The 11" MacBook Air as a Primary Computer? Probably Not.

I acquired an 11" MacBook Air shortly after its release a couple months ago. It has a 1.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2 GB of RAM and a 128 GB flash drive. Though I've not tweeted much about it, every time I do, I get questions about its performance, especially from a design and development perspective.

So, a month ago, I spent a full day working on the 11" Air connected to a 23" Samsung display, just to test its performance. Mind you, however, that this is not how I intended to use it.

I've had a long history of swapping a dedicated desktop machine (usually an iMac) for a laptop (usually a MacBook Pro) and vice-versa. When I made the return to self-employment in a home office more than a year ago, I chose to work exclusively on a desktop machine as I knew I wouldn't be mobile often. This is my current setup, and I've been very pleased with it. So much, in fact, that I gave my 13" MacBook Pro to the wife to use as her primary computer.

The dilemma this creates, however, is that I have no laptop when traveling for speaking engagements, vacation, and the like. So, when I've spoken in the past year, I've used an old black 13" MacBook that sits in the home, used mostly by my sons as their computer. But at nearly 4 years old, it's not suitable for much more than email and web browsing.

iPad isn't really an option for travel, either. Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I've ranted endlessly about my distaste for typing anything on iPad. The on-screen keyboard isn't a pleasant experience for me, and while a Bluetooth keyboard makes things a little more pleasant, it's not ideal to pack one every time I travel. And Keynote on iPad? Don't even bother if you're hoping for slides that have anything more than a black background and type set in Helvetica.

In the end, I ended up justifying the purchase of a MacBook Air as a means of creating a partition between work and home. The 27" iMac is my dedicated work machine, and the 11" MacBook Air is now the computer I use after-hours (and when traveling, of course). This means I can keep the office door in my home shut when I "leave" work and not have to return for any personal computing needs.

With this rather lengthy preface in mind, following are some highlights from spending a day with the Air, as well as some general observations.

Weight

The weight difference between the 13" MacBook and 11" Air is astounding. For fun, I threw each laptop on my shipping scale:

The 13" MacBook Pro (left) weighs in at 4 pounds 7 ounces, while the 11" Air (right) weighs in at just 2 pounds 5 ounces — nearly half the weight of the 13" Pro. It's like lifting a 20-pound dumbbell after having exercised with a 40-pound one. If carrying a laptop is part of your work routine, you'll appreciate the Air's minimal weight.

Construction

The MacBook Air is industrial design at its best. Open, it's a sleek, powerful machine. Closed, it's a thing of beauty.

However, I have just two complaints about the makeup of its hardware and outer shell. One, the keyboard isn't lit. I didn't realize how important this feature is when using it in bed or in dim light. I had been spoiled by the 13" MacBook Pro and didn't even realize it until now.

Second, the power and DVI outputs are on opposite sides. This is an issue if you plan on using it with a cradle, such as the Twelve South BookArc:

It simply means you'll have cords coming from both the front and back if the Air sits to the side of your display. On the other hand, if it's lying flat behind or underneath your display, it's less of an issue.

Software

Here's what I've installed on my Air:

Adium
Adobe Photoshop CS4
Adobe Illustrator CS4
Alfred
BBEdit
Droplr
Dropbox
Final Cut Express
iWork '09
Logic Express
Skype
VMWare Fusion, including Windows 7 (for browser testing)
Various browsers (Firefox 4, Chrome 8, Opera 10.6, Safari 5)

I opted for the 128 GB flash drive. I'm glad I did. With everything above added to the existing OS, there's only 66 GB of space remaining. Another 22 GB are consumed by my Dropbox files stored locally. Your software list and storage capacity will vary depending on how you intend to use the computer.

Speaking of flash — or Flash with a capital 'F', that is — I don't have Flash installed in any of the browsers. I consider it a chance to put Steve Jobs' parade against Flash to the test. So far, the only major challenge this has created is watching and uploading video.

Performance

So, how did it hold up during my full-day test? Fairly well. I did a fair amount of work in Photoshop, some light previewing and editing 1080p HD video in Quicktime, and a little code in BBEdit.

However, it's no Mac Pro. There's a subtle but noticeable lag for many actions in Photoshop compared to the same on my 27" iMac. Additionally, the Air struggles to play back 1080p HD video in Quicktime (local files, not streaming). There are noticeable skips and pauses. These issues concern me when evaluating the Air as a suitable replacement to a workhorse computer used by a designer, developer, or even film/sound editor. (Partly to blame may be the 23 inches of screen space it was powering while doing these activities.)

Additionally, startup time on my Air is about 14 seconds. Knowing Mac OS X, this will grow over time to 20 seconds or more as its file system is manipulated. I was expecting a much faster startup time out of the box.

Versus iPad

As the size and weight of the Air approach that of the iPad, it's not unfair to ask how the two compare. (The iPad weighs 1 pound 8 ounces, by the way.) Sure, Mac OS and iOS are two totally difference user experiences, as are gesture and trackpad/keyboard input. But if the Air had 3G connectivity, my iPad might fall completely dormant. Or be relegated as a gaming device for my sons (it's halfway there already).

The Verdict

I'll conclude by answering the question asked most often in the replies to my tweets about the Air: Can the 11" MacBook Air serve as a primary computer? I'm not yet convinced it can. I consider it to be passable for the daily rigors of design, development, and editing work, but only marginally. I could be convinced otherwise, though, with more than a single day of testing. (The more powerful 13" 1.86GHz model might perform better, but I doubt by much.)

But I remind you this is not why I purchased my Air. As a compact, lightweight laptop for emailing, browsing, doing projects in Pages and Keynote, and the occasional overtime work, it performs beautifully. In this regard, I couldn't be happier with it.