Any MPU experiences with the MacBook Air yet?

Hardware
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I’m trying to go against my screen claustrophobia ways with a smaller laptop at my new job.
Anyone tried doing work with the new MacBook Air? And how it compares to the Touchbar MBP 13”? Obviously its not as powerful, and i’ll Most likely miss working on a 15”. The top option for a 13” MBP i have is with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
One fairly small but for me actually a rather large caveat is the screen brightness: 300 nits vs 500 nits for MB Air vs MBP. That’s the one of the bigger factors keeping me from selling my 2017 15” and getting a 2015 15” (me no like the large Trackpad). MBP also has True Tone while the Air doesn’t. Again a small factor for some, but I’ve noticed that having gone True Tone with my iPhone and iPad Pro, my eyes are more at ease.

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I can’t answer the question but I, too, have an upcoming purchase and need a comparison…

… My Wife’s 1st Gen MacBook Air wants replacing. I see two choices:

  1. 13” MacBook Air with 16GB memory and 256GB SSD.
  2. 13” MacBook Pro without touchbar, also with 16GB memory and 256GB SSD.

The compare could be done t the 512GB level, though she doesn’t edit video or keep music and videos on it - yet.

I’m aware she would have to go to USB-C in both cases.

She does take it to work sometimes and plugs it into HDMI screens. Weight is moderately important. Sleekness isn’t, really.

Thoughts?

3

Well, getting the Pro over the Air would cost $100 more, add a quarter pound of weight, and mean giving up Touch ID and the T2 chip. In return you get a faster processor. Would the stuff your wife will use this laptop for benefit enough from the faster CPU to make those trade offs worth it?

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4

I played with one at an Apple Store last week. I was worried I would loathe the keyboard and I’ve been clinging to a 2015 machine because of that. However, I found the keyboard to be not bad. Compared to a Macbook Adorable, the Air seems a lot bigger bigger. If the Macbook Adorable gets a boost and keyboard update, I may pick one of those up instead of the air.

5

I tend to use the MBP 13” hooked up to an external monitor at the office. So I’m not concerned about screen size. I’ll use the MBP monitor when I’m out of the office or at home. So far, going smaller screen hasn’t been a big concern for me.

6

Probably not. So Air wins over Pro - on utility grounds. Thanks!

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7

Hi!

Any updates on experiences and thoughts on performance of the MBP Airs?
I’m not gonna get one but it’d be interesting to hear nonetheless!:slight_smile:

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A friend wanted to downgrade from her old 15" MBP, which she found too heavy, so I recommended the new Air. She didn’t listen to me. Given the price similarity between the Air and the new 13" MBP, the fact that the MBP weighs only 4 ounces more, and that the MBP has better hardware specs and touchbar, she opted for the base Pro with RAM upgrade.

Anyway, something to think about.