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In 2008 Steve Jobs introduced the first ultra-thin, lightweight MacBook Air by dramatically sliding it out of an inter-office envelope. The idea of a dramatically thin, lightweight, and fully functional laptop continues on.

MacBook Air M3 15-inch deals

The MacBook Air is “the default Mac” – the one you should buy if you’re not sure which model you need.

History

The MacBook Air was launched in 2008 as a premium 13-inch model, billed as the world’s thinnest laptop. It was dramatically revealed by Steve Jobs sliding it out of an office envelope.

In 2010, it was joined by an 11-inch model. By 2011, that had become the entry-level MacBook, replacing the plain MacBook in the lineup. Its combination of affordability, portability, cuteness, and suitability for most people’s computer usage saw it become a hugely popular machine with everyone from students to senior business execs.

The 11-inch MacBook Air was discontinued in 2016, leaving only the 13-inch models.

In 2018, we saw the first major update to the then-elderly design. This gave the machine a Retina display, Touch ID, USB-C ports along with a design refresh with smaller bezels, a slimmer form factor, and lighter weight.

In 2020, the MacBook Air was one of the first three machines to make the switch from Intel processors to Apple Silicon in the form of the M1 chip. In 2022, it was joined by an M2 model.

MacBook Air Specs

The 2020 M1 MacBook Air is powered by an 8-core Apple M1 chip, comprising four performance cores and four efficiency cores. It’s available in two almost-identical versions, one with an 8-core GPU, the other with a (chip-binned) 7-core one. The machine is available with either 8GB or 16GB of unified memory. SSD storage options are 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB.

The 2022 M2 MacBook Air has a 10-core GPU option, up to 24GB of unified memory, and up to 2TB of SSD storage.

Pricing

M1 MacBook Air (2020) pricing starts at $999 for the 7-core GPU with 8GB unified memory and 256GB SSD.

M2 MacBook Air (2022) pricing starts at $1199 for the 8-core GPU with 8GB unified memory and 256GB SSD.

The machine can be specced up as far as 16GB unified memory and 2TB SSD for $2,049.

Lower prices may be available from Apple’s official Amazon store.

MacBook Air Review

In our video review of the machine, we described it as game-changing.

There is very little negative to say about these MacBooks. Apple has taken a design like the MacBook Air, which it more or less perfected with the early 2020 refresh, and made it 10 times better. This is no hyperbole. These M1-powered MacBooks are such a huge improvement in performance and battery life with virtually no negative baggage. I can’t see myself ever wanting to go back to an Intel-based laptop […]

If I was using an Intel-based MacBook Air, I wouldn’t even consider using a machine with such little memory to handle my day-to-day creative workflow, but Apple’s implementation of unified memory cannot be compared 1:1 with typical RAM configurations.

Basic day-to-day usage is relatively unaffected by the amount of RAM, or lack thereof. The MacBook Air is competent with only 8GB of RAM even when running lots of apps simultaneously, even with a dozen Safari windows, and even when swapping out to the SSD […]

I can attest to the fact that these MacBooks have incredibly long battery life, so much so that it was honestly hard to believe initially. I was able to use my MacBook Air for a full workday, writing, browsing the web, chatting on zoom, and editing video and photos, and the machine was only at 50% by the end of the day. I woke up the next day, and did several hours of zoom video calls and web browsing, and the machine finally gave me a warning to plug in when it reached 10%

Why is there a comical difference in the new MacBook Air specs?

New MacBook Air specs 7-core versus 8-core GPU

A number of people commented on what appears to be a comical difference in the new MacBook Air specs, between the $999 base model and the $1249 version.

Both models have an 8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores, along with a 16-core Neural Engine. But while the higher-spec model has an 8-core GPU – also seen in the new MacBook Pro and Mac mini – the base model only has a 7-core GPU …

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Apple’s M1 chip fastest laptop CPU in the world, says independent analysis

Apple's M1 chip

A detailed analysis by AnandTech says that Apple’s M1 chip can indeed credibly claim to be the fastest laptop CPU in the world. Apple made the claim during yesterday’s Mac event.

While the piece does level a couple of criticisms at Apple’s presentation, it says that a comparison of A-series and Intel chip trajectories tell a very clear story: Apple has long been on-track to overtake the PC chipmaker, and has now done so …

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Here are the huge battery life improvements with the Apple Silicon MacBook Air and Pro

As Apple launched its new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro powered by its M1 custom Apple Silicon, we learned about the big performance gains to expect. Beyond processor and graphics performance, Apple says battery performance is seeing massive improvements giving them the “longest battery life ever in a Mac.” Here’s what Apple is rating battery runtime for the new MacBook Air and Pro.

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Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air and Pro get improved cameras but still stuck at 720p

Apple has unveiled its first Macs with custom M1 chips. For its notebooks, those include the 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro and they come with what looks like some huge performance upgrades thanks to Apple’s custom M1 chip. While they also include improved FaceTime cameras, unfortunately, they’re still 720p.

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MacBook maker Compal hit by $17M ransom attack at worst time for Apple

MacBook maker Compal hit by ransom attack

MacBook maker Compal has reportedly been hit by a ransomware attack over the weekend, the hackers claiming to have encrypted files and stolen unencrypted data.

It comes just ahead of today’s event to announce the first Apple Silicon MacBooks, and at a time when Apple has reportedly placed very large orders for the next-generation MacBooks …

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Mac 101: the best way to clean your MacBook’s screen [Video]

Although I love using the 16-inch MacBook Pro as my primary workhorse, one of the most frustrating things about using an Apple laptop is how easily the display gets dirty. For years I used to struggle with cleaning my MacBook Pro display, but over the past few years I like to think I’ve finally perfected the screen-cleaning technique.

If you’re looking for the best way to clean your MacBook display, then look no further than this tutorial. In the end, I think you’ll agree, there’s simply no reason to tolerate using a MacBook with a dirty screen.

In this hands-on video walkthrough, I’ll show you my go-to method for keeping my MacBook Pro screen clean, and the products involved to make it happen.

Update: I updated this tutorial to remove the part about spraying cleaner directly on the display. Several commenters (rightly) called this out, and I adjusted the video and post accordingly. Thank you for your feedback.


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Hyper launches Duo 7-in-2 USB-C Hub with 100W PD, 4K 60Hz output, more secure connection

Hyper HyperDrive Duo 7-in-2- USB-C Hub MacBook Pro MacBook Air

Hyper is out today with an update to one of its most popular I/O products, the HyperDrive Duo 7-in-2 USB-C Hub. The new hub features HDMI video output of 4K @ 60Hz, a removable grip to work with MacBook cases and a more secure connection to your MacBook, 2 USB-C ports with up to 100W charging and 40Gbps data transfer, microSD card reader, and more.


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Review: $999 MacBook Air (2020) – Apple’s cheapest laptop is a great entry-level Mac [Video]

As I noted in my initial hands-on impressions with the $999 MacBook Air, this base model MacBook Air is a good option for Mac users in search of a no-frills laptop experience. If you’re the type who primarily uses a laptop for everyday tasks like web browsing, writing, spreadsheets, and other things of that ilk, then the MacBook Air is more than capable of handling such needs.

Should you consider the 2020 MacBook Air? Should you upgrade if you’re coming from one of the last two updates? Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.
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Which MacBook should you buy? Here’s how the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro compares to the MacBook Air

2020 13-inch MacBook Pro comparison vs MacBook Air

After launching an updated MacBook Air with the new Magic Keyboard back in March, Apple released its new 13-inch MacBook Pro today with the same improved keyboard and a few other updates. Not sure which MacBook to pick up? Read on for a detailed MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air comparison to make the right decision.


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Opinion: The first ARM-powered Mac will be a MacBook Air … or an iBook

We’ve been wondering for years when we might see the first ARM-powered Mac, and a Bloomberg report today suggests that it will be next year.

Apple is set to release its first Mac based on a custom ARM chip next year, according to Bloomberg. This lines up with previous timeline reported from Bloomberg, which cited late 2020/2021 timeframe, and other reports from publications like analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The different architectures make it difficult to predict the relative power of an ARM-based Mac against an Intel one, but there’s no reason in principle why an ARM-powered Mac couldn’t be more powerful than some of today’s machines …


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MacBook Air (2020) top features and impressions – the best keyboard in any Apple laptop [Video]

Slowly but surely, Apple is migrating its Mac laptops off of the horrendous butterfly keyboard switches, and back to the reliable scissor switches that most people overwhelmingly prefer. Although the keyboard is without a doubt the star of the show for this year’s refresh, there are other top MacBook Air features to talk about in this hands-on video.
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Kuo predicts Apple’s switch from Intel to ARM in Macs will cut CPU component costs by 40-60%

Ming-Chi Kuo had already predicted that the first ARM Mac will arrive as soon as the fourth quarter of this year. Unsurprisingly, Kuo says that even more Macs will transition to ARM in 2021 and beyond, including desktop machines, with Apple adopting an “aggressive processor-replacement strategy”.

Presumably, Apple will start with a lower-end laptop form factor and slowly work its way up the line. Kuo says that replacing Intel with ARM CPUs of Apple’s own design will bring significant cost savings as well as the expected performance and battery life gains.


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Home lockdowns balancing out demand for iPads and MacBooks, suggests report

Scissor keyboard report suggests good demand for iPads and MacBooks

A supply chain report indicates that demand for MacBooks and iPads remains positive despite the fact that most stores are closed and many consumers face financial concerns during the coronavirus outbreak.

While it’s just one measure, today’s report says that suppliers of Apple’s scissor-switch keyboard are continuing to ramp up production as per pre-coronavirus plans …


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Initial MacBook Air benchmarks show up to 63% faster than predecessor, but not as fast as 2018 iPad Pro

The new MacBook Air landed this week with the updated Magic Keyboard, double the storage, new processors, and a starting price of $999. We saw the first round of reviews go live today with lots of positive feedback overall for Apple’s affordable notebook and we’ve also got our first look at how the new MacBook Air performs with some initial benchmark results.


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