Apple fans are now caught in between a yet another big dilemma with the launching of the new MacBook Air 2013. Boasting an Intel 4th generation Core processor, the new Air has definitely led many to ponder whether the best MacBook to purchase this year is this 2013 version of MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Of course, each has its own perks on the get-go and these perks and whatever updated features can definitely help everyone in making a firm decision on their new MacBook purchase.
Design
Fortunately or unfortunately nothing much has been changed in terms of Air's and Pro's design and form factor. Both still has that familiar Apple aesthetic, which is a solid aluminum body with black keyboard and unparalleled touchpad to match. The Air is undeniably unchanged in dimensions and design, weighing 3 pound and measuring 12.8x9x0.11 - 0.68 inches. On the other hand, the Pro, which is thicker than the Air, is at 0.75 inches and has a smaller footprint at 12.4x8.6 inches, weighing 3.75 pounds. Though the Pro may be a tad heavier than the MacBook Air, it is still easy to carry with unrecognizable weight difference.
Battery Life
MacBook Air's battery life has dramatically increased all thanks to its new Intel Haswell processors. From 7 hours to 12 hours for the 13-inch model and from 5 hours to 9 hours for the 11-inch model, the boost in the battery life of the said device is quite a good catch for users who are opting to use their MacBook for long periods. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro with Retina Display is playing somewhere 7 hours battery life as claimed by the company itself and based on several battery tests, which involved Web surfing via Wi-Fi. At this point, the Pro falls 4 hours less than the Air, but is still very understandable given its Retina display.
Display
Well, this round's winner is already a given based on their names alone. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display flaunts the sharpest and richest screen to have landed on a notebook, which is at 2560 x 1600 pixels overshadowing Air's 1440 x 900-pixel panel. Texts, icons and website displays look richer and sharper on the MacBook Pro due to its Retina Display feature. Such feature is said to give its users immense pleasure when using apps that take advantage of high-quality panels including: Photoshop CS6, Pocket, Real Racing 2, and Tweetbot. Despite the obvious difference between their displays, MacBook Air is still a competitive catch amongst other notebooks in the market today.
Ports and External Display Support
As mentioned earlier, the Air is still sporting the same look found on its predecessors so nothing much can be said about it. It still has two USB 3.0 ports, placed on each side, a Thunderbolt port, and an SDXC card slot. Contrariwise, the MacBook Pro with Retina comes with two USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, one SDXC card slot, and an HDMI port. Given all these, the Air can support one additional display at 2560 x 1600 resolution while the Pro can support two additional displays at the same resolution.
Performance
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display comes with the third generation 2.5-GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of flash storage. Contrariwise, the Air comes with a 1.3-GHz Haswell ULT processor, 4GB of RAM, and a new PCI Express-based flash storage. The MacBook Air 2013 also boasts 45 percent faster flash memory and 40 percent greater graphics performance through its Intel HD 5000 GPU. Because of these, based on benchmark results, the new Air nearly rivals Pro's performance.
Price Value
As always, Apple's notebooks could get a little bit pricey, but for now the Air's least expensive version is at $1,099 while the Pro with Retina Display starts at $1,499. The least expensive Air comes with a 1.3-GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of flash storage, and an Intel HD Graphics 5000. On the contrary, MacBook Pro's most affordable offering sports a 2.5-GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128 GB of flash storage, and an Intel HD Graphics 4000.
The more expensive Air is at $1,299 and sports the same processor and RAM but comes with a much bigger 256GB of storage. Meanwhile, Pro's $1,699 version comes with a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB of RAM and similar flash storage as that of the Air.
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