Is it worth buying a MacBook Air?
I'm thinking of getting the 13-inch MacBook Air, but I'm not sure if it's worth the investment.
I strongly prefer Linux to OS X (having used a company MBP for about a year), so OS X in itself is not so much of a big deal. But I'm still willing to give it (OS X) another shot, though.
Right now my biggest problem is justifying the value/worth to be gained for the sky-high price tag (for my own peace). With the i7+(8GB RAM) upgrade, and NY tax (~9%), the price hovers close to $1,470.[1]
Is this machine really worth almost $1.5k?
[1] Base price: $1099. i7 Upgrade: $150. 8GB RAM upgrade (from 4GB): $100. Total (sans tax): $1349. 9% sales tax: $121. TOTAL = $1,470
123 comments
[ 5.8 ms ] story [ 210 ms ] threadJust a heads-up, make sure to check the air's wi-fi connectivity when you buy it, as the prime problem seems to be it.
Enjoy.
> for the i7, I'd say don't go there if you are not involved with complex rendering or serious multitasking
I'll be doing some software development locally on my machine. It'll mostly be small personal projects. I just thought maybe I'd benefit from the small boost that comes from the i7. According to Anandtech, the i7 makes things about 25% faster (according to various benchmarks).
Speed: i5 @ 1.3 GHz vs. i7 @ 1.7 GHz
Cache: 3MB on the i5 vs. 4MB on the i7
So yes, the clock speed is higher -- but I'd assume that much of the increased performance comes from reduced cache misses due to the larger cache size... (correct me if I'm wrong).
Maybe go to a store and try a demo? Might make it more obvious what, if any, difference the upgrade will make for non-resource intensive tasks.
If not, there are a few high-end ultrabooks having a better performance+build quality to price ratio.
Would you be able to recommend a few good ones? I've looked around a bit (only a bit), and everything seems priced in the MacBook range (ie. $1000+).
Ended up buying the MBA Haswell with i7, 8gig, 512gb ssd for +-€1800. No regrets here.
It's a solid average machine, works well, does what it's supposed to do. But I've been feeling like getting myself a better (more "high-end" system) - be it an ultraportable like the MBA, or a desktop replacement like the 17-inch system76/Clevo laptops.
The only thing holding me back from getting an Air right now is the low screen resolution.
I don't like Apple much, and do not want Mac OS, but these days, this statement is sadly, frustratingly true. I am in the market for a laptop, and I have to say the specs on the 15" Retina Macbook pro are really nice. Sure, it's expensive, but I'll be staring at / working with the thing for countless hours. I'm almost tempted to buy one, but hate the idea of spending money with Apple only to have to fiddle to get an OS I like on the machine.
If you think it is over-hyped and over-priced then provide a better alternative. I would love to see some more options for laptops but the quality of some of most of the PC ones are atrocious.
If you do not value any of those things then I can understand. But even if I'd install Linux on a laptop I would want it to be as well engineered as an apple laptop. Even if it means paying a few more dollars than the next best plastic shell from a competitor.
You should be able to run Linux on it too if you really don't get on with OS X, although you will likely sacrifice some of that battery life.
Yea, according to Phoronix it's just a matter of installing the wireless driver (at least with Ubuntu).
> you will likely sacrifice some of that battery life
This is kind of a problem though. When I'm dishing out nearly $1.5k, I don't want to loose out on the biggest advantage of the MacBook Air (the 12+ hour battery life).
I guess I could just try and get used to OS X. (It's POSIX-based after all..)
He's not taking $40 a month and putting it back where the money for the Air came from, and if he has an emergency need for $1500 the day after, he's short the money for the Air.
Just something to think about I suppose.
For example, as a freelancer I look at the cost of equipment against the value it provides against my earning potential.
They were surprised here at work that when they sold their perfectly working 3-y old "end of life" Macbook Pro's they still got about €1000 for them (originally costing +-€2300)
I'm not so sure if it's that incredible. The battery life is definitely incredible. But the screen is just 1440x900.
Also, what about performance? It seems like it offers just average performance (a necessary compromise for such long battery life)...
Clevos seem to give the most bang for the buck (in terms of price/performance). system76 and Sager both sell rebranded Clevos. A model I've been thinking about is the Clevo W370ST.
It's 17.3", has a 1080p matte screen and a bunch of other things. But I read that the Clevo/system76/Sager's screen quality is not particularly good. Also, one commentator on a thread complained about hard drive rattle (a case / build problem) and others about very loud fan noise while doing CPU-intensive stuff.
Yeah? I haven't looked at one in person for ages, and don't see any at all in the Apple site pictures, so I'm guessing that you just tap the trackpad? But what if you want to right click to do something, or middle click to paste some text?
alternatively (and by default), a two-finger tap is a "right click".
not sure about a middle click.
Both the Dell and Apple refurb stores should be your first port of call.
Only comparison is to the Sony Vaio Pro 13, two of my team have them - and they are _good_ machines.
Chose the air over the retina due to the size and weight, although I miss having a HDMI port!
I sit on my couch with my laptop plugged in all the time. Am I doing it wrong?
I travel between countries a lot, and I can see myself doing that more for the near future. Being able to have just one machine -- rather a powerful desktop workstation and an ultraportable (like the MBA), is one reason I've been considering getting a desktop replacement laptop.
You get to take you work with you, anywhere. It's the alternative I've been considering, if I choose not to go for an MBA.
It's good to do some separate research on the Clevo as well. If you want something comparable to the Bonobo Extreme, but cheaper -- consider the Clevo W370ST. It's similarly specced to the Bonobo Exteme (but without the backlit keyboard and a couple o' other things.)
I've found the Clevo W370ST being sold in two places:
* AVADirect: https://www.avadirect.com/gaming-laptop-configurator.asp?PRI...
* Sager: http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7370-clevo-w370st-p-5841.html
Sager offers more customization, for things like cooling and stuff (esp. important on a machine like this - which according to reviews tends to get very hot).
Also, here are some reviews of Clevos:
* In-depth (European) review of a Clevo model. See the section on the display: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Schenker-XMG-A523-Clevo-...
* See the 3rd comment here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1415091/im-thinking-about-buying-...
Also http://www.overclock.net/t/1404827/new-laptop-for-work-2-3k-...
If you are concerned about the Clevo's Matte display not being good -- there's a Toshiba Qosmio X70 which is specced very similarly but has a "TruBrite" display. I don't know how good that is, but maybe it's better.
The Qosmio X70-ABT2G22 Laptop: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?poid=2000098...
The cooling is probably also more well-honed on the Qosmio (just speculating coz "Toshiba" is a well-known brand), so you might not have to spend extra on upgrading the cooling as you might have to do with the Sager/Clevo.
I think the biggest factor with the Macbook Air will be the battery. If a 10hr battery means something to you, it will be worth it. Or maybe not so much.
I assume there'd be customs, but my guess it that it's probably not going to bring the price anywhere close to $2.65k.
$ 1500 = R $ 3,571.80 + 60% = R $ 5,714.88 + 30% = R $ 6,786.42
R $ 6,786.42 = $ 2,850.00 !!! :/
[1] Unlike Windows, which passes POSIX certification on paper (or did), but in reality it doesn't mean a thing.
Next, take into account resale. All computers drop in value, but Apple products hold theirs better than anything else I have ever seen. I regularly resell my Macs after only a year or two with loss of only a few hundred tops. So the question is more about the yearly cost of ownership. Which also brings up the idea of leasing, but typically it doesn't work out well.
http://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/st/st121_fill_in.pdf
I paid ~490€ + 80€ for an SSD and a additional 70€ for an additional 9 cell battery.
The 9 cell battery gives me around 10 hours of battery life with normal usage and up to 12 hours with very little usage (mostly Terminal/SSH). But i still own the old 6 cell battery: around 5 hours on top (sure, you need to reboot, but it's still pretty cool).
The only downside is the display resolution (1366x768), but 90% of my day is using the Terminal, so not a big problem for me. If you need more screen estate, you can still hook it up to a monitor via Display Port.
I'm running Linux on it, and everything works perfectly, no drivers problems or anything.
If you're not really depending on OS X, maybe a used Lenovo X220/X230 would be an alternative.
For Hardware Specs -> ThinkWiki: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X220
Size and weight are basically the same. Some key differences:
+ 14" (1600x900) vs 13.3" (1440x900) screen, matte screen may be an advantage or disadvantage.
+ Stick mouse if you like such things
- Worse battery life, but charges in ~35 minutes
- X1C power brick is......a brick
At the same price, the MBA is probably a better choice. But if you can get a significant discount, it's a reasonable alternative.
EDIT: updated resolution
I think as of now, the Rentina MBPs are the only systems (besides mobile) that handle high PPI screens properly.
Whenever you have small screen and high resolution paired together, on most desktops/laptops, you get incredibly tiny everything -- and suddenly you have to strain your eyes a lot to see things (which is something I'd rather not do).
Density independence[1] for desktop OSes is a serious yet-unresolved issue, and without it I don't see ultra-high PPI desktops/laptops becoming common.
I personally prefer lower PPIs (on desktops) than most people. The 13-inch MBA's ~127 PPI is almost pushing it, for me. On the other hand, I love high PPI screens on mobile, as the text looks much sharper and crisper.
[1] https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_suppor... (this section on the Android doc summarizes the "why" for density independence perfectly)
The display resolution has become a drag though (same 1366x768 as the x220). I love the portability and durability of this machine, but I've notice I tend to hack when plugged into an external monitor more over the last year rather than just using the laptop alone.
I've started eye-balling the X230, mainly because you can cram 16GB of ram into it. I would also consider looking at some of the newish T430s/T431s. Better displays, still under 4 lbs.If you buy a Thinkpad new, get the cheapest configuration you can and upgrade the memory (I've used crucial.com) and drop in an ssd yourself - you'll save hundreds of dollars.
I replaced the dvd with a bay battery, and I think I get about 7 hours of battery life. I never use it that long at a stretch, and I recharge it every night, so I just always have plenty of battery life.
I run Ubuntu 12.04 at the moment. My only complaint has to do with suspend. I've noticed that while closed and suspended, it still works through the battery's charge. I was surprised to leave it suspended with a mostly full battery one day, and find it off the next day. Also, when I carry it in my backpack in a case while suspended, it comes out of the case hot after a couple hours. Apparently it is still working pretty hard while suspended.
http://shop.lenovo.com/fi/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s...
In other words: Is a good product more important than ethics?
How well the chickens are treated should be most important to a civilized society.
You should be blaming the governments for allowing everybody to bypass the taxes with BS loopholes and everything.
It's not ethnics, it's pure business. Apple is a business, just like Dell, HP, etc, their primary function is to maximize the profits at any given costs. If there are loopholes in the tax laws that allows the companies to legally not pay taxes, it is their function to take advantage of it. The US government confirmed that Apple DID NOT BREAK any laws.
IIRC, the top 20 companies didn't pay 1.2 trillion of dollars that they would own to US government if there were no loopholes.
Every frigging tech company is pulling the same BS.
Now, turning their OS more into a cage? Proof? I haven't seen them do anything in the last 5 years to turn OS X into a cage.
Factories, really? Apple is just a small part of the big problem here, and Apple is actually the one of the FEW companies that mandated the factories to improve their stuff. I don't see anybody else on public saying they'll force the factories to do stuff.
In other words, buying or not buying a Mac, IT WILL NOT CHANGE ANYTHING.
He needs a good product, he can get a MBA if he wants. If he wants to fight the power, he can do it on a MBA that'll last 12+ hour for him.
WE the people are the ones in power. WE the people are the ones who vote for the policies of a company by buying their products. Since when did we shift all of our responsibilities to government?
Do we really want to government to control every aspect of what a person or company can or can't do? If yes, then we can't blame the same government that we have to pay so much taxes or complain about lesser freedoms.
And it's not the function of a company to behave unethic just because it's legal. Legality has nothing to do with it. And at the same time, I don't judge anyone for buying at these companies, I just want to make people aware of what it means when you buy some company's product.
OSX is slowly moving towards an operating system where you can only buy at the App Store. Now you still can install outside of it, but the step of adding a checkbox to disable this has already been taken. I would not be surprised if this functionality will become the same as they do on iOS, which is already quite a cage.
About the factories I know that more companies use for example Foxconn, but that doesn't change the fact that this happens and they continue to use the services of these companies.
I'm not judging anyone for buying Apple products, nor do I try to push any opinion. I was just asking a question with the intent that this information might be taken into consideration and to point out our responsibilities as people for the behavior of companies.
> a company that doesn't pay taxes
Every company has an incentive to pay less taxes. Even people do. (I'm not necessarily saying it's the right thing, or endorsing it.) But this is the government's realm.
> turning their OS more and more into a cage
This would actually be a deal breaker for me. If OS X turned into anything like iOS, where you need prior approval before being able to run certain code, that would be it for me.
I don't think Apple's going to do it though. Way too many developers use Macbooks, and I doubt they'd want to piss them all off. Also, Tim Cook is at the wheel now -- he seems like a bit more practical and mellow person than Steve Jobs (this ain't necessarily a good thing) - so I doubt he'd do anything radical like this.
> lets their hardware be assembled in factories where employees work in harsh circumstances
I'd like to see this change - but is there anything much we can do about it? I haven't come across ant "Fair Trade" laptops yet (unlike with food, clothing, etc). Definitely would be good to go with a company that treats their workers well - but then there's also the issue of verification, of whether they do what they promise to.
On the positive side though, Apple claims to be environment-friendly - I hope their claims are true.
Does this cross international borders?
It matters a lot to me, since I travel between countries quite a bit.
An ultrabook (Asus? Dell? Lenovo?) + Tablet(Ipad? Nexus?) + Powerful Desktop (Dell Vostro? Mac Mini?)
You see, it's psychology - Everyone prefers 3 candies for 12$ to 1 candy for 10$.
That's 840,000 more pixels than a 1600x900 machine.