The2023AppleMacBookAir11inch($899astested)isall aboutbeingultraportable.Thisyear’smodelhasasmallCPU updatecomparedtolastyear’s.However,whilethe2015 AppleMacBookAir13-inch,whichwonEditors’Choice,is designedtoappealtoawiderrangeofusers,the11inch ultraportablemakesafewsacrificestobecomeeventhinner andlighter.Evenso,itsIntelCorei5processormakesitfly throughtasksthatwouldslowdownasystemwithanIntel CoreMprocessor.Thisisontopofits11.5-hourbatterylife. The11inchMacBookAirisagreatlaptopforcommuters, andyoushouldconsideritifyou’realwaysonthego.
IftheMacBookAir11inch’sall-aluminumexteriorlooks familiar,that’sbecausethedesignhasn’tchangedmuchsince 2010.Itis7.5incheslongand11.8incheswide,anditgets thinnerfromthebacktothefront,from0.68inchesto0.11 inches.Thelaptopweighs2.38pounds,whichisjustalittle bitheavierthanthemodelfromlastyear(2.31pounds).It’s smallerandlighterthanotherultraportablesliketheAsus ZenbookUX305FA-ASM1andtheHPEliteBookFolio1020, eventhoughthosetwoarethinner.
Thenew12-inchMacBookclaimstobethethinnestApple laptop,butitgivesupI/Oportstomakeitthinner.Notethat theMacBookAir11inch’sIntelCorei5processorneedsafan
tostaycool,whiletheIntelCoreMprocessorsinthethinner laptopslistedabovedon’tneedactivecooling.
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TheMacBookAirfromlastyearstillhasthesameports.On theleftsideisaheadsetjack,twomicrophones,aMagSafe2 powerjack,andaUSB3.0port.OntherightisaThunderbolt 2portandanotherUSB3.0port.That’snotalot,butit’sstill alotmorethantheMacBook,whichonlyhasoneUSB-Cport. TheAsusX305FAandtheHPFolio1020,ontheotherhand, havelargersidepanelsthatgivethemmoreports.ForHDMI andotherdisplayconnectors,you’llneedanadaptercable, butmini-DisplayPortmonitorsworkfinewiththe Thunderboltport.Built-in802.11acWi-FiandBluetooth4.0 makewirelessconnectionspossible.
Aswiththe13-inchmodel,the11inchMacBookAir’sbacklit chiclet-stylekeyboardfeelsgreat,andtheglass-covered trackpadworkswellwithmultitouchgestures.Thetrackpad doesn’thavetheForce-ClickfeaturethattheMacBookand AppleMacBookPro13-inchdo,andmostthird-partyapps stilldon’tsupportthatfeature.AswithallMaclaptops,the Airdoesn’thaveatouchscreen.However,sinceOSXdoesn’t supporttouchgestures,thisisn’tabigdeal.
TheMacBookAir11inchMacBookAir’s1,366-by-768resolutionscreenisitsbiggestflaw.Thescreenisbrightand easytoread,butitlookssmallcomparedtotheRetina DisplayontheMacBookoranynumberofWindowslaptops with1080porhigher-resolutionscreens,liketheAsus
ZenbookUX305FA.Evenso,someultraportables,likethe LenovoThinkPadYoga11e,stillhavescreenswith1,366-by768resolution.