What's the difference between MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook in 2019?

For four years, and in tune with the philosophy that they carry in the iPhone, Apple decided to withdraw from the markets mid budget in terms of personal computers and rather focus on experiences that put aesthetics first, before usability or customization

Thus, while some claim that the Macbook Pro Mid-2012 is the last great Mac (due to expansion capabilities), Apple introduced four years ago a MacBook that was discontinued in mid-July 2019.

This laptop was the herald of the new Mac design logic:

• Few ports
• Preference to USB-C
• You had to enter the dongle life to be able to perform basic tasks such as connecting conventional USB devices, projecting to a cannon via HDMI or even absurdities such as charging the computer and using an external keyboard or mouse that requires a receiver.
• The beginning of the adoption of smaller processors, thus capping performance, but overturning the way that - as in the iPhone - Apple produces its own chips and bypasses Intel.

The result was slow, expensive, and not exactly eye-catching to the consumer who years before had adored the Macs with a retina or the simplicity of the Air. Even the MacNook without a SuperDrive but with Retina, together with the Air with Intel Core i5 and 4GB of RAM, coexisted with this Macbook (12-inch) for a couple of years in stores.

Now, the 12-inch MacBook has been discontinued because the new MacBook Pro is almost as light, but with more power, while the Macbook Air 2018 and 2019 are practically superior.

It is worth mentioning that all of these models have a horrendous problem with their keys, due to their propensity to get stuck with dust, the impossibility of being cleaned and the need to keep them away for weeks thanks to heavy repairs in service centers.

The difference

• The aforementioned and discontinued MacBook Air is not worth reselling. Its last update was in 2017, it has a rare size (barely bigger than a netbook and in itself smaller than the standard 13 inches of past Macs). Its processor is inferior and has the worst keyboard system.
• Entering the good, if you are a fan of paying more than 25 thousand Mexican pesos for something that you might find in 15 or 12 with Dell or Lenovo, the MacBook Pro since 2019 it already has the infamous touchbar in each and every one of its models. This will not be liked by fans of the physical "F" key buttons, which is somewhat ironic considering the Pro profile and that it costs $ 200 more than the one. MacBook Air 2019, newly updated. This range, the Pro 2019, in Mexico usually costs almost 30 thousand pesos. A big difference, if we take into account that its predecessors did not reach 20 thousand a couple of years ago.
• Which in theory is the economic option, even more so with the departure of the Air old lady of Apple's offer, is the new Air 2019, which starts selling at $ 1,100. In Mexico, the price is practically the same as the Pro's recently discontinued 12-inch MacBook. As is customary in this range, it has a current generation (8th) Intel Core i5 processor and a solid state drive. The big difference with the MacBook that you will find of balances or at auction, is that this one does have a real Intel chip and suitable for solid tasks (20 tabs in Chrome or edit a 15-minute clip in iMovie), contrary to the mobile version of the 12 has 8GB of RAM.
• The MacBook Pro you'll find in Mexican stores, unless you order it with a better processor on Apple.com, also has a true Intel Core i5 chip and 8GB of RAM.
• They all have some version of the terrible keyboard I mentioned, but the worst is the 12-inch one.
• That keyboard will be gone in the next Mac review, regarding Johny Ive's departure from Apple.
• Both have the industrial design language that characterized them in past versions: while the Pro e closes perfectly as a notebook, the Air still has a slightly thinner tip when closed.

Conclution? If you really want a Mac, this blogger recommends you start improving a mid-2012 MBP, but if you really want a modern Mac (!) Go for the Air 2019 because it is cheaper and the touch bar it is a really irrelevant addition. Avoid at all costs the auction of the 12 inches, it is not worth the look.