The Student Room Group

AIR VS PRO! Which one is best?

Hi, Will be used for College & uni studies, possibly the odd game and quite a bit of movies, Coud do with the Air's battery life but would prefer the better screen? HELP!
Original post by RyRy1998
Hi, Will be used for College & uni studies, possibly the odd game and quite a bit of movies, Coud do with the Air's battery life but would prefer the better screen? HELP!


Depends entirely on what you do................the way I see things are essentially, Pro range is more for the serious type of user when it comes to photo/video editing. Though if you are talking about the standard Pro Non-Retina, well its frankly a bit out-dated and weighs about 2kg and has upto 7 hours battery life.

The Air is rather more focused on people looking for an extremely light, long battery life laptop, it has decent amount of money and the ssd helps it in terms of speed. However the smaller screen is to be avoided personally and there is a lack of storage and it costs a huge amount as an upgrade. Though screen will be much nicer for movies.

Which games? As they are integrated graphics, but if the game isn't that demanding it could be played.
Reply 2
Original post by Iqbal007
Depends entirely on what you do................the way I see things are essentially, Pro range is more for the serious type of user when it comes to photo/video editing. Though if you are talking about the standard Pro Non-Retina, well its frankly a bit out-dated and weighs about 2kg and has upto 7 hours battery life.

The Air is rather more focused on people looking for an extremely light, long battery life laptop, it has decent amount of money and the ssd helps it in terms of speed. However the smaller screen is to be avoided personally and there is a lack of storage and it costs a huge amount as an upgrade. Though screen will be much nicer for movies.

Which games? As they are integrated graphics, but if the game isn't that demanding it could be played.


Hi, Thanks for the reply, I'm looking between the 13" retina and Air.

Currently on LVL3 Engineering and will be progressing to LVL4 then UNI, so mainly the odd bit of CAD, alot of coursework and a bit of Multisim, nothing to demanding, I have 8 hours at college plus 2 ish on the train, Can take a charger if needed but would prefer not to.

Ashamed to admit I like the simulators (FS13, ETS2 Etc) maybe some of the Sims 4 and the older titles. Nothing to demanding.

Thanks for the help
Original post by RyRy1998
Hi, Thanks for the reply, I'm looking between the 13" retina and Air.

Currently on LVL3 Engineering and will be progressing to LVL4 then UNI, so mainly the odd bit of CAD, alot of coursework and a bit of Multisim, nothing to demanding, I have 8 hours at college plus 2 ish on the train, Can take a charger if needed but would prefer not to.

Ashamed to admit I like the simulators (FS13, ETS2 Etc) maybe some of the Sims 4 and the older titles. Nothing to demanding.

Thanks for the help


I would say be careful with the stated battery, its all under ideal conditions. So when doing more stressful things, the battery drain will be higher than usual. Another issue is check for software compatibility that you'll need to use so you can use the Mac, or better yet just use the onsite computers.

I am not too sure about the simulators, they may be a push so running on low settings should be fine, but this is integrated graphics so be careful.
If you want to run simulation games and CAD I would recommend the Pro, since they have much faster CPU and about 20% faster integrated graphics.

I wouldn't worry about the screen. I have the retina pro, and I have compared it side by side to airs, and I can't tell any difference (I have better than 20/20 vision with glasses).

The quoted battery life for the 13" Pro is 9 hours, but I regularly get longer than 9 hours. Their battery estimates are conservative. All the reviews also say the same.
Reply 5
Original post by ihavemooedtoday
If you want to run simulation games and CAD I would recommend the Pro, since they have much faster CPU and about 20% faster integrated graphics.

I wouldn't worry about the screen. I have the retina pro, and I have compared it side by side to airs, and I can't tell any difference (I have better than 20/20 vision with glasses).

The quoted battery life for the 13" Pro is 9 hours, but I regularly get longer than 9 hours. Their battery estimates are conservative. All the reviews also say the same.


Wow thanks dude... Might go for the pro in that case, was only holding back because it was quoted as less battery and that black screen bezel.

Thanks!



Posted from TSR Mobile
Was in this dilemma a couple of months ago.

The Air is great if all you do is wordprocessing, spreadsheets, movies, low CPU/GPU intensity games, internet and very little beyond that. The advantage to it however is the portability, light-weight, slim dimensions and an excellent battery life.

I went for the Pro 13" as my work requires it and for the most part it replaces a Windows laptop without any problems to do what I want it to do. Slight increase in weight and slightly thicker dimensions together with slightly shorter battery life was something I could put up with as it is rare you would be using a computer of any kind for more than 6 hours per day while away from a power socket other than when you are on a very long haul flight in which case you won't be doing that often as a uni student :smile:
Original post by RyRy1998
Wow thanks dude... Might go for the pro in that case, was only holding back because it was quoted as less battery and that black screen bezel.

Thanks!



Posted from TSR Mobile


I just used my laptop through a 50 minutes lecture, and now it's estimating 14 hours 40 minutes left (99%).

I don't think that's accurate (they probably didn't count the capacity above design capacity), but I do often get above 10 hours in normal usage.
Reply 8
Original post by ihavemooedtoday
I just used my laptop through a 50 minutes lecture, and now it's estimating 14 hours 40 minutes left (99%).

I don't think that's accurate (they probably didn't count the capacity above design capacity), but I do often get above 10 hours in normal usage.


oh wow really! That's amazing, I've heard the Pro often makes over 10 hours too, I've got a month before it's ourchase time so still have time to decide, Spent some time in the Apple store today, didn't make major progress
Original post by RyRy1998
oh wow really! That's amazing, I've heard the Pro often makes over 10 hours too, I've got a month before it's ourchase time so still have time to decide, Spent some time in the Apple store today, didn't make major progress


Yeah, unless you run some intensive stuff, an Air will feel almost exactly like a Pro. The Pro is just slightly thicker, slightly heavier, and slightly pricier. The difference is much much smaller than last generation, though, when Pros still had optical drives and were much heavier. The biggest difference used to be dedicated graphics on the Pro, but they don't do that on the lower end Pros nowadays (Intel Iris is about as good as 630/730-level dedicated graphics). The other difference - optical drive, has also been eliminated. Now the only big difference is the CPU (and the iGPU it includes), but that difference is getting smaller, too. I wouldn't be surprised if they unify the 2 product lines in a few more generations.
Original post by ihavemooedtoday
If you want to run simulation games and CAD I would recommend the Pro, since they have much faster CPU and about 20% faster integrated graphics.

I wouldn't worry about the screen. I have the retina pro, and I have compared it side by side to airs, and I can't tell any difference (I have better than 20/20 vision with glasses).

The quoted battery life for the 13" Pro is 9 hours, but I regularly get longer than 9 hours. Their battery estimates are conservative. All the reviews also say the same.

Can't tell the difference? Are you serious?

I suspect you weren't running the Pro in it's full resolution. The default setting matches the air I believe so they'll look similar.

My honest opinion is the Air has a poor screen by today's standards. The resolution is below par (considering the price), viewing angles just okay. The bezels are massive so the whole machine kinda looks outdated. The Retina Pro is a different beast entirely and I'd describe it as a desktop replacement. It's decent value too - get the US version from Amazon for £200 cheaper. There's little difference minus a couple of keys in different places and a different power lead. Frankly it's an awesome laptop but the Air is more portable because of it's weight

I was in thesame position just a month ago. In the ended I stuck to Windows because of compatibility and because I got more with my money. I bought a 13" Lenovo yoga 2, i5 4gb RAM with 256gb SSD and 500gb HDD and a full 1080P touchscreen IPS display, all in for £615
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by silent ninja
Can't tell the difference? Are you serious?

I suspect you weren't running the Pro in it's full resolution. The default setting matches the air I believe so they'll look similar.

My honest opinion is the Air has a poor screen by today's standards. The resolution is below par (considering the price), viewing angles just okay. The bezels are massive so the whole machine kinda looks outdated. The Retina Pro is a different beast entirely and I'd describe it as a desktop replacement. It's decent value too - get the US version from Amazon for £200 cheaper. There's little difference minus a couple of keys in different places and a different power lead. Frankly it's an awesome laptop but the Air is more portable because of it's weight

I was in thesame position just a month ago. In the ended I stuck to Windows because of compatibility and because I got more with my money. I bought a 13" Lenovo yoga 2, i5 4gb RAM with 256gb SSD and 500gb HDD and a full 1080P touchscreen IPS display, all in for £615


I am quite serious, and yes, the default Pro runs at the native resolution. They just do vector scaling of UI elements so that they are the same physical size. They are still rasterized at the native resolution. That's why things don't look smaller on the Pro, even though Pro renders those same UI elements at much higher resolution.

If they do the same as Windows laptops (using absolute-pixel dimensions), everything on the retina Pro will be unreadable.
Reply 12
I've got the 15" retina Pro and it is definitely worth it over an Air. I see the Air more as a notebook, and 4gb RAM/stated spec of the air is now going from ahead of its time to just a standard competitor in the market.

The pro is very good at running intensive games too, such as Skyrim, TF2 and MC in high spec :biggrin:
I recently bought the 11" Air as I was planning on travelling abroad and wanted something light and with a long battery life - with student discount, it's the best money I ever spent.

It's incredibly light, and to be honest, I think the screen is brilliant. I was slightly apprehensive that I'd struggle in terms of watching films and tv on such a small screen, but as a self confessed Netflix addict, I've not really noticed any massive difference between this and my old 15" laptop.

It's also incredibly fast, and the navigation and interface are smooth and flawless. Also a treat that it makes absolutely no noise compared to my old laptop which was virtually impossible to use because it was so loud.

I appreciate the storage on the Air isn't great, but is good enough for my rather large iTunes. I'm able to store all my photos/videos via dropbox etc anyway and have a fair share of documents - I'm yet to run into any problems with too little storage.

I absolutely love my little air - perfect for my browsing, music and movie needs.
Reply 14
Original post by silent ninja
Can't tell the difference? Are you serious?

I suspect you weren't running the Pro in it's full resolution. The default setting matches the air I believe so they'll look similar.

My honest opinion is the Air has a poor screen by today's standards. The resolution is below par (considering the price), viewing angles just okay. The bezels are massive so the whole machine kinda looks outdated. The Retina Pro is a different beast entirely and I'd describe it as a desktop replacement. It's decent value too - get the US version from Amazon for £200 cheaper. There's little difference minus a couple of keys in different places and a different power lead. Frankly it's an awesome laptop but the Air is more portable because of it's weight

I was in thesame position just a month ago. In the ended I stuck to Windows because of compatibility and because I got more with my money. I bought a 13" Lenovo yoga 2, i5 4gb RAM with 256gb SSD and 500gb HDD and a full 1080P touchscreen IPS display, all in for £615


Hmmmm, thanks for the input! Do you not find the 4GB ram is a little short at times? I will admit, it would be nice to have a retina Air at some point... Do you need a power adapter for the US version though?

That yoga sounds like a pretty good deal, do you know if theres a i7 & 8gb version?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 15
Original post by SP0TIFY
I've got the 15" retina Pro and it is definitely worth it over an Air. I see the Air more as a notebook, and 4gb RAM/stated spec of the air is now going from ahead of its time to just a standard competitor in the market.

The pro is very good at running intensive games too, such as Skyrim, TF2 and MC in high spec :biggrin:


Hi! Thanks for the input! Unfortunately the 15" is a tad out my price range unless I went second hand... Didn't realise they were that powerful though


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 16
Original post by killerjane
I recently bought the 11" Air as I was planning on travelling abroad and wanted something light and with a long battery life - with student discount, it's the best money I ever spent.

It's incredibly light, and to be honest, I think the screen is brilliant. I was slightly apprehensive that I'd struggle in terms of watching films and tv on such a small screen, but as a self confessed Netflix addict, I've not really noticed any massive difference between this and my old 15" laptop.

It's also incredibly fast, and the navigation and interface are smooth and flawless. Also a treat that it makes absolutely no noise compared to my old laptop which was virtually impossible to use because it was so loud.

I appreciate the storage on the Air isn't great, but is good enough for my rather large iTunes. I'm able to store all my photos/videos via dropbox etc anyway and have a fair share of documents - I'm yet to run into any problems with too little storage.

I absolutely love my little air - perfect for my browsing, music and movie needs.


Wow, thanks for the input! I've gad a look at the 11, seems a little bit small to me considering it's only fractionally smaller & lighter than the 13". I also do a lot of travelling and would love something for the plane movie wise! I use Skydrive as I get 1TB with my college account and do a similar thing...


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by RyRy1998
Wow, thanks for the input! I've gad a look at the 11, seems a little bit small to me considering it's only fractionally smaller & lighter than the 13". I also do a lot of travelling and would love something for the plane movie wise! I use Skydrive as I get 1TB with my college account and do a similar thing...


Posted from TSR Mobile
It does seem quite small and I did have a slight moment of panic in the apple store where I thought it was going to be TOO small but I guess I just got used to it and now it's the perfect size for my needs really. I think it's most noticeable when Im nipping it into the kitchen, say when Im cooking tea and it's so light to just pick up with one hand - when I tried the same with the 13" in the store it was noticeably heavier. That's just a personal thing though :smile:
Original post by RyRy1998
Hmmmm, thanks for the input! Do you not find the 4GB ram is a little short at times? I will admit, it would be nice to have a retina Air at some point... Do you need a power adapter for the US version though?

That yoga sounds like a pretty good deal, do you know if theres a i7 & 8gb version?


Posted from TSR Mobile

Not quite sure where you're going with this. The needs you've described, and which are met with the air (which is not a powerhouse by any means), don't require an i7 with 8gb of RAM. That's overkill. You should go for the Mac Pro if you need a desktop replacement with grunt. The Yoga 2 and Yoga 2 Pro do come in i7 variants with 8gb ram and other extras, but do you want to pay £1k+?

4gb with i5 and an SSD is super quick for productivity, internet browsing and general media (movies, audio, basic gaming). It's more than enough for a typical student. You wouldn't buy this kind of spec or an Air to edit videos or run high end games at full framerates. If your budget is not limited then maybe...mobile devices in the 11-14" range serve a different purpose
(edited 9 years ago)
Do not listen to anyone else here, listen directly to me. As an owner of the Pro Retina 13 inch, I can vouch for it being the superior machine. There is NO reason anymore to buy the Air. The Pro is now tearing into the Air price range, you can get a base on for £999 with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD(I have the 256 model). The Pro is just the better machine. Its display is phenomenal, you gotta see it. Its mega accurate, vibrant and just awe worthy. It's CPU/GPU package is more powerful than the Air, it has a HDMI port, its pretty light and thin, its just much better than the Air.

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