MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air - Apple Club |
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MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air
Should I get a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air?
* SD card is only on the 13-inch model MacBook Air
**Only the 17-inch model (discontinued) MacBook Pro has three USB 2.0 ports. The smaller sizes have two USB 3.0 ports.
Our Recommendations:
If you are looking for something extremely portable, and the cheapest, the MacBook Air is for you. The MacBook Air also uses flash storage, which means that it has a longer lifespan than a spinning hard drive. For Office/iWork applications, web browsing, games, music, and more, the MacBook Air can definitely handle this. The MacBook Air does not have a CD drive, but you can get a MacBook Air SuperDrive.
If you plan on doing graphic-intensive work, or other work requiring a lot of processing power, the MacBook Pro is for you. It also has larger storage capacities for large files or if you want to partition the hard drive or run a virtual machine.
MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air
Should I get a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air?
| MacBook Pro |
MacBook Air |
|
| Picture |
 |
 |
| Portability |
Portable | Very Portable |
| Ports | Headphone, SD Card, 2-3** USB, Thunderbolt, FireWire, MagSafe Charger, CD drive |
Headphone, SD Card*, 2 USB (one on each side), MagSafe Charger, Thunderbolt |
| Sizes | 13-inch, 15-inch |
11-inch, 13-inch |
| Storage | 500GB or 750GB Hard Drive |
64GB, 128GB or 256GB Flash Storage |
| Battery Life |
7 hours | 9 hours (11") hours, 12 hours (13") 30 days of standby time (both) |
| Pricing | $1199 (13" w/o Retina) $1299 or $1499 (13" Retina), $2199 or $2799 (15" Retina) |
$999 or $1199 (11"), $1099 or $1299 (13") |
| Advantages | Larger, better processors, better screen (for Retina display model) |
Thinner, lighter, faster, less moving parts |
**Only the 17-inch model (discontinued) MacBook Pro has three USB 2.0 ports. The smaller sizes have two USB 3.0 ports.
Our Recommendations:
If you are looking for something extremely portable, and the cheapest, the MacBook Air is for you. The MacBook Air also uses flash storage, which means that it has a longer lifespan than a spinning hard drive. For Office/iWork applications, web browsing, games, music, and more, the MacBook Air can definitely handle this. The MacBook Air does not have a CD drive, but you can get a MacBook Air SuperDrive.
If you plan on doing graphic-intensive work, or other work requiring a lot of processing power, the MacBook Pro is for you. It also has larger storage capacities for large files or if you want to partition the hard drive or run a virtual machine.
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