Whats the difference between these 3 Macbooks

cambsno

cambsno

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Ok, I can read the technical details but in real life use what is the difference between these:

MacBook Air - 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor

MacBook - 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m3

MacBook Pro - 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor

May use LR on here, but no heavy gaming or video (aside from iMovie)
 
Avoid the Air, the screen is too low resolution to be useful for photos (or anything else really).

The 12” is beautiful and despite what you read on the Internet is fully capable of running LR and PS, the screen is gorgeous and it is very portable.

The pro is beastier and has a bigger screen, you won’t really notice much difference in performance to the 12 inch except for large batch process (e.g. exporting lot of images from LR).

I’ve had the 12” and now have the 13” Pro (high spec touchbar) and am quite tempted to go back to the 12”.
 
•

I hope my MBPro 17" will last longer — for ever :D—
cause I don't want to use any smaller screen what ever
pixel density.
 
Nawty said:
Avoid the Air, the screen is too low resolution to be useful for photos (or anything else really).

The 12” is beautiful and despite what you read on the Internet is fully capable of running LR and PS, the screen is gorgeous and it is very portable.

The pro is beastier and has a bigger screen, you won’t really notice much difference in performance to the 12 inch except for large batch process (e.g. exporting lot of images from LR).

I’ve had the 12” and now have the 13” Pro (high spec touchbar) and am quite tempted to go back to the 12”.
Click to expand...

Interesting, the guy at the Apple store was quite dismissive of the 12" - yes he said LR and iMovie would work but not very well at all.
 
I am mulling a similar decision for my portable machine.

I had the same spiel from the Apple store. I think it related to the CPU only boosting for a short period of time and can't max out like the 13" Pro. The MB is fanless and needs to protect the thermals. Saying that it can match the Air from around 2013/14 which I have used FCPX, iMovie and LR and it didn't skip a beat.

I even ran LR on a much older Mac setup and it performed fine.

I like the light weight design of the MB and it would finally kill of my theory of wanting an iPad to be my portable device.

If you don't need new then try and source the 2015 MacBook Pro 13 which has all the ports and still a decent trackpad.
 
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cambsno said:
Interesting, the guy at the Apple store was quite dismissive of the 12" - yes he said LR and iMovie would work but not very well at all.
Click to expand...


That's what most people who haven't actually used them say.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't fast enough to be a primary machine (well, not for me) but for iMovie at 1080p and LR with 16mp raw files it was perfectly fine on my 1.2ghz 2015 machine, the latest generation are significantly more powerful. My 27" 3.5ghz iMac barely got used when I had my 12" Macbook, which says something...

The reason it feels so snappy is that the core-m processors have very quick burst speed so that all normal actions are quick and the fast SD drive really pays dividends too - Apple have done something really clever with the hardware controllers (which you can do if you also design the OS for the machine). It just can't sustain those speeds due to throttling (which isn't as bad as you might think) so bulk actions like exporting or building previews take a while (although that is hardly lightning quick on a powerful desktop either).
 
i use the 12 inch 1.1ghz 8gb ram 250gb hard drive to edit my pictures in l/r with no problem at all
battery lasts for 8 hrs easily
it does not heat up and there is no fan in it
it only uses something like 4 watts so thats why it keeps cool to the touch
where as my 17in macbook pro you could fry an egg on it after using it
best buy i have ever made for editing my pics
 
The 2017 M3 model is a considerable step up. CEX have one for £960 (A) and been keeping an eye as has dropped in price recently.

The M3 model is as fast as 2016 M5 model.

Will this be your primary machine? I was looking as secondary setup. The 2015 MacBook Pro 13 is still decent if can source one.
 
holty said:
i use the 12 inch 1.1ghz 8gb ram 250gb hard drive to edit my pictures in l/r with no problem at all
battery lasts for 8 hrs easily
it does not heat up and there is no fan in it
it only uses something like 4 watts so thats why it keeps cool to the touch
where as my 17in macbook pro you could fry an egg on it after using it
best buy i have ever made for editing my pics
Click to expand...


Interested in this thread, I’ve been watching John Lewis - they have an absolute stinker of a deal - £999 for a 512gb MacBook plus 3 year warranty! So tempted, but arguable my MacBook Pro Retina (2014 mode) us still absolutely fine and can’t justify it. But, I am really really tempted! https://www.johnlewis.com/apple-mac...-12-retina-display/p2679800?colour=Space Grey
 
i have a new macbook pro 13 inch laptop w/touchbar. I like it, and i guess i'm pretty happy with it (partic the screen), but it's not without its failings.
It has four USB-C ports, and the number of times i curse myself for not having an adapter with me is getting embarrassing.
The touchbar i find that i hardly use.
The keyboard is noticeably noisier than my old 2012 13 inch macbook pro.

But most annoyingly, less than three months after buying it, one of the keys has stuck, (the W). Which means i continually have to re-read what i've written and correct the missing letters each time, and i'm now gonna have to book an appointment in the Genius bar to get it fixed.
I never once had a problem with the keyboard on my old laptop which got abused daily for five years.

I got mine at the apple store as i was able to get the education discount via my partner who's a teacher. Its not much, but it helps.

m.
 
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stickytape said:
Interested in this thread, I’ve been watching John Lewis - they have an absolute stinker of a deal - £999 for a 512gb MacBook plus 3 year warranty! So tempted, but arguable my MacBook Pro Retina (2014 mode) us still absolutely fine and can’t justify it. But, I am really really tempted! https://www.johnlewis.com/apple-macbook-intel-core-m5-8gb-ram-512gb-flash-storage-12-retina-display/p2679800?colour=Space Grey
Click to expand...

Does this mean a new model is on the way? Would rather not buy now and a new one comes out in a few weeks.
 
martin. said:
But most annoyingly, less than three months after buying it, one of the keys has stuck, (the W). Which means i continually have to re-read what i've written and correct the missing letters each time, and i'm now gonna have to book an appointment in the Genius bar to get it fixed.
I never once had a problem with the keyboard on my old laptop which got abused daily for five years.

I got mine at the apple store as i was able to get the education discount via my partner who's a teacher. Its not much, but it helps.

m.
Click to expand...

Get a can of air blower compressed air, it’s a common problem with the butterfly mechanism (mk1 and mk2) and an easy fix. Just blow in around the sticky key and tap it a bit.

Edit: still incredulous that this kind of thing (butterfly keyboard) can be viewed as better when it keeps breaking but there you go...
 
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i think the new version came out back in june (looks pretty much the same as the JL one, but with a slightly faster processor).

tbh, the £999 looks a decent enough deal.
But you mentioned imovie in your original post: if you're planning on editing any 4K content, then maybe a different, more powerful machine might be a better option. I guess it depends how often you see yourself editing video and how patient you are.
 
cambsno said:
Does this mean a new model is on the way? Would rather not buy now and a new one comes out in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

I don’t think so? They had a similar deal on a month or so ago, where they were 900 for the smaller hard drive capacity model.. it’s just an absolute steal, it’s tough for me to walk away without splashing the cash!
 
cambsno said:
Does this mean a new model is on the way? Would rather not buy now and a new one comes out in a few weeks.
Click to expand...


Nah, and that’s a dangerous mindset to get into, you’ll never buy anything!

I was in JL Southampton yesterday and there was a large section of customer returns (mostly Apple products) being sold as open box that were even cheaper.
 
Nawty said:
Get a can of air blower compressed air, it’s a common problem with the butterfly mechanism (mk1 and mk2) and an easy fix. Just blow in around the sticky key and tap it a bit.

Edit: still incredulous that this kind of thing (butterfly keyboard) can be viewed as better when it keeps breaking but there you go...
Click to expand...

Yup, we've had issues with these with some of our clients. A can of compressed air is a good thing to have anyway, clean out the air/fan slots as well. It's amazing how much laptops hoover up the dust.

Quick comment on this.
Nawty said:
The 12” is beautiful and despite what you read on the Internet is fully capable of running LR and PS, the screen is gorgeous and it is very portable.
The pro is beastier and has a bigger screen, you won’t really notice much difference in performance to the 12 inch except for large batch process (e.g. exporting lot of images from LR).
Click to expand...

I'd say that if going the 12" way, it would be best backed up with a decent screen at home, giving you the best of portability and screen res. Doesn't have to be an apple monitor.
The pro as quoted in the original post had the better processor, which is noticable in lightroom in certain operations, switching into develop module, rendering on import etc. You pay the money though as this is the flagship product.
 
Byker28i said:
Yup, we've had issues with these with some of our clients. A can of compressed air is a good thing to have anyway, clean out the air/fan slots as well. It's amazing how much laptops hoover up the dust.

Quick comment on this.


I'd say that if going the 12" way, it would be best backed up with a decent screen at home, giving you the best of portability and screen res. Doesn't have to be an apple monitor.
The pro as quoted in the original post had the better processor, which is noticable in lightroom in certain operations, switching into develop module, rendering on import etc. You pay the money though as this is the flagship product.
Click to expand...

Would you rekcon its overkill already having a MAcbok Pro Retina 15 to ge tone of these..? AS a sort of “travel model”? I don’t think people realize how tempted I am!
 
stickytape said:
Would you rekcon its overkill already having a MAcbok Pro Retina 15 to ge tone of these..? AS a sort of “travel model”? I don’t think people realize how tempted I am!
Click to expand...
GAS? you've got the i7 top of the range beast, 15" screen. Why would you want another apart from the standard Apple user 'must have the latest...'

Realistically only you can answer that based on needs, disposable income/business, reliability/warranty of your current one
 
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