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Who will definitely not buy the new MBA if it really is 12 inches?

M

mellofello

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Original poster
Feb 1, 2011
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My work just recently gave us all hp elite book 12 inch laptop/tablet hybrids. I hate the size. I am having a really hard time being productive on the small screen. 1 inch does not seem like a big difference but let me tell you it is huge if you have bad eyesight, and need to type long form reports like I do.

Personally I wish they would go the other direction and do a super thin 14 inch laptop. For me that would be the perfect balance of portability/productivity.

Even if the new air is as thin as 2 sheets of paper, with a 4k retina display I will not buy it.

Who else needs at least 13 inches to be satisfied?
 
Well, the HP you were given probably has a 16:9 screen and the MacBook Air will have a 16:10 screen, so the format of the screen will be different.

Anyway, if you need the extra size, you can buy a 13-inch MacBook Pro with retina display. A thinner design would be desirable, but that would compromise battery life.

If you want a 14-inch thin and light laptop, perhaps you should take a look at the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It has a 14-inch screen and is very thin and light.
 
If it's retina and runs Windows, I'll buy one. If it doesn't BootCamp to Windows, no sale. Apple management seems lost these days. If it turns out to be some weird ARM contraption that runs Apple software only, I'll be disgusted, but in no way surprised.
 
What's wrong with a 12" MBA. I'd gladly buy one if it's close to the footprint of the 11". The borders need to go though. Oh, and retina too please!
 
I had a 12 inch iBook back in the day, and found it to have a large enough display for university duties. Although granted my eyesight has probably worsened since then!

Also, the OP might want to consider the phrasing of that last sentence...
 
mellofello said:
My work just recently gave us all hp elite book 12 inch laptop/tablet hybrids. I hate the size. I am having a really hard time being productive on the small screen. 1 inch does not seem like a big difference but let me tell you it is huge if you have bad eyesight, and need to type long form reports like I do.

Personally I wish they would go the other direction and do a super thin 14 inch laptop. For me that would be the perfect balance of portability/productivity.

Even if the new air is as thin as 2 sheets of paper, with a 4k retina display I will not buy it.

Who else needs at least 13 inches to be satisfied?
Click to expand...

13" is a small as I want to go. Having to scroll around way too muxch as it is. Hoping Apple will make it a 13 incher!
 
mellofello said:
My work just recently gave us all hp elite book 12 inch laptop/tablet hybrids. I hate the size. I am having a really hard time being productive on the small screen. 1 inch does not seem like a big difference but let me tell you it is huge if you have bad eyesight, and need to type long form reports like I do.

Personally I wish they would go the other direction and do a super thin 14 inch laptop. For me that would be the perfect balance of portability/productivity.

Even if the new air is as thin as 2 sheets of paper, with a 4k retina display I will not buy it.

Who else needs at least 13 inches to be satisfied?
Click to expand...

Are you old enough to remember the PowerBook g4 12"? Let's say for those that are it was the perfect size!!
 
I too would like a 14", not that anyone is saying that is going to happen. Going one inch in either direction from 13" is a compromise of portability and area. To me, a 12" wouldn't really achieve enough portability to justify the compromise, while a 13" seems cramped, 15" almost feels like a little more than I would need.

My wife wants a keyboard for taking notes with her iPad. I told her maybe she would rather have an 11" MBA as it would have similar portability. I don't know that I would say the same for a 12". When I say take notes, that's it, nothing more complicated, so portability is everything. That says 11" to me.
 
The current 11" MBA already has an 11.6" screen so a new 12" rMBA is going to be roughly the same size, particularly if they reduce the size the bevel. I use an iMac/Mac Pro as my main computer and an iPad with or without a keyboard as my mobile device. I would love to have one of the new 12" MBA's if it is retina. It would be a nice addition as a mobile device. It does not sound like it would be a very good one-device-to-do-it-all device unless your computing needs are modest.
 
driftless said:
I would love to have one of the new 12" MBA's if it is retina.
Click to expand...

+1

I'll be in the market for a new laptop this spring and I'm leaning toward a MacBook Air. A 12" with a retina display would be right up my alley.
 
I can see the logic behind the 12" screen. Maybe a bit bigger would be better - in the 12-1/4" to 12-1/2" screen. While the Air has certain advantages over the rMBP, the bottom line is the rMBP is still a light, portable 13" computer. Switching to one size for the Air makes a lot of sense.

Then again, I have a 13" Air and don't find it too big to be a portability issue. What if they stretched the screen out to the edges of the bevels and made it 14"? That would be awesome as well.
 
I would absolutely consider it but I have to see it first. I'm part of the 13" is perfect club. Although 12" no bezel may be attractive. I wasn't impressed with the early retina rMBP but the late 2013 and 2014 editions are great. So I think no matter what I would want to wait for 2016 for a retina Air.
 
I would have no interest in an Air with a smaller screen. I'm one of those forum users who is getting older and needs the screen and font size.
 
I would buy a 12 inch MBA. However only as private computer for traveling. Never as work machine because my eyes need a larger screen. For work I need a 15".

Unfortunately my work machine is completely locked down so I travel usually with the work machine and an ipad on short trips and with two notebooks on longer trips. In the latter case a 12" MBA would be nice.
 
TheRealDamager said:
I would have no interest in an Air with a smaller screen. I'm one of those forum users who is getting older and needs the screen and font size.
Click to expand...

Me and my eyes are getting older as well. Rapidly. But I tried a Surface pro 3 for a while with a 12" screen and high ppi (225?). I must say it was very good. Ofcourse everything is a bit smaller but very sharp and crisp. Less strain on the eyes. And very acceptable screen estate compared to the 13" mba I can use. I'm not a heavy user though, but do a lot of reading (e books) and some editing ( imovie), website building and Sketchup. A 12" with a high resolution screen would be great for me.
 
Apple is probably making a 12-inch Air, as is widely reported. Those who want a 13-inch laptop already have the retina Pro. I don't think Apple will make another 13-inch just to be slightly thinner. No; it will focus on something different, which will be the 12-inch Air.
 
Don't understand why they would get rid of the 13.3 air, its been one of their best selling laptops.

I'd prefer a 13.3 with a smaller bezel (and thus formfactor).

I'm glad I recently refreshed my 13.3 (highest specs), so it will last me for a while.

----------

They could even make it a 14" air. Same form factor, just reduce the bezel size.
 
14" for me

I'd very much like a 14" air more than anything else,

given that the 13" mbrp is a really nice size but still has a small amount of bezel to lose I hope they conjure up some magic and run with a 12"&14" form factor of choices

I've been in two minds for weeks between the rmbp 13/15" with the latter just edging it, but since the early rumours regarding the new tech I've held fast waiting to see what's coming.

Here's to hoping :)
 
how will those mobile broadwells compare to and i7 in a 2010 MBP?

i am currently considering to get a 12" MBA if its a bit more powerful than my MBP from mid 2010. are any benchmarks out yet on the new CPUs?
 
I prefer the 13" format and therefore I upgraded my Air this year, in case there will be no more Airs that size. I wouldn't say I'll never buy a 12", though. I'm not sure yet whether I'd go for a 12" Air or a 13" macbook.
 
drevilcn said:
how will those mobile broadwells compare to and i7 in a 2010 MBP?

i am currently considering to get a 12" MBA if its a bit more powerful than my MBP from mid 2010. are any benchmarks out yet on the new CPUs?
Click to expand...

The 15W Broadwells will perform marginally better than 15W Haswells. Maybe 5%. They're essentially the same design, just made with a different process that reduces power consumption, i.e., increases battery life.

If your MBP has an i5/i7 from 2010, then there have really only been some incremental improvements since then. A new laptop will not be twice as fast. But it will use much less power, which means it will run cooler and quieter and you'll get better battery life. And there might be some cases with your 2010 that it runs hot enough that you can't sustain full turbo boost, which isn't a problem with a Haswell or Broadwell. So I guess it might be substantially faster if you're stressing the processor for sustained periods of time.
 
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