New to the Apple world

So I'm looking for a small laptop to carry around with me. I have rather powerful desktop that I do a majority of my stuff on. I need something that I can carry around (take to class, weekend trips) and do basic stuff on (notes, web browsing, paper writing, music).

I have an android tablet and frankly it's quite lackluster, especially in the paper writing and note taking department. So I want to sell it and I'm trying to find something to replace it and I am thinking of getting my first ever mac to do just that.

My questions are

What mac do you get the most bang for your buck with? Air or pro? 11 or 13? Also are the Airs or pros due for an update anytime soon? Should I wait? What are the cons of buying refurbished?

I like the size of the 11" air but 4 hours of battery life is abysmal these days. Does anyone have one? what kind of battery life do you get?

 

I bought a mac book air 13 a few weeks ago, the base model. They got refreshed for this year, Idk if they'll get refreshed again soon, maybe when the ivybridge comes out. But i take my macbook air to school even when I dont need it, its so light, and gets 7-8 hours of battery life. I have an alienware m14x for heavy computing, so it makes up for the airs ulv processor. Also, since the air has an ssd, it boots up in 15 seconds, shuts down in a few seconds, applications open instantly, even itunes. That alone is worth it to me more than the pro 13. Also, the pro and the air can be somewhat similar in performance, the pro would probably get better graphics, but the air makes up for performance in read/write rates.

 

For everyday stuff like that, I'd get the Air 13. Nice quality screen (better than the Pro 13), and it's big enough to really use well (unlike the Air 11). The Air's SSD will more than make up for the slower CPU (compared to the Pro 13) during those sorts of day-to-day tasks, so it should be plenty fast. The keyboard is nice and the aesthetic design is top-notch.

All in all: get the Air 13.

 

If you don't want to game and just want something super light to take around with you, just go ahead and get the MBA 13.

The power difference between the MBA 13 and MBP 13 is pretty much only in the CPU. So that means unless you run Matlab, Mathematica, etc you won't see "too much of a difference". MBP 13 would obviously game a lot better, but it still won't be that great.

 

honestly, they are both SO poor for game performance, that it hardly matters. Neither one will be any decent. The pro con list sides with the macbook pro for:

- dvd drive
- larger capacity hard drive
- cheaper
- higher resolution camera
- longer battery life

air:

- lighter
- higher res screen
- faster hard drive (SSD)

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again, both are mediocre at best for game performance. 2D / indie games will work fine on both.

 

Given that the OP has a good desktop, there would be few reasons to get a MBP. The MBA would be the best choice.

 

The people who read tea leaves for a living over at Macrumors.com claim that the Pro is up for a refresh of some sort "soon". It was last refreshed in late February, so there might be something to the rumors. I guess it would make sense if they updated it for the holiday sales.

The MacBook Air is a very solid choice if you can live with its shortcomings like the lack of ethernet and a CD-drive. I have the 11" and 4 hours sounds about right. I bought it as a number 2 laptop, so size and weight were my primary criteria.