Is the macbook pro retina 13" as portable as the macbook air?

I currently own a macbook air 13", bought in 2011. Now im pondering purchasing a new laptop, but im undecided between the new macbook air and the pro retina. Do you think the pro is as portable as the air? the bump in performance is worth the price difference?

 

It's heavier and a little thicker. I'm not sure if that matters to you. At the moment, there's little point in buying a 13-inch Pro unless you absolutely need the high-res screen - the 13-inch Air is lighter, has the better CPU architecture, and much, much better battery life.

If you don't need to buy a laptop right now, I'd wait a month to see what the Haswell refresh brings. If you do, go with the Air.

 

the 13" Pro retina has a more uniform thickness to it, but its still thinner than the thickest part of the Air.

For pure size/portability, the Retina is better in some ways, and the Air in others, so it gets kind of subjective... Right now though I wouldn't buy a Retina version simply because they haven't been updated recently, and the Air already has the Haswell processors in them.

 

I can wait a bit longer, since my current laptop still works flawless, but sometimes its a bit slow. I dont really need the higher resolution, what im looking for is for pure performance. I want a laptop to handle pdf documents, in the best possible way.

 

When do you think the new refresh will be released? i mean in the pro line.

 

You aren't going to notice huge gaps in performance between the two, if Apple keeps the same paradigm. Who knows what they'll do for the next model, though?

I'd be surprised if they aren't here within the next 3-4 weeks...but then, Apple marches to its own beat.

 

Do you think they Will stick to IGP on the 13 inches model? Would be nice if they put a dedicated GPus.

 

Yes. By the way, please use the Edit button rather than double posting if you want to add supplementary information.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, sorry. Sometimes is easier just posting a new message rather than editing

 

I'd assume that they'd stick to their current setup with IGP on the bigger 15"...especially if they put in a haswell chip with the iris gpu...but not sure if they can do that given the thermal limits and/or 13 size for cooling.

I'm in the same boat...waiting on the haswell refresh before getting an 13" air or 13 mbpr

 

Retina version is hotter heat when used than normal versio n.

 

I just got the 13" Macbook Air and I think it was an easy choice over the Retina 13".
1) Air has i5 or i7 Haswell which is better than the i5 dual-core in the rMBP.
2) The Air has Intel HD 5000 which is WAY better than the previous generation 4000 in the rMBP.
3) The obvious battery life & lightness
Bonus: It's like $400 cheaper

 

The Macbook Air 2013 is a very good laptop, for what it is, and will serve 90% of people perfectly.
But the new Haswell Macbook Pro Retina is what I would get/wait for it.

The Retina will have a 28Whr Haswell CPU, with High end Iris Pro Graphics. Intel will not put a dgpu when Haswell has such a strong gpu option, in the 5000 plus series.
Also obviously you will get the retina screen. The Air has a relatively low res screen at this point.
Also I would expect great battery life on the new Retina model, just a little less than the Air. Having a larger chassis means also a bigger battery, plus the new power saving features of Haswell...

So right now the Air looks really good, but I would bet that the new Retinas will come out next month.
Again Retina gives you:
Better screen
More powerful CPU and GPU
*Better keyboard, the thicker retina model has a nicer keyboard, the keys are bigger/deeper, it gives a nicer feel.
IMO the 13inch retina model is already so small and light, the Air is becoming less relevant every year.

 

There are also negative aspects going against a 13" rMBP though:

• It's everyday performance isn't going to be any noticeably faster than a 13" MBA.
• It's price/performance ratio is nowhere near that of the 13" MBA.
• Many apps and websites still aren't optimized for retina displays meaning that, even with more powerful hardware, jittering and tearing can occur when scrolling through websites.

I think Apple could do a lot with the 13" rMBP if they slapped a quad-core processor in it along with a dedicated GPU. The current model is grossly overpriced for what it is and performance leaves a lot to be desired. I picked up my 2012 15" MBP for less than the starting price of the 2012 13" rMBP. That says quite a bit about where they priced the 13" rMBP and how it needs to change. I also really don't understand the point of having a retina display on something that is 12-13" especially when the average viewing distance is going to be 2-3 ft away. To me, the 13" rMBP is the opposite of what Apple said yesterday. They made the 13" rMBP just for technology's sake. They release a 13" notebook with an obscene resolution just because they could. It packed limited hardware and came with an asking price about $200-$400 higher than it should have been.

 

for me its simple.

Do you want the retina screen? get the rmbp 13

No? get the mba 13

When the new haswell models come it will be the same thing, with a little bit better gpu performance as its now and it has been for sometime

 

We're looking forward to the new MacBook Pro Retinas with Haswell - if the battery gain is as dramatic as was on the Air then the new 13" MacBook Pro Retinas will be a slam dunk. The Retina displays are simply stunning. (sadly, I have both a 13" MBA (2012) and a 15" MBP Retina) The MBP runs hot on the lap, but the display is incredible.

 

I agree that it is going to be about the screen. If you don't care about the screen, then go for the Air. I would also wait for the Haswell MBPRs, however. In my experience, both the Air and the Retina get pretty hot on the bottom. Macs have sub-par cooling; it's just a fact. And the powerful screens heat the computer up.

 

the rmbp 13 doesn't have subpar cooling

 

Depends on your experience I guess. I don't have one, but my sister does and I've ran tests on it--it gets up to 180 degrees if used to play videos. My 15-inch MBPR doesn't fare much better, especially when using Street View. The thing heats up rapidly and becomes too hot to touch on the bottom. My MacBook Air was even worse.

(And this is using it on a hard surface like a desk or table).

 

thats the cpu, Ive ran some tests on the rmbp 13 in store, I didn't purchase one, I did had the rmbp 15

and I never reached those temps in there unless under stress load. that also depends on the cpu I did this on a i5 which is notoriously MUCH cooler than the i7, try temp difference of more than 15c under load

 

whats wrong with 180º? you push that thing hard and it'll get over 200º ... the max it should go on most of those CPUs is 221º

A lot of videos won't get it up that hot though, it depends on the type of video. If its Flash, flash is pretty bad about using up too much CPU and getting it hot.

 

because 80c is the usual under load temp for the rmbp 13, yes the cooling system of that machine is that good

 

Yes, 180 degrees is ~82C, which is normal under load. If you are gaming, and your laptop stays around 85C, that is normal.
From my last three laptops, 50-55C when just web browsing, 80-90C when gaming. This is with a Thinkpad, Inspiron, and Acer. All had about the same temps.

 

I guess I didn't know that such high temperatures were normal. If the computer's too hot to touch on the bottom, I always considered that problematic. But I guess if that's normal, so be it. I've posted on other sites and some people seemed alarmed by those temperatures. If the vents of a Mac weren't partly blocked by the hinge, I suppose I'd feel more accepting toward those temps. It's a design I'd like to some day see changed. The heat is one of the few negatives I see about Macs. My PC laptops simply never got that hot.

And yeah, the videos were flash. YouTube and such. Watching a 1080p YouTube video on full screen will bring my Mac's temp up around 200.

 

All of my old laptops were thick and cheap and plastic, and never got too hot to touch. These include my old HP, Thinkpad, and Dell.
But my current Acer is an Ultrabook and super thin, it gets hot to touch, but it is so thin where is the heat going to go, it also has two vents and two fans. It gets hot but it is not like you would burn your hand, it just is not comfortable on your lap. Then again I do not play games with Laptops on my lap.

Now my GF Macbook Pro, getting old like it is, gets very hot, too hot to have on your lap, and this just from watching youtube videos.

 

Is it as portable as the Air? Technically no as the Air is lighter. To some people its barely noticeable.
Is the performance bump worth price difference? For most people, I'd say no. I think the better question would be whether screen upgrade is worth the price difference, which is subjective. For me personally, I'm inclined to think yes, but to each their own.

 

As portable as the Air? Yes.

As the person above me already mentioned, the extra that you paid over the Air for the Retina would mainly be for the screen. If you're someone that is sitting in front of their computer all day or doing any kind of graphic design, I would highly suggest that you get the Retina.

 

ThinkPads are made with some metals.

Look up "Magnesium Rollcage"
You should also know that the ThinkPad Carbon X1 is made of Carbon Fiber.

 

Hi Gents,

I'm looking for powerfull portable device. Purpose: Travelling, Coding (Visual Studio via Windows VM ), Photography. I usually have a DSLR with me, so portability matters. Price doesn't count
And I almost decided to go with MBA 11 but what stops me is the screen. So I consider 2 choices:

New MBA 11 - $1,750.00 + External monitor at home + $1,500.00
1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
512GB Flash Storage
Weight: 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg)

New MBP 13 - $2300.00
2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Weight: 3.46 pounds (1.57 kg)


The questions that I cannot decide if MBP "worth" additional 0.7 kg of weight shat I should "pay" for portability, Thank you in advance.

 

You'll have to decide if the extra mass is worth it. You are getting a bigger much better display with the MBPr along with an overall more powerful system. The MBA comes with Intel HD 5000 graphics while the MBPr comes with Intel Iris (i.e. Intel HD 5200 graphics). The Iris graphics aren't going to outperform an Nvidia GT 650M but they will get close to a GT 640 with most benchmarks/games. The CPU is also technically more powerful in the MBPr. However, both are going to provide the same experience for everyday computing (browsing the web, consuming HD media, making documents, etc.).

You have to decide if you really want that retina display or if you favor extreme portability. Both are going to give you roughly the same amount of battery life too. The MBPr offers more connectivity (two thunderbolt ports and an HDMI port) if that's important.

On a side note, I don't recommend getting the Core i7 processor for either one. They aren't worth the extra cost for their slightly added performances. The only time you'll notice any difference between a Core i5 or dual-core Core i7 option is when performing extreme tasks (mainly video encoding) where the CPU will shutdown one of it's cores and crank the other one up to the maximum listed clock speed (3.3GHz). You'll maybe be able to encode a 2 hour SD mpeg-4 AVC video 5-8 minutes faster. The Core i5 variations are going to provide the same performance when it comes to everyday tasks, office related tasks, media consumption, etc. Don't fall for the Core i7 upgrade as it isn't worth it. I did back in 2011 when I purchased a 13" MBP. Apple offered a 2.4GHz Core i5 option and a ~2.8GHz Core i7 upgrade. I went with the upgrade and my system performed tasks at almost the same speed as my friend's 13" MBP with the standard Core i5 CPU (they were both exactly the same aside from the CPU differences). Our systems were compiling MATLAB code at the same speeds (a series of 40-50 macros each with 5,000+ lines of code and some graphical output options), booting and shutting down at the same times, opening programs at the same speeds, etc. I would not have been able to tell if I was using his system or mine if we had switched.

Stick with the Core i5 versions in both systems. There really isn't any justification in paying for the upgrade and the price/performance is obnoxious.

 

Was trying to compare these two:

New MBA 13 - $1,279.00
1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB RAM
128GB Flash Storage
2.96 pounds

New MBP 13 - $1,289.00
2.4GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
8GB RAM
128 GB SSD
3.46 pounds

Any reason not to throw in another $10 for the rMBP? The slight weight difference isn't too big. Battery life is worse by roughly 3 hours though I think. (9 vs 12) Can probably drop to an i5 on the MBA for -$150 as well.

 

yeah, I would get more storage, so bump up to the 256gb model that is 1499

 

Bleh, was hoping it wouldn't go that high. Probably end up getting an Asus UX302 instead then at that price range. :\ If only I didn't need to dual boot Windows on a Mac. Can do fine with 128gb on a Windows.

 

The $200 price drop on the rMBP 13 has just made my decision between it and the MBA that much more difficult!
I haven't really been keeping up so I don't know if the "iris" graphics are a dramatic improvement over the new haswell integrated graphics, but for essentially the same configuration

MBA:
i5, 128gb, 8gb ram

MBP
i5, 128gb, 8gb ram

the MBP is only ~$180 more for the better screen, upgradable storage, and possibly better "iris" graphics card?
Sounds completely worth it to me, can anyone else comment in case I'm missing something?

Thanks,
Chi

 

The Iris graphics card is also known as the Intel Hd 5100 (iris pro is hd 5200, not sure if any of the new macs have it), and its suppose to be quite a bit better compared to the one in the MBA (intel hd 5000). The i5 in the MBA is a ULV one, so its less powerful than the one in the MBP. Also, I think the storage in the MBP can't be upgraded post purchase. Heard somewhere it might be soldered on for speed. (PCI or something compared to msata/sata)

The MBA is quite lighter and thinner, and comes with over 3 hours more battery life because of its weaker specs.

As Karamazovmm said above, you might need a larger ssd. I had planned to get 128gb but needing to dual boot windows pretty much costs another $100 for the SSD upgrade. If you can get a student discount, the rMBP 13" is pretty cheap. :\

If you need long battery life or just use a laptop to browse the web, the MBA is probably better suited. (As in over 9 hours of life xD) The rMBP is better if you need a bit more processing power or don't move around much.

 

Ah, seems the new Haswell SSD's are in fact soldered while older rMBP's could still be upgraded? Although I read that the new ssd module is still removable, so perhaps upgrade options will come in due time.

I agree 256gb is ideal, ugh decisions decisions.

 

kornchild2002, Thank you for the advise. I asked my friend to rent me a MBA 11 for the weekend, so I can play a little bit with it. I think this will give me some clarity on the decision.