MacBook Air 13 or 11

Just two thoughts...

1. If it's $1700 it's probably cheaper to fly to the US, buy one and fly home.

2. I love my 11", with the brightness turned down I typically get 7+ hours easily, my only frustration is the 128Gb limit, I wish it had the SD card slot so I could add a flush micro-SD card to give me more storage. As it is I just offload stuff I don't use much to a memory stick or USB drive.

I chose the 11" over the 13" because of size (obviously) and despite the bigger screen on the 13" I didn't feel I got worthwhile resolution, I don't mind a small display, resolution is what matters to me.

For me for writing my 11" Air is perfectly fine. Writing is just me and the paper so there's no need for much space IMO.

But if I was going to do any kind of visual work or using apps with many elements on the screen at the same time (e.g. creating music) I would have gone with the 13". Even just for surfing I'd get the 13", probably.

Between 13 and 11, I'd lean toward the 13

This is my first post after reading the forums for months, may be years.

I previously had a 15" Compaq laptop. My first preference was the 15" Macbook Pro but decided to go with the 13" Macbook Air to save 500 dollars.

I can use the 13" screen by itself but sometimes connect it to a 21" monitor for more screen space. I sometimes use a 17" Powerbook G4 (from 2003!!!!) when I want more screen space as long as I can deal with the slowness.

I believe if I had bought an 11" I would have adjusted to it like I did to the smaller 13" screen. It depends upon how much adjustment you're willing to make.

troy14 said:

You can charge a macbook air via USB?

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First time I've heard that one too, lol.

I have the 13" model, but if I buy another MBA in the future, I shall probably get the 11". For portability it's tough to beat.

ukchris said:

I love my 11", with the brightness turned down I typically get 7+ hours easily

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I would love to see that aside from screen off with a song playing for 7 hours, lol. There have been many reviews and it's never gotten anywhere close to 7 hours. The best results have been 5-ish hours. Not too shabby for the size, but don't blow smoke about getting 7+ hours, it's simply impossible with normal (or even abnormal) use.

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theSeb said:

I have the 13" model, but if I buy another MBA in the future, I shall probably get the 11". For portability it's tough to beat.

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Yeah, I was going to move up to a 13" but then I realized how much bigger the "travel footprint" is... I love being able to just slide it into the outside pocket of my suitcase and not worry about it. The 13" is super slim, but it's footprint makes it a lot bigger.... but then again it's not my primary computer (iMac 2012), and if it were, my decision would probably be for a larger model.

There is no "better" ... they make different sizes to accommodate each individuals wants and needs.

shenan1982 said:

I would love to see that aside from screen off with a song playing for 7 hours, lol. There have been many reviews and it's never gotten anywhere close to 7 hours. The best results have been 5-ish hours. Not too shabby for the size, but don't blow smoke about getting 7+ hours, it's simply impossible with normal (or even abnormal) use.

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After 18 months of commuting coast to coast and using my MBA with inflight wifi all the way I'm pretty confident in my battery life, maybe 7+ is optimistic but I regularly work for a 7 hour flight which probably equates to over 6 hours online and my battery has never failed.

It isn't intensive use, web browsing, chat, working on local documents etc but certainly seems to exceed 5 hours.

ukchris said:

After 18 months of commuting coast to coast and using my MBA with inflight wifi all the way I'm pretty confident in my battery life, maybe 7+ is optimistic but I regularly work for a 7 hour flight which probably equates to over 6 hours online and my battery has never failed.

It isn't intensive use, web browsing, chat, working on local documents etc but certainly seems to exceed 5 hours.

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The longest flight in the US is Miami to Seattle averaging 6hr4min and generally you can't use a laptop the first 20 or last 20 of a flight so beat case you're imagining the performance. You can not get anything close to 7 hours out of an 11" in normal use.

My impressions on battery life

I use my 13" intensively when I'm out and about. I generally have a Youtube video running while I'm on wifi and typing away or browsing with Bluetooth off. Under this scenario, I'm able to get about 4 hours of usage. With an 11" I might only get 3 hours. Keep in mind that I also have seven desktop spaces going with programs hogging all of the 4 GB of memory. If anything I'd probably want to move to a bigger screen with more battery life rather than carry an 11" with the power adapter (which kinda defeats the purpose IMO). Then again my model is from 2011. I suspect a newer Air from 2012 will fare better.

HappyInCalgary said:

I use my 13" intensively when I'm out and about. I generally have a Youtube video running while I'm on wifi and typing away or browsing with Bluetooth off. Under this scenario, I'm able to get about 4 hours of usage. With an 11" I might only get 3 hours. Keep in mind that I also have seven desktop spaces going with programs hogging all of the 4 GB of memory. If anything I'd probably want to move to a bigger screen with more battery life rather than carry an 11" with the power adapter (which kinda defeats the purpose IMO). Then again my model is from 2011. I suspect a newer Air from 2012 will fare better.

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7 desktops on 4GB of RAM? Wowsa!

shenan1982 said:

The longest flight in the US is Miami to Seattle averaging 6hr4min and generally you can't use a laptop the first 20 or last 20 of a flight so beat case you're imagining the performance. You can not get anything close to 7 hours out of an 11" in normal use.

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MIA to SEA is scheduled as 6h 40m as is BOS to SEA, Chicago to Anchorage is 6h 53m but yes, I was a little over zealous. As of now my MBA shows 86% charge and estimates 5h 21m remaining run time on minimum brightness which is fine for me on a plane.

So yes, 7 hours is optimistic but I regularly get much more than the 3-4 that was mentioned as the max when running fairly light loads with the brightness turned down. Just trying to provide a perspective on what works for me even if it isn't a typical usage profile.

ukchris said:

MIA to SEA is scheduled as 6h 40m as is BOS to SEA, Chicago to Anchorage is 6h 53m but yes, I was a little over zealous. As of now my MBA shows 86% charge and estimates 5h 21m remaining run time on minimum brightness which is fine for me on a plane.

So yes, 7 hours is optimistic but I regularly get much more than the 3-4 that was mentioned as the max when running fairly light loads with the brightness turned down. Just trying to provide a perspective on what works for me even if it isn't a typical usage profile.

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Funny how it went from "I typically get 7+ hours easily" to "I was a little over zealous" lol. Minimum brightness is never acceptable except for redeye flights, which really doesn't fall under "normal use" because people want to not have to book a redeye to be able to get a laptop that'll last the flight.

Bottom line, if long battery life is the primary driver, this laptop isn't the best, but if ultra portability is the primary, this is their guy. I chose ultra portability (because I really don't want to stare at my laptop on a 6 hour flight anyhow. I fly international every other week (transpacific and transatlantic) and in both BusinessFirst and GlobalFirst they have full AC power, so it's a non issue ;-)

Reading this thread I would totally use the 11" with that hyperpack 60 or 100Wh battery, cause then you can charge iPhones andnipads too and have good power back for blackouts and camping. I had both 13 and 11 and sold the 13, the 11 truly portable. I had a small 12" laptop through undergrad and JD-MBA school and smaller is always been better to me.

LightOnAHill said:

Reading this thread I would totally use the 11" with that hyperpack 60 or 100Wh battery, cause then you can charge iPhones andnipads too and have good power back for blackouts and camping. I had both 13 and 11 and sold the 13, the 11 truly portable. I had a small 12" laptop through undergrad and JD-MBA school and smaller is always been better to me.

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yep - i'm about to go to law school myself and while i've been thinking 13 after actually hitting the fruitstand and playing with them now i'm leaning towards the 11.

I'll still have my aging 13" 5,1 MB if i want a slightly larger screen - and i have an external display so i think 11 will be perfect. even if i only 3-5 hours of battery off a charge most desks have their own power supply these days so i don't anticipate problems.

decisions decisions...

DisplacedMic said:

yep - i'm about to go to law school myself and while i've been thinking 13 after actually hitting the fruitstand and playing with them now i'm leaning towards the 11.

I'll still have my aging 13" 5,1 MB if i want a slightly larger screen - and i have an external display so i think 11 will be perfect. even if i only 3-5 hours of battery off a charge most desks have their own power supply these days so i don't anticipate problems.

decisions decisions...

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Get the 11"

DisplacedMic said:

yep - i'm about to go to law school myself and while i've been thinking 13 after actually hitting the fruitstand and playing with them now i'm leaning towards the 11.

I'll still have my aging 13" 5,1 MB if i want a slightly larger screen - and i have an external display so i think 11 will be perfect. even if i only 3-5 hours of battery off a charge most desks have their own power supply these days so i don't anticipate problems.

decisions decisions...

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Not to drift the thread but if you're getting ready to go to law school you should really consider doing a dual degree with your law degree. It'll make you much more marketable after graduating if you're going to be looking for a job.

I was also interested in business and in undergrad I double majored in Spanish and business administration, with a history minor. So, when I was in my second semester of law school I took the GMAT and applied to the MBA program so I could do a joint degree and earned a JD-MBA.

I had a few other friends that got masters in other fields besides business while getting their law degree. They've all gotten great jobs in the field of their other graduate degrees. I used my MBA after working for a law office for a year to quit that job and start my own law firm. The business training helped me and now I'm wildly successful in my own practice and have been to court over 300 times since April 2011. I couldn't be happier, and it was partially because I took the extra tome to get a dual degree.

Pm me if you have questions.

Omg seriously !?!? You need a spouse.

The 11" is a sweet machine. Great size and the keyboard is perfect. If all you're doing is email and note taking its fine. The second you want to move beyond typing the 11" is real pain in the butt. I fell in love with the 11" until I had to use it for a few days. The 13" allows you to do almost anything without having a headache. Maybe it's just me by it feels like the 13 gets double the battery life - may be an exaggeration but it felt that way to me.

shenan1982 said:

Omg seriously !?!? You need a spouse.

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He's been to court over 300 times in 2 years. Sounds like he already has one, LOL.

I have a 13" and I'm very pleased with it. IMO, the 11" is sexier but the 13" is generally better to work with, due to better battery life and larger screen. I still find it highly portable. I'd rather buy a bag to fit the tool that has to do the job, than a tool to fit the bag.