Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
i'm absolutely in love with my 11". i bought the air for portability. now that the 11" can do just about anything the 13" can do (slightly weaker benchmarks on the 11") why not go for the most portable?

full screen and double tap zoom really make it a pleasure to use. but again, the battery life stinks. just make sure you have that charger with you.
 
the 11 inch is a cute novelty and maybe good for a plane table but I think the small screen would be very annoying after a while.

13 is not much bigger and yet much more comfortable and usable for apps, work, web.
 
I pulled the trigger on a 11" i5, 4th RAM, 128ssd. Got it for $1138 from Amazon. I hope it meets my expectations.
 
I doubt you will regret it. THere's not much difference between them, and the 11 'feels' much lighter and more portable.

I really like them. I used the 13 for a long while a was happy but switched to the 11.

You would think that you would have to scroll more right? But you don't
 
My goal was light weight mobility. No beating the 11".

I don't need it as a primary computer (I have a 27" iMac at home and a Mac with a 24" cinema at work, so I'm covered). My main concern was light work on the go and something that could run more sophisticated Keynote/Powerpoint slideshows than the iPad can.

I actually get quite a bit of work done on my iPad, but I give a lot of lectures and running a slideshow off the iPad (connected to a big projector), while quite doable for very simple presentations, isn't the same (yet) as doing it off a Mac. Multiple animations, looping video, complex tables/charts, comprehensive presenter views and other advanced features just aren't there on Keynote for iPad. And if I'm stuck with a PowerPoint then the iPad is a no-go.

I love the fact that the 11" MBA is barely bigger than the iPad.
 
I'm thrilled with the 2011 MBA 11" and if anything, I'm finding it a little too large for my needs.
 
I had a 13inch 2010 MBA sold it and went with an 11inch for this refresh. No complaints. Life has been good and I've been using it heavily this last week docked to a 27" ACD and without in the office etc. A co-worker purchased a 13 and we were comparing the difference today. He's happy, and so am I.
 
Has anybody looked at the BEZELs?

If you look very carefully at the 11" vs the 13", you will see that proportionally, the 13" screen better utilizes the entirety of the lid. There is way more bezel on the 11", compared to the 13".

I believe that Apple purposelly makes various sizes available to differentiate their product lines, but they could easily fit a 12+" screen in their 11" MBA lid.

Using the 2 back-to-back, any real work becomes difficult on the 11", compared to the 13". This is primarily due to the added height and resolution of the screen, as well as the larger trackpad. You also get the bonus of additional battery life and SD reader.

I think an edge-to-edge screen 11" would be ideal (with additional battery life of course), however it doesn't exist. As such, for me, the 11" is more of a novelty item, and the 13" is an actual portable desktop replacement.
 
Went from a 11" 4gb 256 to a 13" 4gb 256

As previously noted - one has to ask what one will be doing with the MBA before you select size. I had a gorgeous 11inch 4gb ram 256gb unit for 4 days and returned it to the Apple store last night. I loved it but it wasnt suitable for extended work on photo editing, writing for me. That said Lion does make the most of the screen. It had an incredible wow factor but the 13 is portable enough and the extra battery life, sd slot were worth the change for me. I am glad I had a chance to work with the 11inch - it was very slick. But the extra screen real estate was ultimately what got me back to the Apple store. Very happy with the decision to go from 11 to 13.
 
I had an 11" and while it's a really nice machine, I found the screen just too cramped. Having sold it and bought a 13", I wouldn't go back.

Unless you really need super portability, I'd say go for the 13.
 
There is no right or wrong. One size doesn't fit all and Apple know it, hence the two different models.

The 11" is perfect for me and I have no trouble using it for work. But that doesn't make it perfect for everyone - which case the 13 is more suitable.

It's all just a question of personal preference rather than anything else.
 
Because I needed 256Gb and a new laptop (my MBP2009 bounced of concrete, it didn't like that) I bought the 13" MBA 2010.

Now I've ordered a maxed out a 2011 11" MBA, because it has everything I need to do my work. When the thunderbolt display comes out, I will get that as well, basically making my macbook air 11" an underpowered iMac when I'm in the office (although it does have enough power for me) and a superportable when i'm on the run.
 
I don't regret it because I'm loving almost everything about it, but recently I've been wondering what it would be like to have the 13" one and the extra battery life. Other than battery life I'm pretty satisfied
 
I just ordered the Ultimate 13". This will be the 4th MBA I have owned, one from every generation. I was happy with the 2010 Ultimate, but really miss the backlite keyboard, and so much wanted the longer battery life and i7 for serious on the road photo editing.

I have to laugh when I read able you guys complaining of the 11 battery life, when MBA Gen 1 battery lasted only 90 mins! :eek: really! And it was only a 64GB too.

To save space, I put my select iTunes music on a 32GB SD card.

I wanted to try the 11, but was too scared by the lack of real estate to attempt it after playing around with it. I also occasionally use my iPad with the Air Display App as a extended screen. That would have been th option Igor the 11, the height restriction is a little too much. If unsure go for the 13 and really, the carry is not much at all compared to a MBP 13 and especially the 15. I am interested in seeing the developments in a MBA 15 though!
 
I just ordered the Ultimate 13". This will be the 4th MBA I have owned, one from every generation. I was happy with the 2010 Ultimate, but really miss the backlite keyboard, and so much wanted the longer battery life and i7 for serious on the road photo editing.

I have to laugh when I read about you guys complaining of the 11 battery life, when MBA Gen 1 battery lasted only 90 mins! :eek: really! And it was only a 64GB too.

To save space, I put my select iTunes music on a 32GB SD card.

I wanted to try the 11, but was too scared by the lack of real estate to attempt it after playing around with it. I also occasionally use my iPad with the Air Display App as a extended screen. That would have been the option to use for the 11, but the height restriction is a little too much. If unsure go for the 13 and really, the carrying weight and size is not much at all compared to a MBP 13 and especially the 15. I am interested in seeing the developments in a MBA 15 though!
 
I love the new 11 that I just bought but could not have it as my only computer (cad, photoshop, illustrator, other apps with tool kits). I have several Macs at my disposal and a giant screen is refreshing and less tedious for zooming in and out or giving a larger surrounding perspective when zoomed in maximally. Which therein lies some rub - as the 13 doesn't really cut it, I went for maximum portability.

The MBA is always with me now and it helps me get stuff done when ordinarily I wouldn't be able to. As I periodically travel to see customers on day trips, those trips inevitably involve bringing samples, tools, photo equipment, (not all at once but in varying degree.) Pre-MBA 11 I'd have to weigh the value of whether I should bring my 15 MBP along and sometimes didn't due to overload. I was bored on the train reading the daily. With the 11, it's different now and a different paradigm in general. It gives pause to rethink other scenarios / strategies.
 
Not at all happy with these new airs. Toasters!
Will try the I5 but am thinking of just getting a refurb 11 inch air and going back to what I had!
 
Last edited:
I initially posted that the i7 11" was running hot. I have since done a clean install and it's now running about as cool as the 1.6GHZ core duo I had previously.

I pretty happy about this as this thing is a Monster.

Just a heads up.
 
I initially posted that the i7 11" was running hot. I have since done a clean install and it's now running about as cool as the 1.6GHZ core duo I had previously.

I pretty happy about this as this thing is a Monster.

Just a heads up.
thanks but your about the only person who has said that.

not sure why a clean install versus a factory install would make any difference what so ever.

Its the processor clearly.
 
Received my 11" i5 4mb 256mb MBA on Wednesday. LOVE IT. I was a little worried about the small screen but for my needs it's perfect. So light and easy to carry. Love it. No regrets.
 
Loving this 11 so far. I just got it in the mail today, but it's great. Not regretting it one bit
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.