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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%

MacBook Air review roundup: Nice; late; Apple now a follower, not a leader

MacBook Air review

Following the iPad Pro reviews, the MacBook Air review embargo has lifted today – and they make for surprising reading.

I fully expected the reviews to grumble about the $200 price hike over the old MacBook Air, and over how long it took Apple to update the machine, but conclude that this is clearly the best choice for a typical MacBook user. Some did reach that conclusion, but a surprising number said that you might be better off instead paying the extra $100 for the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar.

The tone of almost every MacBook Air review is muted. Most feel this is the machine Apple should have launched years ago, and that where Apple once led the ultra-portable market, today it’s merely keeping pace with it …


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The best USB-C & Thunderbolt 3 accessories for Apple’s new MacBook Air

MacBook Air accessories

Apple finally debuted its long-awaited new Retina MacBook Air last Tuesday. As many anticipated, the new MacBook Air drops all of its legacy ports in favor of USB-C. While the transition to USB-C is bound to be bumpy for some MacBook Air users, it also opens the MacBook up to a host of new accessories and peripherals.

Read on as we roundup some of the MacBook Air accessories with USB-C & Thunderbolt 3.


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Is the MacBook Air a good laptop for students, enterprises, and non-power users?

Is the MacBook Air a good laptop

Last week, I wrote an article about the laptop I hoped Apple would announce at their October event. That event has come and gone, and I’ve gotten no less than 10 Twitter DMs and many iMessages from friends asking “Is the MacBook Air a good laptop?”.

In short, the Retina MacBook Air was a exactly what I wanted them to announce. The new MacBook Air is now the Mac I recommend to most people. It’ll fly off the shelves for college students and enterprise buyers.


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Retina MacBook Air Geekbench tests show modest improvements over 2017 model & 12-inch MacBook

Apple R&D

Apple’s latest Retina MacBook Air has drawn some criticism over its processor choice. Now, the first MacBook Air Geekbench scores are starting to hit the web and give more detail on that processor.

This comes after we saw the first iPad Pro 2018 Geekbench results this morning, which proved Apple’s claims about besting most PCs – including its own – true.


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Opinion: The 2018 MacBook Air is the iPhone X’s ASP strategy all over again

ASP

When Apple launched the iPhone X, it did more than just change the design language of the iPhone: it also offered a whole new pricing level. Not just for iPhones, but for any smartphone. It was a move that has significantly boosted the average selling price (ASP) of the iPhone range as a whole.

This is a trick Apple is now repeating with the 2018 MacBook Air


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New maxed out iPad Pro hits $1900, Mac mini up to $4200, MacBook Air to $2600

Apple announced updated iPad Pro and Macs today that are more powerful, thinner, and lighter. But along with all the advancements come more expensive prices. While the new tablet starts at $800, a maxed out iPad Pro costs almost $2,000 and that’s without any accessories. The new MacBook Air and Mac mini also become quite expensive with upgrades, going north of $2,500 and $4,000, respectively.


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What to expect for MacBook, iMac, and Mac mini at Apple’s October 30th event [Video]

Next Tuesday, Apple executives and invited media venture to New York City for a rare east coast event for a major Apple product launch. The end of October event, which begins at 10 AM EDT, is expected to be where Apple reveals long-awaited new iPad Pros along with new Mac hardware.

In a previous video, we examined the possibilities of what we might see on the iPad front. In today’s video, we conjecture about what Mac fans might see unveiled next week.
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Comment: Latest rumor could give Apple a fantastic (and sensible) MacBook line-up

The rumor mill notched up a surprise today. We’ve long been hearing reports of Apple working on an entry-level 13-inch MacBook, and there has been speculation of a price in the $899 to $999 range.

That all seemed to make perfect sense. The existing MacBook Air is positively ancient by the standards of the rest of the MacBook line-up, so a new machine to replace this seemed an obvious fit.

But a new report today suggested that the new machine could have a price tag of $1200 – and that paints a different picture entirely …


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Comment: The iPad precedent may predict the future of Apple’s MacBook line-up

Back in 2015, I gave my view of how I’d revamp the MacBook line-up. Leaving aside the specific sizes, based on a then-rumor that never panned out, I suggested that it didn’t make sense to retain three categories.

It seemed to me untidy to have a range which ran MacBook Air then MacBook then MacBook Pro. Assuming the reports of this year’s MacBook Air are broadly correct, things could potentially get even messier this year.

Already, the smallest laptop sits in the middle of the price range, but the rumors say this year’s MacBook Air will have a Retina display and a ‘slim design.’ If the new MacBook Air gets slimmer, and it gets a Retina display, then why would anyone pay $1299 for a MacBook rather than $899 for a MacBook Air with a slightly bigger screen … ?


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Apple’s new 13-inch Retina ‘MacBook Air’ unlikely to launch at WWDC, as production reportedly pushed back to Q3

We’ve been hearing for a while that Apple is working on a new 13-inch Mac laptop with a Retina display, with entry-level prices set to dislodge the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Air in the lineup. In a new report today, Digitimes says that Apple has pushed back assembly of the new laptop into the third quarter.

The price of the new 13-inch MacBook is expected to be around $899, although any plans for a WWDC release appear no longer to be in the cards. The report says supply chain partners are now stuck with piling inventory of parts until Apple gives the go ahead.


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Comment: A more affordable MacBook Air would be the new iBook

The MacBook Air has been one of Apple’s more neglected product lines. The 11-inch model was discontinued in 2016, and the 13-inch model hasn’t seen any major updates since 2015.

I thought I knew why Apple was keeping the machine in the lineup: it needed an entry-level Mac to bring people into the ecosystem, and at a time when most people buy laptops, the Mac mini wasn’t going to be it. The 12-inch MacBook was the obvious successor, but at $1299 it was just too expensive.

So my theory was that Apple was holding onto the MacBook Air until it was able to bring the 12-inch MacBook price down to hit the magic $999 number. But it now seems that Apple has a different, more ambitious plan …


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