Can't see why 95% of users would be bottlenecked by the Air's computing power. For atleast a decade now most personal computers have passed the point of sufficiency for average private computing uses.

especially those living "in Word, Outlook, and Chrome."

My 11" Air is my primary work and personal machine. It drives Outlook, Chrome, Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop/Lightroom simultaneously non-stop. Sometimes docked to screen for the photo work, sometimes producing 720p videos, music transcoding, video transcoding.

On the couch I push full-screen high-def video wirelessly to a TV using AirPlay...at the same time using the laptop screen for alternate function.



Absolutely load up the RAM. The remaining practical difference is the resolution of the screen. The base 13" pro is really really showing its age on the display side. And a nuisance for spreadsheets and graphics work if not driven to external display. The Retina is gorgeous.

Not at all critical for casual use.... and on base display the Air actually has higher res than non-Retina-Pro....................