It seems to me that most of the advantages of the MBP over MBA are standard evolutionary stuff rather than actual improvements. This was a great comparison. But I'd like to see it done again once the MBA is updated to current standards. Or rather, I would really like to see a comparison of the MacBook to the MBP -- particularly after the MacBook is updated from its essentially 2 year old hardware.
Which of these things are you saying are "standard evolutionary stuff rather than actual improvements"?
If I have one quibble it's to take some Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol over the ports to clean out the grime of the old machine before doing those close up shots.
The issue here is with MagSafe the paint gets worn/stripped over time, so that's not dirt.
You're saying that the MagSafe connector causes that that happen to the USB port and and headphone jack?
The main problem with Apple's new MacBook line up is price. Maybe in a year this will change.
Apple's lineup has pretty much stayed the same in price for years (within a couple hundred dollars). You aren't going to see a cheap Mac. As much as people complain about the price it sure isn't stopping people from pre-ordering them. I don't think $200 price difference is really hurting sales any. There's a LOT of technology packed into this tiny package...technology isn't cheap!
Bottomline...don't hold your breath for prices to fall anytime soon! If anything will fall, it will be the price of the 12" Retina MacBook, but not by much.
You seem to think few hundred $ difference in price is no big deal ! Ask those parents who borrowing for their kids in college who needs Macbook Pro for education. The base 13.3" model without touch-bar must not cost over $1199. Similar logic applies to base 15" to be appropriately priced. Don;t have problem asking more for upgrade.
Doesn't Apple offer educational prices and payment plans these days? If so it would be nice if there was a special interest free one for educational users. Maybe they do, I don't know.
Yes for a student going to College. They also offer discounts on K-12 staff only (not students) as well. Some discounts are larger than others. Depends on what you're buying. It can be anywhere from $50-200 off.
Specific to the new MacBook Pro, $50 was discounted from the 13" MacBook Pro (Non Touchbar), and $100 for the rest of the 13" lineup. The 15" is discounted anywhere from $150-200 depending on what model you buy. AppleCare for the 15" is discounted from $349 to $239 (not bad!). AppleCare for the 13" is discounted from $249 to $183.
The main problem with Apple's new MacBook line up is price. Maybe in a year this will change.
Apple's lineup has pretty much stayed the same in price for years (within a couple hundred dollars). You aren't going to see a cheap Mac. As much as people complain about the price it sure isn't stopping people from pre-ordering them. I don't think $200 price difference is really hurting sales any. There's a LOT of technology packed into this tiny package...technology isn't cheap!
Bottomline...don't hold your breath for prices to fall anytime soon! If anything will fall, it will be the price of the 12" Retina MacBook, but not by much.
You seem to think few hundred $ difference in price is no big deal ! Ask those parents who borrowing for their kids in college who needs Macbook Pro for education. The base 13.3" model without touch-bar must not cost over $1199. Similar logic applies to base 15" to be appropriately priced. Don;t have problem asking more for upgrade.
Its really no different from other models. As I said, there's a lot of technology packed into this Mac. Just because there are less ports doesn't mean its less capable. As Digital Clips said, there are educational discounts available that would bring the price back down. If you're really trying to save money you can still purchase last years 13" MacBook Pro for $1199. However, if you want to upgrade anything you're going to end up spending the same amount as the new 13" MacBook Pro.
If you want to buy a Mac, be prepared to spend some money. Otherwise go get a POS cheap $200 Crapbook that only does one thing. Its really always been this way.
If I have one quibble it's to take some Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol over the ports to clean out the grime of the old machine before doing those close up shots.
The issue here is with MagSafe the paint gets worn/stripped over time, so that's not dirt.
You're saying that the MagSafe connector causes that that happen to the USB port and and headphone jack?
It seems to me that most of the advantages of the MBP over MBA are standard evolutionary stuff rather than actual improvements. This was a great comparison. But I'd like to see it done again once the MBA is updated to current standards. Or rather, I would really like to see a comparison of the MacBook to the MBP -- particularly after the MacBook is updated from its essentially 2 year old hardware.
Except the MacBook Air will never see current standards. There's no reason for it to exist anymore. It served its purpose and is slowly be phased out with other models (12" MacBook and 13" MacBook Pro). This is like people still holding out for a new 17" MacBook Pro...its ain't gonna happen folks!!!
The MacBook and MacBook Pro serve 2 different purposes. They're really not comparable. Yes, they're both Mac laptops but they're designed for completely different purposes. The 12" MacBook is designed as a MacBook Air replacement, for people on the go all the time and don't need speed, but rather portability. The MacBook Pro is for people who need speed, more I/O, possibly discrete graphics, etc. They're willing to give up a little weight to get this. Obviously the MacBook Pro is going to beat the MacBook hands down. The MacBook the way its configured is plenty powerful enough for most people's needs. I have a first gen model its more than adequate. It runs macOS great, browses, plays music, even does Parallels fine with Windows 10 installed (even Windows 7). The 2nd gen 12" MacBook is even faster with the next gen Core m3, m5, and m7 CPU's.
Few things unfair about your comparison. You compared both base models correct? They are $500 apart in price. Best to compare highest Air to base MBP, as this Air is still $200 cheaper, like you say. Also, for light web browsing Ars got 16 hours on the new MBP at 200 nits.
Here's my 2.2 Ghz MBA:
That's a 3% multi-core difference, not 20%.
We tested a base model MBA against a base model model 2016 13" Pro. 1.6ghz i5 vs 2.0ghz i5, and you have the 2.2ghz i7. It's good to know that a lower frequency i5 2016 is faster (even if slightly so) than an 200mhz faster i7 chip. If both have 256GB SSD's the new MBP 13" is $149 more. Have you tested your graphics with Geekbench 4?
The main problem with Apple's new MacBook line up is price. Maybe in a year this will change.
Apple's lineup has pretty much stayed the same in price for years (within a couple hundred dollars). You aren't going to see a cheap Mac. As much as people complain about the price it sure isn't stopping people from pre-ordering them. I don't think $200 price difference is really hurting sales any. There's a LOT of technology packed into this tiny package...technology isn't cheap!
Bottomline...don't hold your breath for prices to fall anytime soon! If anything will fall, it will be the price of the 12" Retina MacBook, but not by much.
You seem to think few hundred $ difference in price is no big deal ! Ask those parents who borrowing for their kids in college who needs Macbook Pro for education. The base 13.3" model without touch-bar must not cost over $1199. Similar logic applies to base 15" to be appropriately priced. Don;t have problem asking more for upgrade.
Doesn't Apple offer educational prices and payment plans these days? If so it would be nice if there was a special interest free one for educational users. Maybe they do, I don't know.
Yes for a student going to College. They also offer discounts on K-12 staff only (not students) as well. Some discounts are larger than others. Depends on what you're buying. It can be anywhere from $50-200 off.
Specific to the new MacBook Pro, $50 was discounted from the 13" MacBook Pro (Non Touchbar), and $100 for the rest of the 13" lineup. The 15" is discounted anywhere from $150-200 depending on what model you buy. AppleCare for the 15" is discounted from $349 to $239 (not bad!). AppleCare for the 13" is discounted from $249 to $183.
Interesting. I'm a freelance musician and also a music teacher. As a teacher, I was offered a 6% discount off the lowest-end 15" model, plus special offer on AppleCare. (I opted for the business discount, anyway.)
Few things unfair about your comparison. You compared both base models correct? They are $500 apart in price. Best to compare highest Air to base MBP, as this Air is still $200 cheaper, like you say. Also, for light web browsing Ars got 16 hours on the new MBP at 200 nits.
It seems to me that most of the advantages of the MBP over MBA are standard evolutionary stuff rather than actual improvements. This was a great comparison. But I'd like to see it done again once the MBA is updated to current standards. Or rather, I would really like to see a comparison of the MacBook to the MBP -- particularly after the MacBook is updated from its essentially 2 year old hardware.
what a nonsensical thing to say. you're asserting that evolutionary improvements aren't actual, you know, improvements?
eveidently youre not familiar with how apple rolls. release new product, then refine it. this is how they've done it for decades. let that last word sink in: decades.
WTAF!! How, er, why oh wait I know why. You can't, you won't, you don't dare compare 2015 Macbook Pro to 2016 Macbook Pro BECAUSE THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME!!!!! FACE PALMS.
Am I the only person wondering why he compared a MacBook Air to the new MacBook Pro. That was not a fair comparison; they were never meant to compete with each other.
Am I the only person wondering why he compared a MacBook Air to the new MacBook Pro. That was not a fair comparison; they were never meant to compete with each other.
The 13" MBPwTO looks like a perfect release-over-release of the 13" MBA.
Comments
Specific to the new MacBook Pro, $50 was discounted from the 13" MacBook Pro (Non Touchbar), and $100 for the rest of the 13" lineup. The 15" is discounted anywhere from $150-200 depending on what model you buy. AppleCare for the 15" is discounted from $349 to $239 (not bad!). AppleCare for the 13" is discounted from $249 to $183.
Its really no different from other models. As I said, there's a lot of technology packed into this Mac. Just because there are less ports doesn't mean its less capable. As Digital Clips said, there are educational discounts available that would bring the price back down. If you're really trying to save money you can still purchase last years 13" MacBook Pro for $1199. However, if you want to upgrade anything you're going to end up spending the same amount as the new 13" MacBook Pro.
If you want to buy a Mac, be prepared to spend some money. Otherwise go get a POS cheap $200 Crapbook that only does one thing. Its really always been this way.
The MacBook and MacBook Pro serve 2 different purposes. They're really not comparable. Yes, they're both Mac laptops but they're designed for completely different purposes. The 12" MacBook is designed as a MacBook Air replacement, for people on the go all the time and don't need speed, but rather portability. The MacBook Pro is for people who need speed, more I/O, possibly discrete graphics, etc. They're willing to give up a little weight to get this. Obviously the MacBook Pro is going to beat the MacBook hands down. The MacBook the way its configured is plenty powerful enough for most people's needs. I have a first gen model its more than adequate. It runs macOS great, browses, plays music, even does Parallels fine with Windows 10 installed (even Windows 7). The 2nd gen 12" MacBook is even faster with the next gen Core m3, m5, and m7 CPU's.
Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB
eveidently youre not familiar with how apple rolls. release new product, then refine it. this is how they've done it for decades. let that last word sink in: decades.
http://www.macworld.com/article/1151235/macs/apple-rolls.html
what did you expect, flying cheeseburgers coming out of the screen??
I had the Windows version of that long back, before I got a Mac. The After Dark screensavers were really awesome.