I'd lean to the 13", but that's because it's what I have. I do take mine out of the house several nights a week though. If it was desk bound, then I'd have gone 15".
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Did you go for the 15” or 13” MacBook Air and why?
- Thread starter helloapple1
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I'd lean to the 13", but that's because it's what I have. I do take mine out of the house several nights a week though. If it was desk bound, then I'd have gone 15".
I am now leaning towards 15" M2 because thats what I have 
..the 13" m4 in midnight went back 2 days before return policy ended, got cold feet.
nice machine, but cmd key right of space bar on my unit seemed a little rattle-y as did the keys. Seems maybe they've addressed or minimized shine on keys but at expense of feeling a little cheaper. I thought it was nice at first, but over time felt a little fatiguing on my fingers / less bounce and more butterfly like feeling (even though the keys actuate unlike butterfly keyboard that moves in a microscopic manner almost). Just tapped my fingers against the couple 13" Air and one 15" Air on the table and all seemed to be equally float-y sort of and less the feeling of my M2.
and for my uses, faster NAND and more RAM are nice to haves but not reason alone to upgrade. I really liked the color, I could make concessions with it being a fingerprint magnet but at the same time I think it's gonna get mucked up like crazy after a year visually... ymmv.
couch and bed was superior with 13" but I will just lower the DPI to offset having the 15" further away
..the 13" m4 in midnight went back 2 days before return policy ended, got cold feet.
nice machine, but cmd key right of space bar on my unit seemed a little rattle-y as did the keys. Seems maybe they've addressed or minimized shine on keys but at expense of feeling a little cheaper. I thought it was nice at first, but over time felt a little fatiguing on my fingers / less bounce and more butterfly like feeling (even though the keys actuate unlike butterfly keyboard that moves in a microscopic manner almost). Just tapped my fingers against the couple 13" Air and one 15" Air on the table and all seemed to be equally float-y sort of and less the feeling of my M2.
and for my uses, faster NAND and more RAM are nice to haves but not reason alone to upgrade. I really liked the color, I could make concessions with it being a fingerprint magnet but at the same time I think it's gonna get mucked up like crazy after a year visually... ymmv.
couch and bed was superior with 13" but I will just lower the DPI to offset having the 15" further away
If it’s a secondary Mac just find a good deal on the base M4. MicroCenter has them for $849 and some other retailers will match them.
I just got myself the Air M4 in silver just for the sake of testing MacOS, because I'm a Windows user. I have to say the battery life of this laptop is incredible. I can easily get it on 2 days without charging. But I just dont like the notch, it's so ugly. Got an Honor MagicBook Art 14 on the way as well.
Hopefully Apple decides to change the design of this thing after the 5 iteration without the notch. That would want me to buy it later on again. Also my little brother got the M2 with the Touch Bar. That thing oozes class. Especially the Touch Bar which gives you the possibility to switch from webpages easily. Sad that Apple got rid of it. This one will get returned after 14 days of testing.
Hopefully Apple decides to change the design of this thing after the 5 iteration without the notch. That would want me to buy it later on again. Also my little brother got the M2 with the Touch Bar. That thing oozes class. Especially the Touch Bar which gives you the possibility to switch from webpages easily. Sad that Apple got rid of it. This one will get returned after 14 days of testing.
I think the Touch Bar's weakness was that you couldn't use it without looking at it (touch typing). I never used it myself, but from comments here that seemed to be the key objection that I saw.
Battery life is immense. I use a Windows laptop for work and if I go away for the weekend I can't leave it in sleep over the weekend as it will run itself flat. Luckily both laptops can charge with USB-C so it's not dire, but it's a bit of a pain.
I just got my first notched MacBook. I went from the M1 Air which was the previous form factor and had no notch. I feel like I'm over the notch but there are software solutions to try to hide it. Use a dark theme. There are some apps that will try to hide it for you too.
I know that there are possibilities to hide that ugly thing. But it's just a waste of screen estate. I mean look at this...
The ultimate screen estate, and it is OLED with 120hz. Strangely you don't feel the 60hz that much on the Air, except when you open the picture gallery.
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Remember Apple expanded the screen, resulting in the notch. They didn’t take anything away. It is 16:10 plus the notch (an extra 64 pixels high on the MacBook Air). Also, since Mac programs “share” a menu bar, a notch is less intrusive than it would be on a Windows PC. It will likely be awhile before Apple can completely remove it since they want to keep the screen chassis as thin as possible. We’ll see the “Dynamic Island” go away on the iPhone first since it is thicker and will be able to accommodate cameras behind displays more easily.
Can always use TopNotch too if it bothers you aesthetically. I like to use this sometimes. Other times I just leave it off and deal since it's baked into the status menu.
I wouldn't mind the Dynamic Island on the Air, I find the cutouts inside a screen better than a notch anytime of the week. Or just a hole like the Galaxy phones. The notch is just a gap like it was on the iPhone X till they do something else with it. I think in 2026 or 2027 the Air will definitely have a new design.
this. i got best buy to price match a 15 inch 16/512 model micro center is selling for $1190
You really can’t beat that deal considering a year ago the 15” MBA started at $1299 for 8/256. The 16/512 would have been $1699 and surely wouldn’t have been on sale already!!
I chose the 13 inch because its so easily to slip into my daily back pack for work, its light and powerful and never gets in the way.
After having a 15 inch for the past year or so, I just put in an order for the 13 inch, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage model in sky blue. I pick it up tomorrow. Here are a few reasons
1) I wanted to keep the cost of this machine down in order to take advantage of Apple’s price cuts. At $1,199, I feel like I got a better deal with the 13 inch and 512GB of storage vs the 15 inch with 256GB, especially since both are the 10 core CPU/GPU models. The extra storage will likely give the computer an extra year or two
2) I noticed that for the most part, I had extra screen real estate on the 15 inch that I wasn’t using in most circumstances. So I don’t really “need” the extra screen
3) The 13 inch is definitely nicer to handle, to move around, to use on airplanes and such, etc.
4) In the future, I could use the laptop with a monitor - meaning that at home on the desk, the advantage of the 15 inch in terms of more screen area may not be as meaningful
5) I almost never use the speakers on the 15 inch, even if they are nicer
6) I can always use an IPad next to the MacBook if I really want to multitask
1) I wanted to keep the cost of this machine down in order to take advantage of Apple’s price cuts. At $1,199, I feel like I got a better deal with the 13 inch and 512GB of storage vs the 15 inch with 256GB, especially since both are the 10 core CPU/GPU models. The extra storage will likely give the computer an extra year or two
2) I noticed that for the most part, I had extra screen real estate on the 15 inch that I wasn’t using in most circumstances. So I don’t really “need” the extra screen
3) The 13 inch is definitely nicer to handle, to move around, to use on airplanes and such, etc.
4) In the future, I could use the laptop with a monitor - meaning that at home on the desk, the advantage of the 15 inch in terms of more screen area may not be as meaningful
5) I almost never use the speakers on the 15 inch, even if they are nicer
6) I can always use an IPad next to the MacBook if I really want to multitask
What's funny is my plan is very similar to yours. Have an old 15" intel MBP, planning on getting the exact same 13" MBA configuration/color and same reasoning with (easier to handle, not using the speakers, using laptop with a monitor, have iPad for multi-tasking etc.) I think you'll really enjoy your new MBA!
I sold my 15” M3 MBA and ordered a 13” M4 base today. For these reasons also
Tried both the 13” M4 and the 15” M3, opted to stick with the 15” M3 as they were both the same price. My eyes are aging, so the larger screen was much easier on them.
I was a few days shy of my 60 day return window at Best Buy, so I did the same. Returned my 15" m3 and picked up an M4 13" and got some money back. I really prefer this 13" size.
I just sold my 13" MBA and got a 15" one instead. Couldn't be happier with the larger size. Yes it weighs more, but I find I can multitask better with the larger screen...and is good for my aging eyes
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Initially I got the 13" M2 Air before the 15" Air was released. I loved it because it is super portable but my aging eyes were having a really hard time with certain tasks. Once the 15" was released I got it and have loved it ever since. IMO the 15" Air is the best laptop Apple has ever made. The 13" is as well if portability is your number one priority (and you have good eyes )
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I've always been a fan of small laptops, though last year I switched my primary computer over to a 2018 15" MBP and quite like the larger screen for personal laptops that I don't need to cart around every day.
As such, I found a fantastic deal on a base M3 15" Air for $500 and snapped it up for my own use at home, and adore it! I'm still glad that I have my 13" M4 Air for school to bring back and forth in my bag each day, but I appreciate the 15" at home for personal use
As such, I found a fantastic deal on a base M3 15" Air for $500 and snapped it up for my own use at home, and adore it! I'm still glad that I have my 13" M4 Air for school to bring back and forth in my bag each day, but I appreciate the 15" at home for personal use