Chances of future "mini" MacBook Air in 9- or 11- inch sizes?

[Mega ST]

Hello,
I was just thinking about my own personal preferences - not so much about any possible real market in general. But I would love to have some new "real" Macbook in a very small size. Not an iPad and not an oversized iPhone. Something with full MacOS capabilities.
Like a folding notebook with apple silicon chip and small but well made keyboard integrated. Do you think this is possible besides all those iPads to ever happen? I tried iPads with separate BT keyboards but didn't like it that much for typing. Wouldn't this be the perfect modern son of the old Classic (I had one) that was considered super tiny back then? Wouldn't this be a perfect use for the Apple silicon processors as well?
Could such a tiny case computer have enough battery size, energy and endurance? Would some mini-keyboard work for you?
Thanks.

P.S. Not only for this topic but wouldn't some future Apple hardware request/dreaming about forum be a great addition to MR?

 

[JPack]

Such a small display and keyboard limits the level of productivity, so the device would largely be for media consumption only. That role is better served by the iPad.

 

[MacInTO]

I think the 12" PowerBook G4 was as small as it can get because the keyboard went edge to edge. That was about 11" wide. About the same size as a large iPad Pro. I would rather use an iPad than a MacBook. I think that anyone that does not like the iPad keyboard will get a magic keyboard.

 

[rovostrov]

A few years ago, I bought a 2015 11" Macbook air for on the go work. My job requires me to occasionally need MacOs
and space is somewhat limited at worksites. Instead of lugging around my 15", I grab the air and jet out the door.
It allows me to start work files away from my office and finish them when I return. No issues with the battery life, seems to last for what I need. They are reasonably priced now and they work great! Also, the 2015's are still software supported!

 

[Nbd1790]

Don't think this will ever happen. The iPad is already fulfilling that space.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Will never happen.

 

[Pugly]

The 12" MacBook is exactly the width of a full size keyboard, can't really get smaller than that without compromising the interface. My ideal size would be a 12" MacBook with a 16:9 keyboard so that's around 11" again... I highly doubt Apple will make it.

I just hope Apple doesn't consider computers this size as iPad only. Or at least get MacOS on iPads gets anounced or something... because the iPad just doesn't interest me as a computer. And to use it as a computer you have to attach a keyboard with a track pad... so you've just recreated a laptop with a touch screen and an os that's geared towards 1 or 2 applications side by side.

 

[MF878]

Is it technically possible? Sure, the M1 works perfectly fine in the 11" iPad Pro chassis. You could probably even run MacOS on an A-Series chip if you wanted a ridiculously small Mac. However, the days of sub-13" MacBooks are dead, let alone something in the 9-11" range. The overlap between people who want a device that small and people who require MacOS for their work is very very small.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I wish they still made the 11 inch MacBook Air. I still have mine and prefer it to my 13 inch MacBook Air.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

11.6 inch MBA, 12 inch MB had a great form factor (normal sized keyboard) and were perfectly mobile. Would be ideal machines with the M series chips.
Still 11.6 devices around in family, still rocking.
But alas, I think Apple won't go that way. It's a pity.

 

[Mega ST]

Thanks for your participation everyone. Admittedly it feels like it would not be the red hot product to mass produce for the time being.

 

[Zendokan]

Thanks for your participation everyone. Admittedly it feels like it would not be the red hot product to mass produce for the time being.

Apple proved with the 12" retina Macbook (2015-2019) that they could make an interesting small form factor notebook.
Needed some extra ports

If they would streamline their screen sizes, it could potentially open the door for a 12" and a 14" MBA instead of only one 13" MBA.

You never know with Apple, in 2011 I thought that they would end up with a line-up of a 11", 13", 15" MBA and a 13", 15", 17" MBP to service their customers needs and they ended up scrapping the 17" MBP, later scrapping the 11" MBA, directly coming with and scrapping the 12" MB, and changing the screen sizes on their MBP's to 14" and 16".
So you really can't predict what Apple has in store for us...

 

[Pakaku]

An 11-12" non-pro macbook could be possible, and would align with that lineup's purpose. That would be more likely to happen than seeing a larger size show up.

 

[Saturn007]

Good idea for a poll. I picked 11” because a small, lightweight MacBook has always appealed to me. However, a 12” would have been an even better option in the poll!

An 12” M1 MacBook Air, with MagSafe and ports on both sides, and an SD slot, weighing < 2 pounds would be a treat! An iPad is NOT a substitute for it — not for those of us who want a real physical keyboard, Mac OS, and Mac programs in a lightweight, small form factor.

 

[wordsworth]

I use my 2014 eleven-inch MacBook Air regularly, when I'm away from home. I love it. I think it's a perfect marriage of form and functionality. I do hope Apple reintroduces this size again in the Air range. Or even some must-have new design as yet unimagined? I'd settle for one, at any rate, plus a Mac Mini for the home office desk. The Mac Mini will probably become a reality with me next year.

 

[cybertruck]

As a developer I would love to pair 11” M1/M2 with my ASD — super lightweight when on the move, full blown workstation at home.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I had an 11 inch MacBook Air and I liked it. I think the 12 inch MacBook was a great upgrade in screen size and overall layout. I think the form factor of the 12 inch MacBook was perfect. I really wish they would make one of those for the people who need to use Mac OS X and still be ultraportable.

 

[jdb8167]

As a developer I would love to pair 11” M1/M2 with my ASD — super lightweight when on the move, full blown workstation at home.

That's what I used to do. When working from home, my i7 11" MacBook Air was connected to an Apple Thunderbolt Display in clamshell mode with an external keyboard and trackpad. When at work, I would just plug the notebook into a large (ish) display and use the notebook open to the built-in keyboard and trackpad in front of the display. It worked great. I rarely used the 11" notebook display by itself so the small screen size didn't bother me. Having a Retina 12" Apple silicon version of the same would be ideal.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I had an 11 inch MacBook Air and I liked it. I think the 12 inch MacBook was a great upgrade in screen size and overall layout. I think the form factor of the 12 inch MacBook was perfect. I really wish they would make one of those for the people who need to use Mac OS X and still be ultraportable.

You know what, just to amend what I said above, I would be happy if they just got rid of the big bezels on the MacBook Air 13 to make it a little bit smaller. And maybe flattened out the taper a little bit.

 

[jdb8167]

You know what, just to amend what I said above, I would be happy if they just got rid of the big bezels on the MacBook Air 13 to make it a little bit smaller. And maybe flattened out the taper a little bit.

I'd like a notebook with M1 performance at around 2 pounds (about 0.95 kg). I'd sacrifice a fair amount of battery life to get to 2 pounds. I don't care about the case size except in how it gets to a lighter notebook.

Edit: As a compromise, I'd accept 1 kg (2.2 pounds).

 

[MikeDr206]

You’ll never get a 9 inch. Full stop. 11 inch I’d bet 95% against. Even 12. I think best case scenario is a 12.9/13.3 size in a case similar to the old rMB 12”.

 

[azentropy]

I was never interested in the 11" MBA because of the screen quality/resolution and wasn't a fan of previous 13" MBA for the same reason and then even when they did go retina the poor performance/battery life with Intel. Same reason I didn't go for the 12" MacBook although I absolutely loved it's size, it was just too underpowered and I didn't care for the keyboard.

I love my M1 MBA as it is a great combination of power/battery life/screen quality and price. However if they did offer a 12" version in the ~2lbs range I would be intrigued.

 

[ian87w]

The 11" Macbook Air was physically an "iPad replacement." It's a really neat laptop, so compact that you won't mind carrying it instead of a tablet. One with retina screen and less bezel would make the laptop more compact. Would be a really nice ultra portable. However, I don't think Apple would do it as Apple tend to prefer full size keyboard.

 

[Loge]

Well they now have the capability to address both the shortcomings of the 11" Air (poor screen) and 12" MB (low power) but they won't do it .

 

[Funny Apple Man]

11 inch was a cute size but the screen is definitely too small if you want to do some serious work on it. Cute little notebook to browse the web on, I wish they brought it back.