With people finally getting their hands on the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, the fine folks over at Primemate Labs (they make GeekBench) have compiled some benchmark results for the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. As you’d expect, the mid-2012 version of both devices increases performance over previous versions, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro outperforming the late 2011 version by 868 points, and the new MacBook Air out performing its predecessor by 677 points.
The Primate Labs team concludes:
These results suggest users who want the fastest 13-inch Mac laptop are opting for the MacBook Pro, while everyone else is opting for the 13-inch MacBook Air. I’m curious whether it’s the cheaper price or the faster performance (or a combination of both) that’s contributing to the MacBook Pro’s popularity.
We would like to point out that the introductory 13-inch MacBook Pro costs the exact same amount as the introductory 13-inch MacBook Air. Both laptops cost $1199.00 USD, despite the aside about price from Primemate Labs.
While they may be right in their conclusions, I’d argue that a lot of people buy the Pro over the Air because the word “pro” resides in the device’s title. I know a lot of people who have purchased the Pro version of the MacBook over the Air for that simple reason, despite their needs being met fully by the MacBook Air. No one will admit it, but I’d be willing to take bets that this is true.
The real question is whether or not Apple will eliminate the non-Retina versions of the MacBook Pro over time, and replace it solely with the MacBook Air, and then change the price points of the MacBook Pro to match the current 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. It may, however, take a while before Apple pulls the trigger on pricing changes.
