mid-2011 MBA vs mid-2013 MBA - Worth the Upgrade?

The improvements are in the better battery live, cooler and quieter operation and faster storage.

 

I would strongly lean toward an upgrade. The battery life alone is a fantastic reason, but USB3 is a big plus now, and the machine stays quieter and cooler than anything I've ever seen out of an Air.

I, too, come from a 2011 Air, and the performance aspect is... noticeable but not anything spectacular. Though 2011 -> 2013 is pretty substantial when it comes to GPU.

 

Can I ask -- how is it a $300 upgrade? I also own a 2011 MBA with similar specs, and I would consider that. Is that the difference between new 2013 MBA and the likely resale value of the 2011 MBA? If so, I had no idea that it retained its value so well.

 

I went through the same back in August. I i upgraded from 2011 to 2013 model (13"). For me it was worth it. The 2013 has amazing battery life (about 10 hrs for my use) and is indeed much quiter during heavier tasks.

And if you do some light gaming here and there the HD5000 graphics that is in the 2013 MBA is a big improvement over your 2011 MBA.

For 300$ definitely go for it.

 

I went from a 2011 i5/4gb/256gb to a 2013 17/8gb/512gb. I am very pleased, but I run powerful software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, etc.

USB 3 is certainly a big improvement - if you need it. And the machine is certainly faster, but I really only notice that when I look at latency in Logic or render time in Final Cut. For the "everyday" stuff, you will notice very little difference.

 

The way I see it, being December it's not worth the upgrade unless you need higher specs right now. If you don't, hang on for 6-8 months with your current machine and then get yourself a 2014.

 

And if you wait 12 more months after that, the 2015 model is sure to be da bomb.

 

PFFFFFFTTTT!!!! Just another 12 short months for the '16 models, which will also make sandwiches for your lunch.

 

Aaaaand just 12 even shorter months for the '17 models which might feature the new "all-month" battery!

 

Yes, it's an excellent upgrade. Is it worth it? That's up to you. I'd consider waiting at this point to see what comes out in June.

 

I wouldn't. I know people have been joking about the "waiting game". But I honestly feel like 2014 will be the worthwhile time to upgrade from the 2011.

Unless you need an extra 2 hours battery and you need USB 3 (I just use TB Gigabit Ethernet for file transfers to/from my desktop) and considering the 2013's are already halfway through their lifecycle, I would wait.

 

Like they said, consider waiting for the 2014 refresh if battery life isn't really an issue. Apple used really slow haswell processors to reduce power consumption, so you will find that there isn't really a significant speed increase in terms of the tasks you do.

 

I had i5/4/128 2013 and at times it seemed to hang at times or not responding as quickly, I changed to i7/8/128 and you can tell how it just responds much faster to everything.
Upgrade if you can.