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11 vs 13 macbook air

11 vs 13 mba

  • 11

    Votes: 370 48.6%

  • 13

    Votes: 391 51.4%
  • Total voters
    761
Roman2K~ said:
13" for me :D.

While still within the return period of my base 13", I decided to try out the 11" in order not to have any regrets later. I have always eyed it ever since the first model came out: I love the idea of having a fully capable computer in such a small, gorgeous-looking package.

Playing with it in the Apple Store wasn't enough to get a good feel for the screen size and resolution in my daily use, and obviously, doesn't give any indication regarding actual battery life during that use.

Like everybody says in forums and reviews, the 11" is amazingly small (and cute), powerful, sturdy, has a comfortable full-sized keyboard and almost full-sized trackpad. It definitely lived up to all my expectations. It breathes perfection.

But... I prefer the 13" for two reasons:

1. Battery life: (tested on an i7 / 4 GB / 256 GB) Starting from 78% of remaining charge out of the box, it lasted almost 3 hours of web browsing, HTML5 and Flash videos, 720p videos. Playing a low-bandwidth (3.5 mbps) 720p video in VLC over Wi-Fi, a full charge would last 3h57, while playing a high-bandwidth one (10 mbps), it would last only 2h50. In the same tests, the 13" lasts about one more hour.

2. Screen resolution: The size is fine, though I keep wishing they would expand the screen over the currently large bezel. The 16:9 aspect ratio is perfect for me: movies and TV shows expand over whole area (that's why 11" is fine). The pixel density is not as impressive as in the 13" (even though it's higher) simply because there are less pixels in total. Videos are not as sharp, text and images are more pixelated since they're rendered with less pixels. Also, text is just that little bit too small. After using the 11" for 3 hours, I went back to the 13" and the screen felt huge in comparison (in a good way). The bigger screen surface felt liberating, and text and images were crisper. That was the deciding factor.

I could live with the shorter battery life. The screen size is enough given the 16:9 aspect ratio. It came down to the difference in screen resolutions. Both the 11" and 13" feel equally as comfortable to carry, move around and use on my lap. As a consequence, the lower screen resolution, while impressive for a computer that size, is a compromise that I can't justify making. Though I could definitely use the 11" as my main computer, the 13" being better in the two areas listed above, it's the one I'm going to keep :cool:.
Click to expand...

Having said all that, it appears that you settled on an MBA 11 (as per your signature). :)
 
Looks like they've both got some pretty strong appeal, according to the poll results :).

My personal opinion is that they're both great. Speaking strictly of form factor and not speed (as they're both impressively fast), the 13" makes a great small stand alone laptop and the 11" makes a great tablet/netbook replacement, especially for space conserving road warriors.
 
Boe11 said:
Looks like they've both got some pretty strong appeal, according to the poll results :).

My personal opinion is that they're both great. Speaking strictly of form factor and not speed (as they're both impressively fast), the 13" makes a great small stand alone laptop and the 11" makes a great tablet/netbook replacement, especially for space conserving road warriors.
Click to expand...

i forgot about this old poll i posted.
 
BlackMax said:
Utter rubbish and non-sense. I use mine all the time at work for everything from web browsing (the screen is perfectly fine and I actually prefer the 16x9 format) to network device management (Cisco routers, switches, etc.) to network vulnerability scans using Nessus and a load of other InfoSec tools.

If the 11" doesn't work for you... That is YOU. It works great for me and I'm guessing 1000s of others. ;)
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He's making observations on something he has never owned, to justify what he has purchased;)
 
it seems that the thin form factor is coming to larger screen sizes, do you think this will decrease the popularity of the 11 inch air? will people prefer a larger screen with the thinner factor.
 
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Congrats on the 13" air. I made the switch last year from an ancient 2007 15 pro. It's still running fine, but it's really hard going back to it.

I would love a 15" air for screen size, but will most likely get a tb display to satisfy my fading eyesight.
 
I got the 13". My iPad takes care of all my day to day portability needs. The 13" goes with me on trips of more than one-two nights, and then I like to have a bit more screen to work with. For my needs, the 13" is still very portable due to light weight.
 
Should be getting my 13" MBA either Friday or Saturday.

I chose the 13" since it will be my primary laptop for college. I do a lot of writing and research, so the extra screen real estate is much needed and the extra battery life greatly appreciated.
 
Just made the switch from an 11in (after 6 months of use) to a 13in.

This thing is friggin ginormous! :eek:
 
entatlrg said:
^ Are you happy with the switch from 11 to 13"?
Click to expand...
Not sure yet... It's really, really, really big lol. And at half screen dimness and 1 bar backlit keyboard (and 4 applications open - Safari, Twitter, Wunderlist, and iChat), 90% battery life tells me I have 2 hours and 39 minutes left :confused:

Probably go back to the 11in when the 2012s get released. My relative wants to take this off my hands anyway and she preferred the 13in.

EDIT- Batteries been dropping 3-4% every 5 minutes *sigh*
 
Last edited:
I started with an 11.6" had it a day or so and then swapped it for the 13. The 11.6 at the time I found awkwardly small for browsing. The 13 I loved, especially the better speaker.

Now though I've got a new i5 11, and much prefer it. I'll have it in a bag a lot of days over my shoulder and the weight is considerably less distracting than the 13. Now, with double tap to zoom, browsing is much better too. As far as I'm concerned it's perfect.
 
tim100 said:
it seems that the thin form factor is coming to larger screen sizes, do you think this will decrease the popularity of the 11 inch air? will people prefer a larger screen with the thinner factor.
Click to expand...

Not really with the 11, but many who need bigger screens but want something lightweight, will go with the 15.6" when they would have gone with the 13 Air before. The 11 is just in a different league, size and weight wise.
 
Hands Sandon said:
I think he was saying he prefers the 13 and that an Air with a backlit keyboard is a must, which I agree with too, even if the speakers aren't as clear as a result.
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I had a couple of the 2011 models, and I did notice that the sound quality was quite variable. Particularly on the 13", I had two that sounded brilliant, and one that was absolutely dreadful, worse-than-an-iPhone-speaker dreadful.
 
NutsNGum said:
I had a couple of the 2011 models, and I did notice that the sound quality was quite variable. Particularly on the 13", I had two that sounded brilliant, and one that was absolutely dreadful, worse-than-an-iPhone-speaker dreadful.
Click to expand...

Did you go to the Apple Store and mention it? They may have replaced them for you, you never know. It's kind of hard to deny that there's something wrong if you have both of them sitting next to eachother playing the same track.
 
I saw someone at school with an 11" MBA and man was it tiny!
Barely bigger than an iPad.
To me, the 13" is the sweet spot for portability and power.
However, if I had more $ I would probably sell my MBA and get an ultimate 27" iMac for home use and a new iPad for portable use.
 
east85 said:
Did you go to the Apple Store and mention it? They may have replaced them for you, you never know. It's kind of hard to deny that there's something wrong if you have both of them sitting next to eachother playing the same track.
Click to expand...

Yes, I returned the bad one, but I ended up returning the other due to the size of the ssd and got the 256GB. I've since sold that and gotten a 17" Pro. I'll look at the smaller ones when they get refreshed again, though.
 
NutsNGum said:
Yes, I returned the bad one, but I ended up returning the other due to the size of the ssd and got the 256GB. I've since sold that and gotten a 17" Pro. I'll look at the smaller ones when they get refreshed again, though.
Click to expand...

I guess I've been lucky. They've all worked fine. Even the 11 I have now I only occasionally feel limited by the volume level, however I'm not using it for music listening.
 
NutsNGum said:
I love the 11", I really want a new one. I'd love to see an IPS screen upgrade of some sort.
Click to expand...


That would be a plus, but I'm worried that by the time the 11 and 13 Airs get a retina display with IPS, they'll have one of these texture simulation flat screens keyboards (like the new iPad was rumoured to get). I could be wrong, but I think with my terrible typing skills, things would only get worse, plus I think I'd just find it overly tactile.

A simulated camera button on an iPhone though, that I'd like.
 
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