So many people have been asking Apple to bring back the MacBook Air that it was no surprise when the brand announced a newer variant.
They also got their wishes with a MacBook Air that got Retina display, has been made thinner, but still a powerful force to reckon with. What these changes lead to, was a steep hike in price, with the basic variant now costing Rs 1,14,900 in the country.
This got us thinking in terms of what the old MacBook Air (a crowd favourite) brought to the table. So, how does the new Air compare to its predecessor, which was first launched back in 2015. Here’s a detailed look at what’s changed and whether they are worth the increase in price of the product.
New Generation MacBook Air
The new Air borrows its design elements from the existing MacBook Pro series. But it has still retained that distinctive tapering wedge shape that defined the iconic design of the original Air. The new Air is discernibly heavier than the 12-inch MacBook that still remains the lightest and most portable Mac around.
And the extra weight on the Air feels rather familiar, as if you’re picking up an old book you have been reading all these years. There’s no Touch Bar though, but you do get the Touch ID fingerprint sensor – good call by Apple in keeping some of the pricier features out, not to mention there are many who still don’t see the value in the Touch Bar.
Apple made some key upgrades – it thinned out the bezels and blacked them out to give you more screen for the size.
While this is no True Tone display like the latest Pros, it does pack in the same number of pixels as the 13-inch MacBook Pro and is on par with the best Mac displays around. Moving from 900 pixels to a screen with 1600 pixels resolution will ensure that panel does justice. For its price tag, anything else would have been unfair.
Compare this with the 2015 Air model, and the three-year gap for the next Air to launch covers all the essential ingredients for a notebook in 2018.
Hardware Gets a Bump, Just About
For over Rs 1 lakh, the base variant of the new MacBook Air comes with Intel Core i5 processor, with 8GB RAM and a meagre 128GB storage.
That’s not a lot, especially when buying a Windows notebook at this price could easily let you go for a gaming laptop, which is much more powerful than the specs of the Air. They might have the latest generation hardware, but buyers expect more, at least for its price.
The keyboard is Apple’s 3rd Generation butterfly mechanism, which retains the minimal key travel of the MacBook Pros, but is possibly a little quieter – one couldn’t really make that out in the crowded demo area – but the typing experience coming from the new Pros feels rather similar. The enormous Force Touch trackpad is a welcome move and will help in ease of use on the notebook.
#DongleLife Beckons
Yet the decision to only have Thunderbolt-3 USB-C ports (2 on the side) instead of a USB-A port is a bummer and will necessitate the #donglelife for more folks. This model was first tried out with the 12-inch MacBook which was launched last year.
This lifestyle, even for an Apple fanboy turns out to be dearer, with so many dongles and adapters that need to be bought, even for the basic things.
There’s inconvenience of spending more (over what you pay for the device) and then you have to carry them around, because, there are just two ports. It’s 2018 and Apple still wants its users to live the wired life.
Most Affordable MacBook Right Now
This year Apple has become the brand which sells products in India that cost over Rs 1 lakh. Be it the iPhone XS, XS Max or the MacBook series, the word ‘affordable’ for the company and its buyers has hit a new high, so to speak, which may or may not appeal to consumers.
Yes, the new MacBook Air is a compelling hardware that could work out as a long-term investment than an outright purchase. Now it’s up to you to decide if you really want to upgrade from the old MacBook Air to the new one, even after knowing what all you might have to give up.
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