After a visit to the Apple Store, I have to say the new MacBookPro line is disappointing.
With any common task like launching programs or flipping through iPhoto images the 13” MacBookAir felt faster than any MacBookPro. At CPU intensive tasks, for example applying a blur to a large PhotoShop file, the Air and Pro lines felt about the same.
Of course, if the MacBookPro floor models at the Apple Store had solid state drives it would make all the difference in performance.
Still, the design of the Air is viscerally appealing in a way that the Pros aren’t. The Pros feel outmoded, bulky.
While I was playing with the laptops a group of junior high kids swarmed the Air table. (It’s the table on the left, closest to the doors. The money table.) I overheard teen girls squealing things like, “These are the smallest, cutest ones!” They didn’t visit the Pro table. The Airs got most of the action from all comers.
So:
- There’s no point in having a high end computer with a platter hard drive. Go SSD or go home.
- Expectations about computers have changed. What matters now is heft, portability, battery life, how it fits your bag, and how cool it looks at the coffee shop. Not how fast it is, but how fast it feels. It’s not about specs, it’s about the experience.