<p>I'm a sophomore in high school but taking the majority of my classes online this year. I am looking to purchase an Apple laptop, but am not sure whether or not to get the Pro or Air. I will be getting the 13' regardless, so cost is pretty insignificant in this case. I will be frequently using Powerpoint, Word, and iMovie. Which one would be better? I don't do any gaming or anything on the side, but I will be using iMovie quite a bit recreationally. I also really like social media like tumblr and reading blogs. (please don't say Windows it better, I previously had a '07 Macbook and really do prefer the interface over Microsoft, especially Windows 8. I also need the ability to efficiently multitask because so many of my textbooks are online).</p>
<p>Differences (Air vs Pro):</p>
<p>1.5 GHz dual core i5 vs 2.6 GHz dual core i5 CPU
4 gb vs 8 gb RAM
2.96 lbs vs 3.46 lbs
12 hours vs 9 hours battery life
1440x900 vs 2560x1600</p>
<p>Aside from screen resolution, differences are negligible for what you want it for. Get the cheaper one unless you really want the retina screen.</p>
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<p>If you want to use a bunch of windows concurrently, then go for bigger screen.</p>
<p>I just went thru this comparison to buy DS a new laptop; I chose the 15" Pro. The Air max monitor is 13". Once u use a 15", you’ll never go back to a small screen.<br>
<a href=“Mac - Compare Models - Apple”>https://www.apple.com/mac/compare/notebooks.html</a></p>
<p>@GMTplus7 That has more to do with resolution than screen size. More pixels means you can divide up the screen more without losing quality. 15 inch macbook pro has retina, 13 inch macbook air doesn’t. A 100% increase in pixel density (with no screen size change) will do much more than a 33% increase in screen size (with no resolution change). FWIW I use a 13 inch 2880x1620 and it is much easier to read two things open at once than my old 1920x1080 15 inch. </p>
<p>But retina adds another $300 (for 13 inch) to $1000 (for 15 inch) compared to 13 inch air. Hard to say if it’s worth it for that much. OP should go to an apple store and try them for herself.</p>
<p>My point has nothing to do w resolution. I’m talking about overall display size. I’ve got a 13" laptop I’d like to drop kick. I got the 15" Pro for both kids & wish I got that instead.</p>
<p>@GMTplus7 Effective multitasking has a lot to do with resolution. When you split the screen the effective resolution is reduced for each window. This makes the windows blurry and unclear if the resolution isn’t high enough to start with. Going from a 13" air to a 13" retina pro will be almost as big a difference as from a 13" air to a 15" retina pro, and be $700 cheaper. </p>
<p>My father found this out the hard way after buying a 24" screen for his office and realizing later that his pdfs were easier to read on a tiny 12" galaxy pro with a much higher resolution (2560x1600). Screen size only goes so far. </p>
<p>I don’t know a lot of things about computers, but I will say that I’m saving up for a Pro in college rather than an Air because the Air had two deal-breakers for me: 1, no CD/DVD drive (as someone who is dedicated to buying the album rather than digital downloads, this was awful to me), and 2, I HATE how typing on it feels. I plan to double major in [still choosing between a couple fields] and English, so this is very important to me. IMO, the Pro is much more comfortable for typing. However, you should go try them both out. </p>
<p>@LAMuniv The new Pro also does not have a CD/DVD drive! I can definitely see where you’re coming from though. The Air is pretty thin. </p>
<p>Also, I definitely can’t spend 2000 dollars on a computer. I think I’ll probably go with the '13 Pro w/ student discount. </p>
<p>@nerdygirlyy Eww, thanks for alerting me!</p>
<p>@LAMuniv Of course!!! I was surprised considering how many people use the Pro/Air for music/distributing and stuff! Yea Mac like went CD-less 
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<p>I have an ooold pro (its so old that the OS can only go up to OSX 10.6.8)
The CD/DVD drive stopped working around 2 years ago ( unable to read anything).
If I ever replace it I’m ok going with an external drive.</p>