MBP doesn't have the retina display, so getting the Air might be the better choice.

I ended up purchasing the MacBook Air today. While I love the retina display, overall I think the Air is a better choice for my needs.

canuck wrote:I ended up purchasing the MacBook Air today. While I love the retina display, overall I think the Air is a better choice for my needs.

I think you'll be happy with your choice.

jeffsmith wrote:

canuck wrote:I ended up purchasing the MacBook Air today. While I love the retina display, overall I think the Air is a better choice for my needs.

I think you'll be happy with your choice.

I think so too Jeff. Since the 13" Air was only $50 more than the 11" one, I ended up getting the 13". It's insane how thin and light these are! It will suit my travel needs just perfect.

I know I'm a bit late to the party here but I just bought a 13 inch MBP retina last week and it's pretty awesome. Light and even though they say you get 9 hours of battery I've been routinely getting eleven. I would recommend to anyone who doesn't mind the little extra weight. I almost bought the air and I would have been happy with that as well.

CorneliusAlphonse wrote:Jon that's exactly what I've been looking for ... The only non-mac ultrabooks with a 1080p screen were either obscenely expensive, or filled with features I have no use for (windows 8, screens that fold over to make it a tablet, etc)

Yeah, they are really cool machines, borrowed one from a friend of mine for a while and I really want one now. Might ask for one for xmas.