So while Apple now has its own “Which MacBook Are You?” quiz, I’ve been mulling over a specific question: “Macbook Air vs. MacBook?” This chart helps break the down the differences between the new MacBook and its skinny-butt sibling, the MacBook Air, which is getting its own under-the-hood updates in November.
So at a glance, how does the MacBook stack up against the MacBook Air? Using the base configurations for each machine, it appeared that the new 4.5-pound MacBook beat the MacBook Air when it came to: CPU, hard drive, internal optical drive, ports, battery life, and price.
It’s probably no surprise that the MacBook Air has the advantage when it comes to: weight, L2 cache, keyboard (with backlight!), thickness, and that’s pretty much it.
For me, the weight issue has weighed heavily on my mind lately (oh, I crack myself up with these horrible puns). I’ve been carrying my MacBook (circa 2006) around a lot lately, even more so than usual. Although it’s only 5.2 pounds, the MacBook has a way of making itself known when it’s sitting in a bag that also contains: a power adapter, cell phone, iPod, day planner, small wallet, etc. Oh, and the bag weighs 2 pounds by itself (yes, I do have lighter bags for the MacBook. But my entire life in this tote bag so it’s the one I carry around the most often).
So at any given time, I am carrying at least 7 pounds on my shoulder (the doctors, they love me). And there sits the MacBook Air, with its enticing promise of 3 pounds and 0.16 to 0.76-inch dimensions. Carry me around, it says. You’ll barely know I’m there. And let’s face it—during the times I’m taking my MacBook out and about, I’m almost always using it for writing and other light tasks where I’m not editing video, photos, or audio (…which I don’t do anyway, so there). The MacBook definitely tackles word processing, spreadsheet, email, and Internet tasks with aplomb so the MacBook Air would as well.
However, the MacBook Air only has one USB port (and my hub has decided it no longer wants to live), a Mini DisplayPort, and a headphone port. It clearly wants to be a “Wireless Internet rulz!!!!” machine but where I live and work, reliable WiFi hotspots are still hard to come by. Ethernet’s still needed as a backup method.
And while sitting down to watch Bridget Jones’ Diary from Netflix the other night, I remembered that the MacBook Air has no internal optical drive because hey, you can just get your movies and junk on the iTunes Store!…Yeah, guess who really likes her Netflix membership? Hmm. I can see this is going to take some serious thinking. Better get some more ice cream.
Would your experience ("pop in a Netflix DVD") have been negatively affected by having to pop the DVD into an old stationary machine's DVD drive and using the Air's drive-hijacking feature to watch the movie? If all you're really going to miss is a DVD drive, that seems like an easy enough obstacle to overcome.
Just a thought.
@Cy: I don't think the Air supports disc-intensive stuff life watching DVD's over the Remote Disc.
The chart is not quite right. There is no keyboard advantage to the MBA because the MB's also has a light sensor.
Further, the MB DOES have an advantage in graphics because even though they use the same 9400M, the MBA's is clock-reduced to run slower (thermal requirement).
Still, nice chart and their summary is spot on. If you need the lighter (1.5 lbs is nothing to sneeze at) form factor go for it. Otherwise the MB is a much faster and feature-rich machine.
That's a good point about Remote Disc and whether it can handle DVDs. For me, it's the whole "not having the internal drive" widget. If push came to shove, could I just switch to renting movies off of iTunes and making the move move to non-physical media?
It's definitely time for more ice cream.
I went from having an MBP to an Air this fall, and I am very pleased with the Air. I had to return the MBP at the end of a project, but I do not miss its weight and I no longer need its better video & CPU.
Yes the one USB port is annoying, so I got an AC powered USB hub so I could plug in: external keyboard (easier on the hands), mouse, Time Machine backup drive, and ethernet USB dongle.
I would say the Air is great as a 2nd machine, not if it's your only machine. I have an iMac on which I edit and store my many photos and videos, otherwise the Air would not be beefy enough.
I don't feel the Air in my backback at all.
The other thing people may not be factoring in is the "gosh oh shucks yeah isn't it cute?" element whenever someone notices the Air. I'm not a showoff but it's fun (for once!) to be at the forefront!
I recommend the high end ($1599) MacBook. You keep more ports, the optical drive, shed 0.7 ounces from your current setup, and get the backlit keyboard.
While both models of the MacBook have the light sensor, only the high end model has the fiber optic light behind the keyboard and actually uses the sensor.
Oh, and you still save $200 versus the Air, which you can use to upgrade the RAM to 4GB. So that leaves you with $50 savings versus the Air, which will support your Netflix subscription a few more months. :)
I take my 5 LB MacBook to school with me 2 days a week (or whenever I need it) and I really notice it. Having an MBA in there would be nice change, but since it's my main machine, I need more power.
Ismael - Good catch. I thought Remote Disc worked for all things, including DVD playback. My bad.
Another important point (at least to me) not mentioned is the higher quality screen on the Air. It is pulling me away from the MB.
One of the questions is if you use a laptop as a (part-time) replacement for a desktop. If you do an optical drive is a must.