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What would you choose 13" or 11" MacBook Air?

F

Frosteric901

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 23, 2014
29
0
So I have decided to purchase a MacBook air basically as a secondary coomputer to my rMPR 15. It will accompany me to uni everyday. Now I am leaning towards the 11 for portability reasons but the 13 which is still very portable has that 12 hour battery life as opposed to 9 hrs on the 11.
So if you guys had a choice what size and configuration would you choose?
 
iphone 5 rumors or iphone 6 or 5k imac or apple watch or ipad rumors not all come true ?? what are you thinking?
especially now that components are going to the manufacture to be build
 
Frosteric901 said:
So I have decided to purchase a MacBook air basically as a secondary coomputer to my rMPR 15. It will accompany me to uni everyday. Now I am leaning towards the 11 for portability reasons but the 13 which is still very portable has that 12 hour battery life as opposed to 9 hrs on the 11.
So if you guys had a choice what size and configuration would you choose?
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I have a desktop computer at home with a huge monitor, keyboard, mouse, nice speakers, etc.

Thus I don't need my laptop to be a desktop replacement. I need a laptop for the times when I need a portable computer, i.e., emphasis on portable. That's why I went with the 11" and would never consider anything as big as the 13". I have had 13" MacBooks in the past and felt they were much too big even at the time, before the MBA was released.
 
As a one-computer person, I wouldn't want to work with two laptops. Have you considered replacing the 15" rMBP with a 13" rMBP? Is there anything in particular you need a larger, four core machine for?
 
There are many, many threads on this same topic… But I had a 13" MBA for two years and switched to an 11". Best move I ever made. The 13 is great, but the 11 is really special. That seemingly small difference is size/weight is more significant than you might think. It is perfect for travel, just the right size for the seat tray on a plane. You can carry it around all day and never even know it's there.

Back home, I use a big screen and external keyboard when I need it. But this is all such a personal decision, nobody can tell you what is best. You need to decide for yourself.
 
Boyd01 said:
There are many, many threads on this same topic… But I had a 13" MBA for two years and switched to an 11". Best move I ever made. The 13 is great, but the 11 is really special. That seemingly small difference is size/weight is more significant than you might think. It is perfect for travel, just the right size for the seat tray on a plane. You can carry it around all day and never even know it's there.

Back home, I use a big screen and external keyboard when I need it. But this is all such a personal decision, nobody can tell you what is best. You need to decide for yourself.
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Okay so with that in mind how is the battery life in the 11 I mean Apple says 9 hours but how's real world use from your experience?

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ohbrilliance said:
As a one-computer person, I wouldn't want to work with two laptops. Have you considered replacing the 15" rMBP with a 13" rMBP? Is there anything in particular you need a larger, four core machine for?
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It's my main machine I use at home for photo editing vids browsing and assignments atm also it's such a beautiful machine I cannot sell it ever
 
I can get 10+ hours with sensible conservation measures. Last summer I enjoyed sitting on the porch on a sunny day watching movies. With the screen at full brightness, watching a movie from my iTunes server using 802.11ac wifi, I could get over 5 hours.

I guess the new 13 has better battery life, but I upgraded from a 2011 13" MBA, and my 2013 11" MBA has much, much longer run time.
 
Frosteric901 said:
It's my main machine I use at home for photo editing vids browsing and assignments atm also it's such a beautiful machine I cannot sell it ever
Click to expand...

So stick with it then. Why buy another laptop? Is 15" rMBP reallly so big that it can't be taken outside of the house?

Life is a lot easier with a single laptop, whichever one best fits your needs.
 
11' which is what I went with. The 13' feels too big and too much like a regular macbook to me. I feel that the 11' model fits MUCH better with that "air" feel.
 
Boyd01 said:
There are many, many threads on this same topic… But I had a 13" MBA for two years and switched to an 11". Best move I ever made. The 13 is great, but the 11 is really special. That seemingly small difference is size/weight is more significant than you might think. It is perfect for travel, just the right size for the seat tray on a plane. You can carry it around all day and never even know it's there.

Back home, I use a big screen and external keyboard when I need it. But this is all such a personal decision, nobody can tell you what is best. You need to decide for yourself.
Click to expand...

Excellent and well argued post which sums up very well why the 11" is such an excellent computer.

For portability, nothing beats either of the Airs (and I have had both). I used to have a 15" MBP, which was a lovely, powerful computer, but I found it too big, and heavy to be comfortable as a travelling companion. If you need portability - and I do, I travel a lot, and yet need a powerful but fast computer - nothing, but nothing touches the MBA.
John marts said:
11' which is what I went with. The 13' feels too big and too much like a regular macbook to me. I feel that the 11' model fits MUCH better with that "air" feel.
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Both the 13" and 11" are excellent if you need portability; the 13" has a larger screen and better battery life - it is a perfect machine should you wish to have only one computer. However, for uber-portability, the 11" is outstanding - and is a sharp, fast, powerful computer, too. You will get a day's work - six-eight hours - out of either, on the battery.

Handle said:
You must be one big sissy girl :D
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I have to say that I just love the witless tendency of some posters to equate idiotic - and patronising - adjectives with being female.

On computers, weight matters, especially when travelling; the MBA is superbly designed to be an utterly reliable, fast, powerful, workhorse for people who live life on the move.
 
Depends on your needs and budget.

The models have identical specs (stock models), except for screen size and battery longevity between charges.

13" also holds a bit higher price tag with the difference of a slightly bigger size (2") and 12hrs instead of 9hrs battery. 2" wider wouldn't be bulkier than the 11", beside the MacBook air was designed for portability, so I would choose the 13" size with the 256GB SSD over the 11", besides there's only $300 difference between the lowest and the highest MacBook Air Modes (from US Apple Store), considering the larger 128GB storage and longer battery (additional 3hrs).

If you're not in a hurry, you should wait for the 12" (will be fanless, and rumoured to have a retina display). I'm pretty confident that it will be fanless since Lenovo already released a fanless ultrabook, I'm a bit surprised that Apple didn't release such an ultrabook first.

I read reviews about the Yoga 3 Pro, and I'm not impressed regarding performance and design, but I'm sure that Apple won't disappoint regarding the performance.
 
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I've had both the 13" and 11" MacBook Air's (and coincidentally both Mid-2012 models) and I prefer using the 11". It's a smaller, more portable notebook and honestly I don't miss the larger screen at all. If you're buying it as a secondary computer it's a no brainer. If I was buying a 13" notebook, I'd go straight for the Retina Pro. I had one earlier this year and it was gorgeous. The price difference is worth it IMO.
 
aquilc said:
...
If you're not in a hurry, you should wait for the 12" (will be fanless, and rumoured to have a retina display). I'm pretty confident that it will be fanless since Lenovo already released a fanless ultrabook, ...
Click to expand...

The idea that Core M can be fanless turned out to be some over-eagerness in Intel's marketing department. Not only does the Yoga 3 have a fan, it gets loud, and performance still sucks:

http://ultrabooknews.com/2014/10/16...erformance-tests-reveal-throttling-fan-noise/

Wouldn't bet on a fanless MacBook for another few years still. Not even really sure why this would be attractive either.

If you're annoyed by fan noise from the current MacBook, it means you are stressing out the processor. Would you rather it be quiet but much slower?
 
I prefer the 13" especially with the additional vertical space due to 16:10 aspect ratio
 
I had an 11" up until October when I moved to a rMBP 13. I do love the rMBP but I do miss the small size and weight of the 11" Air. Since this is a supplement to your 15 rMBP, I'd get the 11 if I were you.
 
11". The MBA is all about portability. The 13" is too close in price, size and weight to the RMBP. Just got an 11" so I can edit in Lightroom away from my iMac. 13" was just a bit too big to take with me anywhere without thinking.
Would question the need for two laptops though. Is there a sweet spot you could hit so you could manage with one then maybe hook up to a display at home?
 
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