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11" or 13"

11" or 13"

  • 11"

    Votes: 88 48.6%

  • 13"

    Votes: 93 51.4%
  • Total voters
    181
ghsDUDE

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
I'm having a massive debate inside...I first wanted an iPad for on the go but I decided to go for an Air.

All these new bumps are awesome and I'm debating between 2.

High End 11 or Low end 13

Only $100 difference...and that's not an issue.

The 11" is more portable and has better viewing Angels (from what I've read)

But the 13" has a larger trackpad, 1.7 GHZ, longer battery, and supposed worse viewing angles?

I sit in front of my laptop (don't look from the side or anything) but just want to make sure the 13" is nice to look at.

Help me! :D

Vote and tell me why - You hold the power!

EDIT - I'm going 11! :D
 
Last edited:
R

rayyu882

macrumors member
Jan 18, 2010
95
3
11" for me. I already have a 13" MBP which it is too big and heavy for my travel use.
 
Jobsian

Jobsian

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2009
853
98
It depends on your use.

If you are truly going to be carrying the thing around, even around the house I find the 11" absolutely delightful and hands down the best notebook created. Noticeably lighter, so practical. I have recommended the 11" Air to most people I know. I think there was a thread about it here but from memory most of those that used both the 11" and the 13" ended up preferring the 11".

But it's all about needs as well. If you need to push the CPU a lot or you need extra battery eg frequent long flights, then 13" is the one to go for.

You can't go wrong either way :)
 
Starfyre

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
Nov 7, 2010
2,905
1,136
If this were the previous generation macbook air, then 13'' is more likely due to availability of higher specced processors. Since the 13'' and 11'' have the same CPU and disk space options and only different is battery....

11'' makes more sense to me for portability.
 
deadlystriker

deadlystriker

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2011
221
299
Ultimate 11" is a no brainer if you have a cinema display, or even better, plan to get the new thunderbolt display.

If it will be your sole computer, 13".
 
M

mac jones

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2006
3,257
2
I've had both, and used both for quite a while.

I like the 11", but that's just me.

It's a toss up in the end though.

I like to use it in bed and on the couch on my lap, and the 11" is very good for this (obviously).

They are both very nice, but some people have problems with the 11" i hear.

Don't know why, seems more than fine for me.

Note: I tried the 13" MBP and it was terrible for me. The resolution with this version is too low for this day and age. They need to upgrade it.
 
ghsDUDE

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
Jobsian said:
It depends on your use.

If you are truly going to be carrying the thing around, even around the house I find the 11" absolutely delightful and hands down the best notebook created. Noticeably lighter, so practical. I have recommended the 11" Air to most people I know. I think there was a thread about it here but from memory most of those that used both the 11" and the 13" ended up preferring the 11".

But it's all about needs as well. If you need to push the CPU a lot or you need extra battery eg frequent long flights, then 13" is the one to go for.

You can't go wrong either way :)
Click to expand...

These new ones are 2.5 lbs....were they that light before? I thought they were 3.5lbs.
 
ghsDUDE

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
Starfyre said:
The previous 11 incher was:
2.3 pounds (1.06 kg)

So the new ones are slightly heavier.
Click to expand...
Their 2.38 exact...so probably around the same.

I was saying 2.5 because that's their average lol
 
ghsDUDE

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
I read the battery life is down to 4:45 when it was 5:15 last year...the 13" is around 6:15...

Is the $100 worth it?!
 
D

DaveOZ

macrumors 6502
May 13, 2008
398
317
I couldn't decide when they first came out so I ended up with both.

After a month or so I gave the 11" to my mum and kept the 13".

1. Screen - the 11" is great and almost worked for me but there are a couple of Windows applications that I use in VM Fusion that did not fit on the screen. This became very annoying.

2. SD slot. I use it a lot. I have now taken to syncing all my docs on a 16GB SD card which I keep in my wallet. This means I use the slot on my Air a lot to keep it synced with my work Mac. It's amazing how fast the SD card is for this and how convenient it is to carry. Using a USB reader is just too much of a pain for me.

These are the only two reasons for me. Other than that the 11" is a very capable computer ........ I might even buy a new one. ;)
 
Last edited:
S

shurcooL

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
950
142
If you're gonna use it just for media consumption and some light document writing, 11" is fine.

If you wanna get some serious work done, I'd recommend 13". Bigger screen, much higher resolution, it's more comfortable to work in for longer time.
 
S

shurcooL

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
950
142
DaveOZ said:
2. SD slot. I use it a lot. I have now taken to syncing all my docs on a 16GB SD card which I keep in my wallet. This means I use the slot on my Air a lot to keep it synced with my work Mac. It's amazing how fast the SD card is for this and how convenient it is to carry. Using a USB reader is just too much of a pain for me.
Click to expand...
I used to do that too, until I discovered this. :)
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,311
8,326
I switched to the 11" earlier this year and won't look back. It's a great form factor.

Note that the 1.7GHz i5 in the 13" turbo boosts to 2.7GHz (vs 2.3GHz for the 1.6GHz in the 11"), so the 13" does have a nicer base processor. However, if you opt for the Core i7, you get the same one in the 11" as you do in the 13".
 
B

bp1000

macrumors 65832
Jul 7, 2011
1,502
249
Great poll, 35 a piece at the time of posting this.

I would image the 11" is an awesome laptop for school and college/university users, perfect even.

For the business user like myself i will be on it for 12 - 14 hours a day so the bigger screen and palm rests come in handy, in contrast to being on and off it during lectures/lessons.

So depends how mobile you are.

If i'm not in the office i'm in a hotel or another office or on trains/planes so the 13" is a great inbetween as the 15" MBP is too big.

Both are awesome and hit the spot perfectly and this poll shows that, so far.
 
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