Apple Macbook Air 11 inch 2011-07 MC969D/A
Specifications
Price comparison
Average of 10 scores (from 14 reviews)
Reviews for the Apple Macbook Air 11 inch 2011-07 MC969D/A
Netbook? No thanks. The smallest and cheapest notebook that Apple currently has to offer is called the MacBook Air 11. It weighs in at less than a kilogram and is just 1.7 cm at its thickest point. On the outside: an aluminium unibody case. On the inside: a Sandy Bridge CPU which along with the SSD delivers superior performance.
Source: Computing
Archive.org versionA very good laptop, uprated with the latest Intel processors, and also Apple's 10Gbit/s Thunderbolt connectivity. There are few Thunderbolt-enabled devices around, but expect more in 2012. The lack of USB 3.0 connectivity is a point against the MacBook Air and the price could cause a sharp increase in blood pressure.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Reg Hardware
Archive.org versionWhen's all said and done, to my surprise – my expectations being set by years of Mean Santa withholding features – it's an absolutely outstanding piece of kit. Design and execution are so professional that it's the sort of review where you start with 100 per cent, and knock off the odd one here and there. The overall experience is superb, and while the smallest Apple MacBook Air comes at a cost, it is a real advance in user expectations of how much a computer should weigh and what it should do.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/19/2011
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Gadgetmix
Archive.org versionSeeking a lighter, sleeker, more attractive business laptop? The Macbook Air was never quite powerful enough to fill that niche. Until now. Apple has transformed its dizzy eye-candy into a serious machine. Overall the 2011 Macbook Air is quick and efficient, it’s smaller, lighter, and though not a lot quieter, it’s a magnificent upgrade from last year’s version.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/17/2011
Source: CNet
Archive.org versionWhen the new 13-inch MacBook Air arrived on our messy desks, we were blown away by its razor-thin good looks and equally impressed by its powerful interiors. Apple's latest iteration of the 11-inch MacBook air packs excellent performance inside a razor-thin body. Its high price and sparse port selection means it won't appeal to everyone though.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/04/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: AnandTech
Archive.org versionIf you're buying the high-end ($1199) 11-inch MacBook Air and care about performance, the 1.8GHz CPU upgrade is worth it. You shouldn't expect any real impact on battery life in normal use but you'll see a noticeable gain in performance across the board. Subjectively the CPU upgrade does make the system snappier, easily faster than the base 13-inch MacBook Air.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/01/2011
Source: Electricpig
Archive.org versionOver the years we’ve tirelessly sought after the ultimate marriage of portability and power. Apple’s first MacBook Air was just too weedy and too expensive. Asus never quite managed to deliver with its low price, tiny Eee PCs, in truth because Intel’s Atom processors were just a false economy. MSI’s X-Slim range were as flimsy as they were thin.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 100%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Business & IT - 1/12
Comparison, , Length Unknown, Date: 01/01/2012
Rating: features: 80% ergonomy: 100%
Source: Connect - 1/12
Single Review, , Medium, Date: 12/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 80% features: 80% ergonomy: 100%
Source: Notebookcheck
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/25/2011
Rating: Total score: 88% performance: 79% display: 75% mobility: 92% workmanship: 72% ergonomy: 87% emissions: 92%
Source: Chip.de
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/08/2011
Rating: Total score: 77% price: 68% performance: 72% features: 64% display: 94% mobility: 81% ergonomy: 86%
Source: Computerbild - 18/11
Single Review, , Medium, Date: 08/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 87% performance: 96% features: 85% display: 88% ergonomy: 85% emissions: 85%
Source: SFT - 3/11
Comparison, , Length Unknown, Date: 02/01/2011
Rating: Total score: 96%
Source: c't - 3/12
battery runtime very good, office performance good, 3D gaming performance bad, display satisfying, noise emissions very bad
Comparison, , Long, Date: 02/01/2012
Source: Tom's Hardware
high performance, good workmanship, high noise and heat emissions, only two USB 2.0
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 09/29/2011
Comment
Series: The original MacBook Air, “the world’s thinnest notebook” was introduced at the 2008 keynote by Apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs. Key advantages are thinness, durability, high quality display especially the input device when compare with other netbook at the time. However, it was also heavily criticized for lack of Optical Disc, only one USB port, not user-removable battery among other things. At that time, nobody knows that these disadvantages of the MacBook Air series would be the pinnacle of Intel’s concept for next generation notebooks which will be the newest trend for 2012.
In 2011, Apple has introduced the latest update of the MacBook Air Series, with Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge Series, which doubling the performance. Major advantages of the 2011 MacBook Air in our reviews are the light weight, outstanding, unrivalled design and robust build quality thanks to the aluminum case, very good backlit keyboard plus glass track pad, as well as a very good performance for a subnotebook. The 2011 MacBook Air still shares some of the original’s disadvantages like limited ports, heavily reflective display, non-upgradeable memory and non-user-removable battery. Still, the MacBook Air outclasses almost every other Ultrabook out there with its advantage, save only for Samsung’s newest Series 9 model. On average, the review-ratings are very good, which always assure a place in the top 3 Subnotebook of Notebookcheck.
Rumor has it that Apple will introduce the new MacBook Air within a month during Apple’s usual WWDC with Retina-display, USB 3.0 and Ivy-bridge processor, so stay tune for the newest update of the most popular Ultrabook from the tech giant in Cupertino.
Intel HD Graphics 3000: Integrated graphics card in the Intel Sandy Bridge processors (Core ix-2xxx). The HD 3000 is the faster (internally GT2 called) version with 12 Execution Units (EUs).
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
2467M: Power saving ULV processor clocked at 1.6-2.3 GHz due to Turbo boost. Offers an integrated HD 3000 clocked at slow 350 / 1150 MHz and a DDR3-1333 memory controller.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
11.60":
This is a standard display format for tablet computers or small convertibles. You see more on the screen than on a smartphone but you can't use big resolutions well. On the other hand, mobility is not a problem.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Apple: Apple is a US company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company is known for its innovative products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and manufactures computers and consumer electronics as well as operating systems and application software. Apple is also a leading provider of software and services such as the App Store, iTunes and iCloud.
Apple has earned a reputation as a company that focuses on design and ease of use. As for their notebooks, they are mostly in the high-priced segment, have their own operating system, but also run Windows on the newer Macbooks.
Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world and has a loyal following of customers and fans. The company also has a strong presence in the entertainment industry, with services like Apple Music and Apple TV+. In 2023, Apple had an approximate 8% market share of global PC sales, ranking it 4th after Lenovo, HP, and Dell.
86.6%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
