Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
you’re able to forgive Steve Jobs for a number of hyperbole when he ’s on microscope stage enclose new product to an hearing of thousands of mass keep up along via a alive TV stream and innumerable liveblogs . “ It ’s like nothing we ’ve ever created before , ” Jobs said when introducing the new MacBook Air . “ We think it ’s the future of notebook . ”
Job is certainly numb - on when he suggests that the future of notebooks is in ever - slimmer , light laptop computer featuring flash repositing . But is the new MacBook Air like nothing Apple has created before ? Not really . The 13.3 - inch model is basically an improved rendering of the previous MacBook Air ( ) , albeit at a better price .
The newfangled 11.6 - inch MacBook Air , on the other hand , is the smallest and lightest Apple laptop of all time , and its base price of $ 999 tie it with the charge plate MacBook ( ) as the cheapest Mac laptop available . I ’m not sure I ’d call it unlike anything Apple ’s make before — it ’s got all the stylings of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines , but is lilliputian like the fabled 12 - inch PowerBook of old — but it might be the most novel new Mac free since the Intel Mac era began .
Keyboard and trackpad of the 11-inch (left) and 13-inch MacBook Air.
Common bonds
The 11 - inch and 13 - in MacBook Air models have a lot in usual . They keep their display in a unbending aluminium shell with an Al bezel around a direct - backlit glistening screen door . ( Unlike the MacBook Pro modeling , which have a exclusive slab of chalk across the total front of the display , the MacBook Air continue to boast an ultra - sparse looking glass layer located behind the bezel . In my experience , displays with this feeler are less prone to do public eye than screen such as those on the MacBook Pro models . ) Like every other Mac laptop computer , there ’s a tiny Webcam located immediately above the exhibit . ( In some military press material Apple refers to this photographic camera , once call iSight , as a “ FaceTime camera , ” though in System Preferences it ’s still telephone an iSight . )
The show objet d’art of the laptop is extremely thin , but the aluminum shell think of it ’s somewhat rigid . Certainly it does n’t feel fragile or flimsy . And a new hinge design mean you’re able to now unfold the display at a wide-cut angle than old Airs .
The bottom half makes up the mass of the laptop computer , and this is where Apple definitely made some changes liken to early MacBook Airs . The sr. Airs had curved edge all around , a selection that forced the design of a drop - down doorway to discover the laptop ’s earpiece , showing , and USB ports . These new Airs have savorless sides and a more or less curved bottom . The result is that when you pick one up , it feels a bit chunkier than the older model , even though it ’s really not .
By trading off that magic of extra thinness , Apple get to dump the cliff - down door and station ports right on the sides of the laptops . On the left side , there ’s a MagSafe connection , USB 2.0 port wine , earphone jack , and a built - in microphone . On the right wing , there ’s a Mini DisplayPort , another USB 2.0 larboard , and ( on the 13 - inch model only ) an SD card slot .
The 2d USB port address one of the previous Air models ’ major shortcomings : its individual USB port could get crowded in a rushing , especially if you postulate to execute a task with two disjoined USB devices at once and forgot to bring a hub along . ( In addition to the continued deficiency of FireWire financial backing on these exemplar , they also uphold to lack an Ethernet port . Apple does offer a $ 29USB Ethernet Adapterif you need to get on a wired web . And of course of instruction , the Air does n’t add up with any optic driving force . )
These little laptops can drive large presentation via that Mini DisplayPort , at resolutions up to 2560 by 1600 — intend they ’ll even drive Apple’s27 - in run Cinema Display . ( The Apple display ’s let in MagSafe and Mini DisplayPort cableswillstretch to reach those embrasure , which are posit on opposite sides of the MacBook Air — but just just . ) Both modelling are tug by a nVidia GeForce 320 M artwork processor ( the same one used in the 13 - in MacBook Pro ) , and it ’s a nice step up from the nVidia GeForce 9400 used in previous Airs ; the new modelling showed off much improved graphics carrying into action compare to their predecessors .
Keyboard and trackpad of the 11-inch (left) and 13-inch MacBook Air.
One nice touch for drug user promote from a past MacBook Air model : if you ’ve got a set of iPhone - compatible headphones with an inline microphone and remote , this generation of Airs will countenance you utilise that mic for audio stimulus , and you may even use the button(s ) for verify euphony playback .
Though many minor laptops in the PC humanity feature shrunken - down keyboards that deviant from the standard keyboard layout in unpleasant ways , Apple has pass up to compromise on this full point — even on the 11 - inch MacBook Air . Both model sport the same full - sized keyboard that Apple uses in all its other laptops , not to note its USB and wireless external keyboards . The only real difference is on the top quarrel of keys : they ’re short than on the other keyboards , and the powerfulness button now appears as the rightmost key in that wrangle . Typing on the keyboard feel exactly as it does on all those other keyboard , too ; the sparsity of the Air does n’t think there ’s any less key travel . If you care typecast on a MacBook keyboard ( or Apple ’s outside keyboard ) , you ’ll like typing on the MacBook Air .
Keyboard and trackpad of the 11 - inch ( depart ) and 13 - column inch MacBook Air .
One place where this new Seth of MacBooks retrogress from the previous generation : keyboard backlighting is gone . I never consider keyboard backlighting an essential feature — I do sleep with where all the keys are . Like heated seats in a motorcar , it ’s a lineament that was occasionally useful and feel mistily luxuriant , and I ’ll leave out it . Also endure are the sleep light source and the infrared port .
On the positive side , though , the Airs have finally inherit the same glass - trackpad technology that was added to the MacBook Pro two years ago . It expect , feels , and works just like you ’d have a bun in the oven . Though the Air is only .11 inch thick at the same border that contains the trackpad , the trackpad still depresses with a satisfying click . ( The trackpad on the 11 - inch model is more or less less tall , but otherwise the two trackpads are identical . )
in the end , one of the feeble feature of the MacBook Air was its single mono speaker system stuck under the right side of the keyboard . Good news , everyone : The new Air has stereo verbaliser nestled under the left and right sides of the keyboard . They ’re never choke to deliver the goods any award , but they sound vastly dear than the old model .
Flash storage, for sure
The original MacBook Air was the first Mac system to be sold with a flash - computer storage drive as an optional part , and in these raw modelsallstorage takes billet on twinkling store . In typeface you ’re not familiar with the construct , flash computer memory is a hard - driving replacement that stores data on get computer memory chips ( just like the iPhone , iPad and all iPods except the classic ) instead of on spinning platter ( like most of the computers out there today ) .
Flash storage has several advantages over punishing drive . They be given to be faster than severe drives , especially at reading data . ( Though carrying into action can alter wide , the flash warehousing on these unexampled MacBook Air model was way quicker than the poky 4200 - revolutions per minute hard drive on the prior generation of MacBook Air . ) Because they ’ve fetch no moving contribution , there ’s niggling risk that drop your laptop computer will make physical impairment to swank reposition — a real concern when it come to a spinning hard drive . flash bulb - depot drive can apply less power , extending battery life . They are tacit . And despite the awesome miniaturisation that ’s drop dead on in the severe - drive securities industry , flashbulb storage takes up a whole lot less space than a hard drive . ( At least , it does if it has n’t been insert into a traditional hard - driving enclosure — a backward - compatibility trick Apple had to do with the previous version of the Air , but has avoided with this revision . )
There are also some disadvantage to flash storage . It ’s more expensive than traditional hard drives , though prices are fall quickly . There are also questions about ongoing carrying into action of flash memory board — depending on the type of flash storage you employ , you could see that after several calendar month of heavy use it ’s dramatically slower than it was when you grease one’s palms it .
In any event , if you get a raw MacBook Air you ’ll be getting it with flash lamp storage . Because of the expense of solid - state of matter engineering science , the disk capacities for these system are much lower than they ’d be in a grownup system with a spinning hard drive . The $ 999 alkali - manakin 11 - column inch MacBook Air is the most extreme of these : it arrive with 64 GB of flash storage . ( It ’s a $ 200 upgrade to move up to 128 GB . ) The 13 - in model fall in 128 GB and 256 GB instant - storage configurations .
At 128 GB and sure enough at 256 G , you ’ll find the MacBook Air ’s storage space perfectly acceptable , especially if you ’re only using these systems as a junior-grade computer . ( If you ’re planning on editing HD telecasting on them , I suspect the lack of memory space will be no more of a job than the tiresome clock upper of the Core 2 Duo processor . ) The 64 GB model , on the other hand , will be a tight fit . you could do it , but you ’ll need to carefully nibble which apps you want to install and make good use of file servers , or just adopt shuttling files on and off it via a syncing service such as Dropbox . Also , I ’d suggest you keep your euphony collection on a server or just use the music in that iPod or iPhone in your pocket , rather than load gravid culture medium Indian file on such a tiny drive .
The 13-inch model
The young 13 - inch MacBook Air is n’t a radical exit from the premature - generation Air , which was itself a astonishingly thin and light laptop compare to Apple ’s other MacBook and MacBook Pro model . The fresh Air is almost imperceptibly thinner ( 0.05 inch thinner at its thinnest point , 0.08 inch thin at its blockheaded ) , has exactly the same breadth and depth , and weighs just 40 grams ( 1.4 ounce ) less . The keyboard ’s the same , and while the glass trackpad is new , it takes up the same space as the old Air ’s trackpad - and - button combo .
Beyond the physical change to the example , the extra USB interface , and the upgraded video central processing unit , perhaps the biggest ironware change to the 13 - column inch Air from the previous good example is the silver screen itself : the old example was 1280 by 800 pixels , while the raw one is 1440 by 900 pel — all in the same forcible blank space . The solution is that everything looks a picayune bit smaller , but you ’ve set about more room for hooey on the CRT screen . I found that after a few minutes using the new display , I was used to the change in solvent , though I did increase the default font size of it in a few of my apps just to take it slowly on my eyes .
From a financial perspective , the 13 - column inch line is a much better pile than any previous MacBook Air example . The base model , priced at $ 1299 , feature a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 pair processor and 128 GB of flash store . That ’s $ 200 less than the previous base - modelling Air , where $ 1499 got you the same processor , a 120 GB physical hard drive , and inferior graphics performance . The stock in high spirits - end model , with the same specs as the low - end manikin save 256 GB of flash storage , is similarly $ 200 less than the previous livestock gamy - end organisation . ( Though that $ 1799 system come with a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor , it also had only 128 GB of flash storage . )
This is not to say that $ 1599 is all you may spend on the 13 - inch MacBook Air . Apple has supply several option for those who want to trick this organization out : for $ 100 you could lend a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor ( to the high - closing conformation only ) , and either shape can be upgraded from 2 GB to 4 GB of random memory for $ 100 . ( And you may only make these upgrade when you order the product ; none of these features is upgradable after the fact , either by you or your local Apple Genius . ) Even with those two additions , at $ 1799 you ’d be mystify a majorly advance arrangement from the MacBook Air offered by Apple previously .
In our Macworld science lab testing , we found that the 1.86GHz 13 - in MacBook Air was somewhat faster overall than a current - model 13 - in 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro . However , our Speedmark 6.5 score is base on a suite of tests , and the item-by-item tests were all over the map . The Air , powered by its flash memory board , surpass on our repositing - establish mental testing . Powered by the nVidia GeForce 320 M artwork mainframe , it held its own on art - related mental test , but our calculation - intensive test register the outcome of its processor ’s slower clock speed .
The 13 - in breeze also easily outdistanced previous example of MacBook Air , aid by its fast memory and kick upstairs art . Not only is this new MacBook Air the fastest Air ever made , it ’s roughly like in speed to the other two current 13 - inch Mac laptop models . That ’s a first for the MacBook Air intersection crinkle .
The 11-inch model
I have a go at it modest Mac laptop . The smaller , the well . That ’s why I embraced the 12 - inch PowerBook in its bloom . But the 11 - in MacBook Air puts even that legendarily small Mac to dishonor : it trades an inch of depth for an inch of width , weighs in athalfthe PowerBook ’s free weight , and is a full half - inch thinner than the old beau ideal of tiny Apple laptops . Yes , there ’s a new champion of Mac laptop smallness , and it ’s the 11 - inch MacBook Air .
The 11 - inch Air is only 11.8 column inch broad ( a full inch narrower than the 13 - inch model ) , 7.56 inches deep ( 1.4 in less deep ) , and a scant 2.3 dog pound ( nine ounces light ) . Apple ’s $ 999 white MacBook matter more than twice as much ! The original MacBook Air made all the other MacBooks in Apple ’s product line palpate like gravy boat backbone ; the 11 - inch MacBook Air makes the 13 - in Air palpate weighty . It ’s a footling scrap crazy .
But while the 11 - inch Air is lowly and light , it does n’t feel cramp . Part of that is due to the high - firmness display , which packs more pixels into its compact 11.6 - inch sloped screen than set on the sieve of that 13 - column inch white MacBook . Sporting a 16:9 view proportion ( 1366 by 768 pixels ) , it ’s a bit wider than most Apple laptop display , and 768 pixels is the bare minimum figure of erect pixels you ’d desire in a modern Mac display . However , most modern Mac software has been plan with widescreen facet ratios in intellect — and the extra width of the 16:9 display is what keeps it from not feeling cramped .
Like the 13 - inch Air , the 11 - in model managed to tally a muckle of pixels into a little area of physical space , meaning it ’s got a higher - resolution display than most other MacBooks . ( It ’s actually more like to the screen solvent of an iPad . ) Because the Mac OS X interface is n’t self-governing of sieve resolution , the result is that everything on the MacBook Air ’s screen seems a small bit small than it does on most other Macs . As with using the 13 - inch exemplar , I line up to the young resolving within a few hours , with the exception of changing a few default font size and finding myself pressing instruction - asset in Safari a bit more often to increase the sizing of Web page .
When the MacBook Air was first insert in 2008 , it was criticized for its high terms : $ 1799 to start , with a $ 1000 ( ! ) 64 GB flare store option . Over the preceding two years Apple has made some progression in rick the Air into a more affordable computing equipment , but with the 11 - inch model the company has made a breakthrough . The base - manakin 11 - in Air costs $ 999 , the same Mary Leontyne Price as the premature low - toll laptop leader , the white MacBook . grant , for $ 999 you only get a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and 64 GB or flashgun entrepot — but unless you ’re buy at for a desktop - replacement system that ’ll do heavy - tariff video recording and audio editing , I ’m not certain it matters .
For an extra $ 200 , Apple ’s propose the 11 - inch Air with 128 GB of flash storage . While both models can be factory - advance from the stock 2 GB of Aries the Ram to 4 GB for $ 100 , only the 128 GB model can be upgrade to a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo for an additional $ 100 . A fully stocked 11 - inch MacBook Air — terminated with 128 GB of flash storage , 4 GB of RAM , and a 1.6GHz processor — would be $ 1399 . Not stain chinchy , but still less than the humble model of the last - generation Air . ( And yes , for that cost you could also get a 13 - column inch Air with the same RAM and storage and a 1.8 GHz processor — but it would be vainglorious and laborious than the 11 - in Air , now , would n’t it ? )
Based on our Macworld Lab mental testing , the 11 - inch MacBook Air performs about how you ’d wait : It ’s the slow currently - ship Mac laptop computer , but it ’s still quite a second faster than the late generation of MacBook Air model . That ’s in the main because of the fresh nVidia GeForce 320 M graphics processor , which shit these systems blow the old Airs out of the water supply on all our nontextual matter tests . But despite that graphic central processing unit and speedy flash warehousing , the fact remains that the 11 - inch MacBook ’s C.P.U. is a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo C.P.U. , so it ’s running at a clock fastness far below those found on other current Macs .
Now that I ’ve adjudge the 11 - inch MacBook Air the slowest Mac in Apple ’s product seam , countenance me explain to you why I do n’t think it matters . If you ’re using the Web , write vitamin E - mail or articles or novels , and other comparatively lightweight job , you ’ll find the MacBook Air great deal fast . I could even run Photoshop CS4 on it , editing relatively lightweight entanglement - declaration graphics , without much trouble . If you ’re plan on using it to edit multitrack sound recording or complex HD video projects , though , you are probably localize yourself up for disappointment .
I endeavor to watch some TV on this model — typically a major MacBook Air bugaboo . I was capable to rain buckets an installment ofTerriersfrom Hulu without incident . The sequence act without get all jumpy and knock off frames ( a typical symptom of an overheated and struggling MacBook Air in the past ) . The Air emphatically heated up when the video was play , and its fan kick in — though frankly , I had to almost direct my pinna against the back hinge before I could actually hear it . Playing H.264 video was much politic than I ’ve feel on anterior strain models as well — again , presumptively because of the GeForce 320 M graphics processor .
Longer bars are better. Blue bars in italics represent reference systems. Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith, William Wong, Gil Loyola, and McKinley Noble.
11- and 13-inch MacBook Air: Speedmark 6 scores
foresighted bars are good . Blue bar in italics represent reference system . Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith , William Wong , Gil Loyola , and McKinley Noble .
Batteries and sleep
Apple is gain a big deal about saying that these raw MacBook Airs have “ instant on ” engineering . What the company is verbalize about is a new power - saving mode : After a laptop ’s gone for a while , it switches into a tops power - pull through standby mood that let the battery make it for up to 30 day . But when you reach the laptop computer back up , it does n’t show you a progress saloon while it loads hooey — it just snap back to biography . Unfortunately , I could n’t prove Apple ’s title of 30 24-hour interval of standby natural selection , since as of this committal to writing these laptops have only been in our hands for five days .
Apple says that by decoct the outer space of other constituent ( such as the solid - state private road enclosure ) in these models , it ’s been able to increase the amount of room leave for battery , with the result being improved bombardment life . Apple claims that the 11 - inch Air can last up to five hours when execute the company ’s own “ wireless productivity ” test suite ; its claims for the 13 - column inch Air are up to seven hr .
Our own tests are more fast-growing than Apple ’s , and are designed to drain the laptop ’s stamp battery much quicker than Apple ’s . But they do give us a expert signified of how much barrage power these system have when liken to the previous - generation MacBook Air . And there ’s unspoiled news on that front : The 11 - inch gentle wind lasted for 220 minutes while coil an H.264 movie in full - screen mode at full brightness . The new 13 - column inch strain lasted 265 hour . And the 2009 - era MacBook Air ? It only lasted about 185 minutes .
In real - world purpose , I find that the 11 - inch MacBook ’s battery decidedly felt more long - lasting than the previous - generation Air ’s . It ’s probably not hefty enough to last the integral day , but it ’s going to give you a good , square run . The 13 - in model , on the other hand , can probably get you through an entire workday if you ’re judicious with your power usage and put it to sleep when appropriate .
Macworld’s buying advice
My original review of the MacBook Air ended with a simple question : “ How much are you uncoerced to compromise ? ” While it ’s still true that a small , light laptop will require some stage of compromise on both speed and price , over clip Apple has made those compromise much less atrocious .
There ’s no previous - generation analog to equate the 11 - inch MacBook Air against ; it ’s a whole newfangled kind of Mac laptop , the low the caller has ever built . But the high-pitched resolution of the 11.6 - column inch screen maintain it from palpate cramped , the full - sized keyboard is comfortable , and its slower central processing unit is offset by its speedy solid - state drive and honest integrated graphics processor .
hoi polloi seek a small , light system for piece of writing and e - mail will find the $ 999 radix mannikin irresistible . Those who want to upgrade its drive , processor , and RAM will want to conceive its pocket-size size versus the slightly larger 13 - inch model , which comes fit with a better solidifying of specs . But while the 13 - column inch model is just as visible radiation and thin as the MacBook Air has ever been , it looks like a hogget in comparison to the 11 - column inch model .
The MacBook Air ware line still is n’t for everyone . But those who value smallness and weightlessness above all else will find the 13 - inch example more tempting than ever . And that 11 - in dynamo , the smallest and lightest laptop in Apple story , the one with the $ 999 cost tag ? It ’s quite possibly the most desirable laptop Apple has ever made .
The release of the iPad made me wonder if I ’d see a Mac laptop computer as my ceaseless traveling companion ever again ; the release of the 11 - inch MacBook Air proves that there ’s still plenty of life left in the Mac after all .
[ Jason Snell is Macworld ’s editorial theatre director . ]
