What's the difference between Mac Pro vs. Air?

[AHappierHour]

My nephew wants a Mac book for his graduation gift and he says he wants the pro. He will be using this for college to do write papers and stuff. I would think the air is a better choice. But I'm not an expert on Apple products.

Is this good for that?

Does it come with Word or do we have his to buy office too?

Thanks!

[MixedBerryJam]

www.apple.com/shop/question/answers/readonly/tag/mac/which-one-is-better-for-a-college-student-in-the-social-sciences-macbook-pro-or-air/QU4PPJACCACA2H7KY

^^^ comparison from apple.com  (forum) Pretty sure you have to purchase office separately. Actually that wasn't the link I meant to add but it leans slightly pro Pro. I'll see if I can find the specs comparison I just saw.

Features comparison on apple.com: 
www.apple.com/mac/compare/results/?product1=macbook-air-13&product2=macbook-pro-2015-13
You can select other models to compare

[BicycleBride]

If he's just going to word process and surf the internet then the air is going to be plenty sufficient. My air is almost 4 years old and still going strong. I recently upgraded to a pro because I do a lot of photoshop and Lightroom and needed more power but unless he plans to do a lot of photo or video editing (not just adding filters or whatever) then an air is fine.

[marshmallow]

Don't buy office without checking to see if his college provides it free for students. The last three colleges I've attended/worked at do, so I think it's pretty common. My students are always mad because they show up having spent a buttload on it only to find that out on day one.

[isabel]

He doesn't need a Pro for surfing the internet and doing basic word processing, excel, and powerpoint stuff. Also, the air is lighter, so will be easier to carry around.

[mrsukyankee]

Or download Libre Office instead for free which allows you to save things as Office products.

[dexteroni]

Ditto everyone, the Air is more than sufficient to meet his needs. Pros are heavy as shit to carry around, too. The big difference is that Pros have normal disc hard drives and Airs have solid state hard drives, which are less prone to fucking up. So Airs have smaller hard drives, but it should still be sufficient. And he can use the cloud or an external HD (preferably both) if he needs more room.

Also ditto on not buying Office yet. I normally would recommend not even buying the computer yet because Apple usually offers a back to school promo for the year, and colleges usually offer student discounts. But I get that you might want to get it now anyway since it's for a graduation gift.

[cmeon]

Does he play games? Neither makes a very good gaming machine on their own, but, the Pro (with 16GB of RAM and either the discrete graphics or boot camp and an external) is going to be much, much better than the Air.

[feistypants]

Also, what will he be going to school for? My designer husband has a Pro because it handles his specific software better.

[namasteak]

Does he want it for video games too? Maybe that's why he wants the pro?

[AHappierHour]

No he's not into gaming and he wants to be a psychologist.

I think he's thinking someday he might get into photography as a hobby or take as an elective. but at this point he doesn't even have a "good" camera. It's just a thought of his.

[redheadk]

I have a MacBook Pro. I'd get an Air if I was going to have to carry it around. But if he's really set on a pro, apple does sell refurbished models for about 15% off. Mine is refurbished and works perfectly. You can't tell by looking at it, it looks brand new.

[googled]

If he plans majoring in art, design, photography, etc, he'll be better off with a Pro.

[killercupcake]

I have a Pro, H has an Air.

The pro has a disc drive, but I haven't used it since grad school and I didn't really need it then either. H has never had the need for a disc drive.

Software-wise, our computers have the same programs.

Get him the Air.

[gummy]

I don't know anything about Macs but I hate when I ask for something specific and someone gets me something else*. As a young person I'm sure he's very aware of the differences between the two and has reasons for wanting the Pro. I'd be super grateful for someone gifting me a laptop for school but I also would probably show up to the Apple store asking what my options are for an exchange.

*this has happened countless times in my life so maybe I'm bitter! I'm still annoyed my mom bought me Gaiam Pilates instead of Winsor Pilates back in the early 2000s because "what's the difference?"

[redheadk]

May 22, 2017 18:54:09 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

I have a Pro, H has an Air.

The pro has a disc drive, but I haven't used it since grad school and I didn't really need it then either. H has never had the need for a disc drive.

Software-wise, our computers have the same programs.

Get him the Air.

Do any of the pros still have disc drive? I thought Apple phased that out. None of the MacBooks we use have one. We use an external drive on the rare occasion we need one.  

I think for the average user, the basic difference is going to be some of the "cool" features like retina display and the touch bar. But, for function, the Air is great and so light! For a college student that will likely be carrying it around pretty much all the time, that would be a huge selling point for me.SaveSave

[killercupcake]

May 22, 2017 19:01:38 GMT -5 redheadk said:

May 22, 2017 18:54:09 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

I have a Pro, H has an Air.

The pro has a disc drive, but I haven't used it since grad school and I didn't really need it then either. H has never had the need for a disc drive.

Software-wise, our computers have the same programs.

Get him the Air.

Do any of the pros still have disc drive? I thought Apple phased that out. None of the MacBooks we use have one. We use an external drive on the rare occasion we need one.  

I think for the average user, the basic difference is going to be some of the "cool" features like retina display and the touch bar. But, for function, the Air is great and so light! For a college student that will likely be carrying it around pretty much all the time, that would be a huge selling point for me.SaveSave

That's a good question. I'm not sure. I got my pro in 2011 though, so they may all be gone at this point. 

[thecatinthehat]

May 22, 2017 19:04:05 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

May 22, 2017 19:01:38 GMT -5 redheadk said:

Do any of the pros still have disc drive? I thought Apple phased that out. None of the MacBooks we use have one. We use an external drive on the rare occasion we need one.  

I think for the average user, the basic difference is going to be some of the "cool" features like retina display and the touch bar. But, for function, the Air is great and so light! For a college student that will likely be carrying it around pretty much all the time, that would be a huge selling point for me.SaveSave

That's a good question. I'm not sure. I got my pro in 2011 though, so they may all be gone at this point. 

I have the new pro and it doesn't have a disc drive.

[DaisyCakes]

I recently bought a new Mac and after looking at all the models, ended up going with a desktop this time around, none of them have optical drives anymore.
All macs come with the apple version of office. I use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote and I don't have compatibility issues with Office.

[kris356]

I would also check with his university. My sister received a significant discount on the Mac she got for college and it came loaded with all the software she would need but it had to be ordered through the school.

[Ace]

If he has an .edu email he can get Office for free through their website right now.