What Apple Laptop is Best for Students?

I've been trying to find the best Mac hardware for students for a while now. I've used several different laptops and desktops, so I think I'm in a good position to talk about them. I've owned the 13 and 15 Macbook pro, 11 and 13 Air, iPad, and iMac. The following are pros and cons of each device for a student.

The 13 Pro is the most popular laptop right now. I see this everywhere in my University. It's the balance of power, storage, and weight that makes this king. There's plenty of the power for the average student, and then some for content creator. This would probably be the main computer, so ample storage is key. The 13 Pro definitely has enough with it's hard disk drive, but the spinning drive is also part of its weakness. I see many people just take the MacBook and shove in their bag to go off to the next class. Moving the laptop while the drive is still spinning could cause damage to the drive. The 13" form factor seems to be just the perfect screen size and weight for a mobile student.

If weight is a concern, the 13" Air is the way to go. I think the 13 Air could, emphasis on could, be the new favourite. It definitely wins out on the weight over the pro, but it still falls short in some aspects. Its battery holds three hours less of a charge than the 10 hours in the MacBook Pro, and it's processing speed is just good enough to pass. The 13 Air's biggest shortcoming though, is its storage. 128 GB is not enough for the digital student of today. I say that the 13 Air would dethrone the 13 Pro because my concerns would be answered in due time. The processing speed, battery, and storage would only get better. Oh, and it's much quicker than the 13 Pro because of its solid state drive

The second most popular MacBook that I see is the 15 Pro. This is more for the power users and content creators. It's has more of what the 13 Pro has. More storage, more power, and more screen size. All this addition comes at a price, and I'm not just talking about money. The 15 Pro weighs much more and has a larger footprint. It also still has the same spinning drive that could be damaged during transit. Two side notes. First, I suggest getting the Hi-Rez version of the screen because it gives you more screen real estate to work with. Second, I predict that Apple would create dual boot MacBook Pros. This means the operating system would in the the SSD media stays in the HDD. Apple already does this with their iMac.

The rumoured 15 Air should also be noted as a possible student MacBook. If it does get released, it would have more screen real estate, longer battery life, more storage, and faster processors. This is still a rumour at this point, but this is what I expect. I also expect a fat price tag for such a slim device.

An 11 Air could work as a student computer, but it's going to need to be paired with an iMac or another computer. I don't think the 11 Air is quite there yet, nor will it be in the next few years. The 11" form factor take up the least space on your table leaving you with enough room for a Wacom tablet. The iMac would pick up where the Air is weak; power, and screen. This is an expensive combo, and I'd suggest buying refurbished from the apple store.

I wonder why the iPad isn't around the campus as much as it should. I think this could be the future of textbooks, but not until those textbook publishers start producing Apps and digital books. As mentioned, the iPad would be the perfect reading device, but not a note taking device. I like typing me notes and then annotating them with a Wacom tablet. The iPad can do both of this but only in a subpar manner. The software keyboard is no  replacement for a hardware one, and there's not enough detail on the touchscreen to efficiently annotate notes.

I like annotating and creating some notes by hand, and this is where the Wacom tablet comes in. It can be used to draw on notes during class, draw on flash cards, and it can even be used as a mouse. The unescapable fact is that drawing by hand is still needed today. This is specially true in math, physics, and chemistry.

Does a Macbook Air and Macbook Pro Combo Make Sense?

Does a person really need two laptops? I'd like to think not. It seems like such a waste, but I've been thinking about getting a Macbook Air 11" lately despite my 15" Macbook Pro. I've bought a used a Macbook Air 13" (2010) before and it suited me well for the most part. It's actually perfect for university and high school students. The problem came when I wanted to do projects involving professional applications like Final Cut X. I knew the 13 Air would have some trouble, and it won't handle everything I would throw at it. My biggest concern was storage. It was too slow and inelegant to put all your project in an external hard drive. I sold the 13 and bought the 15 Pro from the refurbished section of the Apple store. It would take a couple of weeks for the 15 to arrive, so I bought an 11 Air as my main machine for the meantime. Apple got rid of the restocking fee and also wanted to try out the 11 Air. I just simply loved the portability of the 13 Air, so the 11 would be better for that.

The 15 Pro arrive and I had to return the 11 Air. It was such a big difference going from the two. The 15 is this gargantuan beast of a machine with a large screen and a heavy body while the 11 is this small runt that can do most of what I needed it to do. It's been several months now, and I'm longing for that 11 Air. I've been checking out the Apple store and Craigslist for a good price, and I'm tempted on getting one. Why get one while I have a perfectly awesome Pro? I simply fell in love with the portability. Now that I have school to do, portability is key. I carry the 15 Pro with me everywhere I go, and it just weighs down my backpack so much. I also have a hard time using it on the bus because I'm too paranoid about the spinning hard drive, and it makes me a big target for theft.

How would the logistics work though? Would I carry both laptops at the same time? That would make my backpack even heavier. I'd end up using the 11 Air 90% of the time when school is in session, and then the pro would be used during the summer or winter breaks. In that case, won't it make sense to get a iMac and an 11 Air? I'll have plenty or real estate with the iMac, and I can be mobile with the Air. I've thought about this before i bought my 15 Pro. I consider myself a digital nomad. I don't spend a whole lot of waking time at home. The iMac would hardly be used. At least I can bring the pro with me and then use it.

The most elegant solution is thunderbolt. I could connect an external monitor for editing and a fast external hard drive for storage and backup. The weakest link to this setup is the computing power of the laptop. The most decked out 11 Air is just not powerful enough. The best 13 Air is getting there though, and I'm sure the 15" Macbook Air would be the best compromise to power and portability, but how portable could a 15 air really be? I liked the 11 because of it's small footprint. The 15 Air would still have a large footprint but small weight. It would solve my "backpack too heavy" problem, but I won't consider it portable. And how would the storage work with the 15 Pro? I expect it to be SSD with 256GB as a reasonable option, but that's still not reasonably large enough.

I still haven't made my decision. I might just end up getting an Air for school purposes and using the 15 Pro for larger projects. It just seems like a shame that my Pro would be under-utilized while I have school. That's really the main thing that's stoping me. I don't like inefficiencies, and a Pro and Air combo would be inefficient.