New MacBook Air threatens MacBook and MacBook Pro with function keys

This latest laptop does not fit perfectly into Apple's existing Mac notebook lineup – the combination of power and price means we can expect to see other models change or even die. AppleInsider is reviewing the current Apple products most threatened by this machine.

Most of the time, Apple is very good at creating a new device to fill a gap in the market or in its own lineup. From time to time, however, a new product can upset everything and that's what's happening right now with the new MacBook Air. It was supposed to replace the old model, but these are other MacBooks that seem to be in jeopardy.

It is true that the previous MacBook Air was a quirk in the mix, hooked on life apparently because it was the cheapest model. Nothing else has made the MacBook Air superior or more appealing than any other Apple notebook. Perhaps as many people were expecting it to simply disappear as expected.

Yet analysts and readers of the supply chain were wrong. This old MacBook Air still survives.

Long live the MacBook Air

At this time, you can buy new or old models on the online store. It's hard to imagine that this will continue for a long time, but for now, both devices are available. The old MacBook Air is perhaps a bit difficult to spot in the store. You will have to scroll the text below the new template. But he is here and stays at $ 999.

It's still the cheapest Mac laptop you can get, but in any other way, it's the worst. You can improve the basic model in some ways, but only marginally. For example, there is no option to get more than 8 GB of RAM as the base device. You can increase its 128GB SSD storage, but you can only take 512GB.

In doing so, the price of the original MacBook Air goes up to $ 1,399, which places it above the new MacBook Air, which is faster, lighter and can be upgraded to a 16GB RAM and a 1.5 TB SSD.

In addition, the old MacBook Air is endowed with a non-retina quality display that gives it the most mediocre screen of the range. For its base price of $ 999, you get this non-Retina screen with a resolution of 1400×900. While for the new MacBook Air at $ 1,199, you get Retina at 2560×1600.

The specifications tell you a lot, but a look at both screens tells you more: both have a 13.3-inch screen, but if you see them together, you want the new MacBook Air.

The difference is such that even when the new MacBook Air was unveiled, we unwittingly thought to Apple that Apple would delete the old one.

Even in this case, it must surely disappear soon. At the present time, the only benefit of having it, is that Apple can claim to have a laptop for less than a thousand dollars. Yet, Apple never says that nowhere, it never sells at a price.

And if the old MacBook Air is like the old friend you love but you can not get rid of, there are other models of MacBook that will surely see the door soon.

MacBook hangs there

In terms of price, the new MacBook Air definitely clashes with the MacBook. The MacBook is more expensive than the Air, starting at $ 1,299. It has a slower processor, a smaller screen, and slightly more limited upgrade options.

The MacBook has the same 8GB RAM as the new Air, but its base price includes more storage: you get a 256 GB SSD instead of 128 GB of the Air. That said, the MacBook can only accommodate 512 GB SSD while the Air has a ceiling of 1.5 TB.

The screen difference is not gigantic. The MacBook is a 12-inch screen running at a resolution of 2304×1440 while the new Air is a 13 inch screen of 2560×1600. Both are retina so both seem excellent

Then the new MacBook Air comes with Touch ID, which is missing from the MacBook. It has a new generation of keyboard and a second USB-C expansion port.

These are significant differences that make the new MacBook Air the best value for money. However, there is one area in which the MacBook still wins: while the new MacBook Air weighs 1.25 kg (2.75 lb), the MacBook weighs 0.92 kg (2.03 lb).

For this reason alone, we believe that the MacBook will continue to be sold and will continue to be purchased as the lightest Apple. It is also a powerful machine in its own right and although nobody should buy it to edit the video you can edit the video on it.

Top of the line

It's for Apple's MacBook Pro models only for people who need major editing or other hard work – but that's where we're sure the biggest disruption will happen.

You will not see it to the highest degree. If you need a Mac laptop capable of doing everything, you will get a MacBook Pro 15in model and you will find that it comes with a touch bar.

The high-end MacBook Pro comes with specifications that Air can not cope with. Its screen is 15.4 inches to 2880×1800, for example. The MacBook Pro 15in model starts with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage, but can reach 32GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD.

Add to that a faster processor and you will pay a lot for your MacBook Pro, but you will get a lot. The base price is $ 2,399, or $ 1,299 more than the new MacBook Air: you can literally buy two discs at the same price.

Between

It's in the middle of the price range that we think we are seeing the spinoffs from the launch of the MacBook Air. We would be very surprised if the MacBook Pro 13in model without Touch Bar survives much longer.

We may not have found the Touch Bar particularly convincing, but it is very well executed technically and has different uses. If you want one, you'll skip the middle ground and automatically go to the top of the MacBook Pro.

If you do not want it, you will compare all the other features and the new MacBook Air becomes extremely attractive here.

The 13-inch basic MacBook Pro without touchbar costs $ 1,299 and offers many features identical to those of the new Air. You get the same screen size and resolution – 13.3 inches to 2560×1600 – and the same basic RAM of 8GB, the same 128GB SSD storage.

Then, both machines can have up to 16GB of RAM and for storage, the new MacBook Air actually exceeds the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar. The new machine can go up to 1.5 TB compared to 1 TB maximum of the oldest machine.

The MacBook Pro clearly has the advantage in terms of processor speed. At basic entry prices, the MacBook Air is equipped with an Intel i5 Dual Core 1.6 GHz processor and the MacBook Pro has the same processor, but at 2.3 GHz. You will definitely notice the difference between speed tests, but you just have to see it in regular use.

However, the MacBook Air has identical expansion options with two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and adds the Touch ID.

So there is a processor side for the MacBook Pro, but otherwise, the new MacBook Air gives you everything this machine offers. Plus, it weighs 0.12 kg or 0.27 lbs. Less and costs a hundred dollars less.

Goodbye MacBook Pro without touchbar

We are certain that this MacBook Pro without touchbar will fade. It's harder to be so sure of how the MacBook will behave. Without a doubt, the new MacBook Air will relax the MacBook, so it is possible to imagine Apple simplify the range.

One can imagine that Apple uses the MacBook Air as an entry-level model and keeps MacBook Pro models 13 and 15 inches with Touch Bar as high-end.

Yet, weight is the thing. If the new Air was lighter than the MacBook, these older machines would already be dead. Their popularity and weight advantage are the key.

While if you really want a 13-inch MacBook Pro without touchbar, re-read our arguments about why it will die, then buy it before it disappears.

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