13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display vs. 13-inch MacBook Air (pictures)
Apple's new 13-inch Pro is smaller in some ways than the Air, larger in others.
Dan Ackerman
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications.
"Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Adding the high-res Retina Display to a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has created a new midway point between the slim ultrabook-like MacBook Air and the traditional 13-inch Pro. By eliminating the long-standing optical drive and platter hard drive, the new Retina 13-inch Pro slims down greatly, and even has a smaller desktop footprint than the 13-inch Air.
We took the just-delivered 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display and lined it up next to a current-gen 13-inch MacBook Air. The results left us feeling that each design has its advantages, but at the same time, there's still a big difference in the hand between the two.
While the new Retina MacBook Pro is not as thin and light as a MacBook Air, it actually has a slightly smaller footprint. The Retina Pro is 12.4 inches by 8.6 inches, while the 13-inch Air measures 12.8 inches by 8.9 inches. The gallery above shows several of the key angles, but we've called a few notable comparisons out here.
