Hands On: New 13-Inch Apple MacBook Air
The new Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2012) still looks the same as its previous iteration. But inside is a different story. We take a closer look.
Monday's led off with new Apple MacBook Airs, including the 13-inch and 11-inch models, though the 15-inch literally rose to the spotlight soon after. Really, it did rise from the stage floor on a pedestal under the lights!
We recently received the 13-inch model from Apple, and lets put it this way: It's still very slim, very light, and it's got the same looks as the previous
Design and Features
The new MacBook Air looks very much like the previous model. It's got the same wedge-shaped chassis that tapers almost to a sharp point. The screen is a 13.3-inch widescreen display with a 1,440-by-900 resolution. This is the same resolution as the previous two generations of 13-inch MacBook Air systems. For the time being, the Retina display is limited to the new MacBook Pro. The Air's screen is still bright and clear, though, and should keep most users happy. The system has the same unibody aluminum, silver bezel around the screen, and same sets of physical ports on the sides (with a couple of exceptions).
The new MacBook Air uses the MagSafe2 power connector that is shorter and wider than the original MagSafe connector. The MacBook Air's 45-watt MagSafe 2 AC adapter has a T-shaped connector; hopefully Apple has corrected the problems that led to frayed MagSafe cords in the late 2000s. MagSafe and MagSafe 2 are physically different connectors, so current Apple display users or users with spare MagSafe adapters lying around will need a $9.99 MagSafe–to–MagSafe 2 converter from Apple.
The two USB ports are now USB 3.0, which are much faster than the previous USB 2.0 connectors. Of course, USB 2.0 (and USB 1.1/1.0) devices will still work with the USB 3.0 ports. The Thunderbolt connector, headphone, SDXC slot, and microphone carry over from the previous MacBook Air.
Typing on the MacBook Air's keyboard was the same, with the same somewhat shallow key travel. You'll need to get used to it if you're switching from a desktop keyboard, but it's otherwise identical to the previous MacBook Air. The large, multitouch trackpad also carries over the same gestures and reacts just as smoothly.
The new base 13-inch MacBook Air comes with 4GB of system memory (as before, though now it's speedier 1,600MHz DDR3), and the processor is upgraded from a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-2557M (Sandy Bridge) processor to a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5-3427U (Ivy Bridge) processor. As such, the MacBook Pro now has Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics with DirectX 11 support. Weight remains just under 3 pounds, and the same 50Wh battery powers the whole shebang. The system's 128GB of flash storage helps it start up, launch apps, and sleep quickly, taking only a couple of seconds to do each operation.
The system ships with Mac OS X Lion (10.7.4), but when the MacBook Air will be able to use Power Nap, which will continue to update compatible info (like Facebook, email, and messages) while the system is sleeping. OS X Mountain Lion will be a free upgrade when the updated operating system is released in July.
Speaking of software, the MacBook Air 13-inch comes with the usual set of iLife apps, like GarageBand, iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto. FaceTime is currently a Mac-to-Mac program, but the Mountain Lion update will allow Mac to iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPad) video conferencing.
We're still working on our testing and final review, but suffice to say the new Apple MacBook Air 13-inch is physically the same, but with updated internal components. We'll have more details on the new MacBook Air 13-inch's performance very soon, so stay tuned for our full review.
For now, check out our MacBook Air 13-inch unboxing slideshow above, and our full review of the .