Agree that the Retina ona 13" screen is not a must. However, for me the fact to get a small and powerful computer + long last battery is a + when using in location. Before my main worry was to provide power to my HP lapetop! Now this problenm should be over.I'm as yet unconvinced of the need for Retina display resolution. My next system will likely be a MacBook Air 13" with 8G RAM and 500G storage, connecting to FW and USB storage and scanning devices through a TB Display 27" when needed. I don't do tethering, at this point anyway, but would keep my current 2010 generation MBP13 for that purpose if I did.