Apple built the line off of what started out as custom, small-outline ultra-low-voltage Core 2 Duo processors, which powered the Air until ULV Sandy Bridge processors became available in 2011. The MacBook Air's defining feature is its trade-off between available ports and expandability and ultimate portability. Originally introduced in 2008 as the laptop that fit in a standard manila envelope, the Air has given rise to a new class of ultraportable laptops known as "Ultrabooks." (The 11" flyweight model was introduced in 2010). The decidedly featherweight 13" MacBook Air, at 2.96 pounds, is the original MacBook Air form factor-though it has changed designs slightly since its introduction. Thunderbolt was added last year, and this year it now sports Intel's Ivy Bridge architecture with HD4000 integrated graphics. Since then, the basic design has remained the same, though Apple has slowly beefed up its processor and integrated graphics.
Thankfully, Apple beefed up this aluminum MacBook slightly-with a FireWire 800 port and an SD card slot-and rechristened it the 13" MacBook Pro in 2009. Apple later offered an aluminum unibody MacBook in late 2008, which dropped the FireWire port. Apple effectively eliminated the smallest of its pro-oriented laptops in the transition to Intel processors in 2006, directing users to the 13" polycarbonate MacBook. Weighing in at a welterweight 4.5 pounds, the 13" MacBook Pro traces its lineage back to the 12" Powerbook G4 released in 2003. Both machines have additional CPU, RAM, and storage options, and we'll discuss some of those later on. The contendersįor much of our discussion, we'll consider the base $1199 model of Apple's latest 13" MacBook Pro and 13" MacBook Air.
In what follows, we explore the general ramifications of the difference between the two, for those of you who can't wait for a more in-depth examination. This is only going to be part of the story, but our two lead characters reveal most other hand by their specs alone.
If you're willing to lug around the extra pound and a half, you'll end up with a machine that's arguably a better value for the money-with potential longevity extended by future storage and RAM upgrade options.
We dug into the specs to analyze the pros and cons for each model, and came away finding that the 13" MacBook Pro still has a lot to offer for the money. If you're in the market for a 13" model, it can be tough to decide between the Air or Pro, especially since prices for both start at $1199. Though the new 15" Retina MacBook Pro has probably garnered the most attention this week, Apple did refresh its existing MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines.