In line with our recent scoops, Apple has updated its MacBook Air lineup early this morning. The refresh features the slightly updated Intel’s Haswell processor and all models are now priced $100 less than the previous models. The design is exactly the same and we don’t expect any significant changes to the MacBook Air lineup until later this year.
You won’t find much different here, but the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have been bumped up to a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the low-end configurations and 256GB of storage in the top 11-inch and 13-inch models. These baseline models are configurable with built-to-order options up to a 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of flash storage. Apple did give one particular spec a slight boost however…
The new models also received a slight bump in battery life for iTunes movie playback, with the 11-inch model jumping from 8 hours to 9 hours and the 13-inch model from 10 hours to 12 hours. Compare the new and old below:
As mentioned above, we expect to see significant changes in this department later on in the year with the possible release of a 12-inch MacBook with Retina display that will offer the portability of he 11-inch model, but the power of the 13-inch model. As you can see from the image below outlining the last model’s specifications, there’s not much new to get excited about. That being said, the Air is at the top of the ultra-portable laptop game and any improvements, however slight, once again yield the best ultra-portable laptop in the world.
Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller had this to say per the company’s press release:
“With MacBook Air starting at $899, there’s no reason to settle for anything less than a Mac,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Macs have never been more popular, and today we’ve boosted the performance and lowered the price of MacBook Air so even more people can experience the perfect everyday notebook.”
The baseline 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are priced at $899 and $999, while the high end base configurations are listed at $1,099 and $1,199. All models are available today in retail locations and on Apple’s online store with expected shipping availability within 24 hours.
Full press release follows:
Apple Updates MacBook Air
The Perfect Everyday Notebook Now Starts at $899
CUPERTINO, California—April 29, 2014—Apple® today updated MacBook Air® with faster processors and lower prices, making the perfect everyday notebook an even better value. Now starting at $899, MacBook Air features powerful processors, fast flash storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, up to 12 hours of battery life and Apple’s iLife® and iWork® apps, giving you everything you need to handle all your work, all day long.
“With MacBook Air starting at $899, there’s no reason to settle for anything less than a Mac,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Macs have never been more popular, and today we’ve boosted the performance and lowered the price of MacBook Air so even more people can experience the perfect everyday notebook.”
Power-efficient fourth generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors work in conjunction with OS X® Mavericks to give the 13-inch MacBook Air up to 12 hours of battery life and the 11-inch MacBook Air up to 9 hours of battery life. iTunes® movie playback times increase to 12 hours on the 13-inch notebook and 9 hours on the 11-inch notebook, adding up to two hours of playback time to the updated MacBook Air.* Flash storage makes MacBook Air extremely responsive, whether you are working on presentations, streaming movies and music from iTunes or organizing your photo library.
iLife and iWork come free with every new Mac®. iLife lets you edit your favorite videos with iMovie®, create new music or learn to play piano or guitar with GarageBand®, and organize, edit and share your best shots with iPhoto®. iWork productivity apps, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote®, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. iWork for iCloud® beta lets you create a document on iPhone® or iPad®, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC.
Every Mac comes with OS X, the world’s most advanced operating system, which is designed for ease of use even while taking full advantage of the powerful technologies built into every Mac. The latest version, OS X Mavericks, introduces more than 200 new features, including core technologies designed specifically for notebooks to boost performance and improve battery life. Mavericks introduces amazing apps like iBooks®, which gives you instant access to your iBooks library, more than two million titles in the iBooks Store™, and works seamlessly across your Apple devices. The new Maps app allows you to look up directions on your Mac and send them right to your iPhone or iPad, and with iCloud, whatever you do in apps like Mail, Contacts and Calendar also appears on your other devices.
Pricing & Availability
MacBook Air is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $899 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,099 (US). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $999 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,199 (US). Configure-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-air.
*The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in April 2014 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
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I don’t get why the title is in dollars and the screenshot is in pounds? Makes it confusing.
The rest of the world has learned to handle multiple currencies. It’s actually not that tough if you give it a chance.
What Haswell have that other processors do not?
Significantly improved power efficiency and very powerful integrated Intel Graphics.
Once again Australian customers left paying hundreds more than the US…
In Australia sales tax is added to the advertised price, similarly as in europe. In US sales tax is not included in the price.
Despite that and the difference in the exchange rate, us Australian’s still pay more.
It’s not sales tax in Europe, but import duties, as far as I know.
Dude, in poor Poland we have to pay 1666 usd (4999 pln) for base model…
So blame your country, not Apple.
Might want to research what minimum wage is in Australia versus the US or even Canada. Relatively, you think you are paying more, but you make a lot more money than your North American counterparts.
I’ll even help you out a little. Aussie minimum wage is about $16.73 AUS or $15.52 US. American minimum wage is 7.25 US or 7.82 AUS. So Aussie minimum wage is 214% of American minimum wage.
Am I remembering incorrectly or are the prices the same as they were before, i.e. no $100 price drop?
128 GB for a 1000$ computer is ridiculous.
It’s an SSD mate. A PCI E one too. 700mb reads….. Isn’t so ridiculous. Can’t afford it? Plenty of other places you can shop.
It’s an SSD mate, a PCI E one too. Speeds approaching 800 MB/s….. Isn’t so ridiculous. Can’t afford it? Plenty of other places to shop.
it means retina will be coming in 2015, I’m happy that i bought rMBP and not waited for this.
How do we know that? I highly doubt Apple would announce a retina air via silent update on their store. Most likely this is just clearing the deck for something new and these models will hang around for a while like the cMBP did.
Hahah the price drop ensure the retina is coming very soon, expect to see it at WWDC or the fall. How are people so oblivious?
Where is the friggin’ Haswell Mini? Its been a YEAR AND A HALF without so much as a spec bump.
I have been waiting very patiently as well because I have a MacBook Pro that needs replacing, I don’t need a laptop anymore since I have an iPad, and I am looking to replace it with a Mac Mini. I don’t want an iMac because I already have a display that I like and I would rather have the flexibility to change the size whenever I want. Plus, I don’t really need to use dual screens.
Good move, tweaking the performance and lowering the price. Alas for Apple sales, I’m still waiting for Retina, a larger SSD, and perhaps 8 Gig of memory standard. I must live on a writer’s budget. Not being able to upgrade often means what I buy has to last.
Standardizing on 12-inch would get a big thumbs up from me. When I ponder 11-inch versus 13-inch, I’m left undecided. A single 12-inch Retina model with the specs of the 13-inch would be almost perfect.
Perfect would be shipping it with a licensed version this marvelous little Dart power supply, either stock or as an extra-cost option:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/215201435/dart-the-worlds-smallest-laptop-adapter
It’s crazy to ship a light and beautiful little marvel of a laptop with a power supply that’s a big and heavy white brick.