Apple finally updates the age-old MacBook Air

For years, the MacBook Air, first released in 2008, was the best Apple laptop for most people. As archaic as it was, People still loved it, especially students and developers were its biggest users since this was the cheapest way of using the Mac-OS. Even in an ultra-competitive laptop market, the MacBook Air held its corner and remained a popular option for those after a more affordable, portable MacBook.

However, in 2018 Apple finally decided to update the oldest product in its inventory and introduced the MacBook Air 2018. The MacBook 2018 is a mixture of Apple’s ultraportable 12-inch MacBook and the more powerful (and expensive) MacBook Pro.  While these two models have not quite hit the sweet spot of power, affordability, and portability that many wanted. However, with Apple finally brought the MacBook Air back to life, after announcing the first proper refresh of its super thin laptop line. The MacBook Air, which last year saw a minor graphics and CPU upgrade, has languished since Apple introduced the 12-inch MacBook in 2015. And yet Apple, without a proper budget option, has kept the Air around. As Apple’s only laptop around the $1,000 price point, the Air suffers from a lower-resolution, non-Retina display, and sub-par performance.

Old vs New MacBook Air

The old MacBook Air’s display was a 13.3-inch relic from a bygone era with 1,440-by-900 screen resolution. The newly released MacBook Air finally has the highly anticipated Retina display at 2560 by 1600 pixels. The old Air had a wide aluminum bezel around its screen while the new one shrinks those bezels and extends the display outward toward the edge of the body. The new Air’s display is still 13.3 inches, and the case retains its trademark wedge shape, but the body is smaller–17% smaller by volume–and it weighs 2.75 pounds, a quarter pound lighter than the previous Air.

The old Air had a slower fifth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, but the new Air’s upgrade to an impressive 8th-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 processor which should make browsing the web, playing video, opening apps, or managing photos quite a bit zippier. The new model also has a newly designed keyboard (with a Touch ID button but no Touch Bar), a much larger trackpad, improved stereo sound, and Apple’s dedicated T2 security chip. The old Air had a couple of old USB-A ports, a slot for removable storage, and a MagSafe 2 connector for power. The new model has two USB-C ports, which can be used for power or peripherals.