I had an Air at my previous job and I was going to go for that again in the new job but I have the option of getting the Pro instead if I want, and there doesn’t seem to be much different in weight.
Is the Pro screen much better? I didn’t get a chance to look at them in action but I understand the retina screen is rather lovely.
Anyone with experience of both?

Is the Pro screen much better?

Yes, much.

Screen is way better on the pro (wife has one)

Real world the air is a lot lighter (use them at work) and the battery is epic.

I am holding out for a retina air – luckily I am in no rush. And as always find someone to get you educational discount.

It’s coming through work so I don’t need to worry about the cost fortunately!
I assumed the Air would be much lighter but I was allowed to hold both of them and the difference wasn’t so noticeable (it’s 200g difference apparently), however I really don’t need a Pro for the work I’m doing so maybe I should just stick with the Air.

It’s coming through work so I don’t need to worry about the cost fortunately!

Get the Pro then!

The new OS is meant to look a lot better on a retina display.

the battery is epic.

This – I went from an Air to a Pro recently and the difference in battery use is more noticeable than any improvement in processing power is.

I don’t notice the screen quality much as I use a separate monitor at work.

If the weight isn’t an issue I would go pro in your situation.

Not all Pro’s have the retina screen though, its only the more expensive one.

The screen is vastley better though.

Mrs FD just bought a Mac Air, loves it. Definitely more poratable in reality than the Pro. Shame there is no sign of the Retina screen on the Air any time soon

Depends if you need the power of the pro. I have a fully specced one for work and it’s ace. Battery life is not bad.

If you don’t need that power and would rather the battery life, go air.

I’d be going for a pro unless you’re carrying it around all day.

Battery life on a pro with SSD is significantly better than a spinning drive.

If you get the Pro retina display version then you get SSD, a much better screen & as this as an air & weight is almost the same.

If you get the Pro NON retina display version you get a similar screen as the air but a CD drive, ethernet port & a few extra millimetres thickness & weight

Get the retina display – it’s awesome

Battery life on a pro with SSD is significantly better than a spinning drive.

None of the rMBPs have a spinning drive.

And to get pedantic, when you say “significantly”, do you have data to quantify that? 😉

If you’re ever carrying it, get the air. If it’s mostly sat at a desk get a 15″ rMBP (and an external monitor)

BTW – my Pro is a retina with SSD – battery life is significantly shorter.

air – (1366×768) https://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-air/specs.html

pro – (2560×1600) https://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

And as an old duffer the test is can you read the STW mag on a 13″ display without a magnifyingh glass – On the Pro – the answer is Yes you can

None of the rMBPs have a spinning drive.

And to get pedantic, when you say “significantly”, do you have data to quantify that?

I’m sorry for not being fanboi enough to know the hardware spec of a Macbook pro retina… And no data I’m afraid, just the difference in mine when I went from spinning disk to SSD. I saw a 2 hour increase when using it for basic admin tasks.

OP, yes you are right the new Pro (without DVD drive) is much lighter and thinner and quite comparable to the Air. The Retina screen is definitely better but you do need to see them side by side to tell. The Pro is more powerful computing wise and you can get better spec ones. The Air is “de-tuned” to reduce power consumption and give better battery life.

We recently did a side by side and went with a Pro. Mainly due to the screen but also a view that it would be more robust than an Air. If you are not budget concious then I think the Pro is the obvious choice. I suggest you get 8GB RAM and a 256 SSD min. There are rumours of a retina 12 Air which would be a nice machine and make the choice even more difficult, however that would be a 2015 machine now.

The prior generations of rMBP’s had spinning drives, perhaps that what the posters where referring to

thanks for all the opinions.
The boss has just sent an email to IT so I’m good to go and choose one at the beginning of next week. I think they were all new ones, so if it’s a Pro with SSD and Retina display then I think I’ll go for that. I won’t be carrying it around much to be honest.