One thing I wasn’t able to to when I got the MacBook Air (Air) was to make a video of it going head to head with my old 2.4GHz 15″ MacBook Pro (MBP) w/ 4GB RAM and 250GB HDD. The reason I got the Air was precisely because I had already sold [and given away] the MBP – so it was good as gone. Another reason was because the MBP was a 1st Generation unit. While it did have the comparable specs to compare the Air with, I also didn’t want to leave “room for doubt” because of its age.
Luckily, I was able to help a friend out in sourcing a brand new MBP. What’s better is that the MBP had the exact same specs as my old MBP – the only difference was the 13″ native resolution [was smaller than the 15″]. But other than that, it’s exactly the same… and it’s from the newest line of MBPs Apple released.
My previous post just showed a video of the general impression I had of the Air on it’s own, but now I present to you a legitimate head-to-head comparison video of how the Air stacks up against what’s supposed to be a more powerful MBP of the same “generation.”
Points to Ponder
Considering how “close” the two performed 1 And I’m being really generous to the MBP when I say that you have to remember that the Air was doing it with half the amount of RAM, at a higher resolution, 2 As the native resolution of the 13″ Air is similar to a 15″ MBP, not the 13″ shown in the video and with a CPU that’s 25% slower.
Whatever the case may be, this is the bottomline: for any regular user, this machine might just be the best laptop you can get.
The reason is because the only time you’ll really feel the need for a MBP’s specs is when you need the extra power for some advanced task while on the go – which isn’t necessarily an everyday thing for any user. And I can say that based on experience as a person who actually does advanced stuff.
I learned the hard way; my first two laptops (Powerbook and MBP) I always got the top end of the 15″ line. I noticed I really wasn’t utilizing their full potential, so when it came to upgrading to the Unibody MBP, I didn’t get the top of the 15″ line. Sure enough I wasn’t using it that much as well. And now I’ve further downgraded to the Air and am still very happy with it.
So, as a power user, I can say that 95% of the time, unless you have a really unique and legitimate need for more power, an Air is a very good choice for most users looking for a laptop.
At the moment, given the different price/performance/practicality angles you can apply for comparison, the only time I’d prefer a MBP over the Air now is if it were to be my only computer – because any primary computer will have to be as powerful as the most demanding task you plan to use it with.
Other than that, the weight/size factor really plays a huge role in tipping the scales of portable preference. The key is to figure out if you feel that the extra power the MBP brings to the table is enough to be worth carrying that extra weight around all the time. 3 Because if you try carrying the MBP, then the Air, the weight difference is HUGE Because here’s the thing: if you find out that you’re using the MBP’s “full power” 5-10% of the time. Then that means 90-95% of the time, you’re needlessly carrying extra weight. I have a powerful desktop at home – and I’d rather wait till I get home and do the heavy stuff on it instead of forcing the issue on a [secondary] portable device. So that weight perspective/argument is very real to someone me. That’s the exact reason why I still prefer using the iPad over the Air while on the go.
Do the math, it makes perfect sense.
Caveat
Of course this is only because [as shown in the video] the new Air’s perform fast enough that you don’t (or won’t) notice it being underpowered. The old Airs weren’t SSD, and were very slow from what I heard, so I would have never recommended the old Airs over the MBPs (or even the regular MacBooks for that matter). It’s all about context 🙂