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Getting a MacBook Air tomorrow

L T

L T

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 24, 2013
428
103
UK
I'm going into an apple store tomorrow to buy a MacBook Air. I currently have a 2012 Mac Mini with 4GB RAM, 500GB HHD and 2.5GHz.

The 11 inch base air will cost me £733 after education discount and gift cards. Plus I'd get a £70 card.

The 13 inch base air would cost me £826 with educations discount and gift cards, again I would get the £70 card.

From experience, what do you guys prefer? 11 or 13? I have a 23 inch monitor I can plug the MacBook into on my desk.

Do either of them look better than the other?

Am I right in thinking that if I bought the 11 inch model I could then return it and get the 13 inch within 30 days no problem?
 
T

triple-tap

macrumors 6502
Feb 18, 2013
265
46
Another vote for 13". I suggest playing with them both for more than 30 seconds. Also handle both when closed. Them decide.
 
N

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
2,574
37
The 13 gives considerably more workspace. Not only larger screen, but also the 16:10 ratio versus 16:9

The 11 is smaller and lighter - but not a lot, for what you give up in screen and battery life.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,028
7,869
For portability, nothing beats the 11". I had an 11" MacBook Air for 2.5 years. I replaced it with a 13" rMBP. While I like the screen, I miss the size of the 11" MBA. Even the 13" MBA isn't quite the same. If Apple made an 11" rMBP I'd likely buy it in an instant.
 
L T

L T

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 24, 2013
428
103
UK
When I get on my sisters iPad 2 for a little bit the 9.7" screen seems massive compared to my iPad mini! Although I reckon an 11 inch screen could seem small in a computer form factor.

I'll have to have a play around
 
Boyd01

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,681
4,568
New Jersey Pine Barrens
I had a 2011 13" MBA. Just replaced it with a 2013 11" MBA. They are both great computers, but when travelling, I found myself wishing for the 11" model. At home, it doesn't much matter since I use a big screen and external keyboard.

If I had a job where I had to use only the laptop screen for days at a time, I would want a 15" screen anyway (I also have a 2008 15" MBP).
 
M

mattferg

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2013
380
22
L T said:
I'm going into an apple store tomorrow to buy a MacBook Air. I currently have a 2012 Mac Mini with 4GB RAM, 500GB HHD and 2.5GHz.

The 11 inch base air will cost me £733 after education discount and gift cards. Plus I'd get a £70 card.

The 13 inch base air would cost me £826 with educations discount and gift cards, again I would get the £70 card.

From experience, what do you guys prefer? 11 or 13? I have a 23 inch monitor I can plug the MacBook into on my desk.

Do either of them look better than the other?

Am I right in thinking that if I bought the 11 inch model I could then return it and get the 13 inch within 30 days no problem?
Click to expand...

You know the student giftcard is for the iTunes store, right? So it can't be used for the purchase of the MacBook or any other hardware. Unless you're talking about something else, in which case I do apologise :)
 
P

PDXPean

macrumors member
Apr 12, 2012
39
1
13".

I messed with both options in the Apple Store. 11" just seemed too small for MY needs, which may not be yours! I am coming from a 15.4" so that may have something to do with it too.

I'd suggest spending time with both models and deciding which is best for YOU.

Also, remember that the 13" has a SDXC card slot, which the 11" does not. If you're buying the base (therefore 128 SSD) the slot may come in handy if you need extra storage in the future. Just a thought.
 
mxidis88

mxidis88

macrumors regular
Jul 8, 2013
125
16
SLC, UT
I've owned both the 11 inch and the 13 inch and strongly recommend the 13 inch. The 11 inch screen does not lend itself well to using more than one app at a time. The 13 gets better battery life and generally holds a higher resale value because most second-hand buyers prefer it. The 11 is a great computer, but I think I'd rather carry an ipad for portability and use the 13 if I need a full computer. Good luck with your decision!
 
imjoee

imjoee

macrumors 6502
Jun 12, 2012
284
0
l t said:
i'm going into an apple store tomorrow to buy a macbook air. I currently have a 2012 mac mini with 4gb ram, 500gb hhd and 2.5ghz.

The 11 inch base air will cost me £733 after education discount and gift cards. Plus i'd get a £70 card.

The 13 inch base air would cost me £826 with educations discount and gift cards, again i would get the £70 card.

From experience, what do you guys prefer? 11 or 13? I have a 23 inch monitor i can plug the macbook into on my desk.

Do either of them look better than the other?

Am i right in thinking that if i bought the 11 inch model i could then return it and get the 13 inch within 30 days no problem?
Click to expand...

13"
 
S

Sputnek

macrumors regular
Feb 4, 2011
201
0
Florida - Ohio
The 11 inch suits me because it is ultra portable and when at home I use my 27'' imac. With that being said I think you should order a 13 inch MBA with 8gb ram and 256 gb SSD. I personally believe 128 gb SSD is way to small for anything practical. Either way you go enjoy your purchase.
 
Doublea6

Doublea6

macrumors regular
Aug 3, 2013
132
1
13.

I could never use anything smaller, but that's probably because I do a lot of designing. I like the extra space. I also don't travel a whole lot.
 
A

Amplelink

macrumors 6502a
Oct 8, 2012
934
392
I've had both and the 11" screen was too small for extended use. I've since switched to the 13" full time. Not only is the screen bigger, it's big enough that I don't even need to use an external monitor.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,028
7,869
Here's my advice. If you intend to make use of the return period (I'm not sure what it is in the UK, but in the US it is 14 days), try the 11" first. If you like it, great. If not, exchange it for the 13". For starters, the 11" costs less for the same configuration. With Haswell the battery life is much less of an issue than before. I recommend the 11" because that way you'll know whether or not the screen size is too small. All else equal, a larger screen is an advantage. But all else isn't equal when comparing the 11.6" MBA to the 13.3" MBA. The former is noticeably smaller and more portable. The latter has a bigger screen, better battery, and the SDXC card slot but a larger footprint than even the 13" rMBP. Either one involves tradeoffs.
 
Jefe's MacAir

Jefe's MacAir

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2010
554
524
Which do YOU value more? Screen space and battery life or portability? Portability is the ONLY advantage the 11" has over the 13". About the only time I wish I had an 11" is when I'm on a plane and I'm watching a movie w/ the Air on the fold down tray table. The 13" is just big enough that if you push it against the seat in front of you the top of the computer will catch on the lip of the upper portion of the tray mold. When the person sitting in front moves it's just enough to catch the computer so you tend to pull the computer forward a bit causing it to overhang the tray just enough to be a bit in the way. I don't fly enough for it to be a real problem and I think I would still prefer the extra screen space.
 
J

jdechko

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
Here's my thought's on the situation:

If you are buying this computer for general purposes, such as word processing, browsing, gaming and movies/music, then get the 13". I think the added screen size will help with day to day stuff.

However, if you are going to do a lot of coding, or design, or you are going to spend most of the time connected to an external monitor, then I'd say go for the 11". That is to say, if you often do something where even a 13" screen would be cramped, I think you should actually go for the smaller machine since you will connect to an external display anyway.

Personally, after a whole lot of internal debating, I went with the 11" and I absolutely love it. If you do end up going with the 11", go into Safari and set the minimum font size to 12. It makes reading web pages a lot easier.
 
evorc

evorc

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2011
569
267
jdechko said:
Here's my thought's on the situation:

If you are buying this computer for general purposes, such as word processing, browsing, gaming and movies/music, then get the 13". I think the added screen size will help with day to day stuff.

However, if you are going to do a lot of coding, or design, or you are going to spend most of the time connected to an external monitor, then I'd say go for the 11". That is to say, if you often do something where even a 13" screen would be cramped, I think you should actually go for the smaller machine since you will connect to an external display anyway.

Personally, after a whole lot of internal debating, I went with the 11" and I absolutely love it. If you do end up going with the 11", go into Safari and set the minimum font size to 12. It makes reading web pages a lot easier.
Click to expand...

I had a hard time coding on a 11" MBA so I returned few days later on a 13" and couldn't be happier. But I agree with you day to day stuff I would go with 13". But if portability is more important, you can't beat the 11" size.
 
J

jdechko

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
evorc said:
I had a hard time coding on a 11" MBA so I returned few days later on a 13" and couldn't be happier. But I agree with you day to day stuff I would go with 13". But if portability is more important, you can't beat the 11" size.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that the smaller size would be better for those tasks. Rather, I was stating that if neither the 11" nor 13" would be large enough, that you should (counter-intuitively) choose the smaller 11" and use an external display (giving you an equivalent desktop setup and a more portable setup).
 
L T

L T

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 24, 2013
428
103
UK
Sputnek said:
The 11 inch suits me because it is ultra portable and when at home I use my 27'' imac. With that being said I think you should order a 13 inch MBA with 8gb ram and 256 gb SSD. I personally believe 128 gb SSD is way to small for anything practical. Either way you go enjoy your purchase.
Click to expand...

Having to buy it online completely prices me out our it! Because I can't use my gift cards, epthsts before you even get to adding on! Haven't had too many problems with 4GB RAM on my mini and 128GB should be enough. I'm already decided I might have to out my iTunes library on a memory stick and stick to spotify to stream music to save storage space.

Those of you saying the 11" is much more portable, that isn't really an issue and I can easily carry the extra screen size around when I need to which won't be often. I have an iPad mini for car trips at that
 
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