Before you buy the 2018 MacBook Air, read the fine print

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The long awaited MacBook Air has arrived – with some reservations.

After all the euphoria this week for the new MacBook, consumers should take a closer look at what they are buying.

Fast processor (no): The Intel 8-core processor (Core i5-8210Y) is not a demon of speed. This is Intel's ultra-low-power processor series (7 watts) and is better suited for the tiny 2-inch 12-inch MacBook * than the 2.75-pounder (much) larger 2018 MacBook Air.

The score of the Dell XPS 13 9370 with its Core i5-8250U is about 70% faster than the reported 2018 MacBook Air. Let's say it again: 70% faster.

– This is how Apple's new MacBook Air is slower (and faster) than Dell's XPS 13, Gordon Mah Ung, PC World, November 2, 2018

Preliminary markers confirm this (via AppleInsider). The single-core performance is virtually identical to that of the 12-inch MacBook in mid-2017. Although multicore scores are better, they are relatively unimpressive.

Another thing to keep in mind: the 2018 MacBook Air is dual-core. This is not exactly the test of the future. If Dell can get a long battery life with the 2.7-kilo XPS 13 quad, you wonder why Apple does not offer a quad-core version of the MacBook Air.

"From the performance point of view, [the 2018 MacBook Air is] is going to be basically a dog on multi-threaded, multi-core tasks. A dual-core, low-power Intel processor, opposed to an Intel quad-core processor, is a failure of WWE, "said Gordon Mah Ung, chief editor of PCWorld, in an email.

Weight: The 2.75-pound MBA is not the lightest 13-inch notebook on the market. Too bad, because the original MacBook Air introduced by Steve Jobs in 2008 ** was a matter of extreme thinness and lightness.

For comparison, the 13-inch 13-inch HP Spectrum (see picture below) weighs only 2.45 pounds and has an 8th generation quad-core processor. Congratulations to HP for defeating Apple at its own game.

Price: The starting price of the MBA of $ 1,199 is not cheap. Frankly, I was expecting $ 999. And it only takes a small upgrade – from 128GB to 256GB – to reach the price up to $ 1,399.

And speaking of HP Specter 13 (cited above), its price is currently $ 1,099, or $ 100 less than the MBA. And it has a 256 GB SSD, compared to the MBA entry that has 128.

Summary: The 2018 MacBook Air is an attractive physical design with a focus on a long battery life. This should appeal to students, business people, and consumers looking for a lightweight Apple notebook that can handle everyday tasks. But after waiting 10 years for a substantive update, Apple could have done better.

"Everything is in the void of Apple World," said Ung of PC World. "In the face of Dell or HP, and all the others, the cost / performance ratio is getting out of control," he said, citing the Dell XPS 13 9370 at a price of $ 100 less than the 2018 MBA .

"What [Windows 10] laptops do not have a MacOS computer and for a Mac that's all that matters. Price and value are cursed, "he said.

—-

NOTES:

* The mid-2017 MacBook 12-inch, used for comparison purposes, also uses a Y-series processor. It has not been updated since June 2017.

** I spent (stupidly) almost $ 3,000 on the original MacBook Air in 2008. The reason? At that time he was incredibly light and thin for a laptop.

More performance ratings:

The new MacBook Air is pretty much 27% faster single-core and 28% faster multicore compared to the (former) 2017 MacBook Air with a fifth-generation dual-core Core i5 (via 9to5Mac).

And note that although the 2018 MacBook Air is slower than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with no touch bar, there's no performance gap as the MBP 13 2018 uses an older Core i5 7th generation.

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The long awaited MacBook Air has arrived – with some reservations.

After all the euphoria this week for the new MacBook, consumers should take a closer look at what they are buying.

Fast processor (no): The Intel 8-core processor (Core i5-8210Y) is not a demon of speed. This is Intel's ultra-low-power processor series (7 watts) and is better suited for the tiny 2-inch 12-inch MacBook * than the 2.75-pounder (much) larger 2018 MacBook Air.

The score of the Dell XPS 13 9370 with its Core i5-8250U is about 70% faster than the reported 2018 MacBook Air. Let's say it again: 70% faster.

– This is how Apple's new MacBook Air is slower (and faster) than Dell's XPS 13, Gordon Mah Ung, PC World, November 2, 2018

Preliminary markers confirm this (via AppleInsider). The single-core performance is virtually identical to that of the 12-inch MacBook in mid-2017. Although multicore scores are better, they are relatively unimpressive.

Another thing to keep in mind: the 2018 MacBook Air is dual-core. This is not exactly the test of the future. If Dell can get a long battery life with the 2.7-kilo XPS 13 quad, you wonder why Apple does not offer a quad-core version of the MacBook Air.

"From the performance point of view, [the 2018 MacBook Air is] is going to be basically a dog on multi-threaded, multi-core tasks. A dual-core, low-power Intel processor, opposed to an Intel quad-core processor, is a failure of WWE, "said Gordon Mah Ung, chief editor of PCWorld, in an email.

Weight: The 2.75-pound MBA is not the lightest 13-inch notebook on the market. Too bad, because the original MacBook Air introduced by Steve Jobs in 2008 ** was a matter of extreme thinness and lightness.

For comparison, the 13-inch 13-inch HP Spectrum (see picture below) weighs only 2.45 pounds and has an 8th generation quad-core processor. Congratulations to HP for defeating Apple at its own game.

Price: The starting price of the MBA of $ 1,199 is not cheap. Frankly, I was expecting $ 999. And it only takes a small upgrade – from 128GB to 256GB – to reach the price up to $ 1,399.

And speaking of HP Specter 13 (cited above), its price is currently $ 1,099, or $ 100 less than the MBA. And it has a 256 GB SSD, compared to the MBA entry that has 128.

Summary: The 2018 MacBook Air is an attractive physical design with a focus on a long battery life. This should appeal to students, business people, and consumers looking for a lightweight Apple notebook that can handle everyday tasks. But after waiting 10 years for a substantive update, Apple could have done better.

"Everything is in the void of Apple World," said Ung of PC World. "In the face of Dell or HP, and all the others, the cost / performance ratio is getting out of control," he said, citing the Dell XPS 13 9370 at a price of $ 100 less than the 2018 MBA .

"What [Windows 10] laptops do not have a MacOS computer and for a Mac that's all that matters. Price and value are cursed, "he said.

—-

NOTES:

* The mid-2017 MacBook 12-inch, used for comparison purposes, also uses a Y-series processor. It has not been updated since June 2017.

** I spent (stupidly) almost $ 3,000 on the original MacBook Air in 2008. The reason? At that time he was incredibly light and thin for a laptop.

More performance ratings:

The new MacBook Air is pretty much 27% faster single-core and 28% faster multicore compared to the (former) 2017 MacBook Air with a fifth-generation dual-core Core i5 (via 9to5Mac).

And note that although the 2018 MacBook Air is slower than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with no touch bar, there's no performance gap as the MBP 13 2018 uses an older Core i5 7th generation.