11" or 13" MBA

[DELTAsnake]

My Mum's PC is finally headed to the scrap heap. We are trying to decide between the 11" and 13" with the 128gb SSD. The closest Apple Store is 500km away so we cant look at them in person.

I'm just wondering how much screen real-estate you give up as far as web page viewing (like Facebook, Hotmail) and in Apps like Pages and iTunes you give up going with the 11"?

Thanks in advance

[HE15MAN]

13" is much nicer. 11 is too small IMO

[MultiFinder17]

You're giving up 74 pixels on the side and 132 pixels in height. Personally, it's the vertical height that made me go for the 13" Air, and I haven't regretted it for a moment. Don't forget that the 13" also runs slightly faster and gets much better battery life.

[mikeray]

Originally Posted by MultiFinder17

Don't forget that the 13" also runs slightly faster...

This is simply not true. Both sizes come with the exact same processors and are neck in neck in benchmarks.

Battery life, however, is about half that of the 13".

I have a 11" Air with maxed out specs and I just love it! It's so very tiny but can do anything I need (im a web developer). The vertical pixels are enough, just use fullscreen view for all apps. It's fun!

[throAU]

Let your mother decide.


My ex decided she wanted the 11" over the 13" because of this one girl reason:

the 11" fit in her handbag(s), the 13" did not.


Your mother's priorities may be very different from yours, or any technical reasoning. If she's anything like my ex, things like screan real estate, battery life and cpu performance are probably all very much secondary concerns vs portability, etc.


Personally, I thought she was mad to get the 11". I'd get the 13" no question due to the vertical screen height as above - but I'm not your mother

[Mrbobb]

13" is the best seller. 11" is for people who prize portability (meaning she takes it with her everywhere she goes, not parked on her desk at home)

Take the size spec from apple.com, cut two cardboards with it. Walk it, pop up it on the intended surfaces then you know.

13" Pro:

Screen Real Estate.
Battery Life

11" Pro:

Carries like a tablet, super portable, no doubt fits on every train's, plane's tray etc.

[kierennyc]

The 11' is an amazing machine - the ultimate in portable computing.

[Wokis]

Originally Posted by mikeray

This is simply not true. Both sizes come with the exact same processors and are neck in neck in benchmarks.

Maxed out they have the same CPU, but the i5-models differ. Shouldn't be much of a noticeable difference, though.

[rdlink]

Everyone has their own reasons for getting their particular size, but here are the reasons I went with the 13", and am happy:

SD card slot on the 13 and not on the 11.
Longer battery life on the 13.
Native resolution on the 13 is 1440 x 900, which I believe makes more sense.
13 is only .6 pounds heavier.

[firewood]

I have an MBA 11 and thinks its great. And a Mac often causes far less maintenance problems for typical older people than a PC.

But a lot of older people (reading glasses users, etc.) prefer a larger easier to read display where they can zoom up the font size a bit more.

Does your mother use reading glasses, large print books, etc.? Or is she still great will fine needlepoint, hand sewing, etc., type projects?

[Scepticalscribe]

Some excellent points & posts have been made already, and I'll echo some of them here.

As it happens, I have the 13", and love it. Currently, it is my only computer, and I love the quality of the screen, the blazing fast speed of the SSD drive, and the fantastic portability of the device, which matters, as I travel quite a bit. A terrific computer, and one that you can easily use as a sole computer.

The 13" MBA is a superb compromise between a very portable computer, yet still comes with an excellent screen. With the 11", you are getting an exceptionally portable computer, but at the cost of sacrificing some screen space. So, the first question your mum needs to ask is how portable does she need a computer to be?

Now, I love the 11", and one day plan to buy one. However, it is not a computer I would use as a sole computer - I would need to have a second computer with a larger screen which I would use as my main work computer.

Other questions your mum needs to think about include her age (eyes get more strained as you age), and, also her eyesight. I wear glasses, and small screens strain (and stress) my eyes. Comfort and ease matter as much as portability, especially as you age, and, above all, if you are using a computer screen for work purposes (for example, my work requires a lot of writing), or using it to view movies. Scrunching up your eyes to peer at a screen is no fun at all.