Video: 11-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Air Hands-On: What’s the Better Value?

October 20th, 2010 by Mark Spoonauer, LAPTOP Editor in Chief  

They’re a dynamic duo indeed. We just went hands-on with the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air and wanted to share our first impressions.

At 2.9 pounds, the 13-inch Air is about 1.5 pounds lighter than the MacBook Pro with the same size display and it comes with a higher-resolution 1440 x 900 display.The 11-inch Air weighs just 2.3 pounds and goes with 1366 x 768 pixels. Both models measure from 0.16 to .68 inches, which is very svelte.  You now get a glass trackpad for gestures and you still have a full-size keyboard, but it’s not backlit. Bummer. The good news is that both Airs offered strong tactile feedback when typing given their thin profiles, and because of the way Apple utilized flash memory, both ultraportables wake instantly and offer up to 30 days of standby time.

On the ports front, both Airs have two USB ports, up from one for the original 13-inch version, along with a DisplayPort and headphone and mic jacks. Too bad only the 13-inch version has an SD Card slot. Still, there’s something pretty amazing about just how light the 11-inch MacBook Air is. 2.3 pounds is lighter than many 10-inch netbooks, and yet it feels so much more durable.

We conducted a test FaceTime call on the 13-inch Air with someone else using an iPod touch, and the video looked pretty smooth on both ends. And when he turned his touch into landscape mode, the video window re-oriented itself on our Air. Pretty neat. We see Air owners getting a lot of use out of this feature.

So what about specs? The $999 11-inch MacBook Air packs a 1.4-GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, Nvidia 320M graphics, and a 64GB SSD. That’s not a lot of storage, but at least you get instant-on capabilities. To be clear, the machine doesn’t boot instantly. It just means that the Airs resume from sleep instantly, which is critical for people who do a lot of work on the go. Expect up to 5 hours of battery life. If you spend $200 more you get a 128GB SSD, but at that point we think it would just make sense to get the $1,299 13-inch Air, which comes with 128GB standard.

The 13-inch MacBook Air shares most of the same specs with its smaller 11-inch brother but features a 1.86-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and 128GB SSD.  If you drop $1,599 you can step up to 256GB of flash memory. Apple rates this machine for 7 hours of battery life, which is very good for a 13-inch notebook with Nvidia graphics.

So which Air is the better deal? We think a lot of people who like the idea of netbook-like portability but full PC power will gravitate towards the 11-inch Air. We wish it had an SD Card slot, but 5 hours of juice is pretty darn good for a machine that weighs 2.3 pounds and has both Nvidia graphics and a Core 2 Duo processor. The 13-inch Air is pricier, but you get a higher-res screen, SD Card slot, and a faster CPU in a design that still weighs less than 3 pounds.

It all comes down to what you’re looking for. Which Air looks better to you?

11.6-inch MacBook Air

13.3-inch MacBook Air

Comments (6 Responses) 

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6 Responses to “Video: 11-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Air Hands-On: What’s the Better Value?”

  1. mugsy pinckrton Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    Well aren’t they cute? But what’s being offered here really? Your better off just getting a normal 13 inch.macbook pro.It’s still more powerful. Has more storage. Almost the same features except for the SSD which you can put in later if Apple will let you? It’s also only $1,199.00 as opposed to $1,299.00 for the Air. Other than the slim factor and instant on feature it is not even remotely a better deal then the 13 inch macbook pro. Facetime is an app which will be available on it later anyway. So the question to ask yourself is? Light, pretty, and more money, or normal more
    powerful and less money. The choice is yours.

  2. maurizio Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    why isn’t anybody explicitly saying how ridiculous it is that Apple advertises the 30 days standby time?
    is that a feature? next time, they’ll claim the macbook pro can stay charged for YEARS if you hibernate it??

    moreover, how much better are those Core2 Duo CPU than the most modern Atom (dual core, or even the D525 which I know is not intended for laptop)? aren’t they only moderately faster?

    the real thing is that these new Airs are just SO BEAUTIFUL that anybody would want one just for the pleasure to look at it! is it a shame? :)

  3. Jose Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    So after 3 years of ridiculing and bashing netbools, Apple’s big idea is: (drumrolls) A less poweful but smaller computer, but with a twist, as it is more expensive than its MacBook brethren ;)

  4. John Smith Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    The real problem is that Steve has the nerve to sell CPUs that are next to the dumpster in the back of the Apple warehouse, they are at the very least two years old and as we all know worst then the last (older) MacBook Air CPUs. Not only does it not have an i3 (CPU) (which by the way is energy efficient) but Sandy Bridge due Next quarter! Adding Insult to injury not only does he sell outdated inferior technology but he charges 1000-1500 dollars for it.

  5. Ed Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 11:31 pm

    @maurizio – Actually those Core 2 Duos are significantly faster than the Atom–up to three times faster. And the graphics performance is light years better (any netbook with the standard Intel integrated graphics chip struggles with HD video). The more apt comparison are the last generation $600-700 thin and lights (Asus UL20, Acer Timelines AS1810). Those until recently had dual core Pentiums or Core 2 Duos but have recently been refreshed with the low clock speed i3 processors. So, you are still paying the Apple premium, but these are significantly more powerful than netbooks.

  6. Austin Says:
    October 22nd, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    no backlit keyboard is a real bummer,i always look into apple’s models mainly bcoz of their backlit keyboard and removing it is senseless that too in an ultraportable where it finds its use more than in normal laptops moreover there is no way you can upgrade ram and ssd later once you pick it up :(

    also this really ridiculous to still have 2gb ram and core2duo processor for 1299$ in year 2010.
    macbook pro 13 is way worth more than this.its only 1.5pound heavier and way more powerful.
    the only thing going for MBA ‘s is their super design and cool looks and may be undersized ssd

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