Since Apple finally fixed the MacBook Air’s keyboard, anyone else wishing they brought back the smaller form factor ala the MacBook Air 11 inch or the MacBook adorable with the better keyboard?
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MBA 11" was great. It fit into a Peak Design DSLR sling that was designed to have space for a regular sized iPad, along with the iPad as well. Without the enormous bezel it would be even smaller. The present day 13" is not much bigger.
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My vote for the 12” MacBook “cute”
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probably going to be the first ARM macbook 
(I hope)
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I still use my 2011 11” MBA regularly if I’m not at the iMac and want to type more than a couple sentences — the iPad keyboard promotes typos. I loved the device then and I would love it now. I probably wouldn’t buy a new MacBook Air, but I’d be sorely tested.
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I liked the one we had, but we bought it as an experiment, and it only has minimum specs. Seems pretty useless now, but with appropriate upgrades (including Retina display) it would be nice for travel. Sadly, today’s “better keyboards” are not as good as the ones Apple used back then.
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I’m betting on the 12" cute/adorable coming back as ARM (Late this year? Next year? rumors, rumors). I still like mine but don’t use it much.
Still more of my money going to Apple if/when that comes out. Even though the screen would be smaller than my iPad Pro.
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I’d sign this petition (although the 12" PowerBook was my favorite laptop of all time!)
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I’d buy a 15” version of it…i like my 13” but wouldn’t mind a bit more real estate. Super tempted by the 16” MBP but don’t need that much power from my laptop (or cost). How about a bigger Air!!!
I loved my 11" MBA. I traveled a ton by plane and this thing made it so much easier. I’d love to see it upgraded.
I’m still using my 11 inch MacBook Air I purchased in November 2013!
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I think an 11” MBA would overlap too much with Apple’s gradual slide to a touchscreen laptop, namely the new iPad. I mean, look at it, it’s a $1500 laptop you buy in pieces. Maybe it will run macOS one day, or some hybrid touchOS.
This is what Jobs called ergonomically terrible, but now can have the touchpad as a workaround.
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The 11" MacBook Air would certainly come back as a 12" or maybe 12.5" Look:
There is room for about 13" once that bezel gets slimmed down.
IMHO the only real shortcoming the 11" had was the small, low-res screen.
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I have one of those - a forced purchase as an insurance replacement when my beloved 11" MacBook Air lost an encounter with a cup of tea. Apart from the brilliant screen I absolutely HATE it. The keyboard is horrible, the form-factor makes it too deep to use on many aircraft seat-tables (and train seat-tables too, in some cases), it’s desperately slow, the physical connectivity (or lack of it) makes it a nightmare to connect to anything, it has no Thunderbolt connectivity at all, and it was outrageously over-priced. The worst Mac I’ve ever had or used - one that has made me seriously consider my long-term commitment to Apple kit. I can’t wait to get rid of mine!
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Agreed. I found the form factor was absolutely perfect - a tiny laptop that could do the work of a much larger machine, adequate power, just about adequate connectivity - a great all-round laptop that was as portable as an iPad. With a larger, Retina, display it would be unbeatable as a traveller’s computer.
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Are we talking about the first Macbook Airs (around 2012)? One the best computers I’ve ever had! (Together with the 2006 - I believe - 13" Macbook). Still using it and hoping not having to upgrade any time soon. Great size, great hardware! Would definitely buy it again (with retina display). The current Macbook Air is useless, if I ever had to buy a new one it would have to be a Macbook Pro. I have no interest in touch-screen, hybrid things, iPad and iPhone are necessarily evils for simple tasks on the road, anything else gets done on a “normal” computer.
To be exact, the 11" MacBook Airs were produced from 2010 through 2016, with updates 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Same keyboard (but later models backlit) and display but all other innards improved over the years.
However the 11" MacBook Air along with the larger 13" model are more accurately a second generation MacBook Air. The first one (13") came out in 2008, revised late 2008 and again in 2009. It was very expensive if you wanted one with a 64GB SSD, it was $2798) and widely considered as the computer for the executive (in other words, someone that only wants one for show!)
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I did a calculation and it is, by a small amount. Doing a cheat and measuring resolution on the diagonal, It was 1366x768 for 11.6" diagonal, 135 pixels/inch.
The 13" MBA was1440x900 for 13.3" diagonal, 128 pixels/inch.
These were actually higher than the MacBook and MacBook Pro of the era – 1280x800 resolution in the 13", and 1440x900 on the 15". But the 15" had a high-res option at 1680x1050, 129 ppi (still not more), and the 17" was 1920x1200, 133 ppi.
Not enough to make up for the smaller screen area. It was still crowded. And the 768 vertical pixels really hurt when trying to view lots of text.
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Still use my 2013 MB Air.
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I just bought a used MB Air 11" for my kid to use for our pandemic-induced home school. It’s built like a tank, MagSafe has already proven itself irreplaceable, and having standard ports on the side make for fewer trips to Dongletown for dad.
I have a hard time with the non-retina display, but he doesn’t notice that at all. Hopefully it will last a few years until he more capable of taking care of nice things!
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