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Apple recently launched its long-awaited updates with two lines of products that have not generated much love lately: the 2018 MacBook Air and the 2018 Mac mini (test). Both machines have been updated with new processors, the Apple T2 chip, upgraded I / O and many other enhancements.
The MacBook Air, however, is by far the most popular machine and will require the bulk of public attention in between. That's the Mac laptop that a lot of people were waiting for, but does it live up to its name? Watch our video review for details.
Synology RT2600ac: Replacement by AirPort Extreme.
Characteristics
- 13.3-inch Retina IPS display with LED backlight
- Native resolution of 2560 x 1600 (227 PPI)
- Aspect ratio 16:10
- Intel Core i5 eighth generation processor
- Intel UHD Graphics 617
- Apple Security Chip T2
- Up to 16 GB of LPDDR3 RAM faster at 2133 MHz
- Up to 1.5TB SSD storage
- Integrated touch sensor
- Third generation butterfly keyboard with individual backlit keys
- Trackpad Force Touch
- Two Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C ports
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Three microphones
- Stereo speakers
- 720p HD FaceTime Camera
- Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2
- 30 W AC adapter + USB-C charging cable
- Supports 5K external display or two 4K displays up to 60Hz
- Colors: gold, silver, gray of space
- Conical design
- Battery life: 12 hours online, 13 hours iTunes movie playback
- Weight: 2.75 lbs
- Width: 11.97 inches
- Depth: 8.36 inches
- Thickness / height: between 0.16 inch (thinnest point) and 0.61 inch (thickest point)
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Finally, a Retina screen …
The Retina display meets the needs of MacBook Air customers as it is the latest product in the full Apple, iOS or Mac family to receive an update from Retina. The weak non-retinal iMac still remains.
The MacBook Air's Retina display contains more than 4 million pixels on the 13.3-inch screen of the device. The display features a 2560 x 1600 native resolution IPS panel that offers significantly improved viewing angles compared to the latest generation of air.
The new MacBook Air display also receives a significant color upgrade. Even though it does not technically rank as a wide color screen, the 2018 model supports nearly 50% more colors compared to previous hardware.
The old MacBook Air display was by far the lowest quality, so the on-screen enhancements make the new model an interesting upgrade proposition for existing customers.
Another weak link of the previous MacBook Air was his glasses too generous. The redesigned model introduces the kind of edge-to-edge glass goggles that MacBook and MacBook Pro users have enjoyed for years. Glass, in particular, is an indispensable visual improvement because the aluminum flanges of the outgoing machine have made the display cramped and obsolete.
Small footprint
Compared to the latest-generation MacBook Air, the Retina-compatible machine is lighter at 0.21 kg, a significant weight reduction. The new machine is also thinner by 0.07 inches and offers width and depth reductions of 0.83 and 0.58 inches respectively. In other words, it is a more portable and easier to travel machine than the previous Air generation, while maintaining the same screen size of 13.3 inches.
However, the MacBook Air with Retina display is a machine larger than the slender 12-inch Apple MacBook in all dimensions. The differences in width and depth between these machines are not shocking, but the MacBook Air is also thicker and heavier.
With that in mind, the real "MacBook Air" is, in my opinion, the 12-inch MacBook. I always thought that this originally deserved the revered nickname "Air". Unfortunately, the 12-inch model has not been updated in 2018 and its future remains a question mark in the Apple lineup.
But that's where things get funny and slightly ironic. The MacBook Air is actually thicker at its thickest point than the MacBook Pro of the current generation. If anything, it speaks of the marketing power of the name MacBook Air.
Price
In recent years, the MacBook Air has been the economical option for Apple laptops. The new MacBook Air starts at $ 1,199, but Apple continues to sell its latest-generation model without Retina display at $ 999. Completely optimized with 16GB of RAM and 1.5TB SSD storage, the 2018 MacBook Air can cost more than a well-equipped MacBook Pro.
The entry-level MacBook Air with Retina display is equipped with a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage. It is worth noting that the 2017 MacBook Pro without touch bar of the 2017 base model, which has not been updated recently, can be purchased for only $ 100 of more.
When you compare the 2018 MacBook Air to the 2017 MacBook Pro, you'll notice some similarities between these two computers:
- Both have a 13-inch Retina display
- Both have only two Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Both are missing the touch bar and have real function keys
- Both have a thickness similar to the thickest point of the machine
Despite their similarities, the MacBook Air has several key differences that will interest customers:
- The MacBook Air weighs 0.27 kg less
- The MacBook Air has a streamlined design
- The MacBook Air has a longer battery life
- The MacBook Air is equipped with Apple's T2 security chip.
- The MacBook Air has Touch ID
- The MacBook Air features Apple's third-generation keyboard.
Although the designation "Air" is funny given the thickness of the device, the MacBook Air, 2.5 kg, is significantly lighter than the previous Air and MacBook Pro. Different factors play into the weight difference, including the iconic tapered design.
A powerful processor
Despite all the improvements to the screen and the reduced footprint, Apple gives the new MacBook Air a note similar to that of its predecessor in terms of battery life.
- Wireless web: up to 12 hours
- iTunes movie playback: until 1 pm (1 hour improvement)
- Waiting time: up to 30 days
Although the battery of the new MacBook Air is smaller, 50.3 watts / hour against 54 watts / hour, the new machine offers a longer life of the battery. How?
The 2018 MacBook Air is endowed with a unique processor option: a 1.6GHz dual-core 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, capable of supporting up to 3.6GHz and supporting technology Hyper-Threading. It is a 7W Intel i5-8210Y processor with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 617 processor. Compared to previous MacBook Air chips (15W), this processor is designed to consume less power.
For most people in the MacBook Air market, I think the 7W i5 processor is suitable, and will do everything you need for everyday tasks. Word processing, web browsing and media consumption will work well on the MacBook Air. If you set the right expectations, even lightweight video montages and other tasks that typically require more power will run normally.
Someone on the MacBook Air market should not be looking to force its processor or graphics as if it were an office – that's why machines like the 6-core MacBook Pro exist.
Marks
Here is a performance test of the Geekbench 4 processor comparing the new MacBook Air 2018 and the MacBook Pro of last year without contact bar. As you can see, the MacBook Pro bypasses the MacBook Air in mono and multicore tests.
The iGPUs on these two machines are relatively small, but we have to wait for them. Nevertheless, the MacBook Pro, aged one year, has the advantage in comparing the performance of the graphics processor.
The results of Cinebench R15 paint a similar picture. None of these machines are impressive in terms of graphics performance, but the MacBook Pro is the default winner.
For me, as a person working daily with video, Final Cut Performance is an important differentiator. The MacBook Pro offers much better Final Cut Pro X performance than the MacBook Air with Retina display. It is possible to edit videos on the MacBook Air, of course, but the experience is not as enjoyable as on a more powerful machine.
(The shorter it is, the better it is)
Of course, most people do not edit videos every day, so you have to decide if this type of thing really matters to you. For most people, the answer to this question is: No.
The last reference point compares the PCIe SSDs found on both computers. As you can see, the MacBook Pro has a faster SSD for reading and writing. Both SSDs have a capacity of 128 GB, which makes them easy to compare. Keep in mind that when you set up a larger SSD, writing speeds will improve dramatically.
Keyboard, trackpad and Touch ID
The MacBook Air with Retina Display receives Apple's third generation butterfly switch keypad. The new keyboard has individual backlit buttons, which looks more even when you enter dimly lit settings.
The updated keyboard solves some of the well-documented problems that have affected previous versions, but it will still take some time to get used to those that come directly from the previous MacBook Air.
In addition to the keyboard, a standalone Touch ID sensor, biometric technology that allows users to quickly unlock, authenticate with MacOS and third-party applications and make Apple Pay purchases.
The inclusion of Touch ID is important for the MacBook Air, as it is the first Apple notebook to include this feature without the expensive Touch Bar and largely unnecessary (in my opinion) of Apple's MacBook Pro line.
The Touch ID on the MacBook Air is possible thanks to the inclusion of the Apple T2 security chip, the same chip as that of the Mac mini 2018, the MacBook Pro and the iMac Pro. This chip does a lot for security and also consolidates many controllers of the machine in a central location. For more information on the Apple T2 security chip, be sure to read our 2018 review of the Mac mini.
The Force Touch 20% larger trackpad is another major highlight of the MacBook Air with Retina display. The MacBook Air was the last Apple laptop to use the dive trackpad mechanism, so this is another welcome change. The Force Touch touchpad, while not as big as the MacBook Pro's touchpad, lets you get exactly the same answer no matter where you click on the surface – it's the best touchpad of all laptops.
Camera, speakers and microphones
The camera on the new MacBook Air is the same 720p FaceTime HD camera as the previous generation of MacBook Air. I want the camera to be in 1080p, but at least it's better than the 480p camera at the ridiculously low resolution of the 12-inch MacBook.
The speakers are 25% more powerful on the 2018 MacBook Air, with a bass response twice that of the previous generation. You will never take the machine for a proper stereo, but if you know how limited the speakers of the latest model were, you'll definitely appreciate any effort to improve audio fidelity.
In addition to the improvements to the speakers, a new three-row microphone is also appearing. The microphones are designed to provide better audio input for FaceTime calls and improve the accuracy of Siri communication.
Thunderbolt 3 I / O
As you can imagine, the I / O level has changed a lot since the last major update of MacBook Air. Apple has adopted USB-C / Thunderbolt 3, which allows extremely fast connectivity with external storage, displays and even external GPUs. The new MacBook Air includes a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports on the left side of the keyboard, which are also the same as those used to charge the machine.
Thunderbolt 3 is a major upgrade to the MacBook Air and provides an interface with high bandwidth devices in a way that was not possible with previous versions. As I illustrated with the 2018 Mac mini, there are many scalability options to choose from, almost as if you could upgrade your computer from the outside.
Recommended MacBook Air USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Accessories
The disadvantage is that Apple is all-in with Thunderbolt 3 and has left other useful ports as an SD card reader. You must now use a dock or dongle to connect an SD card to your MacBook Air, which is annoying at best.
Following the adoption of Thunderbolt 3, the 2018 MacBook Air abandons the famous MagSafe connector for charging. This means that one of the USB-C ports will be busy each time you will need to load the machine. It also means that you lose the utility of MagSafe, a magnetically attached power connector that easily disconnects when the cable is dropped.
The convenient USB Type A 3 ports on both sides of the MacBook Air have also been removed. This follows the trend of Apple to simplify its I / O on its laptops, providing Thunderbolt 3 ports, and not much else.
9to5Mac's Take
Depending on your usage of the previous MacBook Air, the 2018 model is degraded in some ways. There is no SD card reader, USB-A ports and MagSafe. There is also a 7W low power processor, instead of the 15W that used to be inside the previous Air models.
The performance of the new MacBook Air is better than that of the previous generation model, but it may not be as dramatic an improvement as one would expect in a new MacBook Air design. If you use applications that require a sufficient amount of processor and / or graphics processor, you will definitely need the MacBook Pro.
I'd also like there to be USB-C ports on the right side of the device to make loading the MacBook Air easier. Having ports on both sides of the machine is one of the most underrated features of the Touch Bar-compatible MacBook Pro; it's one of those things you will not enjoy until you need it.
But make no mistake, the MacBook Air is a Major upgrade his predecessor in many ways. The IPS-compatible Retina display is a welcome presence, offering significantly improved viewing angles and better colors.
The new MacBook Air offers longer battery life, better sound and a super-expandable Thunderbolt 3 expansion interface. All this in a footprint smaller and lighter than the laptop it replaces.
This is the Apple computer that many will use in the coming years, and thanks to Thunderbolt 3, the machine you buy today is not necessarily the same as the one with which you are stuck in the long run.
Despite some shortcomings, Apple fans migrating from the previous generation will for the most part be satisfied with the 2018 MacBook Air with Retina display – this is the mainstream Mac that will satisfy the majority of users.
What do you think of the new MacBook Air? Sound off in the comments below with your opinion.
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