I am about to go to college in the fall, and I am dead set on getting a MacBook Air. The only problem I have is that I'm not sure to get the 11" or 13". Everytime I start thinking about getting the 13" one, the 11" starts to tempt me. So which one 11" or 13"?
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MacBook Air for college
- Thread starter jacob0622
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I have an 11" as my main and only computer and I'm in college and it suits my needs perfectly.
What this guy said.
I don't regret getting the 11". I do sometimes wish I had more screen real estate but I'm upgrading from my late 2010 11" to a new 11"
Honestly I would go 13". Ever since I have been wanting a MBA I have looked at the 13" its still small and compact like I like but has a big enough screen to get work done. What are you going to major in?
I would get the 13". If you are using it a lot the extra screen space is nice. There isn't a noticeable difference in portability between the two either. It's a MacBook air, they are all super light.
The only reason I would consider the 11" is if I was going to use the air plugged into a monitor for most of my work.
The only reason I would consider the 11" is if I was going to use the air plugged into a monitor for most of my work.
I have the 11, I am a researcher / student, and it is my main computer. It works for me. It might not work for you. I think the 13 is always the safe bet, but if you know yourself, and know what you are going to do, then the 11 can be a better fit for some people.
Why don't you tell us a little about what you plan to do with it.
Political science is a possibility, but so much of it is quantitative these days, the more screen space you have for spreadsheets and so forth, the better. An alternative would be to get the 11 Air for its portability and have a monitor in your room so that you get the screen real-estate. It is the best of both worlds
Do you use LaTeX, Illustrator, or Matlab in your research? As I wanted to know if the MBA can handle those applications.
Thanks
Have you checked with your school to see what type of requirements that have for computers. The MBA may fall outside of what they recommend as they may need you to run certain apps.
Personally, I think the 11" MBA may be too small but that's just my opinion.
Personally, I think the 11" MBA may be too small but that's just my opinion.
The biggest thing to concern yourself with is if you can stand 5 hours of battery life on the 11in. If you can tolerate that or bring your power cable with you, the 11in is a great option. Also, you can get an external monitor and a mouse/keyboard and pretty much have a full functioning desktop.
Pretty much if you can live with the battery, the 11in may be worth it for you
Pretty much if you can live with the battery, the 11in may be worth it for you
Nope. Sorry. But, the innards are basically the same as everything except for the 15 inch MBPs, which have quad cores. I don't see why it would have any problem.
You do realize that using display mirroring (Airplay) will not increase the resolution of your display, right? You will still be limited to 1366 x 768 pixels which will be surrounded by black bars on all sides-- your display will not be upscaled to fill the screen. Mirroring is implemented in ML the same way as on iOS.
You should be able to physically plug into your TV using some sort of mDP to HDMI adaptor, but wireless (Airplay) will be next to useless for increasing your desktop space/screen size.
Trust me, when you've also got multiple textbooks and notebooks and folders and whatever else in your backpack, the smaller/lighter your laptop is the better. I wish I would have had an 11" Air when I started college, instead of a heavy iBook.
As for the screen area, it's something you'll have to decide for yourself. I know I personally don't really notice much difference. I mean the 11" is obviously smaller, but it doesn't effect my using the computer.
As for the screen area, it's something you'll have to decide for yourself. I know I personally don't really notice much difference. I mean the 11" is obviously smaller, but it doesn't effect my using the computer.
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The 11inch is too small for you if you need it for your college work. Get the 13 inch. It is also ultra portable and has greater battery life so you wont need to bring a charger with you. Good luck!
I'm not in college anymore, but carry my 13" MBA around quite a bit, both in a backpack and without. Its plenty portable, and the perfect size in my opinion.
The one big reason to go with the 13" over the 11" for college, is that it has almost twice the battery capacity and I would think that would be important to you. You would most likely not need to even bring a charger with you during the day, while depending on how long you are using it, that might not be the case with the 11". If you had to bring the charger and 11", vs. just the 13", then the 13" is actually more portable to carry.
The one big reason to go with the 13" over the 11" for college, is that it has almost twice the battery capacity and I would think that would be important to you. You would most likely not need to even bring a charger with you during the day, while depending on how long you are using it, that might not be the case with the 11". If you had to bring the charger and 11", vs. just the 13", then the 13" is actually more portable to carry.
The 13" is rated at 7. The 11" is rated at 5. In reviews, it looks like people are getting about these numbers, so the 13" is nothing near double.
I use the 11" and find that the iPad, external keyboard, MBA, and its charger fit comfortably in a small man bag (Waterfield Vertigo small). The 13 " cannot, so depending on your stuff, you might find the 11" more portable. Because I have scanned all of my books into PDFs and put them into my iPad, I don't use a backpack anymore.
That said, the 13" is a safe bet. the 11" is probably best for people who know themselves well, understand the device well, and know what their workflow is like.
You're going to be carrying textbooks, supplemental sources, etc. I would definitely recommend the 11" and then an external monitor or 1080p television to use when you're at home.
I would also check if your library has docking stations for laptops if you plan to spend some quality time there.
I would also check if your library has docking stations for laptops if you plan to spend some quality time there.