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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

#281

Post by sagichmal »

BonesJustice wrote: post #256
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…

Out of curiosity, what is the appeal of the new MacBook Air over a regular MacBook? Is it the 13" screen vs. the 12"? I'd just assumed that when Apple introduced that crazy-thin 12" MacBook a couple years ago, it was meant to replace both product lines. I don't understand why it's necessary to maintain a third discrete product line. Why not add a 13" variant to the standard MacBook line with i5 and i7 processor choic…

Double the RAM, Thunderbolt instead of USB-C, and two ports instead of one. That's worth the price... decrease? ;)

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

#282

Post by SyneRyder »

pinewurst wrote: post #134
saagarjha wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's literally going to be the same CPU as in the current 12" Macbooks with a slightly relaxed power envelope Is it? I was under the impression that these were different chips.

They are different chips in the sense of being different generations. It's interesting that the Air is a "Y" part which is the same low-power/lower performance family as the Macbook. No updates for the Macbook yet otherwise they probably would be the same. Macbook 12" 2017 = i7-7Y75 (top spec, cheaper ones are lower clocked i3/i5 Y) Macbook Air 2018 = i7-8510Y (617 graphics supposedly faster)

I'm not sure it's an i7-8510Y - note that the MacBook Air specs [1] say it's an i5 chip. (And you can't upgrade it to an i7 either.) I'm not sure we know what chip it actually is yet.

[1] https://www.apple.com/au/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air/silver-1.6...

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

#283

Post by tqi »

Been a long time since I bought a new computer. How should I think about / compare the processor options of the new MBA[1] and the non-touchbar MBP[2]? I've seen the passmark results, but have no idea how to interpret.

[1]: 8th Gen 1.6-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 [2]: 7th Gen 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

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

#284

Post by dragonwriter »

wlesieutre wrote: post #277
zaroth wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your drive enclosures are USB A you’re leaving massive throughout on the table and wasting your time for what would be a $30 part on Amazon. The new “spare charger” is a 10kmAh battery pack which will have USB-C and some double as a way to jump start your car (assuming you still drive ICE). It’s also a worthwhile upgrade and much more useful than something that has you hunting for outlets at the airport, or god fo…

Is a USB-C enclosure actually faster than USB 3.1 was with the old conenctors? As far as I know you can use all the same devices and just swap out the cable on a computer that wants a USB-C connector. On the device end (for hard drives and hubs) you'd generally have a type-B connector (don't think I've ever seen one with USB-A, but I haven't had that many external drives). Type-B got got a bulkier version for supersp…

> Is a USB-C enclosure actually faster than USB 3.1 was with the old conenctors?

As I understand it, USB-C-to-USB-C (with USB 3.2) is the only connector combination supporting Gen 2×2, 20Gb/s mode (since it leverages the pins included to support flipping the connector; it's also the only combination to support Gen 1×2, but that's the same speed as Gen 2×1, so it's unclear why you'd do that.)

USB A (w/USB 3.1+) can support Gen 2×1 (SuperSpeed+) at 10Gb/s. USB B (w/USB 3.0+), AFAIK, only supports Gen 1 (SuperSpeed) (5Gb/s).

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

#285

Post by Dirlewanger »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #150

Love the device but I can't get over how expensive it has gotten. A 20% price bump... Sure, there's still the old Macbook Air around, but it wasn't updated and is based on a decade old model with a CPU/GPU that's a 3 years old (5th gen i5 from 2015), and a 128 PPI screen, that's a bit ridiculous. If you want a modern machine you're looking at $1200 for the cheapest model. That isn't even too bad but when you go abroa…

> where you can get better specs after a few years without moving the price point.

Yeah you can do that...on an OS that isn't locked to one hardware vendor i.e. Windows and Linux.

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

#286

Post by ericabiz »

gootdude wrote: post #114
nkkollaw wrote: post #65

Sure, but it has the horrible butterfly keyboard--with those crammed up arrows I hate so much--and all ports are gone. Also, how do we kniw they'll stay without releasing another one for another 5 years? As a MacBook Air user for years, I'm glad I jumped ship a year ago.

What did you replace it with? Would love to upgrade with something as reliable as this 2013 Air I've been abusing everyday for years. I'd give anything for a windows laptop with the trackpad and reliable sleep/hibernate you get from osx/apple laptops.

Not the person you replied to, but look at a Dell XPS 13 or a Lenovo X1 Carbon. I have been recommending the XPS 13 to our customers and they love it.

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

#287

Post by SyneRyder »

akvadrako wrote: post #79
thefounder wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any idea why the processor is only 1.5? I have a 2011 Model with 1.8ghz

Does your 2011 model have 3 Ghz turbo boost? That's just how modern processors work - lower clocks but still higher performance.

I looked up the specs - the 2011 1.8GHz was an i7-2677M. It did have a Turbo Boost up to 2.9Ghz.

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

#288

Post by bluedino »

Xixi wrote: post #248
klodolph wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s currently no VAT in the US, there used to be a VAT in Michigan but currently there are only sales and use taxes, which aren’t universal. Buying a MacBoox Air for $1,199 in Oregon will cost $1,199 out of pocket.

Indeed you are correct, I'm not using the term VAT correctly. But here in New York you still have to go through three layers of sales taxes to acquire your MacBook Air: New York City local sales and use tax rate of 4.5%, New York State sales and use tax rate of 4%, and Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge of 0.375% My main point was that it makes little sense to compare prices US prices without sal…

Ironically I buy from stores in New York or New Jersey over the internet and pay no tax in my home state. Adorama or B&H Photo

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

#289

Post by starbugs »

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…

Well, I said it's vastly superior from my perspective and my perspective seems to be a bit different than yours.

I didn't intend to start a platform flame war here. I just wanted to say, it's sad that people lose access to that quality software (in my opinion) platform because of being priced out. If it were for today's prices, I doubt I would have been able to buy a Mac as a student in 2006.

If you enjoy Windows, then I am absolutely happy with that. For me personally, I have trouble getting past the forced Windows Update screen each time I boot it.

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

#290

Post by 8ytecoder »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #150

Love the device but I can't get over how expensive it has gotten. A 20% price bump... Sure, there's still the old Macbook Air around, but it wasn't updated and is based on a decade old model with a CPU/GPU that's a 3 years old (5th gen i5 from 2015), and a 128 PPI screen, that's a bit ridiculous. If you want a modern machine you're looking at $1200 for the cheapest model. That isn't even too bad but when you go abroa…

Is that price inclusive of VAT? US prices don't include it by default and it can be up to 7.25% depending on the state and city.
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