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I know I'm in the minority but I really wish they had kept the 11' Macbook Air, it had a wonderful compact form factor, super light but could still pack a mean

I know I'm in the minority but I really wish they had kept the 11' Macbook Air, it had a wonderful compact form factor, super light but could still pack a mean punch as you put an i7 in it. I know the Macbook is meant to fit that slot, but it's just way too underpowered/expensive. My 2014 MBA 11 with an i7 and 8GB is neck to neck performance-wise with the current Macbook, so what's the point of upgrading. I would even consider the 13 MBA if they offered an i7 configuration. It feels like that was purposefully omitted in order to push buyers towards the Pro. I hope that both the macbook and new Airs take a similar trajectory to the original Airs. The first iterations (2008-10) were quite weak performance-wise, it was more about Apple planting a flag and saying "this is what the future laptop will look at" and iterating under the hood till they reached it. After buying a pro and returning it, then seriously eye'ing the new airs, I've fallen back to...buying a new battery for my old 11 Air.

bredren 8y ago
I went from a fully loaded 2015 11” to the new 13. The new one is a big step up—but I also wish the 11 was still an option. I had two generations of 11” prior to the 2015, so I am definitely in your camp. One thing worth noting was that price / performance / portability peaked in the 2015” 11” air and has not come close since. So you are right to hold up this model. The thing is I think we are going to see a very powerful ARM based MacBook that will be a real successor to the 2015 11”. So I’m treating the new mba as a holdover until then.
- retromario 8y ago
  In what ways is your new 13 a big step up? Performance? Battery? Screen? I know that with the smaller bezel it's overall more compact than an older 13, but it's still bigger and heavier. Let's hope that new Macbook arrives next year...
  - bredren 8y ago
    Performance, bigtime. The benchmarks don't do the change justice. It is a lot bigger and heavier than the 11" and there is no getting around it except get used to it. But for the speed, touch Id and keyboard it is worth it. If a superior ARM macbook is released next year i'll probably sell this though.

bredren 8y ago

I went from a fully loaded 2015 11” to the new 13. The new one is a big step up—but I also wish the 11 was still an option. I had two generations of 11” prior to the 2015, so I am definitely in your camp. One thing worth noting was that price / performance / portability peaked in the 2015” 11” air and has not come close since. So you are right to hold up this model. The thing is I think we are going to see a very powerful ARM based MacBook that will be a real successor to the 2015 11”. So I’m treating the new mba as a holdover until then.

retromario 8y ago
In what ways is your new 13 a big step up? Performance? Battery? Screen? I know that with the smaller bezel it's overall more compact than an older 13, but it's still bigger and heavier. Let's hope that new Macbook arrives next year...
- bredren 8y ago
  Performance, bigtime. The benchmarks don't do the change justice. It is a lot bigger and heavier than the 11" and there is no getting around it except get used to it. But for the speed, touch Id and keyboard it is worth it. If a superior ARM macbook is released next year i'll probably sell this though.