MBAir 11" from 2015 worth it? Vs 12" retired MacBook?

[ozone]

I have a few business trips coming up, and I need to go as light as possible. So, sacrificing a bit of performance for compactness is an acceptable tradeoff. I was initially thinking of picking up one of the current UMPCs (GPD Pocket 2, GPD MicroPC) but realized that the small screen would probably be more frustrating than its worth when trying to edit documents, etc.

I used to have an MBAir 11" from 2011 but the battery was failing, and even after swapping out the battery, it was never as good, plus the keyboard was getting mushy and tired from so much use. I passed it onto someone else. It was my favourite go-to computer though... so I thought, hmmm, what if I revisit the smallest Apple has (or had) instead of a Windows UMPC?

There are some decently spec'd MBAir 11" from 2015 (i5, 8 GB ram, 512 SSD) that would run me about $1300 Cdn (after tax, shipping, duty, etc.). But that's an almost 5 year old machine now.

Or I could go for a refurbished 12" discontinued MacBook for $1800 (after tax) that is much more current but would cost me a good $500 more. I'm a little concerned about the single USB-C port (hello redundancy? but I guess there haven't really been any reported issues).

Would either a revamped 11" MBAir or a just discontinued 12" MacBook be truly worth it? Or any other suggestions?

 

[Shirasaki]

For me the determine factor here is whether one USB-C port is enough for business trip need. Having only one port can sometimes mean being able to recharge while using USB devices or need to wait until battery is decent enough. It’s really until those moments where you realise having additional port is so much more valuable.

Another key factor is the performance. Despite MacBook 12” being much newer, it does not have regular Core i series processor inside. This means even regular word processing could be challenging, and fanless design might cause thermal issues sometimes and you have to find some way to improve it. Apple is notorious for designing a very underwhelming thermals on all computers.

I admit, this is a tough call, but if I had to choose, I would pick 11” Air for better performance and most importantly, one dedicated charging port and two USB-A ports. Even in 2019, you would still encounter way more USB-A device than USB-C device. Oh yeah, one less dongle to carry around, reducing the travel weight by a tiny bit.

 

[Macdctr]

I have a few business trips coming up, and I need to go as light as possible. So, sacrificing a bit of performance for compactness is an acceptable tradeoff.

For my business trips, I used to travel with my 2012 13inch i7 16GB MBP then went to the 2015 13inch i7 8GB MBA but found I wanted something lighter so I recently found a 2015 11inch i7 8GB MBA which has become my go-to laptop. I love the two USB-A ports and a seperate magsafe charging port.

I used to have an MBAir 11" from 2011 but the battery was failing, and even after swapping out the battery, it was never as good, plus the keyboard was getting mushy and tired from so much use. I passed it onto someone else. It was my favourite go-to computer though... so I thought, hmmm, what if I revisit the smallest Apple has (or had) instead of a Windows UMPC?

There are some decently spec'd MBAir 11" from 2015 (i5, 8 GB ram, 512 SSD) that would run me about $1300 Cdn (after tax, shipping, duty, etc.). But that's an almost 5 year old machine now.

If a retina display is not crucial to have and you can find a spec'd 11-inch Air then I say get at least a 2013 to 2015 11inch Air. You can get an NVMe M.2 drive for it with a Sintech adapter for much more storage and should last for quite some time.

Or I could go for a refurbished 12" discontinued MacBook for $1800 (after tax) that is much more current but would cost me a good $500 more. I'm a little concerned about the single USB-C port (hello redundancy? but I guess there haven't really been any reported issues).

Would either a revamped 11" MBAir or a just discontinued 12" MacBook be truly worth it? Or any other suggestions?

I prefer the 11inch Air because of the proven keyboard, additional ports and you can still change out the storage drive for something much bigger if you want. If you know what you're looking for, you can also score a killer price for a used 11inch Air. I got my spec'd i7 11inch Air for $380 on eBay and used what I had available (spare Samsung 970PRO 500GB NVMe M.2 drive and Sintech adapter) to upgrade the 128GB storage that the laptop came with.

Here is one on eBay I just found for example titled "Apple MacBook Air 2015 13" Laptop - MJVE2LL/A Core i5 1.6GHz 8GB 256GB SSD" which ends in 15 minutes and is currently priced relatively low...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacB...173987&hash=item469c171716:g:3P0AAOSwjBRdZWFi

 

[ozone]

For me the determine factor here is whether one USB-C port is enough for business trip need. Having only one port can sometimes mean being able to recharge while using USB devices or need to wait until battery is decent enough. It’s really until those moments where you realise having additional port is so much more valuable.

Another key factor is the performance. Despite MacBook 12” being much newer, it does not have regular Core i series processor inside. This means even regular word processing could be challenging, and fanless design might cause thermal issues sometimes and you have to find some way to improve it. Apple is notorious for designing a very underwhelming thermals on all computers.

I admit, this is a tough call, but if I had to choose, I would pick 11” Air for better performance and most importantly, one dedicated charging port and two USB-A ports. Even in 2019, you would still encounter way more USB-A device than USB-C device. Oh yeah, one less dongle to carry around, reducing the travel weight by a tiny bit.

Thanks. There are i5 and i7 refurbished MacBooks. I'm assuming these would perform much better. Of course, they're still pricey. I'm not sure I want to pay $2000 Cdn for something I would only use occasionally.

I also thought of something like an Acer Spin 1: carry around a Windows machine! I'm not adverse to it; I'm just not sure a low end Acer is a better proposition than an older Mac.
[doublepost=1567738943][/doublepost]

For my business trips, I used to travel with my 2012 13inch i7 16GB MBP then went to the 2015 13inch i7 8GB MBA but found I wanted something lighter so I recently found a 2015 11inch i7 8GB MBA which has become my go-to laptop. I love the two USB-A ports and a seperate magsafe charging port.



If a retina display is not crucial to have and you can find a spec'd 11-inch Air then I say get at least a 2013 to 2015 11inch Air. You can get an NVMe M.2 drive for it with a Sintech adapter for much more storage and should last for quite some time.



I prefer the 11inch Air because of the proven keyboard, additional ports and you can still change out the storage drive for something much bigger if you want. If you know what you're looking for, you can also score a killer price for a used 11inch Air. I got my spec'd i7 11inch Air for $380 on eBay and used what I had available (spare Samsung 970PRO 500GB NVMe M.2 drive and Sintech adapter) to upgrade the 128GB storage that the laptop came with.

Here is one on eBay I just found for example titled "Apple MacBook Air 2015 13" Laptop - MJVE2LL/A Core i5 1.6GHz 8GB 256GB SSD" which ends in 15 minutes and is currently priced relatively low...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacB...173987&hash=item469c171716:g:3P0AAOSwjBRdZWFi

Thanks. Nice perspective. Yes, I really loved my MBAir 11". I wish Apple had made a direct replacement for it...

 

[Shirasaki]

Thanks. There are i5 and i7 refurbished MacBooks. I'm assuming these would perform much better. Of course, they're still pricey. I'm not sure I want to pay $2000 Cdn for something I would only use occasionally.

I also thought of something like an Acer Spin 1: carry around a Windows machine! I'm not adverse to it; I'm just not sure a low end Acer is a better proposition than an older Mac.
[doublepost=1567738943][/doublepost]

Thanks. Nice perspective. Yes, I really loved my MBAir 11". I wish Apple had made a direct replacement for it...

For a equivalent portable windows laptop, I would choose a device that costs $700 or a bit more to maintain a good quality and performance.

NowAdays the entire tech world is completely stuck in this “port less wireless” “future”, and they are trying to persuade people “wireless is better than wire in every way”. Sigh.

 

[ozone]

For a equivalent portable windows laptop, I would choose a device that costs $700 or a bit more to maintain a good quality and performance.

NowAdays the entire tech world is completely stuck in this “port less wireless” “future”, and they are trying to persuade people “wireless is better than wire in every way”. Sigh.

The $700 mark seems reasonable, and that was roughly my initial range too. I saw the Acer Spin 1 and surprisingly, it had semi-decent reviews (and by this I mean not awful reviews). I fear that once used for a few trips, it will never get used much again. On the other hand, I suspect any new ultralight MB I get will get used a lot more.

I'm actually typing this on a 12" Google Chromebook. Great little machine, and frankly, what I think Apple should have put out a while back. Why not take this instead? I find Chrome OS to be good 80% of the time, but the other 20% just frustrating. Certain things just don't seem to work, or else do not work the way you want them to. I recall on a short trip last year I had to push out a short journal manuscript to submit, and it was a hassle working with Chrome OS to produce a format ready MS Word document. If only Chrome OS did just a little more...

 

[Shirasaki]

The $700 mark seems reasonable, and that was roughly my initial range too. I saw the Acer Spin 1 and surprisingly, it had semi-decent reviews (and by this I mean not awful reviews). I fear that once used for a few trips, it will never get used much again. On the other hand, I suspect any new ultralight MB I get will get used a lot more.

I'm actually typing this on a 12" Google Chromebook. Great little machine, and frankly, what I think Apple should have put out a while back. Why not take this instead? I find Chrome OS to be good 80% of the time, but the other 20% just frustrating. Certain things just don't seem to work, or else do not work the way you want them to. I recall on a short trip last year I had to push out a short journal manuscript to submit, and it was a hassle working with Chrome OS to produce a format ready MS Word document. If only Chrome OS did just a little more...

Based on what you have described, you might also think about a machine that can do a bit more than what you want it to do. Windows laptop can be powerful and versatile, but earlier MacBook (2012-2015) generally has decent support (easier to repair) and lasts longer. MacBook’s (2017 edition) keyboard is also horrible.

 

[ozone]

Based on what you have described, you might also think about a machine that can do a bit more than what you want it to do. Windows laptop can be powerful and versatile, but earlier MacBook (2012-2015) generally has decent support (easier to repair) and lasts longer. MacBook’s (2017 edition) keyboard is also horrible.

Thanks... any suggestions on what other super light machines might fit the bill?

 

[mj_]

You do realize that the 11" MacBook Air is actually quite a bit larger and heavier than the 12" MacBook, right?

11" MacBook Air: 2.38 lbs @ 30 x 19.2 x 0.3-1.7 cm
12" MacBook: 2.03 lbs @ 28.04 19.66 0.36-1.32 cm

It's a brilliant little machine if you travel a lot. Except for the utterly abysmal keyboard. That one is a total clusterf***.

 

[ozone]

You do realize that the 11" MacBook Air is actually quite a bit larger and heavier than the 12" MacBook, right?

11" MacBook Air: 2.38 lbs @ 30 x 19.2 x 0.3-1.7 cm
12" MacBook: 2.03 lbs @ 28.04 19.66 0.36-1.32 cm

It's a brilliant little machine if you travel a lot. Except for the utterly abysmal keyboard. That one is a total clusterf***.

Yes, and that's why I was asking between the two. However, given the keyboard and the single USB-C port, and the fact that sometimes I have to do "real" work on the go (lots of typing, moving between documents), I will give up a small bit of portability if it will ease significant frustration.

 

[mj_]

The 12" MacBook does give you quite a bit more screen real estate than the 11" since you can run it in Looks like 1440x900, which is the same resolution the 13" MacBook Air had. The 11" is limited to 1366x768, aka roughly 20% less. And the single USB-C port never really bothered me but then again I rarely ever plug anything in anyway. As always, YMMV.

And I feel I need to clarify my statement about the keyboard. I absolutely love typing on this keyboard. Once you get used to the shallow feel and adjust your muscle memory to reduce the force when hitting the keys it is pure bliss, and I am blazingly fast. The clusterf*** I was referring to is in regards to the keyboard's reliability. Apple never fully managed to get this keyboard design fixed, and even the latest 2018 and 2019 iterations continue to fail albeit at a lower rate. That said the MacBooks seem to be more reliable than the MacBook Pros, quite possibly because they tend to run much cooler. You don't really hear too many complaints about the MacBook's keyboard whereas MacBook Pros are failing left and right faster than Apple can fix them. I went through four keyboard replacements in the last 2.5 years, three within eight months of owning my 2016 MacBook Pro 13" caused by excessive heat (aka sticky keys) and one on my 2017 MacBook caused by the legendary, the one and only "speck of dust" (aka jammed Butterfly mechanism) that I have now owned for slightly over 1.5 years.

Long story short: if you can live with that single USB-C port and don't mind the haptics of Apple's Butterfly keyboard than the MacBook is the right choice. No need to pay extra for the i5 and i7 on the 2017 models as the performance difference between the m3 and those two is negligible.

 

[ozone]

The 12" MacBook does give you quite a bit more screen real estate than the 11" since you can run it in Looks like 1440x900, which is the same resolution the 13" MacBook Air had. The 11" is limited to 1366x768, aka roughly 20% less. And the single USB-C port never really bothered me but then again I rarely ever plug anything in anyway. As always, YMMV.

And I feel I need to clarify my statement about the keyboard. I absolutely love typing on this keyboard. Once you get used to the shallow feel and adjust your muscle memory to reduce the force when hitting the keys it is pure bliss, and I am blazingly fast. The clusterf*** I was referring to is in regards to the keyboard's reliability. Apple never fully managed to get this keyboard design fixed, and even the latest 2018 and 2019 iterations continue to fail albeit at a lower rate. That said the MacBooks seem to be more reliable than the MacBook Pros, quite possibly because they tend to run much cooler. You don't really hear too many complaints about the MacBook's keyboard whereas MacBook Pros are failing left and right faster than Apple can fix them. I went through four keyboard replacements in the last 2.5 years, three within eight months of owning my 2016 MacBook Pro 13" caused by excessive heat (aka sticky keys) and one on my 2017 MacBook caused by the legendary, the one and only "speck of dust" (aka jammed Butterfly mechanism) that I have now owned for slightly over 1.5 years.

Long story short: if you can live with that single USB-C port and don't mind the haptics of Apple's Butterfly keyboard than the MacBook is the right choice. No need to pay extra for the i5 and i7 on the 2017 models as the performance difference between the m3 and those two is negligible.

Thanks. I actually have a 2016 MBPro 15"... it's my main workhorse at home but 85% of the time, it's connected to a keyboard and monitor, so I have an idea of the keyboard performance. It hasn't failed me yet, but I find the typing experience on it less than stellar. I really, really, really wish Apple had a mid-sized desktop form factor... but that's another story...

As I said in my original post, the 11" MBAir was my all time favourite travel computer, but I finally had to retire it due to failing battery, mushy keys, etc. It's tempting to get another one, but it is an older machine now.

Well, maybe I'll rethink the viability of a 12" MB. I just wish I could get it - even a refurbished one - for cheaper.

 

[Shirasaki]

Thanks... any suggestions on what other super light machines might fit the bill?

Uhh, maybe Surface Pro? An older one. Other than that, I don’t know much else. Sorry for that.

 

[AustinIllini]

OP, I would go with the air. For one thing, it has the third gen butterfly keyboard where all the 12" have the older models.

 

[ozone]

Uhh, maybe Surface Pro? An older one. Other than that, I don’t know much else. Sorry for that.

No worries.... I looked hard and long at the Surface but decided it was not for me.
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OP, I would go with the air. For one thing, it has the third gen butterfly keyboard where all the 12" have the older models.

I assume you're referring to the new 13" MBAir model.