What's the Difference Between Apple's New Laptops?

Yesterday was Christmas for Apple-nerds. WWDC's (World Wide Developer's Conference) keynote address is traditionally a time when major releases are announced, and yesterday was no exception. While we are missing Apple's late former-CEO Steve Jobs, Tim Cooke did a great job of keeping the excitement going and expertly showcasing all of the new products.

The biggest announcement was the new laptop lineup. Apple updated their MacBook Air notebooks ("Notebooks" and "laptops" are synonymous when it comes to computers,) as well as their MacBook Pro notebooks as well. The real surprise though was the announcement of a new laptop line called the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Retina Display is Apple-ese for "super awesome high quality display." Without getting technical about it, the Retina Display manages to get twice as much detail in the same size screen as the normal MacBook Pro.

Apple actually has a very nice comparison chart on their website (right here) that lets people see a side-by-side comparison of their computer lineups. The only problem I've noticed is that after a line or two most people's eyes glaze over with all the technical jargon, so here's the "quick and dirty" difference. The MacBook Air is good for general use: web browsing, document editing, light photo or video work. If you do more than just basic video, audio or photo work, or just really want a bigger display, consider going to the MacBook Pro. If you're a professional videographer, musician, photographer or anything else that requires a high-powered machine (web designers, I'm looking at you!) or if you just really want that Retina Display, go with the MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

Practical Tip of the Day:

If you're considering getting one of the new Apple notebook computers, also consider getting AppleCare, their warranty program. People generally shy away from any kind of warranty program because, well, honestly, they're usually a rip-off, but AppleCare is actually quite helpful and I buy it for all of my Apple products. It's usually cheaper than even one repair on the computer, covers you anywhere in the world so you're still safe even while travelling, and also gives you unlimited call support. The only caveat is that it's a warranty program, not an insurance program which is illegal for a manufacturer to sell on their own products. This means that AppleCare will cover anything that goes wrong with your computer that's not due to outside forces like drops, liquid spills, etc. I still consider it a great deal though and buy it on all of my Apple products.