New Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air? Laptop lust will decide.

Like lots of other Apple addicts, I was glued to my computer this morning, watching Engadget's live blog of the WWDC 2012 conference where new Apple products were eagerly anticipated.

The rumors were pretty much right-on. A new 15 inch MacBook Pro with a retina display (like on the iPhone 4s) was the highlight of the show. For me, at least.

I've had my 13 inch MacBook Pro for what seems like centuries. In computer years, that's about right -- got it in October 2008. It's been almost completely trouble free. It looks virtually brand new, but my laptop is feeling its age.

I get the dreaded "spinning ball" much more often than I used to, especially when numerous applications are open. Closing programs can take a long time. I've used up about three-fourths of the 250 GB hard drive. My three year AppleCare contract expired last year.

So I've been looking forward to learning what Apple was up to, MacBook Pro-wise. Also, MacBook Air-wise, as I'm attracted to flash storage (no hard disk) and ditching the built-in optical drive, which I mainly only use to watch dance lesson DVD's.

After the WWDC event was over, the online Apple store returned to life with the new Retina MacBook Pro prominently displayed, which is basically a blend between the old MacBook Pro and Air. That's the laptop I lust for. But my pocketbook wonders if an Air would suffice.

I priced three options of the new models, with each including 8 GB of memory, a portable superdrive, and AppleCare: (1) a 13 inch 2.0 GHz MacBook Air with a 256 GB flash drive was $1,927; (2) a 15 inch 2.3 GHz Retina MacBook Pro with a 256 GB flash drive was $2,625; (3) a 15 inch 2.6 GHz Retina MacBook Pro with a 512 GB flash drive was $3,327. 

Judging from comments on AppleInsider posts, I'm not the only one who wishes the new MacBook Air had a retina display. But people much more knowledgeable than me were saying that the retina display sucks up a lot of battery power, so it wouldn't fit well with the Air -- given current technology.

Plus, Apple isn't stupid. Make the Air equal to the Pro, display-wise, and that will draw sales away from the more expensive Retina MacBook Pro.

Watching the video about the Retina Pro on the Apple Store, it looks like it's aimed at high-powered users. I'm not going to be designing a nuclear power plant from the bed of a pickup, or handling six video feeds at a time as a TV director.

Nor am I likely going to be editing photos down to the micro-pixel, or needing to see colors precisely and beautifully displayed.

But damn!

I sure like the looks, and specs, of the Retina MacBook Pro. Option 2 above looks most appealing, since I don't need 512 GB of flash storage or a super fast processor. Reportedly USB 3 is ten times faster than USB 2, so an external hard drive would seemingly suffice for storing large video files. 

If not, there's always Thunderbolt, which is twice as fast as USB 3.

It'll take a while for me to ponder the pros and cons of the new Retina MacBook Pro. Reviews will be coming in the next few weeks as computer geeks get their hands on the new Apple products. The Retina Pro does seem revolutionary in many ways, while the updated Air strikes me as only evolutionary.

And it helped me to put things in perspective, cost-wise, to pull out my 2008 MacBook Pro file and remind myself what it cost back then: about $2,000, which is the 2012 price of a MacBook Air with double the memory (8 GB vs. 4 GB) and a 250 GB flash drive rather than a same-size hard drive.

Apple keeps raising the bar on great computers. Their ability to arouse product lust among the Apple faithful, like me, also remains strong. For $700 more, the Retina MacBook Pro might be the way I end up wanting to go.

Comments

[Yosun-Amber]

I have to macbook air 13 inch and i am super happy with it and from what i'v seen it is practically the same as the more expensive mac book pro with retina display. This is because the average person is not going to be making whole movies or photo albums all day, right?
Sure i have to say i would mind having a dvd port or a little sharper pictures... but thats pretty much it.
And if you get the macbook air 13 inch with the money you have left which is not spent on the macbook pro you can always buy an iPad like i did...(but wait cause i am now stuck with my i pad 2): they are already sending out iPad 3 in october and in march i think iPad 4!!!

[luis]

thanks for comments / review --- I am on the same page. Just one question has been popping up to my mind/comparison: is the weight difference a factor for you? i.e. the new-Pro is 0.7Kg (sorry am in Europe...:-) ) heavier... and when you travel every kilo counts...

but damn... it looks so nice!!!!

[Brian Hines]

Yosun-Amber, good to hear that you're super happy with your Air. A day after getting excited by the Retina MacBook, I'm starting to lean toward the Air. Like you said, the Air has most, if not all, of the features I really need for what I do on my computer every day.

And yes, luis, the Air is a pound or so lighter (sorry, can't translate into kilos; us Americans are clueless about metric, pretty much). That's a consideration, for sure. Plus, i've been happy with my 13 inch MacBook. It fits on a small table at my favorite coffee house just fine. I suppose 15 inches would be better in some cases, but I haven't wanted a bigger screen.

Lastly, I'm a bit worried about the compatibility of the Retina display. Need to see some indepth reviews to know if this is a serious worry. Mention at the WWDC conference about the need for developers to redo their software to take advantage of the display was a caution sign. I'm wondering how things will look on unadapted software.

[Brian Hines]

Just came across this piece (link below) about why the Retina MacBook Pro isn't right for most people. Basic premise makes sense: the Retina Pro is more computer than most need.

The display is an attention getter. If it wasn't for that, though, I probably wouldn't be very interested in it, tilting toward the Air. The author of the piece argues that the Retina Pro is a "1%" executive/ creative professional machine. Fits with my intuitions also.

See:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/apples-new-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-is-probably-not-for-you/79751

Here's an excerpt from a comment on the piece that also makes sense:
----------------------------
Most typical users, from the "consumer" to "business", will be well served by any of the other portables below the retina MacBook Pro. You really do not need a quad core i7 CPU for the web, productivity and even consumer-level "iLife" media creation.

For such users, even a MacBook Air is probably preferable due to the faster boot and load times offered by its SSDs instead of the lower MacBook Pro's HDDs. The Retina MacBook Pro's display, in addition to the high pixel density, has other display characteristics that appeal TO GRAPHICS PROFESSIONALS (saturation, low reflectivity etc.).

That machine is indeed geared towards pros and even Apple's video about it suggest that; you see Final Cut Pro X and Photoshop used on it, not families gathering around to take part in a birthday party over Facetime.

[Vioan]

I am also not decided between Air (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2.0 i7) and Retina (with 256GB and 8GB RAM). The point is that I have right now a MBP 13" (model 2009, 2.53 CPU, 256 SSD, 8GB RAM) and I am using it as my main machine but I have it connected at work and at home to an external 24" monitor with external keyboard and mouse. So, I am not sure how much I will use Retina :). And I am just wondering if is not to large compared with my actual MBP. I think I will just go to an apple store to see it first and then I will decide :). Any opinions?

[Brian Hines]

Vioan, take a look at the comment i left above this morning, after reading a ZDnet post about the Retina MacBook. (Maybe you've read it already.)

I'm coming to feel that an Air with 256 GB of flash and 8 GB of memory would be fine for my needs. Probably for yours also, but only you can say. Just seems that with some fiddling, an Air is now the Apple laptop for most people.

Example: occasionally I use the Ethernet connection on my 2008 MacBook Pro. Air doesn't have one. But Apple sells a thingie that turns a USB port into Ethernet. So I could carry that around when I need to hook up to wired Ethernet.

[Brian Hines]

Here's a photo comparison of the older Air and the new Retina MacBook:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/11/3079162/new-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-vs-macbook-air#3449012

This helps strengthen my leaning toward the Air, for my needs. The 15 inch display isn't that much larger. And though I'm viewing photos of the display on my old MacBook, I doubt that I'd get enough "WOW" from the Retina display to make it worth my money.

If I was a professional photographer or video producer, that'd be different.

[Vioan]

@Brian, thanks, I was reading the article you mentioned. I am not sure how Air is performing, because I never tested one. I am changing my job and the new one will involve more programming, software development, of course compiling and perhaps a windows and linux virtual machine. Maybe also some CUDA/OPENCL programming, so a Nvidia card would be useful but also quad core cpu. But the diference between these two machines is around 300 Pounds (for me: education account). But as I mentioned I am not sure if I will benefit from retina display having external monitors.

[Brian Hines]

And here's a pretty good answer to the question, "Why didn't the MacBook Air get a retina display also?"
http://512pixels.net/where-retina-air/

Excerpt:
-----------------------
It’s clear Apple sees the Retina display as a “pro feature” for its notebooks (for now, at least) due to its positioning the machine “above” the MacBook Pro line. Apple’s framed the Retina MacBook Pro as its vision of the future of its notebook line.

As such, it doesn’t want to have the Retina display on a machine without the other goodies fit in the machine’s chassis. (Or maybe that battery required for the Retina display just can’t be crammed in a machine smaller than 15 inches right now.)

[Chenxiccc]

I'd prefer Macbook Pro With Retina Display.
Here's the reasons:
1. For Daily Usage, there's no doubt that New Macbook Pro will be more comfortable for editing pages, surfing web, reading mails, making prototype...
2. If you go out, you'll take a bag, I don't think 0.68 kg (1.5 lbs.) make a big difference.
3. If you go meeting in your company, upstairs and downstairs, I neither think it a burden for you.
4. If you go for light, just take an iPad 3. It can satisfy some daily works too.

So, just get a Macbook Pro With Retina Display. You won't regret .

[BAT754]

I'm just a teen, and i really want a laptop, and im trying to decide between the Pro or the Air. The main reason I want an apple is because I have an iPod, and I like Apple's features, and I want to stay with Apple. And because of the price, I'm leaning more towards the Air. And I could could really care less about the retina display. As far as I'm concerned, it's just Apple's same trick of selling almost the same thing at a higher price. The reason I want the pro is just that I've herd that it performs better. I mean, I like messing around with my imove app, (and thats one reason I want a pro or air, so I can still use that app), but it's not like I stay up all night putting together a 2-hour long movie. And now I just learned that the air doesnt have a DVD port, I think. And for me, that's a big game changer. I want to be able to burn DVDs and CDs, but if they don't have a DVD port, I just save up for one more year and get the 13" MacBook pro (but without retina, cause like I said, I could care less for it.) So, I really am stuck between the 2. Anyways, thanks for the help of the main post and the little mini posts in the comments. They helped a little, but, I'm still dont know. Thanks anyhow.