New Macbook Air boasts battery-life and portability
Apple’s latest iteration of the MacBook Air looks and feels a lot like it has over the last few years, but how it performs under the hood is the real change that makes the most difference, raising the question of whether this is the model to get or not.
The Air is no longer the thinnest and lightest laptop around, but it’s still every bit an impressive machine. The same wedgeshaped design, backlit keyboard and array of ports has been retained from last year’s model, so on the surface, there is virtually nothing different to identify it, except for a second tiny hole for the microphone on the right side.
Unfortunately, Apple also opted not to upgrade the 11-inch or 13inch models with a Retina display, the same sharp resolution screen that has been on the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro 13-inch and 15inch models.
On the inside, however, the guts of the Air is a nice mix, even at the base spec that sells for $1,099. It has a 1.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor from the latest Haswell generation chips, Intel HD 5000 graphics card, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive. For $200 more, you can upgrade to a 256GB SSD. Upgrading to the highest specs across the board balloons the price to $1,849.
Despite using what should be a slower processor than last year’s 1.8GHz chip, this Air boots much faster, getting to your desktop in as little as 10-12 seconds after turning it on. Graphics performance is definitely better this time around, thanks to the upgrade in the graphics chip, which helps expedite the Air’s pro- cesses, so you end up waiting less for it to do what it needs to.
The added benefit — and it’s a big one — is the Air’s impressive battery life. Rated at 12 hours, the fact this machine can truly be an all-day laptop without the need to find an outlet is huge. If you’re only browsing the Web, and have nothing else running in the background, you should hit 10-11 hours. Video playback inevitably drains the battery faster, but the Air stubbornly held on for over nine hours. That’s an astonishing number, even compared to last year’s model, which would’ve struggled to hit even half that.
If you’re looking for more power or Retina is a crucial omission, the MacBook Pro line is set for an upgrade in the coming months that will include both those things, and perhaps even more. But the Air has battery life and portability, and it’s no sure bet the new Pros will be able to match that.