Whether you have a Mac or are considering getting one there is no question that Apple make some really good products with exceptional build quality. A year ago I hated Mac, and Apple as a whole, then I saw the light by ceasing with my Microsoft ‘fanboyism’ and have become a better geek because of it.
Before I actually start the comparison I don’t own a Mac and I don’t know the software overly well, what I do know comes from my own research. This post will only compare the MacBook Air with the MacBook Pro and not with any Windows machines, so don’t expect it to be a Mac vs Windows discussion because I don’t know Mac well enough to draw my own conclusions from it.
I’ll include some comparisons below so you can see the models on offer from each product line:
Using the headings from the MacBook Air’s product comparison page let's look at each in turn:
Price
The baseline MacBook Air is £867 ($999 ) whereas the Pro starts at £999 ($1199). Cost is not the most important thing to consider, in my opinion, of course this does matter somewhat in your final decision, but seeing as the MacBook Air has a much lower spec than the Pro it is unfair to compare them based on price.
Storage
Here is one of the big things to consider when choosing between the two, the MacBook Air packs an SSD as standard coming in 64, 128 & 256GB flavours; the Pro, however, comes with HDDs as standard offering 320, 500 & 750GB sizes depending on the model. The MacBook Pro does have configurable SSD options offering 128, 256 & 512GB but these don’t come cheap with the 512GB SSD coming in at £960 ($1,200) extra. Check out my blog post about SSDs if you want to find out the differences between HDDs and SSDs.
Display
This could potentially make or break any purchase you make when deciding between the Air and the Pro. The MacBook Air is only available with a tiny 11.6” screen or a more readable 13.3” screen whereas the MacBook Pro starts at 13.3” going all the way to 17 inches. Both the Pro and the Air have “high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display[s] with support for millions of colours” which looks amazing.
Weight
Here’s what sets the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro apart. The Air is ultra-lightweight coming in at just 1.06kg (2.3lbs) for the 11” model and 1.32kg (2.9lbs) for the 13.3” model. The Pro starts at 2.04kg (4.5lbs) going up to 3kg (6.6lbs) for the 17” version.
This will probably be the deciding factor when considering either the Pro or the Air. The Air is sold on it’s weight and that is what you pay for. The 13.3” Mac still doesn’t weigh a ton, coming in a tad over 2kg, so you can still carry it around all day with your back/arms still in tact. If you really need something light then the Air really is the best on the market in terms of its weight but it isn’t a powerhouse…
Connectivity
This isn’t something I find most users worry about when considering what PC/laptop they should buy but it is still important and for the business/professional user this could be another make/break category.
As you’d expect the MacBook Air falls short on connectivity options offering only 2 USB ports, a mini display port and headphone jack on both models but lacking an Ethernet port. The MacBook Pro has a Gigabit Ethernet port, FireWire 800 port and a Thunderbolt port; the 13 & 15-inch models have two USB 2.0 ports and SDXC slot whereas the 17-inch features three USB 2.0 ports and an ExpressCard/34 slot.
Both the MacBook Pro and the Air are rocking 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR which is an added bonus for those wireless junkies (i.e. the whole world!)
Processor and Memory
This is something which will make a big difference to the power user and depending on your needs could be another make/break category to think about. The Air is lacking a bit in this department compared to most of the Windows ultraportables on the market featuring a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo on the 11-inch, configurable to 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for £82 ($100); a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo resides in the 13-inch model going to 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for that reasonable sum of £82 ($100).
The MacBook Pro is of course the king of this section offering a multitude of processors:
13-inch: 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
15-inch: 2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
15 & 17-inch: 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
In terms of memory the Air comes with 2GB of DDR3 (1066MHz) configurable to 4GB for an extra £80 ($100); the Pro is getting 4GB of 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM with 8GB available for £160 ($200) more.
Graphics
Again something for power users to worry about the MacBook Air will not excite many with an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor offering 256MB of shared DDR3 memory, don’t expect to be running Crysis on high!
On the Pro all models feature Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB of shared memory (DDR3) but there are also dedicated graphical offerings with automatic graphics switching:
15-inch: AMD Radeon HD 6490M, 256MB GDDR5 memory
15 & 17-inch: AMD Radeon HD 6750M, 1GB GDDR5 memory
This allows for some really good gaming performance and media editing capabilities.
Battery and Power
Here’s where you’d expect the Air to come up trumps but you’ll be surprised to learn that all MacBook Pro models and the 13-inch MacBook Air allow for 7hrs ‘wireless productivity’; the 11-inch Air offers a reduced 5hrs which is much less than some of the higher-end Windows ultraportables which can last as much as 14hrs (Sony SB Series with extended batter)
Keyboard & Mouse
Surprisingly both feature a full size keyboard, in fact the same layout and size as the Apple Wireless Keyboard which is great if you already own a Mac. The only difference here is that the MacBook Air doesn’t feature a backlit keyboard.
The ‘mouse’ takes the form of the “Multi-Touch trackpad” supporting gestures etc…on all Pro and Air models.
So there we have it, the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air! I’ve probably covered more here than is really necessary but it does give you a in-depth look at both MacBook offerings. Of course the 17-inch is more a desktop replacement than a laptop and it is unfair to compare this with the MacBook Air. The main thing to consider before deciding is what you want to use your laptop for and if weight is a real big thing for you, if it is then get an Air if it isn’t get the extra power the MacBook Pro offers.
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