Apple MacBook Air 11-Inch

The Apple MacBook Air 11 - inch ( $ 1,099 as tested ) is an ultraportable laptop in the purest sense of the term . It is very compact, with all- day battery life , and is very easy to pour into a travel bag , if your commute is an hour or eight . The MacBook Air 11 - inch has fewer rivals including Windows 8 Ultrabooks equipment . The larger counterpart, the Editors ' - Choice - winning Apple MacBook Air 13 - Inch ( 2014 ) , is still a better bet because of its larger screen , much better battery life , and better ergonomics ( for relatively the same price ) . But if you're willing to give up some common features in return for ultimate portability, the MacBook Air 11 - inch is a good choice as your everyday companion traveling .


design
Put MacBook Air 11 - inch last year by the models now , and what the differences are reflected in their exteriors ? Nothing . As I said recently , its design does not need to change . The new iterations have the same sturdy aluminum construction , the same one - piece multitouch trackpad , and the same 11.6 - inch , 1366 -by - 768 , LED - backlit display . The difference between the two occurs primarily under the aluminum skin , and ultimately the impact on your wallet , because the newer model is $ 100 cheaper .

The smaller MacBook Air measures a slim 7.56 by 8.11 by 0.68 inches ( HWD ) . This means that you can turn the laptop on airplane tray tables in coach , and be assured that the top of the screen does not catch the back seat if the person in front of you suddenly reclines their seat . Hybrid convertible laptops like the Dell XPS 11 and Sony VAIO Flip 11 have the same dimensions . The MacBook Air 11 - inch weighs 2.31 ​​pounds , lighter than the Windows 8 convertible laptop , but not by much .

You can find two USB 3.0 ports , a headset jack , and a Thunderbolt port , but no HDMI port , Ethernet jack , or SD card reader . If you need the last three , you have to take the third - party external adapters you . Another minor gripe is the short travel keyboard and the keyboard deck . While typing is more comfortable than a virtual keyboard or a keyboard case with a tablet like the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 , it is still more comfortable than the wider keyboard and palm rest fuller larger Keystroke laptop like Apple MacBook Air 13 - inch .

Features
There is not much room in the chassis , which tapers from 0.65 inch at its widest point to 0.11 inch at its front edge . Apple engineers still manage to Cram 1/4 - generation Intel Core i5 - 4260U processor , 4GB of memory , and 256GB Flash Storage PCIe ( similar to a solid - state drive [ SSD ] to other laptop ) . Dual microphones and 720p HD system front facing camera work well enough for extended sessions FaceTime .

Compared with 128GB of flash storage in the base configuration of the MacBook Air 11 - inch , the 256GB in our review unit provides a lot more room for future growth , including a $ 200 higher price tag . I think it's worth it , because it is difficult for many users to upgrade later. While the standard 4GB of memory in our review unit is fine for those with iLife ( iTunes , iPhoto , iBooks ) and iWork ( Pages , Keynote , Numbers ) apps , you may want a heavy Photoshop users to opt to upgrade to 8GB before they bought the system , as RAM upgrades are impossible later. The MacBook Air 11 - inch has a one-year warranty and 90 days of technical support phone - based . Technical support Apple Store will continue , as long as you have a valid warranty , and the same may be extended by AppleCare for up to three years for $ 249 altogether .