It has been a very long time since I had a MacBook Pro. Writing this feels so 2009 because there was a time when I had a regular MacBook then a MacBook Pro then the MacBook Air came out and I had a MacBook Air + 17” Pro w/ SSD and then I sold the 17” and got an iMac + MacBook Air and that was in 2010 and I never looked back.
If you want to follow the long path of my MacBook switching up, it was pretty intense with switches every 6 months from 2007 – 2011 – http://adam-jackson.net/blog/page/2/?s=macbook
In August of 2011, I bought the Core i7 MacBook Air 13” and have done most commuting with the iMac Core i7 w/ Fusion Drive and it’s perfect. No complaints at all. A few things happened over the last few months that has caused me to go Pro again:
- The MacBook Air warranty has lapsed and I’ve had some issues that required Apple Store visits like
- Mavericks not detecting the SSD and charging issues.
- It takes a few tries with MagSafe to get a charge going even with the brand new adapter I bought.
- At 400 battery cycles, it’s not holding a charge as effectively as before and the battery lasts just 90 minutes
- It lacks modern features like Thunderbolt 2, USB 3, HD FaceTime camera, the ability to play games like Sim City / Civilization
- The keyboard is actually pretty worn down with some keys missing the the structure of the laptop bends a bit when I pick it up.
- Overall, I’ve used the MBA daily for almost 2.5 years and I can feel an inevitable end.
- My work has me in California a lot which means 50% of the time, the laptop is my primary machine. When it comes to number crunching and screen real estate, the iMac is fantastic and the MacBook Air with its size and age is night & day. I planned on using the MBA for a word processing / mobile photo machine and it’s become a primary computer. So the day to day use has shifted.
- The need to have a laptop for plane rides is moot with the iPad Air. The 11” MacBook I bought in January of 2011 was amazing then the iPad 2 came out in March and effectively nullified the reason I bought the air (airline typing / entertainment). So I bought a 13” MBA. Now I never use my laptop on planes and use the iPad Air exclusively therefore I can afford a larger screen size for the 3.5 weeks a month that I’m not in a cramped airplane seat.
There are many aspects of the Air I’m going to miss. It is the greatest notebook ever made. I stand by that sentiment that I first made way back in 2009 with the 2nd generation Air. The reason I didn’t go latest Gen MacBook Air are pretty clear. I wanted a pro laptop with a larger screen. I think Apple has that with their base 15 inch Macbook Pro but I opted for the one with dedicated graphics for future-proof gaming. I hope the extra money is worth it in the long run. No one has ever regretted spending more on a computer though. Future-Proofing is never a bad idea.
When you look at the 3rd party GeekBench stats comparing the top end MBP vs MBA, the multi-core points are pretty amazing. 14,600 points versus 5,600. The single core is not as much of a difference with 3,700 versus 2,969 but the top end MBP with 4 cores and hyper threading will make a nice difference in number crunching and mobile RAW photo editing. You can see additional CPU comparisons here between both top-end model chips.
I’m really excited to have a brand new notebook with 10 hour battery life and a gorgeous retina display. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing with all of that power though :)
Maybe I’ll throw up a few photos when this arrives next week. It’s worth mentioning that my employer has a partnership with the manufacturer of this notebook. I received no discounts, compensation or influence in writing this thought process and my opinions are my own and do not reflect my employer or their partners.
PS: My MacBook Air is for sale if someone is looking for a notebook.
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