Air or Pro: which 13-inch MacBook should you buy?

cnet.co/LJMko2
The latest 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro and Air both start at $1,199, and are both more similar than ever. Which is for you? Scott Stein runs down the differences.

[@volebien]

the 2012 macbook pro non retina with 2 ssds on raid 0 is the best macbook to this date, even apple sold it with same specs till late 2015 and early 2016 because of the numbers of sale, they were not even trying to push it in ads etc lol, people were just keeping on buying them because with some tweaks, they were faster than the new ones, especially if you upgrade to 16gb.

[@DeadlyPoisonDagger]

Watching this on a macbook air saying "YOU BETTER SAY AIR" xD

[@sophia1471]

haha me too!

[@guimarques5733]

same bro ROCK ON MACBOOK AIR (for all you macbook air haters)!!

[@dawnfluffdamouse8006]

TheGamingBro I have the pro😂😂

[@AppleFan-md9sp]

I writing this at 2021 when video is almost 9 years old and Apple started switching Macs from Intel processors to Apple Silicon. MacBook Pro screen sizes history and future: 2006. Apple introduced original MacBook Pro. It has 3 screen sizes: 13, 15 and 17 inches. 2012. 17-inch MacBook Pro was discounted. 2019. 15-inch MacBook Pro was replaced with 16-inch one. Autumn 2021. 13-inch MacBook Pro will be replaced with 14-inch one. I planning to buy 14-inch MacBook Pro.

[@ripleyceballoherrera8839]

i have the macbook pro and its excelent for everything i mean everything so go pro...

[@kayen3344]

I just started university in September 2016, I as well was debating on which Macbook I should get. I decided on the pro and have not regret it.

[@iLiveExtreme]

This is honestly such a hard choice! I love the look and feel of the MacBook Air, but the MacBook Pro's 500GB of storage and external battery indicator is really hard to turn away!

[@xXphilipcuiXx]

Thank you so much for putting these two together. No one gets more than you bro! Also please do another one just like this next year with the new macbooks :)

[@sherylgilbert7041]

to be honest the cd slot was a deal breaker

[@loflofmix]

agree

[@xshadowscreamx]

Ethernet port though.

[@Blueman2018]

Totally agreed

[@visualmindstv9982]

Right!!

[@natalieelessar]

Im choosing the Pro just because there is a CD/DVD slot thing, and its black around the screen which is better for me. And better for watching videos, hope i dont make a mistake with this choice haha.

[@b4yonce]

Same here I didnt realize the air didnt have one till this vid im not getting air anymore

[@natalieelessar]

Im about to start university, so yeah I think it'll be a better idea to use Pro instead. :)

[@muhuzz6007]

Sorry but u r saying about 11 inch MacBook Air but MacBook Air 13" inch is just fine for university

[@muhuzz6007]

Prem what can i buy 2 of my friend says mba.1 say mbpr or mbpwr

[@bobalobalie]

***** lol dumbass 264MB of RAM? That is year 2000 numbers. Try 16GB of RAM.

[@Andrew-bd8cb]

2012 MBP all the way, getting mine this week. Finally making the move from Windows to Mac.

[@tekknking]

5 years later and the macbook pro 2012 is still incredibly popular.

[@tijn001]

Couldn't agree more! Love my MBP 13

[@uclastar32]

im glad you actually gave a definite answer. so many people just say ohh both are good it just depends

[@YoYoNicoGames]

Pro is sexy and better.

[@siZeDcuBe]

I think air is sexier but that's just opinion

[@HoboTechHelp]

***** No, *our* opinion. We're in this together bro.

[@dr.german6194]

ikr i stroke my dads macbook pro sometimes because dat metal :)

[@ianbuchan1793]

POKEM0N | MCSG it’s no longer made

[@tubersguy9397]

Sexual joke lmao

[@johnfis12]

I considered the air but went with the pro because of of the faster CPU and the black glass panel...and I love it

[@Maxxx6299]

I've got the air and it's soooooo great. Fast as lightning and I edit videos on it and everything, just great.

[@MuhammedALee17]

I still have the 13" Macbook Pro 2011. Not a big jump from 2011 Sandy Bridge to 2012 Ivy Bridge, but the 2011 model is a huge jump from Intel Core 2 Duo to Sandy Bridge.

[@Kortby]

2012: air (pro has an hdd) 2013: air (4 gb ram? For a base model?) 2014: pro (air is starting to get neglected) 2015: pro (It's just better with the better screen, better performance, and new trackpad)

[@INSANEj0k3r1]

Helped a lot more than other videos

[@Trickzyy]

My parents bought a Macbook Air about 1½ year ago and everytime I'm home for a visit, i can feel how it feels more and more unstable and i can hear the clicky sounds when i pick it up etc. Not saying it's a bad computer. It is fast, extremely fast and surely the best choise for for travelers. But i'm buying myself an Macbook Pro in a few days when the Pro gets updated and gets thinner (23 oct) only due to the fact that I've seen how my parents Air kind of "fall apart" over the years.

[@kenshin3002]

Hey, I asked the same question a week ago! I went for the Air! I never regretted it. I am not going to play too much, and have no interest in installing the os of ms, so the 256gb is good enough. The MBA is so nice, this is definitely the best notebook I ever had.

[@joshgarcia9901]

before like last month, i was researching so many reviews, and i finally came across this one, and this made the final decision for me and made me invest in my new macbook air. Thank you for helping me choose which computer was right for me, i love my MBA!

[@DonKangolJones]

Nice guide, I'd have to agree on the Air for this one.

[@BatistaR0X]

100% agree with sir! Am currently waiting for the Air to be shipped at my doorstep! Air, the future laptops as compared to a traditional laptop, Pro.

[@arkboy100]

I have a MBA and a MBP and I prefer the MBP due to its processor that's is much better and the larger storage. Also the ethernet plug and optical drive is very useful.

[@86nepsites]

I got the Air. Because I am always on the Go. you will surely enjoy travelling if you make your things light. I sold my Canon 60D dslr and just got the rx100 sony compact camera, leave my PC in my house and bring my Air with me always. This is my case though.. :)

[@tarpster77]

Personally I chose the Pro for several reasons. 1. Disc drive. As a student this is pretty essential, and a nice feature to have. 2. Upgradability. In the future if needed I can always upgrade RAM/ to SSD (when it gets cheaper). 3. Size of hard drive. For me 256GB on the Air wouldn't be enough. 4. The last is price. To get the Air to the specs needed, it would have been much more expensive than the Pro

[@lego12151]

yea,i bought a Toshiba Satellite P755 ( it's the one im using right now) it has 8GB RAM and 722 GB of Storage, theres even a model that has a backlight keyboard!! it went around $900 but is really good with handling Adobe After Effects and starts up in 16 secounds, and has a 30 secound start up

[@xXkristallraindropXx]

I still like the pro better because of the DVD slot thingie and I also like the way the screen looks with the black around it

[@karlosriveralivecom]

In terms of portability it is being forgatten that the mbp can upgrade ram and storage, also if you dont use the optical drive it can be removed and have an extra drive there

[@kickassdj]

4hrs **use time** of 11inch air is more than enough for any student, but as you said you need 8+ hour a day which not even 13inch air or even pro could provide , it provide around 6hrs. But if you mean standby time (time when its on but you aren't using it and kept in closed form) then apple says its 30 days for macbook air 11inch (I haven't tested that). If you finding it hard to read document then simple advice try Cmd and '+' to zoom, or increase your default page zoom on your doc reader.

[@TaylorGregory]

You can upgrade the Pro without any hassle, although, if you're referring to the Air, I concur.

[@geraldrivera9118]

Between the two models shown buy the macbook air, but if you have the extra cash i would recommend getting the macbook pro and add a SSD. In the video he said the SSD kept the air on par with the pro's processor but both with SSD's will make the pro faster, the weight difference is not that big to complain about it.

[@appletechvideo9456]

That's a good plan. I'm not in college yet so I'm gonna go with the air though. It's easier for me to carry to school and to do work on. I am going to get a Pro or whatever the new laptop is when I go to college.

[@DCMPSaliva]

You stopped upgrade ability at "you can't remove the graphics card"? ....what about on the pro being able to increase the Ram and remove the optical drive and install a second hard drive, and obviously the SSD upgrade to the primary HD too.

[@keenanperdrizet]

Thats what I'm saying man, he also recommended at the end of the video to jump to the 14,999 model. You could easily get a SSD and an extra 12g of RAM for that money..

[@illusiveman1584]

I like the extra resolution, extra portability, and speed. Thats why i have an air (SSD is amazing)

[@PatMalloyMusic]

its a leverage thing, its easy to hold in your hand but holding it from one side is a completely different thing.

[@Programmer7]

Yes, it is. It's just not the Retina. It has USB 3.0 and Ivy Bridge just like all the other new MacBooks. Apple, for some reason, didn't give it MagSafe 2.

[@97fergo]

It is also worth noting that the MBP is an old model (that's why it has HDD instead of SDD) and it is still on the market so that people who can't afford the Retina MBP can buy a mac.The ideal would be to have a pro retina with more storage. However, some can't afford that, so it is on them to decide if they want a pathetic SDD storage, or the standard among the market which is between 250GB to 750GB but in HDD (which is not the newest nor the ideal technology).

[@Programmer7]

They may also have left the MacBook Pros thick to make the Retina model more appealing because it's so expensive.

[@Trickzyy]

I can only suggest you getting the Macbook Pro. The Air is so thin and some people like this yeah? After less than one year the Macbook air starts to scratch and say weird clicking sounds when you pick it up cause it's not solid (Like the Macbook Pro is)

[@ardalan998]

Pro is actually more damage prone, due to a spinning hard drive. The moving hard drive might get damaged if you move it around a lot.

[@GlaceonStudios]

The Air can read discs, too! (through an add-on peripheral).

[@MrValdee]

That is totally up to user. At the moment I am using Macbook pro 15'' retina. So no hate to the SSD. :)

[@TheStormEmperor]

personally id choose the pro version since you could upgrade to ssd yourself later and you can upgrade the ram later plus, just the amount of ports alone makes it a better buy, i need my optical and ethernet ports

[@mougabo]

I own an Air cause I will own an iMac really soon which will become my main production machine but.... if my laptop was going to be my main production computer then I agree with you my friend, the 15" retina MBP is the best laptop in history..... On the other hand I still feel that the Air is the perfect laptop to go around the world, perfect for airplanes, trains, basically easy to take out every where....

[@plainrock124teacher5]

I just got a macbook pro 2012 and i love it

[@nialljamesbuckley]

great video, Scott. i am quite surprised that have done such a good job with the MBA. When the gen1 first came out i thought it was a joke...but now i think it's definitely a strong contender for a daily machine - especially for students and casual users.

[@nialljamesbuckley]

I actually think the bigger debate is between the 13" MBA or the 15" rMBP. The 13" rMBP is obviously a "better" computer and at only a half pound heavier i doubt anybody would regret it. That being said, i don't think it's quite as good a deal as the 13" MBA is. So for me the debate is between the 13" MBA "ultralight" or the 15" rMBP "real" computer.... i wouldn't want to pay $500 for retina display and not get a dedicated graphics card, but that's just me. Great video!

[@jpbhello]

agreed, all though old people might want sterdy instead of light and fashionable. I will wait until the air gets retina display....may be announced with i phone 5 but doubt it doesnt make much sense yet

[@Calzatronapple]

i had the fully upgraded 13" air, it was fast at first but got slower and slower, overheated very quickly and the fan was extremely loud, in conclusion i hated it and it wasnt worth the money. i have just upgraded the the 15" retina pro and it is the best choice i have ever made in my life, its fast, the retina display screen is amazing quality as is the 13" retina model, if your looking for a laptop that will last long and preform well i highly recommend the retina 13 or 15 inch. well worth it.

[@HarlemKeeper]

Had the Pro - Got the Air from Best B about 2 months ago. Open box, coupons, and a mistake by a BB employee- and I walked out with it for about $430. For basic Internet and word processing, I cannot say that one out-performs the other in any way important to me. But, the Pro does start to feel heavy in a brief case after a while. If I had to pay full price - I would go for the Pro because it has much more for the $ - but for portability- go with the the Air unless u are using a backpack!

[@TheSlipKnot981]

yes, it is noticeably heavier and larger, but trust me, it's worth it for the screen real estate.

[@FASSY524]

I love my new Macbook Pro Ret 15"! Best video experience I have ever seen. There are good PC's nowadays too. PC's are hella better than they used to be for sure. I'd get one if I wanted to get something cheaper. Windows 8 is fun to play around with. I'd probably downgrade to 7 though until MSFT works on 8 more. Macs and PC's nowadays pretty much do the same things so its now basically just based on what OS you prefer more. I like Mountain Lion, but I wouldn't be opposed to using Windows 7 or 8.

[@Markboyy1984]

Which one to buy between the two is simple, if you're a student go for the air. If you're not a student and u work in the office or u just want it for home use then go the pro.

[@SweetSpot909]

you can buy an external disk drive and plug it in through a usb port on the macbook air.

[@yuanhan4421]

While I like the Macbook air, lots if my friends complain that the trackpad constantly freezes, requiring a force shutdown. I own a macbook pro but i don't have these problems.

[@Pellenr81]

I have the 13" Air and it's so great. Always had a windows laptop. But with this Macbook I don't want anything else then Apple. Great buy for me.

[@darrell6776]

Nice video! But I prefer the MacBook pro!! Even though it may be a little bit out of my budget

[@pozilhan]

@destindavis Well you can actually increase the airs storage up to 512 gb but that just costs more. 256 gb isn't bad at all for a weight like that. If you run out of storage space, you can just buy an external hard drive. Plus, the pro and the air run equivalently so unless you do professional things on your computer,the air won't make you see the difference. And its extremely light! Not all laptops are light and have amazing qualities compared to its size.

[@kevex91]

Installation comes on a DVD and they have an App Store for the Mac. Or there is the USB CD Drive for anyone going old school.

[@imnchstruntd]

of all the vids that I've seen for the air and the pro.. you mostly convinced me to go with the air like 90% better choose the right one because ill be spending a no-joke amount of money plus. I am entirely new to Mac OS. great review :)

[@johnperalessyahoo]

everyone at my school has the 13" pro. i love my pro. and for me seems nicer. the hard drive space is good and if i need more i could upgrade it my self eazy.

[@Reg3e]

I'd go for the 11.6" MBA, since it's design for portability to begin with

[@bartonlynch]

I agree and also went for the Pro. But you know what? he was right on two things, one is that the SSD does add a huge difference, and two you can add one to the Pro yourself as I did with mine. The bottom line is I care about SSD, the performance is now superior to the Air and I did not spend more than 1700$, including the 16GB of RAM I also added and that the midget reviewer failed to mention. The Pro IS a better choice overall.

[@aguilaralexis80]

But you have to remember that the RAM is soldered on the new MacBooks... Only thing you can upgrade is the hard drive, but I doubt you can find a faster hard drive. Maybe a larger one, but it won't match the speed of the SSD included.

[@JarrodFernandes]

I bought 2010's MacBook Air, and still love it. at the time it was $1799 for the 256GB model that I own, with only a Core2Duo and no backlit keyboard.. How disappointing...nonetheless, still in love with this computer, almost 2 years old now.

[@jujutalamina829]

Im IN LOVE with the Air , the pro is powerful but if you want a powerful computer go with Windows there are a few that really destroy Macbook pro but most people buy a Mac because is beautifully designed the macbook pro is beautiful too though but the macbook air is really AMAZING guys. Go with the air always at least that you are Woody Allen or Steven Spielberg

[@mougabo]

to me Processor is a priority..... so I would go with the non retina display model but if for you resolution is priority then go with the retina my friend

[@halfpup]

you can't upgrade the RAM later so when you order it just buy 8 GB RAM. that's enough for future proofing. you can upgrade the SSD but it's expensive since you can only use OWC. SSDs are coming down in price though

[@Pierronimo8764]

depend what you want ... For me the Macbook Air is better because it has 12h batterie (so the double of the pro) , then it is lighter so i can carry it in my bag all the day... It is also more beautiful since it is so thin.

[@kickassdj]

with air 11inch you get 1366 by 768 resolution I feel its more than enough for school related stuff and internet usage , you can have multiple work spaces within mac os x which means you can open multiple apps or documents same time and move between screens to view or work on them, os x is great in managing your work space and multi-tasking. I don't recommend 13 inch air it eliminate reason to have such kind of laptop specially for school.

[@Rennatheeomnipotent]

the pro is better over all and your getting more for your money. people just get the air because its easier to carry around, is faster when surfing the web or whatever and has a better battery life. other then that I suggest the pro. if your a college student and your staying on dorm then u can leave your laptop on your dorm and bring around the SD card. Also I personally don't like really thin or light weight laptops. if its light or thin it doesn't really feel like a laptop and thin is not always good. Also your gonna legit need that CD port for something one day so why not get the laptop that is cheaper but you get more for your money? You don't gotta always carry your laptop around to you can send assignments to your email and work on it at another cumpter on campus from there. The pro is better and plus I Hurd the air has some restrictions on it. like you can't do certain things and it doesn't have as much features inside the laptop like the pro does. so people be my guest.

[@adriannabarnes1182]

Great. This sealed my decision. Was so undecided

[@Blueman2018]

The pro is better because of features it offers

[@LMiraculous]

+blue light is the MacBook Pro 13 inch good for music? Getting it used through

[@Blueman2018]

+L Thompson yeah it's good you can put all your songs on it and put your songs using iTunes I have a MacBook Air 13inch. But the MacBook Pro is the best new or used you will enjoy it. Yup yup

[@LMiraculous]

+blue light alright I'm on Amazon now and most musician have a MacBook right for making music?

[@PerfectBlade20]

I like air better, I just love how thin and portable it is, it's so beautiful.

[@tijn001]

Fully Upgrade both laptops lake ram and HDD (try to upgrade anything in the air) re-run the benchmarks this is why people choose MBP.

[@MrValdee]

Actually, the Macbook Pro has this one specific feature where..if you happen to drop your MBP, the moving hard drive instantly locks down and stops moving, no worries there. :)

[@thewiitry]

Gives me goosebumps on the way he holds the lap

[@edanbarak97]

Was pretty much at the same stump. Had the 2010 macbook pro with a 500gb hard drvive and wouldnt think i would survive with a smaller one. Trust me go with THE MACBOOK AIR. You wont regret it. Paid $80 at bestbuy for a 1tb Usb 3.0 and i have more space than i need. Apple also sells an optical drive if you really need one.

[@HolyGwakamoley]

After a few months I will start go to collage. Witch of these two laptops do you recommend for studies?

[@keenanperdrizet]

Good luck if you can't even spell college..

[@TheIbo23]

I had a hard time choosing between both of them, but I chose the Macbook Pro purely because it is upgradable so at least I can upgrade my ram and hard drive to an SSD. Also come on people it's not arm breaking difference between the two MacBooks. The only macbook I would exchange my 13 inch pro one is for a retina, but sadly that is way too expensive

[@txprodigy95]

they may be the same speed because of the ssd of the macbook air, but if later on you want to make your macbook faster, you wont be able to do that with the macbook air, however, you can upgrade the macbook pro to the ssd the air has and in the end your macbook pro will be faster than the macbook air you concidered.

[@jumphi100]

i have a mac pro non retina and i love it!!! you should go with the mac!

[@shechshire]

Zippy? Really? lol J/K ... Anyway, the pro is the more economical one because as a one computer person you're going to need a cd drive when the time calls... & it will even if it is rare... upgradeability of your ram once newer programs start to slow down on you, & finally all those extra ports are nice. With the Air, you're sacrificing all that for a flash hardrive to make it lighter. Not faster either unless you buy the more expensive one. I think I nailed it.

[@francinehuband]

its like that in the US too. I think they changed it with the newer versions.

[@Msq1995]

I agree with the pro just because of the hard drive capacity 128 isn't enough at all ... Buying and external hard drive will make it harder to carry around ... Agree with pro

[@Latesttechs]

it will be and it does not slow down its probably the fastest 128 gb will do with an external hdd for more storage but the laptop heats if u play some games on windows partition via bootcamp u can even fry an egg on it!

[@roughryder5]

Honesty air does the job nicely. I have one and all I use it for (as a student) is the basics like KZbin, word documents, porn etc...and It works quite fine. I don't know what all the fuss is about.

[@ryanvandale973]

I'm looking to buy one of these. Think I'm gonna go with the air. The DVD drive would be nice thou.

[@Manny4Lakers]

Thank you very much sir, I was confused as to whether to get the air or pro, but I'm going with the air now.

[@mastercheif462]

Well, depending on what you do in school, you might as well get a Surface RT or even a Pro and get something on Windows, and in the RT version, a lot cheaper

[@capirex9]

I would agree with you, but i wouldnt really want to use the 13" macbook pro as my main computer (currently desk pc and an air ;D). I would rather prefer a desk pc or imac and a laptop as mobile device

[@AlphaGirl1998]

Which would be better for a high school student (I would be taking it into college as well)? I don't care about the weight/ being easily portable, but I would need a lot of storage and good battery life.

[@VictorPessoaDaSilva]

128GB memory is actually ok considering the price. The Mac Air is a Ultrabook, which means it is made for the "Cloud". With all the online streaming data capabilities we have nowadays, hard memory is not really a necessity any more, and for under $100 you can always get a great Western Digital 1TB external hard drive.

[@macg86]

yes, mini diplayport can replicate prett much any port witha 10$ adapter

[@arrcarrsmac]

I don't think you will be needing the dvd drive these days anymore, what I would care is speed and performance, good luck deciding ;)

[@ChadwellJ]

"Better" comes down to what a person needs. If they absolutely require more storage than 128GB, then it would be a wise option to use the Pro, but the flash storage in the Air is far faster than the SATA HDD in the Pro.

[@Le1Arquero]

Sure you can, specially if you play Computer Games, Like an Alienware with Windows 8

[@linuswalker]

The problem about the air is the storage volume. 128 gb ssd... if you only need it for working it's ok but otherwise your storage will be filled rapidly.

[@level1James]

The pro (non-retina) has a TN panel like the Air. (it's pretty good for a TN panel though)

[@crysis860]

plus u can simply upgrade the hdd for ssd like i did.

[@Duke00978]

That Ethernet port and CD drive were the deciding factors. Plus I can't stand how flimsy the air feels to me.