If there was a 15" MBA and a 13" MBA ....

[entatlrg]

Same price, same spec's ... identical ....

Which would you choose? Why?

[fun173]

the 15 if it had 1440x900 because that would be AWESOME!!!! also, your pool says mbp not mba

[JamesGorman]

Probably the 13. The air is meant to portable, and having a 15" would be a little to big for me if I was buying strictly for portability.

[sushi]

same price, same spec's ... identical ....

Which would you choose? Why?
MBA 10 inch. :)

Personally, I would rather see a 10 inch version than a 15 inch version.

also, your pool says mbp not mba
True, but we know what's meant.

[prodigee]

15" purely because, its the same price, and even if there was a $200 price difference, the 15" would give me more screen real estate, which lets face it, is never a bad thing, I could deal with the extra pound of weight for the extra space.

[ayeying]

15"... The weight of a 13" but size of a 15" is nice.

[bloodycape]

the 15 if it had 1440x900 because that would be AWESOME!!!! also, your pool says mbp not mba

I think that the res the MBA should have come with. Now if there was a 15in the res should be 1600x900.

If I had to choose it would be the 13in. However, I personally think they should have made the Air come in a 12in and a 14in form factor. I would have gotten a 12in MBA if there was one(and had a firewire port or another usb port).

[MultiFinder17]

I'd stick with the 13". Portability is king with the Air, and the 13" fits nicely in my bag. And I like my bag :p

[joelypolly]

I think I would like a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Probably 1600x900 as someone else mentioned.
15"
2.4ghz ULV cpu
6GB RAM
Stereo speakers:)
2 USB ports and mini DP
SD card slot
6 hour battery life
>160gb SSD
and 1.5kg max with same thickness as the current Air

Well thats my dream machine and happy to pay 2k for it

[AAPLaday]

id go for 13 but with higher resolution screen but i wouldn't mind seeing other sizes available in the air class. Such as 12 or 11 as long as they could still fit the keys on there as they are now.

[juro]

14" would be sweet.

[jamesryanbell]

15"

[Scottsdale]

Same price, same spec's ... identical ....

Which would you choose? Why?

It's too bad your poll doesn't accurately reflect your question/intention. If you go in to advanced edit and change it, I believe more people will vote.

I would buy a 15" MBA for home and business use locally at client offices, and I would have a 13" for airline travel. I think a 15" could weigh in at 3.75 lbs. It would add more cooling space and room for a dedicated graphics card. I don't care if it's called an MBA or an MBP without optical drive.

I doubt we will get a 15" MBA anymore. There just isn't the margin available in the MBA due to the economic downturn and price slashing. If the economy were doing well, maybe.

I wish Apple would either lose the optical drives in MBPs or make them relevant with BluRay. The MBA's form factor has to be what Apple intends to do with all Macs in the future. The problem is Apple wants everyone to download digital content while some buyers want BluRay and others want no optical drives.

[jessica.]

It's too bad your poll doesn't accurately reflect your question/intention. If you go in to advanced edit and change it, I believe more people will vote.

I would buy a 15" MBA for home and business use locally at client offices, and I would have a 13" for airline travel. I think a 15" could weigh in at 3.75 lbs. It would add more cooling space and room for a dedicated graphics card. I don't care if it's called an MBA or an MBP without optical drive.

I doubt we will get a 15" MBA anymore. There just isn't the margin available in the MBA due to the economic downturn and price slashing. If the economy were doing well, maybe.

I wish Apple would either lose the optical drives in MBPs or make them relevant with BluRay. The MBA's form factor has to be what Apple intends to do with all Macs in the future. The problem is Apple wants everyone to download digital content while some buyers want BluRay and others want no optical drives.

You won't see a 15" MBAir in good times either because that would take away from Apple's idea of "ultra portable". Weight is not the only factor in ultra portable.

I also don't care to watch a BR movie on my 13 or even 15" screen. ;) Why pay for quality media and watch it on a small screen?

Now, if Apple would offer a BTO option to remove the optical and add a 2nd drive I would be in heaven.

@OP If there was a 15" MBA and a 13" MBA ....

Shamwow would be saying the 15" is the most future-proof machine and the 13" is a POS. :D

[bloodycape]

Now, if Apple would offer a BTO option to remove the optical and add a 2nd drive I would be in heaven.
Or another battery, kind of like how Lenovo does it, with that optical caddy where you can easily take the drive out for another HDD, or battery.

[Jobsian]

If they were the same specs, I'd prefer a 13" MBA because of weight.

If the 15" was slightly more powerful I'd probably still go for 13", unless the difference between them was more than slight eg ATI Vs Intel graphics, ULV Vs CULV or very slow ULV processor etc.

[Hands Sandon]

With all due respect to those of you who favor a 13", may I suggest you either do not vote in this poll or vote for the 15" instead. It's these kinds of polls that Apple pays close attention to and whilst some of you have grown accustomed to using a 13" and find the thought of a change difficult, there are many here who would at least prefer a 14" and wouldn't hesitate in getting the 15".

Thank you.

[entatlrg]

It's too bad your poll doesn't accurately reflect your question/intention. If you go in to advanced edit and change it, I believe more people will vote.

I went into advanced edit right away to change it, but no option to do so, .... I know proof read before I post :)

[sushi]

Surprised more didn't mention a smaller 10 inch version.

With the popularity of Netbooks I would have expected that.

Most interesting.

[Durious]

With all due respect to those of you who favor a 13", may I suggest you either do not vote in this poll or vote for the 15" instead. It's these kinds of polls that Apple pays close attention to and whilst some of you have grown accustomed to using a 13" and find the thought of a change difficult, there are many here who would at least prefer a 14" and wouldn't hesitate in getting the 15".

Thank you.

that's the purpose of a poll to determine to get the exact #'s of people who like which model.... if the people that favoured a certain display size did not vote it would not be accurate and useless.

[No ice please]

A the 15. More room for it to breath.

[AAPLaday]

With all due respect to those of you who favor a 13", may I suggest you either do not vote in this poll or vote for the 15" instead. It's these kinds of polls that Apple pays close attention to and whilst some of you have grown accustomed to using a 13" and find the thought of a change difficult, there are many here who would at least prefer a 14" and wouldn't hesitate in getting the 15".

Thank you.

Apple aren t going to give you a 15" air because a few people on a forum want one. Also imagine what would the price be of such a machine.

[awesomedeluxe]

15". I know you said "same specs" but I find it hard to believe a 15" Air would come without at least a second USB Port, and the 13" screen is just a little too small for me.

[sushi]

With all due respect to those of you who favor a 13", may I suggest you either do not vote in this poll or vote for the 15" instead. It's these kinds of polls that Apple pays close attention to and whilst some of you have grown accustomed to using a 13" and find the thought of a change difficult, there are many here who would at least prefer a 14" and wouldn't hesitate in getting the 15".
I'm sorry but this makes no sense at all.

A poll should gather data honestly and correctly if used for making a decision. If the input is skewed, and a company uses the skewed data for business projections, they won't be successful.

[stoconnell]

Having lugged around both a 15" PowerBook G4 and a 15" MacBook Pro, I can say that I would always go for the 13" model given the choice: especially, if the specs were otherwise the same.

[Chaszmyr]

Your poll results might be skewed by the fact that the poll says MBP rather than MBA.

[sushi]

Having lugged around both a 15" PowerBook G4 and a 15" MacBook Pro, I can say that I would always go for the 13" model given the choice: especially, if the specs were otherwise the same.
Completely agree.

What amazes me is how much bigger the current uMBP15 is compared to the older MBP15. The new one is thinner which is nice. However, it is wider and longer.

Wonder what we will see with the next MBA update. Hopefully we'll see 4GB RAM and possibly a larger SSD HD option.

[Hands Sandon]

I'm sorry but this makes no sense at all.

A poll should gather data honestly and correctly if used for making a decision. If the input is skewed, and a company uses the skewed data for business projections, they won't be successful.

To a degree yes, but remember that Air owners mostly love their Airs. If you asked me if I wanted to change my Mac Mini to half the height with a black top instead of white I'd be horrified and vote in a poll like this to keep it just the way it is, because I love it. Now if I was in the market for a new Mini, especially if it would become my first one, I wouldn't care so much about the old ones design, I wouldn't have grown attached to it and love it's design and am likely to admire the new one simply for what it is rather than comparing it to what I had. So I don't knock the 13" in this thread, instead just ask them to use some perspective and distance themselves from voting, which is really just a vote for how much they like the current design.

[Hey Jude]

MBA 10 inch. :)

Personally, I would rather see a 10 inch version than a 15 inch version.


I concur.

[pukifloyd]

If 15inch will have same weight and same thickness...then yes...:rolleyes:

[EnigMoiD]

If you asked me if I wanted to change my Mac Mini to half the height with a black top instead of white I'd be horrified and vote in a poll like this to keep it just the way it is, because I love it.

Sorry, but I don't think that Apple is actually going to base any new product on a poll in an Apple fan forum with less than 100 votes. Polls in forums like these (which don't matter) should be based on the voters' opinion, from whatever perspective they choose. Just don't give it so much weight.:cool:

Anyway, a 15" air would defeat the purpose of "ultraportable." Many people feel that 13" is to big as it is, and those new 15" unibodies are too long to fit in all the places 13 inchers can. The 15 inchers are also beautiful, pretty thin, powerful, and not very heavy, so if you're looking for a 15" laptop, just get that.

[Hands Sandon]

Sorry, but I don't think that Apple is actually going to base any new product on a poll in an Apple fan forum with less than 100 votes. Polls in forums like these (which don't matter) should be based on the voters' opinion, from whatever perspective they choose. Just don't give it so much weight.:cool:

Anyway, a 15" air would defeat the purpose of "ultraportable." Many people feel that 13" is to big as it is, and those new 15" unibodies are too long to fit in all the places 13 inchers can. The 15 inchers are also beautiful, pretty thin, powerful, and not very heavy, so if you're looking for a 15" laptop, just get that.

Maybe there's some wishfull thinking on my part about Apple, but just supposing they really do check out these polls here for feedback...

I was thinking that a 14" could fit into the current sized Air just by extending the screen to go further to the edge of the bezel. That would make the 15" only marginally wider than the current Air, so therefore not being as wide (if they could get the screen up close to the edge of the bezel again) as the 15" MBP, that's wider than the 15" pre uMBP. Shove in a higher dpi screen, stereo speakers, maybe FireWire or an extra USB or an Ethernet connection, a longer battery life than the 13" Air because it would have more space for the battery and with the Airs slim and lightweight design it would be exactly what I'd pick. But your right, I got too excited and unsurprisingly no one offered to change their vote... My bad

[iBookG4user]

I bought a MacBook Air because I wanted it to be portable, thus I'd choose the 13". However if it was like the current MacBook Pro's, where the 15" had a matte screen option whilst the 13" did not, I would get the 15".

[alphaod]

If they put a 1440x900 display in the 13" MacBook Air I would be most content. They do make the panel (just costs a bit more) and it's LED backlit as well.

[cwfrederick]

its not that complicated. im sure there are many people who want a 15" screen size but dont need a powerful computer. apple is going to keep mba around for a while. its perfect as a high margin device that apple doesnt need to sell tons of to have a good profit. they'll keep it differentiated by making it carbon fiber. my next portable computer is going to be a 15" CF MBA. its gonna happen!

[bloodycape]

its not that complicated. im sure there are many people who want a 15" screen size but dont need a powerful computer. apple is going to keep mba around for a while. its perfect as a high margin device that apple doesnt need to sell tons of to have a good profit. they'll keep it differentiated by making it carbon fiber. my next portable computer is going to be a 15" CF MBA. its gonna happen!

Many of Sony's higher end machines use Carbon Fiber, and most Mac people have stated that for heat aluminum is generally better than plastic, but they are not too sure about CF. I have both a MBP and a CF Sony and both materials have their merits. So, CF won't really differentiate it.

[cwfrederick]

Many of Sony's higher end machines use Carbon Fiber, and most Mac people have stated that for heat aluminum is generally better than plastic, but they are not too sure about CF. I have both a MBP and a CF Sony and both materials have their merits. So, CF won't really differentiate it.

CF is much lighter than aluminum and therefore will differentiate the MBA substantially from its MBP counterparts.

[ayeying]

CF is much lighter than aluminum and therefore will differentiate the MBA substantially from its MBP counterparts.

CF is terrible at heat radiation. Therefore the system would need to be either:

1) Thicker to accommodate a larger heatsink
2) Less powerful to generate less heat

The Air uses the entire enclosure for heat dissipation.

[aksmax]

I think we can agree the MBA represents the future for laptops, i.e. thinner and lighter. These were longtime marketing points for each new model, until the Ti showed too many flaws and they actually made the Al a bit bigger and more robust.

SSDs and improved battery and screen technologies support this trend.

For now, they're making some compromises (processor power, storage and screen size) to push the envelope and aim for the current niche users. These compromises will eventually go away.

There's a couple challenges, like ports and optical drives. But these are moving in the right direction. Think about mini USB, HDMI, mini displayport and even wireless usb and bluetooth. Optical media...we'll see what happens. DVFlash? Sony owns BluRay and MiniCD...MiniDVD?

I predict by 2020 we'll have MBA-like MBs/MBPs with double current power and storage at current price-points. We could have larger improvements in more classic form factors, but we've reached performance levels where we will be willing to have some slower spec improvements (speed and storage) in exchange for others (size and weight). We've already seen the end of the clock speed wars.

SSDs vs HDs is a perfect parallel example. Even though HDs are still larger, capacity levels are such that SSD's benefits are beginning to outweigh the singular spec of size.

It's nothing new in the world of portables. We're just reaching a tipping point where we can change the relative weighting of spec development. When's the last time we saw a superdrive spec change? When's the last time we cared?

[Angra-mainju]

15" cos I don't travel much with my macbook pro 13

[alphaod]

15" cos I don't travel much with my macbook pro 13

Then why buy a MacBook Air at all? :confused:

[iBookG4user]

Then why buy a MacBook Air at all? :confused:

Because the question was to choose between a 15" (if created) and a 13" MacBook Air?

[alphaod]

Because the question was to choose between a 15" (if created) and a 13" MacBook Air?

But my confusion is founded on the fact that Angra-mainju would pick the 15" version on the basis that it would not be used for traveling; a MacBook Pro would be the better choice and not a MacBook Air. Although the question is presumptuous in asking which on the two model MacBook Air notebooks one would purchase, if I were asked said question and I didn't travel, my answer would be neither [or no response since it would not have fit in with my needs].

[iBookG4user]

But my confusion is founded on the fact that Angra-mainju would pick the 15" version on the basis that it would not be used for traveling; a MacBook Pro would be the better choice and not a MacBook Air. Although the question is presumptuous in asking which on the two model MacBook Air notebooks one would purchase, if I were asked said question and I didn't travel, my answer would be neither [or no response since it would not have fit in with my needs].

Well, since neither is not an available option in the poll I would think that people would choose the one that was best fit for their needs. Although your point is equally valid.

[cwfrederick]

CF is terrible at heat radiation. Therefore the system would need to be either:

1) Thicker to accommodate a larger heatsink
2) Less powerful to generate less heat

The Air uses the entire enclosure for heat dissipation.

I'm not convinced that the heatsink thing is that big of an issue. my 2006 mb gets a bit warm but who cares? or apple could just make the bottom plate aluminum like they (brilliantly) did with the new white mb.

well said aksmax

[ayeying]

I'm not convinced that the heatsink thing is that big of an issue. my 2006 mb gets a bit warm but who cares? or apple could just make the bottom plate aluminum like they (brilliantly) did with the new white mb.

well said aksmax

The heatsink on the MacBooks are massive compared to the MacBook Air's heatsink.

Normally, I'm not the one to complain about the system being a little warm but with what goes on with the MacBook Air currently, when the system gets too warm, the system down clocks.

[gnomeisland]

It's nothing new in the world of portables. We're just reaching a tipping point where we can change the relative weighting of spec development. When's the last time we saw a superdrive spec change? When's the last time we cared?

I love my MBP 13" but I hate that it even HAS a super drive. Give me a bigger batter, an expresscard slot, a second HDD (well, maybe not so much that), or a (real) dedicated video card. I had high hopes for the air but its to crippled--I need firewire. Now if the Air gets a performance boost with Nehalem and lightport I could see it being an awesome machine. Plug in all your adapters to that one port and ta-da! You'd even need FEWER ports. (although many of use would end up carrying around docking/port converters like the Vaios of old had).

[theLimit]

MBA 10 inch. :)

Personally, I would rather see a 10 inch version than a 15 inch version.

This. After lugging around 5-6 lb 15" notebooks for seven years, I'd be more interested in portability. My notebook isn't my only computer.

[rotorblade69]

It

I would buy a 15" MBA for home and business use locally at client offices, and I would have a 13" for airline travel. I think a 15" could weigh in at 3.75 lbs. It would add more cooling space and room for a dedicated graphics card. I don't care if it's called an MBA or an MBP without optical drive.

I doubt we will get a 15" MBA anymore. There just isn't the margin available in the MBA due to the economic downturn and price slashing. If the economy were doing well, maybe.

I wish Apple would either lose the optical drives in MBPs or make them relevant with BluRay. The MBA's form factor has to be what Apple intends to do with all Macs in the future. The problem is Apple wants everyone to download digital content while some buyers want BluRay and others want no optical drives.



I would buy a 15" MB Pro Air. With Arrandale coming out soon we just might get a 15 air.

I have always thought that the 15" apple notebooks have always been the most efficient in all dimensions. Gives you more screen space than a 13. Not as big as a 17. Cheaper than a 17 but more power and more options with ports than a 13.
Just a good all around compromise between big little mega and small.

To me the 17" is a true pro machine. You need the screen space, Processor power, HDD space, the 34 card slot, CD-DVD Read write capability. Essentially a portable (luggable) desktop. The 15" is just a little more portable, lighter, and somewhat cheaper (you could call it Prosumer). With a 13 being the basic pro a little cost cutting in display and specs but still a lot cheaper than a 17 or 15, and for people who don't want a Plastic Macbook but love the aluminum look.

The Scottsdale Quote Highlighed in Bold Italics and Underlined is exactly the way I feel, but only in a 17". And even then Do you really want to watch a BluRay on a 17" screen or hell even a 15 or 13" screen. The 13 and 15"s should not even have an optical drive in my opinion. If they put Bluray in a 17 thats good. BUT
When the new iMacs came out and I found out no BluRay I was pissed. I wanted to buy a desktop mac with a great screen and Bluray inside to watch on it. If apple doesn't release the current iMacs with BluRay next revision then they have lost their minds. That screen in the iMacs deserves a True 1080P format to watch on it.

Personally the 17" MBP and the Macbook may soon be the last Apple laptops left that have Optical drives in them.
If the air is rolled over into the pro line with 13" pro (airized) 15" pro (airized) the 17 would be the last and only full featured notebook apple sells. With or without a BluRay capable drive installed.
And once again YES the air is the future of apple design. Has to be.