Apple presently sell three year of laptop computer : the MacBook , the MacBook Pro , and the MacBook Air . Of these , the Airs are by a distance the cheapest ( it starts at £ 949 , £ 300 less than the next cheapest ) , and they ’re also slender and portable – so quite a little of people will be tempted tobuy one .
But not so fast ! Before you immerse in , you should be aware of the downsides . Here are five reasons not to buy a MacBook Air , specifically the entryway - grade MacBook Air , which Apple still betray despite usher in a newer MacBook Air mannikin in 2018 . ( Read ourreview of the 2018 MacBook Airto see why in the case of the 2018 MacBook Air you probably should view purchase one . )
If you need more help with your purchasing option , try ourMac buying guideor ourMacBook corrupt guidefor guidance .
1. The cheapest Air is an OLD model
If you were n’t already aware , Apple introduced a new MacBook Air in 2018 . If you are think about buy one of the newer example that issue forth in a choice of three colours , Gold , Space Gray or Silver , then much of the below advice wo n’t apply . The 2018 MacBook Air has a modern C.P.U. , is slim , swooning and an all - round secure machine than its herald .
However , Apple is still sell the older MacBook Air , despite the fact that it is now four years old ( it was updated in 2017 but only to slimly boost the 2014 - era processor inside it ) . If you have watch a deal for the old - mode MacBook Air then we urge you to reckon the following points and in particular the fact that grease one’s palms such an old model could will you in the iniquity in just a few unforesightful years .
2. It’s not good value
It might be the inexpensive Mac laptop but if you are study buying the £ 949 MacBook Air you want to have it away that it is n’t a right deal . As we say above , that theoretical account of the MacBook Air dates back to 2015 and really costs more now than it did when it launched .
You might be able to get better deal on it if you betray around . In fact , you may condition out thelatest MacBook Air deals here , but generally we ’d say that if the price is high than £ 749 do n’t bribe it !
3. No Retina screen
Retina is a marketing term rather than a technical one , and Apple ’s criteria forwhat precisely constitutes a Retina screen(or for that subject Retina HD or Super Retina HD ) are not always clear . The one-time MacBook Air is the only remaining Apple laptop that is n’t indicate as Retina , and it has a crappy screen compared to the relaxation of the line - up , let in the newfangled MacBook Air introduced in 2018 .
It has a 13.3 in silver screen with a resolution of 1440×900 – so the pixel concentration ( which gives an idea of the bite ) is 127 pixels per inch ( ppi ) .
The ( Retina ) 12 in MacBook offers 2304×1440 and 226ppi . The ( Retina ) 13 in MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air offer 2560×1600 and 226ppi . They are far sharper ; there ’s no equivalence , really .
4. Not all that portable
The MacBook Air ’s raison d’être was always portability – hence that wonderfully successful , pun - friendly brand name . But , prior to introducing the 2018 MacBook Air , Apple barely change the design since 2008 and other laptop have caught up and surpassed it .
Not just laptop by rival producer , either . Apple ’s own 12 in MacBook is a svelter choice , 430 g lighter and about 4 mm slenderer at the thickest full point . Even the 13 in MacBook Pro , traditionally the paving slab of the folk , is only 20 g heavier than the Air since its redesign .
And the 2018 MacBook Air , thanks to its redesign , weighs 1.25 kg , liken to 1.35 kilo on the onetime model .
It ’s more and more unmanageable to class the onetime version of the MacBook Air as an ultraportable , so you ’re left asking what that version of the Air is really for ? It ’s just … a brassy laptop . And you do n’t go to Apple for that , surely .
5. Only one colour option
The pre-2018 MacBook Air is available in only one vividness finish : silver . By comparison , the new MacBook Air descend in Gold , Silver or Space Gray , the MacBook comes in Silver , Gold and Space Grey ; and even the unfrivolous 13 in Pro now comes in Space Grey and Silver . We really do it MacBooks in Space Grey , and aesthetics thing : you do n’t have to sense bad if you care about this .
Bonus reason: It’s the past, not the future
With all of the above in mind there is one confirming about the Old version of the MacBook Air and that ’s ports . The newfangled - style MacBook Air bring out in 2018 have two USB - C / Thunderbolt 3 ports , which is all very well , but what if you need the older USB ports to plug in your shiner and keyboard , memory pin , hard drive , and so on .
Then there is MagSafe , the magnetized larboard that you plug the power lead into so it just pops out if you spark over it – rather than pulling your MacBook crashing to the floor . Magsafe was awesome and we miss it . And if you are a lensman you may well benefit from the Mount Rushmore State card slot on the older interlingual rendition of the MacBook Air .
What if you just require a laptop with the ports you need without having to cart around a purse full of adapters . In that case then the pre-2018 MacBook Air might not seem too bad .
But we do n’t think it ’s a good idea to look backwards . We just do n’t recommend buying a new automobile because you want old features . Apple has place to USB - C / Thunderbolt 3 , and support for the outgoing generation of hardware is rifle to dry up , in the third - party accouterment quad as much as at Cupertino . And if you ’re not measured you ’re locomote to end up like those guys who would n’t update from Windows 98 .
