MBA M5 13" or 15"

[Gill Bates]

Hi
I'm thinking getting the next Macbook Air M5, as my main computer
Not sure if I should get the 13" or the 15"..

I love light portable laptops
I will 90% of the time be using it like a Mac Mini: plugged into my external monitor with external keyboard and mouse and not use the laptop itself as it is, only sometimes on trips

Many say "get the 15". you won't regret it"
Well I lean towards the 13" because it's so small, light and handy

Any advice or thoughts on this?

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you are primarily going to use the MBA plugged into an external monitor, the screen size of the MBA really doesn’t matter unless the other 10% is spent being mobile. In that scenario, the 13” is a smart buy.

 

[Gill Bates]

If you are primarily going to use the MBA plugged into an external monitor, the screen size of the MBA really doesn’t matter unless the other 10% is spent being mobile. In that scenario, the 13” is a smart buy.

Yeah that's my intuitive thought too
I just don't know if I will regret not having the extra realestate WHEN using the laptop
But I do like the small size of the 13". There's something so cool about having a tiny but powerful computer like that
Just plug it into my home desktop setup, or bring it on the go

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yeah that's my intuitive thought too
I just don't know if I will regret not having the extra realestate WHEN using the laptop
But I do like the small size of the 13". There's something so cool about having a tiny but powerful computer like that
Just plug it into my home desktop setup, or bring it on the go

How can you miss what you have never had? I think you have already answered your own question. Asking for feedback on here is going to lead you to indecision of the obvious. Keep simple purchases simple.

 

[Gill Bates]

How can you miss what you have never had? I think you have already answered your own question. Asking for feedback on here is going to lead you to indecision of the obvious. Keep simple purchases simple.

Well I have had laptops before
And when I talk to others with laptops they all say 15" is the way
But for me..
Not sure if 13" is too tiny and less usable
I'm just trying to get hints/inspiration to make up my mind about it

 

[Apple_Robert]

Well I have had laptops before
And when I talk to others with laptops they all say 15" is the way
But for me..
Not sure if 13" is too tiny and less usable
I'm just trying to get hints/inspiration to make up my mind about it

Most on here will say 15” because that is what they prefer. They won’t be paying for your purchase so, it really doesn’t matter to them what you do. What matters is what you want and need. The most logical thing to do to solve your question is to buy the 15”, use the Apple return period and test the portability factor. If you find the MBA being docked all the time and not being used mobile, then you have your answer with the 13”.

Buy the computer for what you actually do and not what you might do at some possible time in some wild random scenario. That is how people end up spending needless amounts of money.

 

[Gill Bates]

Thank you
I am leaning towards the 13"
Just have some doubts and thoughts.. because it's so much money, I want to make the right decision for the future as well

 

[SteveOm]

I run a small software business on a small laptop that’s usually docked. (14” Pro). When it’s undocked, the screen is fine for most purposes whether remote server management or sales or finance stuff. Every once in a while I decide to wait on a task until I'm back in the office, but that's usually for convenience. Maybe once a year do I encounter something that’s just too hard to do on the small screen, and even then the problem is really my preference and not a requirement.

 

[Miat]

I have a 13" M2 Air running as a desktop in clamshell mode 99% of the time, and it works very well.

But if I was relying on the Air screen itself much more than that then the screen size would be a problem. Obviously that will depend on your use case. If you are just doing a bit of writing or browsing or watching videos then it is probably okay. But it is small and limiting. No way around that.

I can't say I particularly enjoy using it as a laptop. It is okay, it does the basics well enough, but nothing more than that and it would not work as my main comp set-up. Got a laptop instead of another Mini because I need the occasional portability and also for mains power outages, which happens here during the rainy season.

There is not that much practical difference in overall size and weight between the 13 & 15". Not zero, but not huge either. Especially considering the amount of extra screen space you get with the 15".

Another factor is your size. I am an above average size male, and the 13" is not a great fit sitting on my thighs in laptop mode. It's quite narrow and I have to keep my legs closed more than is comfortable for me to stop it sliding off. The extra 1.5" of width in the 15" would help quite a bit for that.

Probably best for you to get to a store that has both models on display so you can get a hands-on side-by-side assessment, for both overall size and portability, and the screen experience.

 

[Basic75]

If you are primarily going to use the MBA plugged into an external monitor, the screen size of the MBA really doesn’t matter unless the other 10% is spent being mobile. In that scenario, the 13” is a smart buy.

I'd argue the 15" is better for mobile use because that's when you don't have the larger external display available. Two schools of thought.

 

[Gill Bates]

I'm torn between "the most portable one" vs "the bigger heavier but best and most useable one"
But maybe the slight increase in weight is worth it for the 15"
The 13" wins the first. The 15" wins the second
I won't be transporting it much, but it would still be a shame to sit with a too tiny screen when I have to bring it

 

[DrWojtek]

I went with a 13” MBA half a year ago.

I use it for coding and taking notes etc. It is taken in my backpack almost every day.

When I’m doing work that needs focus I plug it in to an external monitor. If not, I lay on the couch with it and code like so.

I’m perfectly happy with my choice. 13” is small. But so is 15”. But 15” take up a lot more space in a backpack. For me 13 is as bad as 15 but it takes up less space. Not once have I regretted it.

 

[maflynn]

Personally, I find 13" too small, 15" is ok, I've not owned a 16" laptop.

How often will you be lugging this around and will the weight difference really be noticeable? I'd say the time looking at the screen far out weighs (pun intended) the time you're walking around with it in a bag on your shoulder

 

[Gill Bates]

Personally, I find 13" too small, 15" is ok, I've not owned a 16" laptop.

How often will you be lugging this around and will the weight difference really be noticeable? I'd say the time looking at the screen far out weighs (pun intended) the time you're walking around with it in a bag on your shoulder

Yeah it's mostly just the feeling of having a small light laptop. Especially since I will mostly use it plugged into external monitor, dock etc.
But yes the screen size matters a bit when out
hmm thinking well I have till March/April to think!

 

[unkl bob]

Hi
I'm thinking getting the next Macbook Air M5, as my main computer
Not sure if I should get the 13" or the 15"..

I love light portable laptops
I will 90% of the time be using it like a Mac Mini: plugged into my external monitor with external keyboard and mouse and not use the laptop itself as it is, only sometimes on trips

Many say "get the 15". you won't regret it"
Well I lean towards the 13" because it's so small, light and handy

Any advice or thoughts on this?

I bought both the (M4 Air) 13" and 15" at the same time. After two weeks, I sent the 13" back. (THX Amazon. No; really!) The side by side performance was near identical. The size difference was not much when moving from small to large, but going the other way was very noticeeable. And the 13" did not seem as much smaller as I thought it might. The 15" travels fine.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[Fishrrman]

13":
Lighter to carry around
Lighter on your wallet

15":
The bigger display (of course)
Heavier on the power, but...
Also heavier to carry around, and...
Heavier on the wallet.

If much of the time is going to be spent plugged into an external display, and you desire "lightness" when toting around, the 13" would be my recommendation.

 

[Gill Bates]

13":
Lighter to carry around
Lighter on your wallet

15":
The bigger display (of course)
Heavier on the power, but...
Also heavier to carry around

If much of the time is going to be spent plugged into an external display, and you desire "lightness" when toting around, the 13" would be my recommendation.

Heavier on the power?

 

[Falhófnir]

Yeah it's mostly just the feeling of having a small light laptop. Especially since I will mostly use it plugged into external monitor, dock etc.
But yes the screen size matters a bit when out
hmm thinking well I have till March/April to think!

If it's mostly desk use, surely that negates the benefit of the 13" being more compact just as much as it negates the extra screen area of the 15"? To me, ultraportables like the 13" Air really only come into their own if you're regularly working in areas with confined space (primarily on trains or planes). The main difference I found was a 15" allows you to split screen or juggle a couple of app windows fairly comfortably, so you could have a word or pages document to take notes from a video or webpage, or have a document open you're working on with a couple of other reference documents open in the background without it all feeling too cluttered. On a 13" it's really one app at a time, or flicking between desktops, or perhaps using stage manager if it suits you.

For that reason, exactly what you'll be doing with the computer away from the desk makes a big difference here. Just emails - the 13" will be fine. Anything involving using more than one app at a time, I'd give the 15" a very good look, even if it doesn't appeal as much.

 

[punkwood]

I love light portable laptops

The 15" MBA is, by design, a light, portable laptop.

Many say "get the 15". you won't regret it"
Well I lean towards the 13" because it's so small, light and handy

The 15" MBA is also very small, light and handy.

When you are home with the laptop docked and screen closed with an external monitor- you'll never notice what size it is.

If you want to open the lid and use it as a second display, you now have a 15" second display.

When you need to leave the house and use it, you don't have to use a smaller 13" screen, you get the benefit of a 15" screen on the go.

2" of screen difference does not affect the portability or weight in a way that actually means anything to anybody beyond those who can't get what it says on the spec sheet out of their head. Frequent travel by plane or train is the only situation in which I would consider going with the smaller screen.

 

[punkwood]

If you are primarily going to use the MBA plugged into an external monitor, the screen size of the MBA really doesn’t matter unless the other 10% is spent being mobile. In that scenario, the 13” is a smart buy.

There's no reason to go smaller in this case because, like you said, you won't notice it the majority of the time you are using it. But then, when you DO need to use just the laptop screen, you get a 15" screen instead of a 13". That is a negligible difference in carry weight and footprint but makes me noticeable difference in viewing enjoyability.

Not to mention carry weight only really matters for people who commute by method other than driving. And still, a 15" MBA in 2026 is very light.

 

[kschendel]

I guess you aren't near an Apple store? because the obvious answer would be to go to the store and see if the 13" is too small for what you do, and if you think the 15" is too big and heavy. (It's not that much heavier than the 13".)

I have the 15" MBA but that's because I'm not really using it on the go. If I travel with it, it typically stays in the backpack until I'm somewhere that I can put it on a desk. I tend to not try to work on planes or trains.

 

[Abydos]

I borrowed a friends 13" MBA (m4 I think) to analyze both the machine and Tahoe, I own an older 13" MBP. I found the 13" met my meager needs, but the advice of visiting an Apple Store (or even a Best Buy or other store) and getting a hands on feel to be an excellent idea.

 

[ignatius345]

Well I have had laptops before
And when I talk to others with laptops they all say 15" is the way
But for me..
Not sure if 13" is too tiny and less usable
I'm just trying to get hints/inspiration to make up my mind about it

LOL

Just go to an Apple Store or a Best Buy or something and try them both out. Nobody here is going to be able to tell you anything that will be as informative as you physically handling both Macs and looking at what fits on the screen of each one.

 

[splifingate]

Hi
I'm thinking getting the next Macbook Air M5, as my main computer
Not sure if I should get the 13" or the 15"..

I love light portable laptops
I will 90% of the time be using it like a Mac Mini: plugged into my external monitor with external keyboard and mouse and not use the laptop itself as it is, only sometimes on trips

Many say "get the 15". you won't regret it"
Well I lean towards the 13" because it's so small, light and handy

Any advice or thoughts on this?

Have you actually used a 13" and a 15" before?

I've used both, and my current 13" M4 MBA is absolutely and fantastically perfect for me.

The one time I (sorta) regretted going for the 13" was the Early 2015 MBP . . . IIRC, it had a PCIe 3.0 x2 m.2, where the 15" had PCIe 3.0 x4 m.2

Decidedly-idiosyncratic things like that aren't really part of the decision-matrix these days....

 

[darngooddesign]

Hi
I'm thinking getting the next Macbook Air M5, as my main computer
Not sure if I should get the 13" or the 15"..

I love light portable laptops
I will 90% of the time be using it like a Mac Mini: plugged into my external monitor with external keyboard and mouse and not use the laptop itself as it is, only sometimes on trips

Many say "get the 15". you won't regret it"
Well I lean towards the 13" because it's so small, light and handy

Any advice or thoughts on this?

Get the 13”; anyone who suggested the 15” didn’t listen to you.