Hands on with Apple's 2018 MacBook Air
Apple's MacBook line has clarity again.
The MacBook Air, formerly the neglected stepchild among Apple laptops, is reborn: It's still basically the same wedge-shaped computer Steve Jobs introduced in 2008, but it's sporting USB-C ports, a retina display, and a modern chip inside.
Importantly, it fills another hole in Apple's lineup: the midrange. When Apple refreshed its MacBook Pros in the summer, it didn't bother updating the non-Touch Bar model, meaning for anyone who didn't want to shell out $1,800+ didn't really have an option if they wanted something with the latest Intel chip tech.
SEE ALSO:Is Apple's iPhone XR the best premium phone value of 2018? — Mashable ReviewsThey do now. The new MacBook Air essentially obsoletes the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro, sporting the same ports — two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack — and better features (including the secondary T2 chip that helps secure Touch ID and until now has been reserved for Apple's high-end machines) while undercutting the price: The fresh Air starts at $1,199, or $100 less than the weakest Pro.
Credit: Pete Pachal/Mashable.That effectively downranks the skinny MacBook to entry level in Apple's lineup, since it starts at $1,099. The revised lineup, stepping from MacBook to Air to Pro, feels right, although it's hard to overlook that Apple has decided in 2018 that its customers should pay more for all their products. That shouldn't be too surprising in a year Apple released a $1,449 smartphone, but it doesn't make it easier to swallow.
All that said, Apple technically hasn't discontinued the old MacBook Air. The screen is low-res, and the silicon is wildly outdated, but it's still available for $999, if you want it.
Air time
I took the 2018 MacBook Air for a spin right at the close of Apple's Brooklyn event. From a distance, the aluminum finish is unmistakably a MacBook. It comes in three finishes: space gray, gold, and traditional silver. My favorite is probably space gray, though the gold is quite nice. It has just a hint of coral, making it closer to the current gold iPhone XS rather than the gold skinny MacBook of old.
First, the keyboard. Apple says it's the same third-generation butterfly keyboard found in this year's MacBook Pros. Typing things out on a couple of the models at the hands-on area, I felt the experience was subtly different from the Pro keyboard, though. They keys appeared to have a little more cushion, requiring ever-so-slightly more pressure to type.
That's a little surprising, since both models should theoretically have the same experience, since both have the extra membrane beneath the keys (which Apple says is to make it quieter, but is probably mostly there to improve reliability). The area was noisy, so it was hard to get a sense of how quiet the keyboard was, but it definitely felt like the keys didn't have the same "slap" as the ones on my daily drive, a 2017 MacBook Pro (2nd-gen butterfly), so it wouldn't surprise me if it was a hair quieter.
Credit: Raymond Wong/MashableI wish I could marvel at the screen. Apple's 13.3-inch 2,560 x 1,600 display on the Air looks great, certainly. I checked out photos, websites, and various apps, and details (like tiny text) looked crisp and colors looked fantastic in photos. However, the brightness struggled to compete with the studio lights in the hands-on area (iPhones looked fine), so it's not superhuman.
Moreover, it's catch-up. Pretty much anyscreen these days looks better than the old MacBook Air non-retina display. If Apple has upgraded this screen to the point where it deserves to be called "Liquid Retina"... well OK, I guess, but, to the eye, it's hard to see how the Air is any better than the display on the Surface Laptop, or the Google Pixelbook, or even Apple's own MacBook Pros. It's a retina display, great. What else ya got?
Credit: Raymond Wong/MashableBetter speakers, for starters. Even in a crowded demo room, I could tell the Air's speakers were doing a decent job of playing the audio of a clip from Ready Player One. I'll have to more fully test them out in a full review, but better sound is a welcome upgrade for those of us who spend a great deal of time on conference calls.
There's also the Force Touch trackpad. I don't use Force Touch much at all, but I used the new Air to Force-select an address in Notes to call up Apple Maps. Nice, though it's not persuading me to use the feature. The trackpad itself is a fine upgrade, but again — catch-up. It's nice and large (if a bit smaller than the trackpad on the MacBook Pros), but also unremarkable.
Credit: Raymond Wong/MashableAs for performance, the new MacBook Air did a fine job. It competently ran a bunch of apps, Safari loaded a half-dozen highly visual websites, and generally didn't lag. App-switching from Xcode to Maps to Photos and back was quick. Touch ID appeared to work as fast as it does on my regular 2017 MacBook Pro.
Mistaking catch-up for progress
If you think I'm using the word "fine" too much, you're probably right. The new MacBook Air looks like a great midrange machine, and Apple's seemingly ticked all the boxes in giving the current Air owners what they want in a modern laptop.
Credit: Raymond Wong/MashableThe thing is, there are plenty of modern laptops. If you've already got an Air (or a lower-end Pro) and are looking to upgrade, everything I experienced suggests this is the machine you want. But for anyone else? It's hard to pinpoint where the MacBook Air stands out to the point where you'd buy it over, say, a Lenovo Yoga.
Ten years ago, Apple's original MacBook Air set a new bar for laptops. It got a new lease on life today, but this time as a follower, not a leader.
Featured Video For You
The camera on the OPPO Find X is a standout – Power Up
(责任编辑:产品中心)
- [LLG] When compassion meets law: Lawyer defends goats, dogs, other helpless animals
- Today in conservative media: All eyes on the Supreme Court and Masterpiece Cakeshop
- North Korea's Kim meets China's Xi, says awaiting US actions
- Watch Leslie Jones and Adam Rippon's funny figure skating commentary
- 12 Places that Celebrate Women in Science
- 水产品占“四席”!广州南沙十个农产品上榜“国字号”
- Today in conservative media: All eyes on the Supreme Court and Masterpiece Cakeshop
- Olympic Austrian skier dramatically crashes into cameraman
- Driving apps pulled from Google Play Store for installing malware
- 共同推动雅安职工思想政治引领数智化发展工作做深做实
- LinkedIn is beginning to look a lot like Snapchat
- 连州水晶梨首搭“湾区地铁”,走进五城预告夏日甜蜜
- 青川发生5.4级地震 雅安震感明显
-
NYT Strands hints, answers for August 29
If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevat ...[详细] -
Federer calls for end to Tokyo Games uncertainty
LONDON:Tennis great Roger Federer has called on Olympics organisers to end the uncertainty around th ...[详细] -
Flake posts a picture of a check to Democrat Doug Jones' campaign against Roy Moore in Alabama.
Country over Party pic.twitter.com/JZMTaEYdxQ— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) December 5, 2017On Tues ...[详细] -
Books to give activists as they prepare for the upcoming election
On December 31st, we're not just ringing in a new year. We're ringing in an election year. And it's ...[详细] -
What to expect from Apple's September event: iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, and more
Apple's big September event is fast approaching, bringing us all the latest gadget goodies from the ...[详细] -
美景看够了、美食吃饱了,超长的国庆、中秋8天大假也进入了最后的时段。在最后的三天时间里,很多外出游玩的朋友就要启程回家了。毕竟假期是短暂的,工作是要继续的。现在,想起假期前半段那居高不下的车流、那因为 ...[详细]
-
Nadal heads to Roland Garros with confidence and a clear mind
ROME:After warming up for the French Open in style by beating world number one Novak Djokovic in the ...[详细] -
Canadian hockey player apologizes for removing silver medal during ceremony
Thursday's women's ice hockey gold medal game was an emotional one for players on both teams, especi ...[详细] -
22 Unusual Things You Can Find in the Desert
In the desert, it can seem like very little exists aside from dunes and a few creatures that are ada ...[详细] -
Australian gov't warns released student not to return to North Korea
Australian Alek Sigley smiles as he arrives at Haneda International airport in Tokyo, Japan, July 4. ...[详细]
A Barbie flip phone is here from HMD
Daily GOP tax bill chat: Senate advances tax reform legislation
- Upgrade Your Monitor, Not Your GPU
- 返程高峰来临 有效避堵这样走
- “大号地铁”连通五城,连州丝苗香飘湾区
- The Slate Plus Digest with reading recommendations from Slate and around the internet.
- Coach jailed for sexual exploitation of underage athlete
- The Slate Plus Digest with reading recommendations from Slate and around the internet.
- Kim receives 'excellent' letter from Trump: North Korea