Recently Apple released a new laptop product, the Macbook, that is even lighter than the Macbook Air. This product recycles the name from the white and black ballistic plastic laptops from 2006-2010 that was a step down from the MacBook Pro line but a step above the MacBook Air. We feel it necessary to strongly caution prospective buyers about this new laptop offering. It’s greatest virtue is it’s weight, however it has a weaker processor than a MacBook Air since it uses a lower power, slower processor to expand battery life. For some users this may not be an issue if your needs are basic. Email, web browing, and light Microsoft Office use it should be able to handle without difficulty. Users who require higher graphics or computational capabilities such as those found in statistical analysis, number crunching, desktop publishing, web publishing, photography, and video production may want to avoid this offering.
It has been reported that the Macbook has a processor that is on par with the high end MacBook Air released 4 years ago in 2011. It also only has 1 specialized port (USB -C) for any peripherals that requires a special adapter to even plug in things like mice or a standard USB flash drive (USB-A) or backup HD for Time Machine (USB-A).
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-macbook-processor-is-slower-than-the-2011-macbook-air-2015-4
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/01/retina-macbook-benchmark-performance/
CNET also has a great in depth review of the 2015 Macbook here where they go over the Good, the Bad, and the Bottom Line:
http://www.cnet.com/products/apple-macbook-2015/
On May 11th, CNET published a comparison of the all the lightest Apple laptops to help people decide which to buy:
http://www.cnet.com/news/which-2015-apple-macbook-should-you-buy/
CNET’s take away is this:
“In the final analysis, it’s clear that the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the most all-around useful laptop Apple makes. But, it’s not the right choice for everyone.
The Pro is not nearly as portable as the other two models, even if it could still go along with you in a laptop case a couple of times per week without too much aggravation. Meanwhile, the 12-inch MacBook is the perfect portable laptop, and it’s so thin and light, you’ll hardly notice you’re carrying it, but it forces many feature and performance compromises.
That means a lot of MacBook shoppers will still end up looking seriously at the 13-inch Air. While it’s not the superstar it once was, it’s hard to ignore at $999. Our key takeaways include:
- The 13-inch MacBook Pro has excellent battery life, a beautiful, higher-res screen, and plenty of ports and connections.
- The 12-inch MacBook isn’t powerful enough for more than casual tasks and web surfing, and you’ll be lucky if that battery lasts a full day.
- The 13-inch MacBook Air still works well enough for most any mainstream workload, and it has the best battery life of any laptop we’ve ever tested.”
Potential users should also be aware the new Macbook has the same Migration Assistant problem of the first generation MacBook Airs released 7 years ago- you cannot transfer your files directly from Mac to Mac. You have to use a Time Machine Backup if you ever want to migrate your data to or from the new MacBook.
We want to make it clear that users in our support sections should consider very carefully if this device meets their needs before they buy the new 2015 Macbook. Power-wise you are better off with a MacBook Air which is about .33 pounds heavier for the 11″ and about .5 pounds heavier for the 13″. On the down side, the MacBook Air has also historically experienced poorer WiFi connectivity performance than the heavier 3.5 or 4.5 lb Mac Book Pro (13” or 15”) laptop. At the writing of this article we do not know how the new Macbook’s WiFi fares in comparison to either the Macbook Air or MacBook Pro.
The weights of the lightest of each offering are as follows in order of most powerful to least:
Macbook Pro 13″ 3.48lbs
MacBook Air 11″ 2.38lbs
MacBook 12″ 2.03 lbs
iPad Air 2 .96 lbs
Please let us know if anyone has any questions!
Thanks,
Albert