<p>I'm getting a new laptop (switching from a Toshiba laptop), and can't decide between the 13" MacBook Pro retina display and the 13" MacBook Air.</p>
<p>Does anyone know which one is better?</p>
<p>Here are the things I would be doing on my new laptop:</p>
<ul>
<li>creating study guides with iBooks Author</li>
<li>word/pages documents</li>
<li>presentations with PowerPoint</li>
<li>email</li>
<li>movies/videos</li>
<li>apps from the Mac App Store</li>
<li>LOTS of school projects and assignments</li>
</ul>
<p>So which would be better for me over a span of 4 years: the 13" MacBook Pro retina display, or the 13" MacBook Air?</p>
<p>And which memory storage should I ask for as well for each MacBook?</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m leaning towards the MacBook Pro for sure, it’s just that the MacBook Air is lighter and costs a bit less. The problem is that the storage space on the Air is terrible.</p>
<p>I would go with Air. I work at a tech company. They gave me an Air. I thought it was going to be light weight, but it is very powerful and works great with wifi (old version didn’t). I bought my daughter a pro last Aug when she started college. She complains now because the pro is too heavy for her to carry back and forth to class.</p>
<p>You have so many options when it comes to storage that it is not necessary to have it on your physical computer.</p>
<p>The MacBook Pro is the solid, bread and butter workhorse computer. You can save $500 off the base level 13-inch 2.5GHz model if you ditch the retinal display. Then there is not much price difference between the Pro and the lowest price Air. The Air is for those who are happy to forego a DVD/CD drive, extra ports and a faster processor for easier portability and/or the coolness factor. It all depends on your needs.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Which is better for apps?</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better for storage?</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better for travel?</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better for school assignments and projects?</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better for word, pages, PowerPoint, etc?</p></li>
<li><p>Which will last 4 years of high school?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>MBP definitely better for gaming apps if you get a model with a discrete graphics card. Depending on the app, your computer will need different amounts of RAM, processing power, graphics capabilities, etc. Just think beforehand what kind of apps you might be using</p></li>
<li><p>MBP for the most part. Larger case = generally more expandibility in storage space</p></li>
<li><p>MBA</p></li>
<li><p>Both are adequate. School assignments and projects generally don’t use up too much of your computer’s resources unless you’re video editing or doing modeling of some sort :</p></li>
<li><p>Both are adequate.</p></li>
<li><p>Both if you don’t want to play games.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I actually am somewhat in the same position as you are! I have the 13" air, but find its memory limited, and have noticed a difference in power and speed between mine and my brothers pro. I was considering switching to pro, and thought weight would be a deterrent. However, the new pros with retina are substantially lighter, so I think I’m going to get a pro for college!</p>
<p>MacBook Pro among the two! But I highly recommend you to check out the Ultrabooks, They have better specs for lower price…and microsoft office for your assignment is great on windows! Regarding apps, windows 8 also has an app store which is good and it is developing! You could save money by opting for an ultrabook and spent it somewhere else!</p>
<p>Air is just too convenient and more mobile than the retina display. In fact, the air can do just as much computing as you would expect from the pro. However, if extreme portability isn’t a concern, go with pro. </p>
<p>Then again, I’m buying an alienware, so I guess I can’t talk about price lol. Sorry for the overly attacking message above, it came off a lot more sarcastic than intended.</p>