Some readers asked me if I ever ended up buying the Retina MacBook Pro 15” that I was considering a few weeks ago.

Yes, I have. Two weeks ago I was in the US on a business trip and came back with a Retina MacBook Pro 15”, 2.3GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and discrete graphics card.

I am not going to review this laptop. Others have done it already, and there’s no point in reviewing a refurb anyway.

What I am going to do is to write about what it feels like to work on a MacBook Pro Retina 15” after migrating from a MacBook Air 13”. Most people go the other way round. They find a 15” laptop too big, and downsize to something more portable. For reasons I’ve already discussed, I made the opposite choice.

Before I start, let me rewind the tape to give you some perspective about where I come from as a user of Apple laptops. The first one I owned was an iBook G3 12” that I bought in 2004. In 2008 I got a MacBook Pro 15” (pre unibody). Then in 2012 for my birthday I bought a MacBook Air 13”. The Retina MacBook Pro was still in Revision A, and because it’s my policy not to buy first revision Apple products I didn’t even consider it. I could’ve bought another non-Retina MacBook Pro 15”, but while at the Apple Store I marvelled at the speed of the MacBook Air on display. I ended up buying a specced-out MacBook Air 13” i7, with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

The MacBook Air is probably the best laptop I’ve ever owned but as I discussed before, its small screen started becoming a problem for my eyesight. The new laptop had to have a Retina display, with a 15” screen, not a 13”.

All this preamble to give you a bit of background about my purchase. You might be in a similar situation and wondering what’s it like to go from a MacBook Air 13” to a Retina MacBook Pro 15”.

Feel

If you think that the MacBook Air is a well-built machine, you should spend some time running your fingers over the Retina MacBook Pro aluminium case.

Its built quality appears even higher than the Air. I am not a metallurgist, so I can’t confirm if there’s science behind it, but the aluminium used in the Retina feels sturdier. The case itself has an extraordinary rigidity. Try to pick up the Retina MacBook Pro by one of its corners (careful not to twist your fingers, the laptop is heavy when you lift it like this) and you’ll wonder how the damn thing doesn’t bend.

The screen’s hinge is solid too. More solid than the one on the Air. You get a hint of pleasure every time you adjust the screen and realise that you need to apply more force than you used to. I like these little details. They probably don’t mean much to the average person, but they’re the computer equivalent of the solid thump you hear when shutting the door of a German car. Details matter, they represent the difference between a good product and an exceptional one.

The laptop feels absurdly dense. Its specific weight must be similar to lead’s. The feeling is that it contains lots of stuff, lots of carefully engineered and high quality stuff, that is.

In fact, the Retina MacBook Pro is high quality all over. After having owned it for almost two weeks I still find myself looking at it with its lid closed. It’s a beautifully designed laptop, a carefully crafted feat of engineering. In case you are still wondering what I am talking about, watch and pay attention to the Retina MacBook Pro cooling system. That is so cool.

See

When I read that once you go Retina, you can’t go back I thought people were exaggerating. The reality is that the screen is even better than words can describe.

Reading documents on this laptop has become a pleasure once again. Whereas with the Air I would often squint and change the default application fonts to a larger size, with the Retina I’ve kept everything as Apple set it by default. Even if you spend your day writing, you will benefit from a Retina screen. You don’t need to be a CAD designer to appreciate it.

The brightness of the screen is astounding too. With the Air I had the brightness set to the maximum all the time, whereas with the Retina it’s set at 50%. It’s that bright!

I am writing this post in Writer Pro, in full screen, and the experience could not be more pleasurable. Listening to the (thanks Apple!) while writing these sentences is blissful and relaxing.

The Retina screen won’t tire your eyes, and you’ll find yourself working longer and more efficiently. At first the bigger screen, at the same resolution (1440×900) as the 13” Air, will appear ridiculously big. But after only a couple of days, going back to the Air will be like going back to using a pocket notebook after writing on an A4 size notepad.

The screen is grandiose. This laptop is almost imposing the first few times you sit in front of it, but soon it’ll become your closest friend.

Furthermore, you have the ability to increase the virtual resolution of its screen to 1680×1050 or even to 1920×1200 whenever you need some serious real estate. You will find it incredibly useful when working in Photoshop, editing a movie, working with many docs open or even on a large spreadsheet. I love it. The flexibility of having multiple resolution modes is priceless. It’s like owning multiple screens.

Work

Of the MacBook Air, I loved its tapered profile. I thought it was a clever design decision to allow for comfortable touch typing. Switching to a Retina MacBook Pro I was afraid that I’d miss that. I was worried that the relatively thick profile of the Retina would interfere with a comfortable touch typing experience.

The answer is negative. I haven’t had any problems adjusting to the thickness (or thinness, this baby is incredibly slim). The palm rests are deep and comfortably wide.

What I was sure I would love the Retina 15” for is its width. Let me explain. I’m 5’10”, medium built, but I never liked how the Air forced me to keep my legs closed tight while working on a couch. Its width is not enough to allow me to spread my knees just enough for comfortable sitting. With the Retina MacBook Pro 15” I don’t have that problem anymore. I knew this fact well before buying it, because I owned that old classic MacBook Pro 15”. I remember how comfy it felt working on it on a couch.

The keyboard on the Pro is different from the one on the MacBook Air. It’s less rubbery — if the description is descriptive enough — and a bit more clickety-clackety. More rigid, shall we say. The key stroke is slightly longer too, which is not better or worse, just different. I like it either way, just a different feeling.

Because of its larger screen, I find that working for hours on this laptop is less tiring than with the MacBook Air. With the old laptop, my neck would give me problems from time to time, but I have yet to experience the same issue with the Retina MacBook Pro. Given its size — and height — the screen sits at a more comfortable angle relative to your eyes. That means your neck is not forced to bend forward and downward. That is probably the reason my neck is now happier.

The best comparison I can make of what it’s like to work on a Retina MacBook Pro 15” instead of a MacBook Air 13” is to think of a Mini Cooper and a . Both are great cars, but the longer wheelbase of the 320d makes it for a smoother and more relaxing drive. Even simple things, like finding the right spot to click on a button, are easier on a 15” screen thanks to the larger click areas.

The Retina MacBook Pro’s bottom is warmer than the Air. Whereas the Air would remain cold most of the time, the Pro gets warm — not uncomfortably warm unless you push the quad core i7 — but enough to notice it. Pay attention to this point if you are bothered by a bit of warmth on your legs, or are lucky enough to live in a climate where you wear shorts most of the time. In warmer climates, the Retina MacBook Pro could be a problem indeed.

Transport

Nothing beats the lightness of the Air. Coming from it, the Retina MacBook Pro 15” feels heavier. Yet, it should not be your primary concern if you are considering a 15” laptop. Once you fit the Retina MacBook Pro in either your backpack or messenger bag, you will forget it. Trust me, it’s light to carry it in a bag!

Instead, you should be worried about its footprint. Coming from a 13”, I forgot how big a 15” laptop is. Even when the Retina MacBook Pro sits comfortably on my desk, it takes up a considerable amount of space.

Of course it’s all about compromises. It really depends on what you want. Comfortable work experience or small size?

Conclusions

I’ve worked on this Retina MacBook Pro 15” for two weeks now. Am I missing the MacBook Air 13”? No, not anymore. The first week I had mixed feelings; everything on this 15” laptop felt awkwardly large, big, heavy, oversized. Right now I find this machine a pure joy to use. A faithful companion that will follow me in any project I’ll delve into.