Apple has the MacBook Air a much-needed upgrade. The laptop is in the field of hardware and design more modern, but he is also more expensive. Is that justified?
A major update to the MacBook Air was for years expected. Since 2010 was the design of the Apple laptop is no more refreshed, and also in terms of hardware, started the device in the last few years behind competitors like the Surface Book Microsoft. The new Air makes a lot of catching up, but due to his high price a little between ship and shore.
The MacBook Air always had rather bold gray edges around the display. In the new model are gone. The display now seems to be more on the Pro -, thin, black edges. In earlier models fell off the screen slightly under the edges, now close the display seamlessly on the edges.
The laptop has a 13-inchscherm, but the housing is because of the thinner edges is slightly smaller become. The result is an attractive laptop that is more in line with the other MacBooks from Apple. Closed, the Air at its thinnest point 0,41 inches and at the thickest side of 1.56 inches.
The biggest improvement in the MacBook Air is the Retina display, the same as that of the MacBook. In the past, the Air always a lesser resolution, but now it looks the screen, with a resolution of 2560 by 1600px razor sharp.
About the brightness of the screen is much to do, because that is a brightness up to 300 nits. The Pro gets up to 500 nits. The Air would therefore be a lot less bright eyes. We encountered during the test no problems, not even in well-lit environments, with the comment that the brightness is almost always at maximum.
New keyboard and larger trackpad
The keyboard of the MacBook Air makes use of the so-called butterfly design, with buttons, a less deep attack. That will be for older Air users take some getting used to. The device has the latest version of this keyboard, that, dirt off so that the buttons do not quickly stick.
In the most expensive version of the MacBook Pro, Apple introduced a few years ago, a Touch Bar, a touch-sensitive screen that the function keys are replaced. The promise was that they tried to open apps to see additional options simple to execute. The bar is on the Air is not present, all of which will hardly be missed.
it is the finger print scanner to the Air added at the top of the keyboard. With Touch ID, users can log in and, for example, give permission for appinstallaties. That works quickly and accurately.
Also, the trackpad below the keyboard is also larger than in previous versions. The area supports Force Touch, a technology for trackpads and touchscreens that recognize how hard someone presses. With vibrations, this allows a button to be emulated, while there are non-physical.
Air works for most tasks fine
In the cabinet are on the left side two USB-C ports. There, everything must be connected, from mice to electricity, which means that users are dependent on a USB-hub with more connections. To the right is a headphone jack. A slot for SD-cards is missing, so also for the loading of, for example, pictures an additional riser card that is needed.
With the MacBook Air, the majority of laptop users in daily use is fine. During testing, we had a lot of browser tabs open, we used Photoshop and Slack, and we listened to music. That was almost always trouble-free. With this type of use does the battery pack the seven to eight hours of full.
Only when really heavy programs the Air the heavier. Than sometimes appears the strandballetje that indicates that the computer has trouble processing the information. Also makes the fan sound, while that normally is quiet.
Price and performance come closer to each other
It is altogether a welcome and necessary update for the somewhat forgotten MacBook Air. Still, don’t put the Apple device is now in a strange way in the market. The MacBook Air is more expensive, but it is hardly a cheaper alternative to the MacBook Pro. Initially, the Air is the device that is lighter, thinner and cheaper, with a lesser specifications than the Pro. That position is now occupied by the 12-inch MacBook.
The new MacBook Air is something in between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. The entry-level model of the new Air costs 1.349 euro. For that you get a laptop with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 processor with two cores. Also has the Air 8 GB of ram and an Intel UHD Graphics 617-map.
But for 150 euro more to sell Apple’s entry-level model of the MacBook Pro without Touch Bar. That has a slightly more powerful Intel i5 processor and slightly better graphics performance, but the differences are not as large as in the past. The Pro also has 8 GB of ram and starts with 128gb of storage.
The MacBook Air is still the cheapest laptop from Apple, because the 12-inch MacBook is from 1.499 euro. So, Apple has now three laptops that hardly any differences in price, where they used a clear position were compared with each other. That makes the choice for users, not easier. Moreover, the previous Air model also available; that costs 1.099 euros.
Screen 13 inch Resolution 2560 x 1600 pixels to Size 30,41 x 21,24 cm Thickness 0,41 to 1,56 cm Weight 1.25 kg Processor Intel Core i5 Ram 8/16 GB Storage 128/256 GB Graphics card Intel UHD Graphics 617 Camera 720p Conclusion
Apple, the wheel has not been reinvented with this new Air, but the improvements that were necessary for the device to be updated, have been made. This is a nice upgrade for users with an old Air that want to switch, especially due to the sharp Retina display that has finally been added.
The Air is with a price of 1.349 euro is no longer the “affordable” option that it once was. But for that money, users get a laptop computer which they almost all can.
Only the people who have a lot of photo and video editing, will a Pro consider. No need to do that, then the Air in almost all respects the best choice for anyone who has a new Apple laptop are looking for.
