Our First Peek at New MacBook Air Performance Isn’t Pretty
- Paul Thurrott
- Nov 02, 2018
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38
The biggest question swirling around the new MacBook Air is how Apple’s use of a middling Y-series Intel processor will impact performance. Well, now we have our an idea of that performance based on benchmarks. And it’s not great.
According to Geekbench, the 2018 MacBook Air scores 4248 in the single-core test and 7828 in the multi-core test. (That’s for a system with 16 GB of RAM, however, and that may skew the results upward.)
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According to 9to5Mac, those scores are roughly on par with the previous-generation MacBook Air, which utilizes a four-year-old Core Core i5 processor. That Mac scores at about 4200 in single-core testing and 7800 in multi-core testing. And the new Air is about 20 percent better in single-core and 17 percent better in multi-core when compared to a MacBook, which also uses a Y-series processor.
Compare these to the 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro: This powerhouse hits 4504 in single-core and an incredible 6464 in multi-score testing. That’s more than double the score posted by the Air.
Granted, we’ll need to see what this thing is like in real life, and I’ve never really been disappointed in the performance of my early 2014 MacBook Air, which uses an even older Core i5 processor. So it’s possible that the new Air will work fine with what Apple calls “everyday tasks.”
It’s also possible we’ve been Apple Jacked. Again.
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Conversation 38 comments
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bharris
<p>I have no doubt that it will work fine for "everyday tasks" but so will most computers, some being a lot less expensive.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#359773">In reply to Pbike908:</a></em></blockquote><p>I agree about the ARM problems, but I don't think there's really a current computing problem that needs to be solved. Mobile apps don't offer anything that current platforms can't already do with the exception of things that make sense only on a small device like a phone. </p><p><br></p><p>We now have high-end smartphones that cost about twice as much as a middling laptop that can do so much more. Many people are quite happy using only their smartphone because they modest needs don't require even the mobile-oriented keyboard device you envision. </p><p><br></p><p>My opinion as I've expressed before, is that there's little point in trying to transform a mobile device into a half-baked productivity platform when better solutions already exist, often for less money. </p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#359742">In reply to CmdrZod4R:</a></em></blockquote><p>Most likely if Apple came out with a MacBook Air 200% faster, they'd probably double the price. Speculation on ARM performance relative to Intel still seems to be in the wishful thinking category.</p>
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shameermulji
<p>What you have posted doesn't make sense. This is what 9to5mac has written:</p><p><br></p><p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In terms of comparison to the mid-2017 MacBook Air, which features a 5th-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 processor at 1.8GHz, the 2018 Retina MacBook is roughly 27 percent faster in single-core and 28 percent faster in multi-core."</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"Meanwhile, the MacBook Air offers similar performance improvements compared to the base model 12-inch MacBook, with a 20 percent improvement in single-core and a 17 percent increase in multi-core."</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"As for the mid-2017 MacBook Pro without Touch Bar – which is priced $100 more than the Retina MacBook Air, the Pro scores roughly the same in single-core with a 4314 score. In terms of multi-core, the Pro is 16 percent faster, according to Geekbench scores."</span></p><p><br></p><p>Going by this, the Retina MBA should be a decent performer. If you're a previous MBA owner and enjoyed using it, one should have no issue using this new Retina MBA considering that it has a good performance jump vs the old base model MBA. Not to mention it has USB-C / TB3 support, much better sound, a retina screen, great battery and support for up to 16GB RAM.</p>
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shameermulji
<blockquote><em><a href="#359788">In reply to Markiz von Schnitzel:</a></em></blockquote><p>This article is blatantly wrong. See my post below</p>
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mayur23
<p>i am likely Apple MacBook and MacBook Display Like nice article</p><p><a href="https://www.mytechb.com/top-10-vivo-v11-pro-hidden-tips-tricks/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">vivo v11 pro hidden tips and tricks</a></p>