Question about switching to 13" MBA

[iUseMacBooks]

Hello all,

This is my first post here. I'm looking for some advice. In August, 2014, I bought an Early 2014 11" MacBook Air. I love it. Despite having just 4 gb of RAM it's quite fast.

But, after nearly a year of using it for college, I'm starting to want a bigger screen. I've been having some thoughts of moving up in screen size to the 13" mba.

On to my question. If, in time, I decide to upgrade, what would be the best way to go about it? I could use migration assistant to transfer data, right? And then would I just wipe the 11" clean of all my data if I wanted to sell it?

My logic when originally buying the 11" was that I upgraded the storage from 128 gb to 256. I like having the extra space, but, as I said, I'm starting to wish I spent the extra money on the bigger screen.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any advice on switching Macbook's.

 

[Boyd01]

I have been very impressed with Migration Assistant, it has done a great job of moving my data to a new computer in the past. And it "knows" what system files can be copied, and what files would be incompatible. Just do a full time machine backup of the old machine, then plug the external drive in when prompted while setting up the new machine for the first time. Of course, if you have more stuff than will fit on the 128gb ssd in the new machine, that is something you will need to deal with before starting.

For myself, I went from a 2011 13" MBA to a 2013 11" MBA and really like the 11" machine much more. I would think long and hard before making the switch. You may be surprised at how much bigger and heavier the 13 is...

 

[iUseMacBooks]

I have been very impressed with Migration Assistant, it has done a great job of moving my data to a new computer in the past. And it "knows" what system files can be copied, and what files would be incompatible. Just do a full time machine backup of the old machine, then plug the external drive in when prompted while setting up the new machine for the first time. Of course, if you have more stuff than will fit on the 128gb ssd in the new machine, that is something you will need to deal with before starting.

For myself, I went from a 2011 13" MBA to a 2013 11" MBA and really like the 11" machine much more. I would think long and hard before making the switch. You may be surprised at how much bigger and heavier the 13 is...

Thanks for the response. I would do as you said with a full backup to an external drive. As for the screen size, up until recently I really enjoyed the 11" and still do. However I do wonder if it'd be nice to have more screen real estate. When I bought the 11" I didn't even consider the 13". Maybe I'll go to an Apple Store and check the 13" out. The 11" is great for school with its maximum portability though. I will consider all factors when making a final decision. Thanks.

 

[motrek]

Thanks for the response. I would do as you said with a full backup to an external drive. As for the screen size, up until recently I really enjoyed the 11" and still do. However I do wonder if it'd be nice to have more screen real estate. When I bought the 11" I didn't even consider the 13". Maybe I'll go to an Apple Store and check the 13" out. The 11" is great for school with its maximum portability though. I will consider all factors when making a final decision. Thanks.

Another thing you might consider is that Mac laptops have an excellent clamshell/"lid closed" mode.

You can plug your laptop into the wall, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, and essentially have a desktop computer with as much screen real estate as you want.

This can be a good solution if you want maximum screen real estate AND maximum portability.

 

[iUseMacBooks]

Another thing you might consider is that Mac laptops have an excellent clamshell/"lid closed" mode.

You can plug your laptop into the wall, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, and essentially have a desktop computer with as much screen real estate as you want.

This can be a good solution if you want maximum screen real estate AND maximum portability.

That's a great idea, and something I hadn't considered. It sounds like it'd be a good set up. Thanks, I appreciate all the help & hospitality on this forum.

 

[Mike MA]

Get yourself Time Capsule or activate Time Machine using an external hard drive as stated before. I recommend the former, as you can combine router, external drive and backups in one device.