This is why I choose the 13" over the 11"

[berkleeboy210]

I sold my 2010 11"MBA and got the 2011 13" MBA

 

[Fernandez21]

1. I want the lowest dpi. That's right, the lowest. I need the text to be as large as possible. I looked at both at the mac store but its hard to make a decision in 30 min. standing there. I'm 36 and even with glasses on, I would never be able to use the 27" imac. The mac store employees showed me the magnification feature which will be useful in a pinch but not ideal.

That doesnt make any sense, the higher the dpi, the EASIER it is to read text as the letters appear clearer and crisper. If its because of the size of the font on the screen, you can change that in the settings menu, or at least you can in windows (I dont have a mac yet)

 

[InfernoZeus]

That doesnt make any sense, the higher the dpi, the EASIER it is to read text as the letters appear clearer and crisper. If its because of the size of the font on the screen, you can change that in the settings menu, or at least you can in windows (I dont have a mac yet)

The crucial factor is what screen size the OS is set to. If you have a really high density screen, at a low resolution, it'll still seem clearer than a low density screen, at the same resolution.

 

[yakapo]

That doesnt make any sense, the higher the dpi, the EASIER it is to read text as the letters appear clearer and crisper. If its because of the size of the font on the screen, you can change that in the settings menu, or at least you can in windows (I dont have a mac yet)

That's just the issue... you can't change the global font size on a mac. I don't care how crisp it is. I just want it to be as large as possible. Today I went to the mac store and pulled up a stool in front of the 13" and 11". The fonts are a tiny bit bigger on the 13". For example when you pull up itunes the fonts are pretty small. On the calendar you can make the fonts bigger and you can easily make things bigger in safari. Check out this thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/352057/

 

[yakapo]

How about the 13" MBP? That's only 1280 pixels wide. But if you're sticking with the MBA 13 vs MBA 11 dilemma, then the 13 has lower DPI.



My opinion, NO. Bump up to 4. Especially since it's permanent. THere's no going back and deciding to upgrade later if your needs change.



No. When I bootcamped a barebones Win7 HP setup on my old MBA, I want to say it took up anywhere from 11 to 16GB before installing any apps. That's a significant chunk of a 64GB SSD.



Personal choice. I went with the 13 but got my wife an 11. I find the 11 surprisingly easy to work on for mundane tasks, but when I start doing any photo or video work I'm going to want the 13.

Thank you! I'm going with the 13".

 

[coolbreeze]

What Tom Bihn bag, if I may ask? (I probably know you from their forums if you're active there.)

Empire builder. Don't use any sleeves...just have my T400 in a neoprene case and the Air in a small padded case. Plenty of room.

As for their forums, I posted there years ago (can't remember my username) but haven't been back since.

 

[nvcplus]

the difference in weight is almost 25%-30%. thats substantial to me.

It is 19% actually. 20-30% sounds a lot larger out of context. But we are talking about OUNCES here.

Literally 2.38 compared to 2.96. Just over a half a pound more.

I have both 11 and 13. It is not that it is heavier in any way, really. Now if you want to talk about actual physical size, yes, it can be annoying in certain situations.

Still highly prefer the 13 though

 

[kis]

I spend about 12 hours on trains every week and for me, the decision was a no-brainer: I went with the 13" without ever considering the 11", TBH.

The bigger screen makes all the difference for me. I don't really want to go into the "higher pixel density" discussion as it's irrelevant for me - I simply don't like sitting in front of a tiny (IMO) 11" screen. For me, watching movies on a train is more relaxing on a bigger screen, and so is doing work on it.

13" have always been the minimum for me - I tried smaller (PC) notebooks but have come back to that form factor every time.

As fars as weight goes: it's heavier than an iPad, but it's not much heavier than an iPad + keyboard.

 

[nyererei]

I went with the 13" MBA for two reasons really.

1) Screen size: Working for long hours staring at a screen day in and day out, the 13 inch would be more easier on my eyes over the long run. I've used an HP netbook before with a 10.1 inch screen size and while extremely portable, the lack of screen real estate really dampened my experiences in certain programs.

2) Battery life. The stated 7 hrs (probably more like 5-6hrs real time) is enough to get me through a work day without the constant fear of having to find an outlet.

Aside from those two issues, I'd be happy with either MBA versions.

 

[Fernandez21]

That's just the issue... you can't change the global font size on a mac. I don't care how crisp it is. I just want it to be as large as possible. Today I went to the mac store and pulled up a stool in front of the 13" and 11". The fonts are a tiny bit bigger on the 13". For example when you pull up itunes the fonts are pretty small. On the calendar you can make the fonts bigger and you can easily make things bigger in safari. Check out this thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/352057/

Oh, wow, that sucks. I didn't know you couldn't that. In that case I take back my previous statement if the font size is too small for you. Amazing how a small feature like that is omitted from OSx.

 

[VMMan]

Coke vs Pepsi
Tastes better vs Less Filling
New Coke vs Coke [classic]
McDonald's vs Burger King
Thin or Thick Crust

All tough decisions and basically totally personal.

I didn't need another portable laptop or desktop since I use a MBP 17", so I opted for a more mobile MBA 11".

But, if I didn't have a MBP 17, then I would... hmmm... I still would have chosen the MBA 11" but probably also an iMac 27" perhaps.

I need 1 of each: phone, tablet, mobile laptop, desktop/big laptop