Joe Cieplinski: “Here’s the thing about this MacBook: I’m drawn to it. I don’t know if it’s the small size of the thing that just makes it more lovable, but I’m already finding more excuses to use this machine than I ever did with my 13-inch MacBook Pro.”
Casey Liss: “I haven’t regularly handled a full-size iPad since the iPad 3, but the MacBook feels to be roughly the same size in-hand. In actuality, the MacBook is 150% the weight of the iPad 3, but the fact that I’m even making that comparison should indicate how light it feels.”
For these two it pretty much boils down to size. It’s the laptop version of the iPad. Compact, light, easy to carry anywhere. That convenience comes at a small price — it’s not a powerhouse.
If you code for a living and can only afford to purchase one computer make sure you consider a MacBook Pro before pulling the trigger on the MacBook. Read Casey’s piece. He uses this device as a kind of iPad replacement. It’s not meant for serious development work, at least for him.
I’ve heard the MacBook called the ManagerBook. That seems, based on these reviews, to be fairly accurate. It’s a super usable, fun, portable computer that could be a great choice if you have the luxury of owning more than one device.
I could see purchasing one of these for my wife. She’s a full-time iPad Pro 9.7 user and on rare occasion she pulls out her ancient MacBook to do something like rip music to her collection. She doesn’t need a full computer often but the need does arise.
On the flip side of all this praise for the MacBook I have a good friend recently return his MacBook and pick up an older MacBook Air because he couldn’t get past the key travel on the new MacBook keyboard.
You win some, you lose some.
