MACBOOK AIR: THE GREENEST MAC YET
LIGHTER, BRIGHTER, AND MIGHTIER
Having only just unveiled a range of new iphones and the Apple Watch Series 4, many thought Apple was set for the festive season. However, the Cupertino firm stayed true to tradition and held their ‘More in the Making’ event this October, introducing a bunch of new hardware for everyday and professional users alike, including an all-new Macbook Air made from 100% recycled aluminum that’s lighter, brighter, and mightier than ever before. This week, we unbox the new device and explore how it not only sports a breathtaking all-glass design but is also helping to save the planet…
STUNNING RETINA DISPLAY
Over the past five years, Apple has slowly been upgrading its hardware lineup to include Retina displays, first with the Macbook Pro and since with its imac and Macbook range. The Air is the latest device to receive such an upgrade, with the 2018 model including an eye-popping four million pixels, four times as many on a typical HD laptop display. Apple says that the new display allows images and videos to “take on a new level of detail and realism” and added that “text is so sharp and clear you’ll feel like you’re reading documents on a printed page.”
On top of its increased clarity, the new Macbook Air offers 48 percent more colors than its predecessor, meaning that everything you see
on the screen is richer and more vibrant. And unlike older Air models, a reduction in bezels (it’s 50 percent thinner than before) means that the notebook offers more screen estate so you can spend more time focusing on your work. Technology vloggers granted early access to the new device were quick to praise the Air’s new screen, with Krystal Lora calling the new display “beautiful, and perfect for people like me,” whilst Jonathan Morrison called the old Macbook Air display “pure, hot garbage,” but added that the new Air’s “much, much better display” that would be great for “almost everyone looking for a new Mac,” and Engadget praised the “gorgeous” screen and loved the reduction in bezels.
The Truth about the NEW Macbook Air (2018)
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New Macbook Pro Battery Life Test
INCREDIBLE BATTERY LIFE
Battery life is always an important consideration when buying a new computer, and the new Macbook Air does not disappoint. The machine features a 50.3 watt-hour lithium polymer battery and, according to Apple’s testing, offers up to 12 hours of battery life whilst browsing the web, and up to 13 hours when watching itunes movies. What’s more, the battery has up to 30 days of standby time, meaning you can go for days without charging and get the same power and performance as you would have had your Mac just been charged. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the new Macbook Air battery is that it performs better than all other Mac batteries, including the latest additions to the Macbook and Macbook Pro lineup.
On its product page, Apple says the new Macbook Air had a wireless web test, which “measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular sites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%,” and stressed that “battery life varies by use and configuration.” Battery performance rarely lives up to advertised figures, but even if the device offers ten hours of continuous performance without charge, the Air will perform well against other laptops and offer enough juice for most consumers’ needs.
NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PRIVACY
Over the past year or two, Apple has been clear on privacy: it thinks other tech giants like Google and Facebook aren’t doing enough to keep your data safe, and it wants to give you more control over your personal information.
From the new privacy features and ad tracker blockers with IOS 12 to a brand new Security Suite on its site to let consumers manage their data, Apple is, quite clearly, on the side of the consumer and is fighting against advertising firms.
Those sentiments are reinforced with the new Macbook Air, which offers ‘never before seen on the Mac’ privacy features. The new T2 security chip, which is already packaged in the 2018 Macbook Pro, is Apple’s most advanced yet and includes a microphone disconnect feature that ensures the microphone is not recording when the device’s lid is closed. In a user manual on its website, Apple ads that the “disconnect is implemented in hardware alone, and prevents any software, even with root or kernel privileges in macos, and even the software on the T2 chip, from engaging the microphone when the lid is closed,” and adds that the camera is not disabled as its field of view is obstructed when the lid is closed anyway. In a time where security has never been more important, the T2 will no doubt go down well with users, particularly those in sensitive jobs.
The T2 chip also allows for encrypted storage, a secure boot, and for the first time on the Macbook Air, Touch ID. Many criticized the new Macbook Pro, released in 2016, and its introduction of the Touch Bar, which was considered gimmicky and useless. The Air, on the other hand, brings the best feature of the Touch Bar ( Touch ID, fingerprint unlocking and Apple Pay), without having to sacrifice function keys like the escape, volume, brightness, expose and playback keys.