After more than three years of constant speculations, Apple has finally decided that its super thin laptop, MacBook Air, needs some updates. As the company announced during its recent event in New York, the new MacBook Air will be equipped with a Retina display, while performance-wise it will resemble the standard MacBook.
First updates in more than three years
Ever since the 12-inch MacBook was introduced by Apple in 2015, the MacBook Air has been put aside, receiving only a small graphics and CPU update in 2017. Being the only laptop that costs around $1,000 that the American company has to offer, the MacBook Air has been kept alive, but its screen resolution, display and performance were well-below the standard.
The MacBook Air finally gets the Retina display
With the new MacBook Air, Apple decided to address all the weaknesses of its predecessor. The low-resolution display of the older version was replaced with the Retina display and its design has been upgraded so that it now resembles the standard MacBook, having bezels thinner by 50 percent. The MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch screen that reaches to the edge of the enclosure and it is also equipped with two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is also lighter than the older MacBook Air, as it weighs only 2.75 pounds.
The Touch ID feature has also been introduced on the new MacBook Air, powered by the T2 chip that Apple used on iMac Pro and MacBook Pro last year.
Performance and pricing
The new MacBook Air uses the eight-generation Intel dual-core CPU with integrated graphics, it has up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1.5TB SSD of storage. Moreover, one of two USB-C/Thunderbolt can be used to power an external 5K display or to connect an eGPU external graphics enclosure. The basic model, equipped with a 1.6GHz Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, can be purchased starting at $1,199. As the first laptop offered by Apple, the MacBook Air has been made of 100 percent recycled aluminum.
Frances might be just at the beginning of her career, but after attending a technical school, she has a fresh perspective on today’s technology. She contributes to the site with tech news.
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