Apple macbook air 13.3 review

Writing up our Apple MacBook Air (2019) review proved to be one of the better tests we've wiped out a short time because not much has changed from last year's model, which gave the ultraportable laptop an enormous update.

Apple macbook air 13.3 review 2020

Apple's cheapest laptop features a sharp Retina screen, modern aluminum design, comfortable amounts of power and large battery life, but now includes the handy True Tone feature within the screen, also as a supposedly more reliable keyboard.

Apple macbook air 13.3 review

As the student laptop or portable work machine it's meant to be, it's no revelation compared to last year, but it's still an excellent option. Let's dive into why.

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (2019) REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The new MacBook Air is Apple's cheapest laptop, ranging from £1,099 – last year's model started from £1,199 – which puts a touch of real daylight between it and therefore the entry-level MacBook Pro, which starts at £1,299.

For that price, you get 128GB of fast flash storage, which you'll upgrade to 256GB for £200 (which is, frankly, a rip off), or to 512GB for £400, or 1TB for £600.

You get 8GB of RAM as standard, which may be upgraded to 16GB for £180 – another ridiculous upgrade fee. The RAM is soldered on, so you cannot upgrade after purchase (same for the storage) so choose wisely now.

The MacBook Air comes in three colors: Space Grey, Silver, and Gold. The latter is more at the Rose Gold end, really, and appears very different counting on what light it's in, though we love it at tons.

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (2019) REVIEW: FEATURES

As mentioned, the bottom model of the MacBook Air comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is matched with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor.

The processor appears a tad on the disappointing side for the worth, compared to what you get elsewhere – the identically-priced HP Envy 13 gives you a quad-core processor – but HyperThreading means it can act sort of a quad-core processor, and it can boost its speed up to three .6GHz for brief tasks.

The screen may be a 13-inch 2560x1600 Retina display, and it now includes True Tone support, which is Apple's tech for adjusting the screen's colors slightly to match the ambient lighting within the room you're in, so your eyes don't become uncomfortable employing a blue-tinted screen when your room lights are a soft orange.

It's a great feature, and it had been an enormous shame to not have it on last year's model – once you get won't to it, going back to regular screens seems like an enormous step backward.

Above the screen may be a webcam, and Apple resolutely persists in including a measly (and rubbish) 720p camera here – we do not expect anything like an iPhone camera, but can we a minimum of Full HD? 1280x720 is lower resolution than every iPhone Apple sells, and surely we should always a minimum of expecting to not need to be upscaled in FaceTime?

Along the side are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which double as USB-C ports. The MacBook Air is additionally powered through them, so everything wired except headphones (there's still a 3.5mm jack, though you'll use USB-C cans) goes through here.

It's not a nasty system and means the Air is often juiced quickly: the 30W charger is sweet for charging speed, but you'll get a higher-power one if you wanted.

Being Thunderbolt 3 ports, they need the potential to supply blisteringly, hilariously fast data speeds – enough even for an external graphics card to be connected over them, adding huge amounts of additional power.

We suspect, though, that the majority of people going for an Air would have voted for having more of the cheaper standard USB-C ports than fewer of the faster ones if that was the selection.

Still, we're during a mostly wireless future now, so as long as you have an honest adapter in your bag for once you do get to connect, you'll never be bothered about the ports.

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (2019) REVIEW: PERFORMANCE and usefulness

We've already mentioned that the processor within the Air looks weaker on paper than some of its similarly-priced competitors, but you're unlikely to worry in practice.

Thanks to its ability to spice up when needed, and therefore the fast storage used, everything we've done on the MacBook Air has responded instantly. Apps and files open during a blink, we've not seen a spinning ball telling us to attend once, it comes on immediately… there is no slow-down here.

The Geekbench scores tell the story: the MacBook Air scores 4287 within the single-core tests (which is what's used for the overwhelming majority of what you'll do on a computer), while the quad-core contribute that HP Envy 13 laptop we mentioned scores 4787 – it isn't a serious difference.

It's a different question when it involves multi-core power, with the MacBook Air scoring 7897 compared to 13130 for the chip utilized in the Envy 13, so if you were planning on long video encodes… then you almost certainly should are watching the MacBook Pro within the first place, to be honest, which starts from £1,299 and comes with a quad-core processor.

Crucially, the contribution the MacBook Air is rated for half the facility draw of the one within the HP, then it helps the machine achieve its 12 hours of quoted battery life.

Actual battery life varies wildly, of course, and comes right down to whether you're doing intensive tasks, downloading things, using Chrome instead of Safari… almost anything can change how long you get from it.

But Apple also regularly undersells the battery life on its laptops, and for light use, that's been the case for us, dropping only a few percents per hour of use for writing and web browsing (ie, while scripting this review).

It also holds onto battery rather well when closed, so it can last several days if you're just using it for small bits at a time.

The screen may be a specialty here, with the 16:10 quad HD resolution supplying you with plenty of detail to figure with, during a reasonably bright and vibrant panel.

It's noticeably almost as nice because the one on the £1,299 MacBook Pro, which is about 25% brighter at its peak and features a wide-color P3 gamut, but we've no major complaints.

The MacBook Air does get one over some rivals at similar prices here – you'll often find them with 1920x1080 screens, so you get some extra sharpness from the Air.

The bezels around the screen are a touch thicker than we'd like for a contemporary cutting-edge machine – we'd tomato to squeeze a 14-inch screen into an equivalent footprint – but again this isn't a drag.

There are stereo speakers on either side of the keyboard that is, surprisingly good – and that we mean it about the surprise. They create a correct stereo effect, so it seems like the sound is coming from either side of you. it is easy to forget this, and end up stunned by the immersive sound once you were just expecting a touch of noise from the front.

They're good in terms of depth of sound too – there's enough bass to feel it under your fingers while resting on the case, and many of detail. Great for movies and music.

The 128GB of storage supplied are often a usability issue if you do not believe it before you purchase. Expect 20GB to travel straight on the OS and its files, so actually, we're talking 100GB.

Apple has built some tools to ease your use of local storage into macOS, with files offloaded to iCloud able to download once you need them… but that only works if you buy a bigger amount of iCloud space, and always have internet access for accessing those files when needed.

If you're mainly thinking of using it for documents or may be working online, then you will be fine here… but just keep it in mind before you select your model.

We also got to mention the present Apple keyboards, which have had a turbulent time. Some people do not like the very short travel, though we quite love it – the keys give much feedback and click on satisfyingly, so they're no hindrance to accuracy. But it is a preference thing – if you care about the keyboard feel, you'll only know if you do not love it by trying it.

More importantly, though, the keyboards have had tons of reliability issues. This machine uses a third-generation version that supposedly is best for this (time will tell), and Apple features a comprehensive repair program specifically ready for if anything does fail.

Right now, we wouldn't say the keyboard issues are a definitive reason to not buy (unless you're James Patterson, writing three novels a day), but they're important to remember.

Finally, there's the trackpad: it's generously sized, very responsive, and remains, like all Apple trackpads, absolutely best in its class. we do not know why numerous Windows laptop trackpads are bad, but they're, and it's quite an important thing to urge right – and Apple always does.

APPLE MACBOOK AIR: VERDICT

If you purchased last year's version of the MacBook Air, then this is not an upgrade you would like to seem at. there is a nice, easy verdict for those people.

If you are looking for a replacement thin-and-light more generally, it is a strong choice. It's fast, it lasts far away from power for an extended time, Apple stuff is usually highly reliable, usability is good… it is a very nice machine.

Our main issue is that the default storage level – 256GB drives costs pounds, not many pounds, and making that the bottom level would help things tons. We also do not like the quantity it costs to upgrade the RAM, but 8GB is going to be sufficient for many anyway.

Assuming you've decided to travel with macOS, the important question is whether or not you actually want this, or whether you would possibly be more happy spending an additional £200 and getting the higher screen and quad-core power of the entry-level MacBook Pro.

That machine is that the same thickness as this one (at the Air's thickest point), and therefore the weight difference is simply 120g… but it does have a lower battery life. It's maybe the more versatile machine in terms of getting that power to future-proof for belongings you might want to try to within the future, but it's still a trade-off.

If it's Apple's most portable laptop you would like, then the solution is the MacBook Air – it is a great machine.