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Ok, I know I'm going to get the inevitable 'Apple's shite' answers, but although I may agree that I'm about to pay too much for this, it's an Xmas pressie for Mrs bits who's just setting up her own business, and really wants something nice, portable and above all apple to cart around with her. Looking to do the absolute basics, spread sheets, word processing, internet stuff and sort out the massive photo collection of Micro and Nano bits
Thinking this
Or this,
but I'm actually not very sure on the differences and what I ssem to paying even more for on a macbook air. Thoughts?
air - very light, very slim, no optical drive, no ethernet port. wifi/usb only. great battery life.
i think there is a 12" retina version rumoured soon though.
find a friendly student. I got 15% off + £60 apple gift card + 3yrs applecare.
Wait until Friday then get her the 2.5 GHz 15" Pro
massive photo collection of Micro and Nano bits
How much storage space do you need? Might be an issue.
There was a thread on this recently.
FWIW get 8gm RAM. You can add disc storage externally (or internally if you wish) but RAM is soldered and non upgradable for life
If the photo collection is massive 128gb SSD isn't enough
You need to see the two machines side by side to decide how important the retina screen is to you (her).
The new Pro is very light so difference between that and Air is less than it was
FWIW IMO the comparison should be between two 8MB RAM, 256GB SSD machines
EDIT: What @rocketman says - extra discounts expected this Friday but find a student as @jambo syas and save more
Happy shopping
Be surprised if Apple do discounts on Friday, they generally don't have any problem selling stuff as it is...
I've just been through this and I suggest going for the Pro 13 inch with at least 8gb ram and 256gb SSD. The thing is so light anyway I really don't see the need for the Air, at least until it comes with the Retina screen.
I really don't see the need for the Air
Cheaper? Longer battery life? More compact? All very good reasons.
To balance this out I was briefly in this same position. In my side-by-side comparison the Retina screen on the Pro wasn't significantly better for me to justify the extra expense. Size and battery life were more important so I'd go with the Air.
As it happens I decided that for what I wanted even the most basic Macbook was too expensive so I got a Chromebook instead. Don't get me wrong, it's not a patch on the screen or build quality of a Macbook but it is a fifth of the price.
air - very light, very slim, no optical drive, no ethernet port. wifi/usb only.
Current Pro Retina models are the same. Though they have faster processors and can take for RAM and storage (at a price!).
There is still a non-Retina Pro which has an optical drive and 1TB mechanical hard drive. Only £899 now.
Cheaper? Longer battery life? More compact? All very good reasons.
That's just it: It is only a little lighter and the compactness thing is not really true as they are both the same thickness at their thickest points, the Air just tapers towards the front. Plus, I don't think the Air is cheap enough to justify it over the Pro.
If the photo collection is massive 128gb SSD isn't enough
Hardly massive if it fits on any single HD.
You should ideally be storing it somewhere other than the laptop in at least another couple of places (drives/cloud/off-site)
Thanks for the replies so far. The sorting of photos is just that, constantly tweaking and printing off mother kiddy pic, not for storage only. Sadly we learnt that lesson the hard way and lost a load of grey pics.
So, although the air is cheaper and lighter with the better battey life, for the same spec ram, processed etc it's actually a bit more so I'm paying the premium to be smaller and better battery life?
Seems reasonable so I guess it's a pro for me (her) thank for the pointers!