11 or 13 inch?

[MarkieMark92]

I am thinking of going for a Macbook Air near enough/top spec but am unsure which size to choose :/ I will be using it for traveling as well as when lying on my bed. I currently have a Sony Vaio Laptop but find it to heavy to carry round so just wondering which people think would be best. I do also have an Imac

 

[balamw]

I love the 11 and also have a 13". The 11 is the one I want to use the most when around the house.

The only real drawback (for me) to the 11 is its screen resolution.

B

 

[Boyd01]

I had a 2011 13" i5/4gb/256gb MBA and went to an 11" i7/8gb/512gb. I liked the 13" a lot, but when I travelled I found myself wishing for the 11". Yes, the 11" screen is rather small - small text in some programs and websites can be difficult for my old eyes. But most programs have adjustments that can help.

But I find the screen a reasonable trade-off for the portability. And at home, it is just about always plugged into a big external screen and keyboard. I don't use it in bed very often, but when I do I like the small screen. Also nice that it's is 16:9 if you are watching movies.

 

[Mrbobb]

Good God man, get off the couch and get to the store to see for yourself. What people here is gonna tell you is about THEIR preferences.

I am just going to tell you the footprint of the Air 13" is larger than a Pro 13"

 

[Abazigal]

Good God man, get off the couch and get to the store to see for yourself. What people here is gonna tell you is about THEIR preferences.

I am just going to tell you the footprint of the Air 13" is larger than a Pro 13"

To be fair, I don't think he is going to be able to tell much just by playing around with the laptops at the store. It's something you really need to try out for 1-2 weeks at least before you can conclude whether the size really fits you or not.

One irritating thing is that those display macbook units come only with the stock apps. It would nice if they could load Office (or at least install iWork's, now that it's free), so users can have a better feel of well the screen sizes lend themselves to the various productivity tasks. You can only tell so much by messing around with Safari and Notes.

As a general rule of thumb, I would recommend the 13" model if you really plan to do a lot of typing (because of the extra vertical screen space).

 

[balamw]

To be fair, I don't think he is going to be able to tell much just by playing around with the laptops at the store. It's something you really need to try out for 1-2 weeks at least before you can conclude whether the size really fits you or not.

Not to mention that they won't let you get a feel for how it feels on a couch or in a bed in the store.

B

 

[Abazigal]

Not to mention that they won't let you get a feel for how it feels on a couch or in a bed in the store.

B

I agree with you (seriously). I understand the need for security (which is why all those laptops are locked down or have those USB alarms), but it would be nice if they could let you get a better feel of the laptop. Fold it up, tuck it under your armpits (or not) and take a walk around the store to get a feel of its weight. Recline on a couch or bed to see how comfortable (or uncomfortable it would be).

Heck, aren't tablets supposed to be used in such scenarios?

 

[balamw]

FWIW. The Microsoft Store by me has a little living room style setup in the back for Xbox. They let me take a Surface Pro 2 back there for a spin.

B

 

[Jacksonc]

If you have an iMac I'd say go for the 11".

 

[oldandcranky]

I am thinking of going for a Macbook Air near enough/top spec but am unsure which size to choose :/ I will be using it for traveling as well as when lying on my bed. I currently have a Sony Vaio Laptop but find it to heavy to carry round so just wondering which people think would be best. I do also have an Imac

Personally I think the 11 is barely useable. The 13" is much more usable without sacrificing much.

 

[ohbrilliance]

Also consider the 13" rMBP. In two of the three dimensions (width and depth), the 13" rMBP is smaller than the 13" MBA.

 

[theSeb]

To be fair, I don't think he is going to be able to tell much just by playing around with the laptops at the store. It's something you really need to try out for 1-2 weeks at least before you can conclude whether the size really fits you or not.

One irritating thing is that those display macbook units come only with the stock apps. It would nice if they could load Office (or at least install iWork's, now that it's free), so users can have a better feel of well the screen sizes lend themselves to the various productivity tasks. You can only tell so much by messing around with Safari and Notes.

As a general rule of thumb, I would recommend the 13" model if you really plan to do a lot of typing (because of the extra vertical screen space).

In all the apple stores I have been to the macs are loaded with Microsoft office, photoshop and all of the iWork stuff at least.

 

[jojoba]

Personally, I find that the 13" is the perfect combination of screen estate and portability.

 

[tobeornottobe]

Not to mention that they won't let you get a feel for how it feels on a couch or in a bed in the store.

B

I desperately need to try out a full size iPad in bed before purchasing because I really can't decide if it will be better than my nexus 7.


BTW, using a laptop regardless of size in bed is a no no, the keyboard is very obtrusive. And if your blanket blocks the air vents then you have one fried metal.

 

[Abazigal]

In all the apple stores I have been to the macs are loaded with Microsoft office, photoshop and all of the iWork stuff at least.

Figures. There are no Apple stores in my country.

 

[MacAndMic]

Good God man, get off the couch and get to the store to see for yourself. What people here is gonna tell you is about THEIR preferences.

I am just going to tell you the footprint of the Air 13" is larger than a Pro 13"

Agreed with Mrbobb. I actually had the same question as you but when I got to the store to see them, 13" all day as my eyes are aging.

 

[Robyr]

I desperately need to try out a full size iPad in bed before purchasing because I really can't decide if it will be better than my nexus 7.


BTW, using a laptop regardless of size in bed is a no no, the keyboard is very obtrusive. And if your blanket blocks the air vents then you have one fried metal.

This USED to be a big issue, and still is with bottom and side-venting PCs. The MacBook Air vents all of its heat via the ducts at the top of the keyboard, venting it toward the display hinge.

On top of that, there are ZERO other vents.

 

[DisplacedMic]

To be fair, I don't think he is going to be able to tell much just by playing around with the laptops at the store. It's something you really need to try out for 1-2 weeks at least before you can conclude whether the size really fits you or not.

One irritating thing is that those display macbook units come only with the stock apps. It would nice if they could load Office (or at least install iWork's, now that it's free), so users can have a better feel of well the screen sizes lend themselves to the various productivity tasks. You can only tell so much by messing around with Safari and Notes.

As a general rule of thumb, I would recommend the 13" model if you really plan to do a lot of typing (because of the extra vertical screen space).

the display macbooks at my apple store have office on there. and i think going to the store is miles ahead of "what do you guys think" which, to be sure, has its place as well!

 

[w00d]

The only time I wish I had the 11" is during transit. Every time I actually use it I'm happy I have the 13" because of the larger screen size. The trackpad is larger on the 13" as well. But obviously a lot of people like the 11" so you should buy them both and see which one you like better.

 

[Dweez]

I compared the two prior to purchase and the 13" won.

 

[marioman38]

13" anything smaller wouldn't be very practical from a productivity standpoint, especially with the screen resolution apple has in the 11" MBA, its like the opposite of retina.

13" is small and light, very easy to toss in a backpack. Get an iPad Mini if you REALLY need portability.

 

[maflynn]

I personally think the 11" is too small but that's just my opinion. I found in trying it out too tiny to read the screen especially for my needs like using gotomypc to connect to my work computer or servers.

 

[DisplacedMic]

13" anything smaller wouldn't be very practical from a productivity standpoint, especially with the screen resolution apple has in the 11" MBA, its like the opposite of retina.

13" is small and light, very easy to toss in a backpack. Get an iPad Mini if you REALLY need portability.

i strongly disagree.
i am a research scientist and i use my 11" extensively for my work. i have an external monitor, but i actually find myself much more comfortable using it unattached. if i am working with a particularly large spreadsheet i'll plug in the TBD but i would not at all say the smaller screen is in anyway "impractical from a productivity standpoint"

and yes - by definition a low-res screen would be the opposite of high resolution but i'm not sure i agree there either in terms of what you are getting at....1366 by 768 is a joke on 13-inch laptops - but that's why Apple resists the idiotic trend of "letterboxing" their laptops...1440 by 900 is the perfect size for a 13" laptop imo and 1366 by 768 works great on the 11.

i'm not trying to watch movies on this thing!

at the end of the day an 11" laptop is in fact an 11" laptop and while there is no getting around the fact that the screen is smaller - i only rarely find myself noticing the loss of real-estate...but i am always grateful for the reduction in weight.

obviously the 13 is a fine computer but for me i couldn't really tell the difference between the air and the retina so i went with the true ultra-portable.

 

[B...]

As said before, depends on your needs. Portability, plane use: 11". Anything else: 13".

 

[cincygolfgrrl]

11" here and I'm old with less-than-good eyesight. It comfortably meets my every need. Yes, it took me about two days to adjust to the screen size, but I have no regrets.