Should I Get the MacBook Air 11 inch or 13 inch?

What’s The Same Between the MacBook Air 11 inch and 13 inch? The Facts

• Both the 11″ and 13″ models are fast and responsive.
• Both sizes come with Apple’s latest operating system, OS X Lion.
• Both have high quality displays.
• Both have an ultra thin design.
• Both have fast flash storage (SSDs) instead of slow hard disks.
• Both the 13 and 11 inch Air’s can have up to 256GB flash storage.
• Both have stereo speakers and a FaceTime camera.
• Both come with WiFi and Bluetooth.
• Both include the new Thunderbolt port.
• Both sizes can be purchased with 4GB of RAM.
• Both the 11″ and 13″ can be bought with an upgrade to an i7 processor.

(Source: Apple’s MacBook Air Technical Specifications)

What’s Difference Between the 11 inch and 13 inch Mac Book Air? The Facts

• The 11″ is smaller. Smaller is always easier to move around.
• The 13″ has seven hours battery life, two hours more than the 11 inch.
• The 11″ is about half a pound lighter (270g).
• The 13″ has roughly a quarter more screen space and pixels.
• The 13″ has an SD card slot. The 11″ does not.

Do I Buy the 11 Inch or 13 Inch?

• “The simple life” - If you are just doing basic tasks – web, Skype, playing music and word processing, the 11 inch screen is big enough.
• “I love small” - If you want an ultraportable computer, get the 11 inch Air. I barely notice its weight in my backpack. It’s so unobtrusive and light, it’s easy to use anywhere – on the couch, in bed, playing DJ in the kitchen.
• “Calling creatives & techies” - If you want to do a lot of activities that benefit from more screen space - spreadsheets, illustration, PhotoShop, page layout, music production, video editing, web design, CAD, get the 13 inch.
• “Creatives & techies II” - If you’re happy to use an external screen for “serious work” then get the 11 inch, and stay ultra portable.
• “For the photo mad” - If you really want a built in SD card reader – handy for digital cameras – get the 13 inch model. (You could always get a $25 USB SD card reader for the 11 inch.)

Conclusions

The MacBook Air is the best laptop in the history of the planet. I really mean that. Both the 11 inch or 13 inch model are exceptionally beautiful and well engineered. If you’re about to buy your first “MBA” – be excited!

I love my 11 inch MacBook Air. I’ve done most of the web development and writing for my personal web sites on it, without an external screen. It’s so small and light, it’s no hassle to take it anywhere. I’ve been very, very surprised that I usually don’t feel cramped by the small screen. Especially when I’m used to using three large screens at work!

The new MacBook Airs come with Apple’s latest operating system, OS X Lion. All of Apple’s apps – Safari, iPhoto, Mail and more – have been updated with a full screen mode and hiding scrollbars. These features give as much of the screen as possible to what’s important – the content you’re looking at. Lion makes the small screen on the 11 inch MBA even more usable.

My personal perfect MacBook Air system is the 11 inch with a large-ish external monitor for serious creative work. That way I get the ultra portability and super lightness, but if I doing something that needs more screen space, I can just plug a monitorin. Monitors are cheap: I picked up a light and thin 23″ AOC full HD screen for $170, and it’s great! If you have the cash, Apple’s new ThunderBolt display is perfect.

If you feel cramped by the 11″ screen, and you want to plug in an external screen, get the 13 inch MacBook Air.

Even with all the information above, there’s no substitute for actually physically trying out the different sizes to see which one feels right. I recommend going to an Apple store, and trying both the 11″ and 13″ models. Browse the web, close the lid, pick them up, heft them. Get a feel for them. (Just don’t juggle…) Which one feels right for you? Only you know.

A couple of MacBook Air tips:

1. I really recommend buying a sleeve to protect your MacBook Air when you buy it. If you hit the case, the aluminium will dent.
2. You may be wondering whether the $100 to $150 to upgrade the standard i5 processor to the i7 is worth it. If you are see this MacBook Air i5 vs i7 article.