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If you want a portable Mac but with a better screen, have you considered the 12" MacBook? It's thinner and lighter than the Air and has a Retina screen.

jitix 9y ago
IMO the 12 inch MacBook is a weird proposition since it neither has the power of mbp nor the battery backup of mba. From the anecdotal reviews I read in various forums it’s performace is somewhat lower than the mba but I’m not sure if that’s true.
- JimDabell 9y ago
  I downsized from a maxed out 2015 15" MacBook Pro to a maxed out 2016 12" MacBook. I've owned an 11" MacBook Air in the past as well (~2012). I thought there would be a large step down in power, but it's not really noticeable for my workloads (native mobile and full stack web development with Docker, some graphic design with Sketch, etc.). The only time I've ever really felt it made a significant difference is when I have 100+ tabs open in my browser (bad habit). You can get 16GB with the 2017 12" MacBook though, so if you're buying new, that's not a problem. The battery life between the 12" MacBook and the Air is roughly the same, from memory. Maybe newer Air models are better, but both are good. I'm not really sure what makes it a weird proposition. The MacBook having less power than the heavier, more expensive MacBook Pro is to be expected, isn't it? And the Air is just the cheapest model they keep around for the students. The 12" MacBook is for the average person.
gxs 9y ago
Agree with sibling comment, they are great machines if only the screen weren’t so tiny. Ideally I’d be able to do some actual work in a pinch, but it might be hard on that screen. They do have a force touch touchpad though, another reason I’m hesitant on am mba since those are still mechanical.
- jrochkind1 9y ago
  i didn't like the idea of the non-mechanical force touchpad either, but in fact after a couple days of use it feels the same, you forget it's not really mechanical until you try clicking it with the power out and it doesn't click. It does fine. And I even have my settings so you really need to 'click' to click, a tap is not a 'click'. Same as i did with the mechanical version. It does just fine, really.

jitix 9y ago

IMO the 12 inch MacBook is a weird proposition since it neither has the power of mbp nor the battery backup of mba. From the anecdotal reviews I read in various forums it’s performace is somewhat lower than the mba but I’m not sure if that’s true.

JimDabell 9y ago
I downsized from a maxed out 2015 15" MacBook Pro to a maxed out 2016 12" MacBook. I've owned an 11" MacBook Air in the past as well (~2012). I thought there would be a large step down in power, but it's not really noticeable for my workloads (native mobile and full stack web development with Docker, some graphic design with Sketch, etc.). The only time I've ever really felt it made a significant difference is when I have 100+ tabs open in my browser (bad habit). You can get 16GB with the 2017 12" MacBook though, so if you're buying new, that's not a problem. The battery life between the 12" MacBook and the Air is roughly the same, from memory. Maybe newer Air models are better, but both are good. I'm not really sure what makes it a weird proposition. The MacBook having less power than the heavier, more expensive MacBook Pro is to be expected, isn't it? And the Air is just the cheapest model they keep around for the students. The 12" MacBook is for the average person.

gxs 9y ago

Agree with sibling comment, they are great machines if only the screen weren’t so tiny. Ideally I’d be able to do some actual work in a pinch, but it might be hard on that screen. They do have a force touch touchpad though, another reason I’m hesitant on am mba since those are still mechanical.

jrochkind1 9y ago
i didn't like the idea of the non-mechanical force touchpad either, but in fact after a couple days of use it feels the same, you forget it's not really mechanical until you try clicking it with the power out and it doesn't click. It does fine. And I even have my settings so you really need to 'click' to click, a tap is not a 'click'. Same as i did with the mechanical version. It does just fine, really.