I'm currently trying to decide between the two sizes. I will be using it for some music production, word processing and the like for school, and basic web browsing. I'm currently on a 13 inch MBP which I upgraded to from a 15 inch Toshiba laptop.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MBA 11 or 13?
- Thread starter jakeonfiree
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is pretty subjective.But I find if you use music production software, it is better to get the 13" as these softwares ( Photo shop, video editing et al) have lots of onscreen menus and options and benefit from the real state.
Best would be if you go to an Apple store and use it yourself.
I have gone to local Best Buy stores and such to test them out a bit. So far I've found no problems with the 11" but I haven't been able to use any type of recording software on them (I currently use Logic X) to see how the windows and menus are handled. Also, I do have an external monitor that I could use for editing and such. Would you think that the models in the Apple Stores would have Logic X installed? I'd love to compare both of them side-by-side.
The real glory of the 11" is its astonishing portability; it is a fantastically portable - and, depending on the specs of your chosen computer - it can be extremely powerful as well.
The 13" is a fantastic computer (I have had both); obviously, the screen is larger, and more comfortable for extended viewing periods (though I had no difficulties with the 11"), and the battery is exceptionally good.
The 13" is a fantastic computer (I have had both); obviously, the screen is larger, and more comfortable for extended viewing periods (though I had no difficulties with the 11"), and the battery is exceptionally good.
Yeah. That's a lot of the appeal of the 11" to me as well. I will be using it quite a bit for school and at school and I feel like, for that, the 11" would be superior to the 13". Like I said earlier though, my main issue is how the GUI for Logic Pro works with the small screen; whether there is enough screen real-estate to comfortably track and record. Everything else (editing, mixing, etc. can be done on my external monitor with my bluetooth mouse and keyboard)
My opinion is that I like the 11 but I find it hard to multi-task on it. The screen is so small that whatever program I'm running, the window is maxed out. On the 13 I can have a few things open and find it easier to switch between applications. That might not be important to some people but it is to me so I had to give up on the 11 and go 13.
Well I'd go for the 13 inch because
a) That odd time when you need to use logic pro x. If it looks anything like this, it'll be a pain on 11" screen.
b) 13" has a larger battery so higher battery life. Yey.
What is it that makes it harder to switch apps on the 11 vs 13?
----------
lol that's some serious plug-in usage. At the moment I don't have a lot of cash to spare, so would you say that an Apple Refurbished 13" would be alright?
----------
lol that's some serious plug-in usage. At the moment I don't have a lot of cash to spare, so would you say that an Apple Refurbished 13" would be alright?
You can resize one window and have another window next to it so that both are clearly visible.
----------
Whats your budget??
Ah. Gotcha. I usually find myself using mission control to switch between windows.
I guess I don't have a definite price ceiling but it might be a little bit of a stretch at the moment to get a new 13", so probably a grand.
My tuppence worth
Living a relatively settled lifestyle right now, a Mac Mini is fine for me at present. However, with a more itinerant phase in the offing, I have checked out the Air in a shop.
If I do go the Air way, the 13" will get my nod. The screen may not seem much bigger, but it is enough to make a difference for my middle aged eyes.
If I was 20 years younger, with sharper eyesight, the more portable and and cuter 11" would probably be my choice.
Living a relatively settled lifestyle right now, a Mac Mini is fine for me at present. However, with a more itinerant phase in the offing, I have checked out the Air in a shop.
If I do go the Air way, the 13" will get my nod. The screen may not seem much bigger, but it is enough to make a difference for my middle aged eyes.
If I was 20 years younger, with sharper eyesight, the more portable and and cuter 11" would probably be my choice.
Before I bought the MBP I have at the moment I was thinking about getting a Mac Mini as well. Portability is the name of the game at the moment however, considering as a college student I'm back-and-forth quite a bit.
I have been in love with the 11" forever. Bought 50 2010 11" MBA with 64SSd'S and moved them to 256 and 512 OWC SSD's w/o a single fail
All still working, including mine, when it goes RETINA, IM IN
All still working, including mine, when it goes RETINA, IM IN
Well my friend there are two ways you can squeeze an MBA13 in a 1000 bucks.
a) Get someone enrolled at a university to buy for you through apple eduction pricing. I think you will save upwards of a 130 dollars off from the MSRP.
b) The refurb store shows this.
If you do decide to get an older one, don't go below the 2011 air. I think if you spend upwards of 600$ on anything should at least last 3.5 years. But thats just my opinion.
My budget is going to depend somewhat on how much I can get for my 2011 MBP. Do you have any experience with Apple refurb laptops? I was looking at that Air as well.
I'm fairly sure I'm going to get a Mid 2013 model.
Nope. This is my first brand new mac.If you want feedback on the refurb store you will find many people here. I have experience with PC's though. Mac's only caught my fancy when they shifted to x86 and I could afford them. Currently I write CFD code on my MBA'13.
You should get at least 400$ for a 2011 MBP.
I would like to say one more thing though , If you can squeeze out one more year from your notebook it would be great. Get the MBA with the release of Broadwell. Thats a straight 30% increase in power efficiency( due to shrink to 14nm) . Plus an expected 50% jump in graphics. Of course current gen MBA is amazing too. Just my two cents.
I got my 13" MacBook Air about six weeks ago. I struggled with deciding which size to buy, too. In the end, I decided that, since I don't travel very often or carry the laptop to school or work daily, the 11" wasn't necessary. And I really LOVE the battery life on the 13"! It's still quite slim and lightweight, and because the battery lasts so long, I can put it in a sleeve and take it along to the coffee shop or wherever without worrying about the charger. I can't wait to take it along on my next cross-country flight; I can use it in the airport and on the plane to surf the web and watch movies.
Mine is refurbished from the Apple website, and I saved over $300 on the "ultimate" version. (512GB, 8GB RAM, i7 processor)
If you're not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the anticipated new model later this year. If you do buy refurbished, try to get 2013 if possible, or at least 2012. The 2013 battery life is much better than previous models.
Mine is refurbished from the Apple website, and I saved over $300 on the "ultimate" version. (512GB, 8GB RAM, i7 processor)
If you're not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the anticipated new model later this year. If you do buy refurbished, try to get 2013 if possible, or at least 2012. The 2013 battery life is much better than previous models.
The MBA is a great choice for that, with amazing battery life. If you were planning on upgrading it at all, your most bang-for-your-buck, in that order, would be to get the 8GB of memory upgrade, followed by the most flash storage you can afford, and lastly the processor upgrade. These upgrades can not easily be done later, keep that in mind.
Now, size-wise, for an extra $100 --everything else being equal-- the 13" model, besides giving you the larger screen, also gives you the SDXC card slot as well as a 25-30% battery life increase over the 11" model.
Hope that helps you narrow your choice!
Hi Jaleonfiree, I had this same exact problem. I do a ton of music editing/production on Logic, I have to bring my computer to school (the school uses: evernote, pages, et al) and I also do a lot of arranging on my computer. I had very difficult time trying to pic between the 11 and 13 (air and pro) and after dealing with both, I went with the air. I first tried the pro (a friend's) and that wasn't portable enough, so I went down to the 11 air, and that was not svn close to powerful enough for doing said activities on the computer, not to mention the screen size, then I went to the 13 air, and found it to be perfect. It was portable enough for school, the screen size was adequate, and with an upgraded 8gb RAM and i7 processor, it kicks some big booty. This is why I think you should go with the air.
However, some of this is personal preference, so you definitely should try them both and take some time with this decision!! Hope this helped!!
I've had both and I just don't see the difference in terms of portability. Sure the 11" looks cuter and takes up less space in a bag, but the 13" is not a beast by any means. I've had no issues traveling with the 13" and I'm more often glad that I have the larger text and bigger screen. Not to mention the 3 extra hours of battery. I don't think I'll go back to anything below 13 again.
I have a 2012 MBA 11" base model with the 128GB upgrade and run Logic Studio on it (version prior to X). I connect it to an external 24" 1080p display and use my iPad as a controller as well though.
So basically, I have the 11" screen for utilities and windows I'd rather not clog up the big screen, the big screen for Logic's interface and configuring plugins, and the iPad for controlling track / mixer settings.
I believe Logic X's iPad companion app is way better than the touch OSC app that I am using so you'll be able to do way more using an iPad as a companion interface.
If I were using the MBA solo I wouldn't go below 13", but the 11" is way more "let me grab this too" than the 13" is.
So basically, I have the 11" screen for utilities and windows I'd rather not clog up the big screen, the big screen for Logic's interface and configuring plugins, and the iPad for controlling track / mixer settings.
I believe Logic X's iPad companion app is way better than the touch OSC app that I am using so you'll be able to do way more using an iPad as a companion interface.
If I were using the MBA solo I wouldn't go below 13", but the 11" is way more "let me grab this too" than the 13" is.