[Paulods]

Do you honestly believe that the current macbook (note the 12" not the new pro) will not wanes in performance in the next 4 years as we have historically seen with the macbook air?

I ask because while my macbook air coming up to 3 years and feels almost like a brand new machine - the current 12" is actually slower than my air. Can i really expect that to have 4 years of solid performance updates on the macbook?

In that case should i expect my air to last me the next 4 years and do just well for a solid 8 years of great performance?

[bengale]

This seems a weird question. The Macbook being slower than your air doesn't mean that it won't be just as performant in 4 years, but no it won't be faster than a device that it isn't faster than now.

If the Macbook is fast enough for someone now, and their workload doesn't change, then yes, I'd expect it to be just fine for them in 4 years; just as the same can be said for the Air, or the others.

[Paulods]

Thats kind of my point. Its been almost 4 years and apple hasn't made the devices (at the same price bracket) any more performant.

Will the software they make over the next 4 years stay at the same level of requirements and run just as smoothly as everything seems to run on my air after 3 years?

I am not sure that is the case looking at how the OS is moving and how they are treating performance.

[lagadu]

As a fellow Air owner I feel exactly the same way. I like new toys but looking around between the macbooks and macbooks pro there's nothing I'd want to replace it with. To apple's credit the Air performs incredibly well and the only reason I looked into replacing it was because its 128gb SSD is a becoming a problem, so I'm using that as an excuse to upgrade into something newer and shiny but the only things I see that I'd want to replace it with are the surface book and the surface pro 4. I want to like the 12-inch macbook because of the form factor but I just don't want what in some ways is a noticeable downgrade.

If MS had that $650 discount on returning a macbook when buying their hardware in Europe, I'd have already jumped on it.

[tkp]

Not to invalidate your excuse, but if you need, you can probably upgrade your MBA's SSD. Installed an OWC Aura SSD in mine, it's is very straightforward.

[Volt]

I've personally had those OWC drives die on me four times now.

[f_allwein]

No, the non-pro has very basic performance, because it is meant to be an entry level computer. Get one for your mum today, and she'll happily use it for 5+ years. Get a macbook pro for yourself, and the same thing should be the case.