MacBook Air or Pro?

[soddinghormones]

Ds is just about to go into upper sixth and his laptop is dying - he really wants a mac

We're giving him £400 to put towards it and he'll need to fund the rest from his lifeguarding summer job

Obviously the MacBook Air is a lot cheaper but are there any major disadvantages?

Please don't come on and tell him to get a non-apple laptop - he's got his heart set on one so it would be a pointless post!

[campocaro]

I´d be interested in any comments about this as currently doing research for buying a MAC for my DD. She is very into editing (images and video) so I think would need one with high storage/processing capacity. But I know nothing about MACs (and like you apparently it has to be a MAC)

I was going to visit a MAC store soon but it would be useful to hear from people here. Also interested in whether it is worth/possible to get second hand MACS

[cocacola1]

I can't offer much help in terms of which to choose but I can add that the macAir has just been updated with the latest hardware where as the macPro is due an upgrade soon,

buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac

[GwenStacy]

Honestly, I'd spend the extra and get a MBP. The Airs are okay for normal use, but they're not very high spec - especially for photo and video editing.

Have a look at the refurb section on the Apple site. These are basically things that have been returned, and they wipe them, put new cases on, new batteries etc and sell at a reduction. I've bought a few things from there and had no issues - and you have the full warranty if things do go wrong. You do need to keep checking though, as stick is variable - obviously, it's just what people return!

[CastilianHhhhidalgo]

I've got an Air and I absolutely adore it. I do plenty of photo editing (and we're talking very large RAW files from a prosumer DSLR) on it with no problem at all, even though it's a good few years old now.

DH is a graphics engineer and my Air was his before he upgraded to his current Pro, he still prefers the Air.

[maclover]

I have a pro, which I love because of the much larger storage.
Did you know about the education discount too - you need to take in proof of student status, but it is worth it. I think you can find details on line.

[12thmonkey]

I have had two MBP and i almost , almost got an Air. The only benefit of an air is the save in weight.

you can get near similar spec in both MBP and Air , storage is the biggest sufferer, but with the Air these are mostly add-on options , such as RAM.

If he is planning on doing some serious movie editing or running large home made applications in Java or has any designs on iPhone app development then it really should be a MBP. If this is just regular use as a laptop for homework, internet, some photo editing then an air would be more than fine.