Macbook 12 vs Air 11 vs MBP 13

I mainly need a laptop for surfing the net, netflix, excel, word, etc, and photo storage and editing. Right now I am leaning towards the MB 12 because of the form factor and screen. I'm not sure I could use an Air after using Retina screens. I can get a brand new in box macbook 12 for 999 out the door. Would you all go this route considering what I use it for? The only reason I mention the MBP is because it is in the same price area but I think that size is too big for what I need in portability.

 

I have not used the MB12 but I have heard so many people complain about it being slow and not keeping up. With that said, I have also heard issues that netflix/youtube will studder. I have used core M on windows and have not had issues, but maybe apple is not optimized well... either way, this is just my take on it.

I have used the air and MBP13 retina and would say that the MBP would be the way to go. Its thin, gets great battery life with full size ports. You want to do photo editing.... on the MB12 that may be an issue... with the MBP you would easily be chugging along.

As for the air... I would stay away. The screen is low res and TN, not to mention it is going to be outdated soon and as you can see from prices its not going to hold its value. With that said, if you can get one for very cheap... then go for it, but if you are planning to stay around the 1000 mark, I'd go with the MBP 13 without a doubt.

Hope this helps some. Maybe someone can chime in with some real world MB12 advice.

 

One of my coworkers bought a MacBook last year and he uses it mainly for work and some personal stuff and it's replaced a bunch of his other machines. He has a Vaio Z and a few MacBook Pros of varying sizes. I personally would want at least a Retina MacBook 13 for the times when I want more CPU horsepower for things like video transcoding.

I would not by the Air until they improve the screen resolution - might even happen this year.

 

The 12-inch MacBook would probably work for what you're doing, however, I would make sure to buy it from someplace that will allow you to return it if it ends up not being sufficient.

 

I agree with you all that said the MBP would be the better buy but I just don't like the size of it. I am intrigued by the 12 for the smaller screen, lighter, and smaller footprint overall.

But then again, so much more power and battery to deal with a less than ideal size. Decisions!

 

My previous laptop was a 2008 17-inch MacBook Pro that weighs 8 pounds and has two hours of battery life. I used to take this to and from work everyday in a backpack. My new Retina MacBook Pro 15 weighs much less and is smaller but it's much faster, has a much better screen and is likely good for the next decade. It's nice that I don't have to carry around a power adapter as well. Does a diagonal inch and maybe a bit more thickness make that big a difference? There aren't a lot of USB-C accessories out there yet and what is out there seems a little pricey right now. Are you going to carry adapters and cables around with you to use them?

Do you have another laptop or desktop available to you when you need more processing power? If so, then it can make sense to have a lower powered device to take with you.

My coworker does a lot of work on the internal cloud so he doesn't need as much internal CPU power. He also doesn't game so that's not a factor. I think it reasonable to have access to at least one computer with decent horsepower.

 

You make very good points. If you look at the footprint of these laptops it's more than just 1" of screen. The pro is heavier, bigger, clunkier etc... I don't think I'd carry accessories because I don't really use dvds, cds, or thumb drives regularly. I'd carry the laptop and charger. I do have another "workhorse" laptop that I use for work and this one would be for media consumption, internet surfing, and some light photo editing in lightroom.

 

13'' Pro is my machine of choice. I think I live in another world from some of you guys who complain about the size LOL I know I sound like an old man but looking back on my machines from college that weighed 8 lbs and around 6 lbs (for a 14'' machine!) respectively, I find the current Macbook Pros to weigh almost nothing!

I think getting a rMB for $1k is a pretty good price. My chief complaint with it is that it is overpriced (har har, overpriced, from a Mac fan!). I don't own one but from my experimenting with them, they have the speed needs for all of my casual recreation use. I personally have not experienced them lagging on streaming content. I would be more apt to suspect background tasks or a poor network environment then the Core M CPU.

Depends on what you mean by photo editing. If you're just importing and moving images from your camera and maybe doing some minor touchups and filters, it'll work great.

 

Yeah that's exactly what I'm doing on my photos. Importing from camera/phone and doing light touchups in lightroom. I can get a base MB 12 for around $1200 right now or a base MB Pro 13 for around 1100. The 12 would have 256gb HD and the 13 a 128gb HD. Both would have 8gb ram but the pro would obviously have the better cpu/gpu. I'm starting to be open to the pro. But darn the 12 is pretty and light lol

 

People need to stop treating the Macbook 12 like it's a computer. It is NOT. It is a glorified gimped tablet with a keyboard. The MINIMUM you should look at is a MBA, but you should probably spring for the rMBP 13.

 

Since the OP's needs are modest, I think the MacBook is fine. Wouldn't be my choice, but there's more than one path to salvation.

 

Photo storage and editing on a 1.1Ghz Core M driving a retina resolution? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially at its ludicrous price of $1300, 300 more than a more powerful macbook air or the same price as a base rMBP13

 

the retina MacBook is capable of basic photo editing. Check out this comparison between rMB and the Pro.

I don't disagree with you on the price though. IMO Mac users who are interested in the rMB would be better off with an Air or Pro (battery life or power respectively).

If the rMB started at $1000, it would be an easier pill to swallow for me.