By Chris Welch, The Verge
Apple has refreshed its MacBook Air lineup today, and the laptops now include Intel's latest Haswell processors. The entry-level model is now slightly faster with a 1.4GHz Core i5 chip instead of the 1.3GHz processor that was shipping yesterday. Those small speed bumps extend to the faster, build-to-order configurations as well. Alongside the processor change, Apple has also dropped the prices on all of its MacBook Airs by $100 each. The base 11-inch model now starts at $899 as a result, with the 13-inch starting at $999.
PRICING AND PROCESSORS ARE THE BIG CHANGES
Pricing and processor aside, don't expect any other significant changes. Nothing else about Apple's acclaimed MacBook Air has changed with this latest revision — at least according to its spec sheet. The base configuration still includes 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. It'd be great to see Apple increase that default to 8GB, but for now more memory still demands extra from buyers. The MacBook Air also hasn't gained speedier Thunderbolt 2 connectivity with today's update; that's still reserved for the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro desktop.
But there was little wrong with the MacBook Air released last year, so Apple had little reason to shake up its formula. Intel's Haswell technology combined with OS X's efficient energy management rewarded users with an incredible boost in battery life, stretching the life of each charge to 12 hours on the 13-inch hardware. Since today's upgrades are admittedly slight, you can expect similar longevity from the latest MacBook Airs.
Apple has refreshed its MacBook Air lineup today, and the laptops now include Intel's latest Haswell processors. The entry-level model is now slightly faster with a 1.4GHz Core i5 chip instead of the 1.3GHz processor that was shipping yesterday. Those small speed bumps extend to the faster, build-to-order configurations as well. Alongside the processor change, Apple has also dropped the prices on all of its MacBook Airs by $100 each. The base 11-inch model now starts at $899 as a result, with the 13-inch starting at $999.
PRICING AND PROCESSORS ARE THE BIG CHANGES
Pricing and processor aside, don't expect any other significant changes. Nothing else about Apple's acclaimed MacBook Air has changed with this latest revision — at least according to its spec sheet. The base configuration still includes 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. It'd be great to see Apple increase that default to 8GB, but for now more memory still demands extra from buyers. The MacBook Air also hasn't gained speedier Thunderbolt 2 connectivity with today's update; that's still reserved for the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro desktop.
But there was little wrong with the MacBook Air released last year, so Apple had little reason to shake up its formula. Intel's Haswell technology combined with OS X's efficient energy management rewarded users with an incredible boost in battery life, stretching the life of each charge to 12 hours on the 13-inch hardware. Since today's upgrades are admittedly slight, you can expect similar longevity from the latest MacBook Airs.
