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Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

arstechnica.com

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Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#351

Post by gumby »

2color wrote: post #343
enraged_camel wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The new MBA has touch ID though, whereas the entry level MBP doesn't. The convenience IS a lot of value for some people.

Do you think it's worth it over the entry level MBP considering the difference in the CPU?

I'm glad to have the thumb sensor on my MBP but in buying again I wouldn't pay extra for it.

It is nice to use Apple Pay from my Mac -- the twice I've done so. I could always have opened the page on my phone and use its sensor instead.

Other than that, moving my hand up to the corner isn't much faster, if at all, then simply typing my Mac password which is pretty well wired into my fingers anyway. In fact I had made a small config mod to use the touch sensor to authorise sudo, and in the end I undid it because typing was faster. And my watch unlocks my Mac most of the time. So a nice to have, sure, but not as revolutionary as it was on the phone.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#352

Post by draw_down »

finchisko wrote: post #184

Am I the only one, who is excited and considering buying this thing? I'm still on 2012 Air. It's good device, but showing it's age (slow CPU and only 4GB of Ram, the screen resolution is joke). But new Air seems very compelling to me. I'll miss the magsafe though. Also I would like to know if the SSD can be upgraded later (unofficially of course). 2012 Air SSD can be replaced, using cheap reduction (from proprietary…

I think it looks great, and like you I'm still on a very old MacBook Air. This one has Touch ID and without the touch bar everyone here seems to hate.

I am concerned about the keyboard, but only from what I've read, not firsthand experience. Don't think the SSD can be replaced, as far as I know they moved from it being one replaceable drive to multiple storage modules placed around the chassis.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#353

Post by setr »

izacus wrote: post #230
starbugs wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to disagree on this one. Even if PC hardware has caught up to a certain extent, software has not. Windows is a nightmare from my perspective (usability, privacy, developer tools, lack of good shell, package management, etc.) and Linux is not a viable alternative when you need certain commercial software. A commercial Linux alternative focussed at desktops with appropriate support for commercial software and an…

shrug I regularly use all three and I'm always baffled by posts like yours. Yes, macOS might be marginally more polished, but it's pretty much a matter of few days to get used to new patterns of the OS and that's it. But yeah, if you decided that you will never in your life ever use anything but Apple operating system, then you just don't have a choice in the market. You'll have to buy what they serve you.

at least a couple years back using a surface pro 3, windows apps was clearly not up to handle hi-resolution displays: the majority of apps I was using that wasn't VS Studio (7zip, notepad++, eclipse, etc) was completely unusable (especially by means of touch) without screwing around with scalability settings, and swapping it to various percentages depending on the app I was using. I vaguely remember firefox being acceptable but poor as well, but I'm not too sure about that one

Dunno the state now, but that experience makes me reluctant to look at higher end laptops with windows. Otherwise its just generally clunkier and weaker integration of the terminal, but those don't hurt nearly as much as the inconsistent rendering for using a daily driver

It's refusal to tell me what file/program is stopping me from safely removing my hdd is also absolutely infuriating

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#354

Post by mark_l_watson »

Nice option for people who love the form factor, if somewhat expensive. I was surprised that it weighs about 3/4 of a pound more than a MacBook, but then it is a 13” screen rather than a 12” screen.

I have had computers since before I bought an early Apple II (I had a single board Intersil PDP-8 emulator board) and I must say that my MacBook is my favorite computer ever. I am not sure why someone would buy the new MacBook Air over a MacBook.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#355

Post by malloryerik »

dewiz wrote: post #262
cauthon wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Love the device but I can't get over how expensive it has gotten. A 20% price bump... I got downvoted for posting this as a top-level comment, but it's insane to me how Apple's hardware specs have stagnated while maintaining the same price. In 2014 I bought an entry-level Macbook Pro with retina display, 2.6 GHz i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB SSD for $1300. In 2018 I can buy the entry-level Macbook Pro with…

sure Apple is expensive, but I think you're leaving out important details, like screen resolution, touchpad, keyboard (though that's been good for ages), OS improvements, power consumption, bluetooth and wifi, etc.

I like the new keyboards well enough yet often turn to my 2014 Air for the soft and quiet typing.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#356

Post by Wowfunhappy »

yubiox wrote: post #295
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #258

The old 13 Inch Macbook Air had a resolution of 1440 x 900. The new Macbook Air has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, but at 200% dpi scaling, so the usable resolution is only 1280 x 800. It'll be prettier for sure, but you're getting less screen real-estate than on the old models! You can adjust the dpi scaling, but then the scaling won't be even and everything will look a bit blurry. I honestly would have much preferred…

With the Display Menu app you choose from lots of resolutions. They are not blurry whatsoever. I use 4096x2304 on 27" retina imac, 2880x1800 on 15" retina mbp, and 2304x1440 on 12" retina mb. Plenty of real estate.

It's a subtle difference that not everyone will notice, but the icons will not be quite as sharp at these alternate resolutions due to uneven pixel scaling. The icons were drawn for a specific resolution, not the in between ones. This is also why System Preferences marks one resolution as best for the display.

I can absolutely see the difference on the iMac I use at work, unfortunately.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#357

Post by kalleboo »

sreque wrote: post #273
starbugs wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought my first 15" MBP in 2006 after Apple switched to Intel. I was a student back then and I got it for about 1800 EUR. It was a beautiful machine, I could replace the battery myself without unscrewing anything, and if I wanted to upgrade the memory or HDD I could do that easily. Now here we are 12 years and a couple of Macs later. The current MBP is a bit more beautiful than the first one I got, it's noticeably…

I don't know how anyone could reasonably conclude Apple's software is vastly superior. Apple has always been and continues to be a hardware-first company; their software always lags behind. In the past two days I've had to reboot my mac twice because the headhone jack stopped working. At my previous job, the terminal program segfaulted at least once a week. Bluetooth is notoriously flaky and requires frequent reboots…

I've never had any of those issues, they sound like hardware problems to me honestly.

Not that I don't have a litany of complaints about macOS software quality, but it's mostly UI bugs (why the hell does it take a minute to drag a photo out of Photos.app?!), not stability issues.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#358

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

hartator wrote: post #162
FBISurveillance wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can charge MacBooks from each other. * First laptop you plug one end of USB C cable in will the the charger; * Second laptop will be the one getting charged.

Infinite energy.

You’d have to plug them in at exactly the same time though.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#359

Post by pentae »

asdff wrote: post #327
pentae wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thermals on the entry level Macbook pro (non touchbar) is atrocious. It has one less fan than the touchbar model and runs hotter and unless you're in an icy cold room it's guaranteed to make your palms sweaty like a teenager on prom night. I would imagine that the new power-sipping i5 they've put in the MBA will run much cooler.

Every aluminum Macbook makes your palms sweaty, the aluminum body is designed to shed heat. Even a charging iPhone can get very hot just browsing HN. I don't think Apple has ever produced a machine that runs cool to the touch.

They have made one - the original Macbook Air

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#360

Post by cauthon »

eastbayjake wrote: post #241
sometime wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Carbon X1 6G is 120 grams lighter and has much more ports. Gonna leave Apple for good. The MacBook Air was an amazing machine for the past 8 years, but Apple lost its way. Too many cargo cults (slimness, few ports, radical changes, secretiveness, to name a few) and too little closeness to their customers (poor repairability, high prices, unwanted features).

I just priced out the Carbon X1 with similar CPU/RAM/SSD and it costs $1331 (vs $1399) -- plus the Lenovo has a slightly larger screen with lower weight and normal USB ports. I don't think it moves the needle for Mac fans, but it definitely moves the needle for people who are ambivalent between the two.

Not sure the specs you're looking at, but Costco had a deal on the X1 with 16 GB RAM + 512 GB SSD for $1399 earlier in the month, and I think it's $1499 now
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