Apple Announces New MacBook Airs with Haswell Processors and 'All-Day' Battery Life

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coachingguy said:

Am I the only one who is tired of these kind of comments?

Coachingguy.

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I find it's a useful way for idiots to identify themselves. Anyone reaching for that metaphor is helpfully signalling that they have nothing useful to add to the discussion and can be ignored.

More on topic, I was hoping to hear something about new rMBP specs today, but I was leaning towards a MBA anyway. The lack of info made my decision that much easier.

Digital Dude said:

My only problem is is that I don't have access to look at a MacBook Air display to see if it actually sucks as many of you have stated.

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The screen is not bad, as such, it is just the minimum quality they can get away with, and is rapidly falling behind the screen specs used by other manufacturers'.

It is okay for most uses where colour accuracy, or general screen quality, are not critical.

But pretty disappointing that they have not upgraded it. At the very least they should have introduced a better quality TN screen, like the one in the 13" non-retina MBP.

b166er said:

quick question for MBA users... If my primary tasks are recording music (just demos, nothing pro) and editing video (with the need to import from several different cameras) is the MBA a viable option? I was thinking of getting a new Mac in the fall because mine is no longer able to keep up. I like the slim profile of the MBA's, especially since I'll be going from room to room depending on my tasks, but I wasn't sure if just getting an iMac would make more sense.

Any thoughts?

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Hey there. I'm doing exactly the same things as you.
I'm currently using a 2011 Macbook Air 11", 1.6ghz i5, 4GB ram, 128GB SSD.
I've been successfully running Pro Tools 10, with sessions up to 40 something tracks and editing HD videos in Final Cut Pro X.

Many people are blown away that I'm running Pro Tools 10 on this tiny little computer.

I can feel that I'm pushing the machines limits with these tasks but nevertheless, I have been able to complete some great projects with this tiny computer.

I'm going to upgrade to the new model ASAP so I can run more plugins in Pro Tools without any running out of CPU errors. I've decided I'll stick with the 11" (because I love the size), but I'm going to upgrade to a custom configuration of 256GB SSD, because it's so much better running my projects off the SSD rather than external drives. It really is amazingly fast and the newer drive is supposed to be even faster. That's pretty awesome! With 256GB, I should be able to run all my current projects on the internal drive, then copy them off to an external once I'm done with it.

I'm also going to upgrade the processor to the faster i7 and the RAM to 8GB. If my current machine can already handle my needs, albeit with a little bit of struggle when the sessions start getting large, then this upgrade should do it with ease.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7058/2013-macbook-air-pcie-ssd-and-haswell-ult-inside

Anand posted some more information earlier this evening. It looks like Apple did not just go with a faster SATA stick/drive using the SATA interface; it seems they went with a PCIe-based SSD solution. Nice (this has been happening in the enterprise to get better performance for a little while now). Nice, but I would have thought expensive. Maybe for sticks this big it is not bad (the solutions I have seen are half a TB, a TB, or more). Just under 800MB/s is no joke, and I would have thought more than necessary for this type of machine. But it is nice to have the power if necessary (one can start to think about using it for more of those "power" usages).

Also, he does a cpu comparison (with other modules including the base). It seems that it is right about where last year was (and I do not remember most people complaining, if they were not a "power" user). So they go with a lower-power version, and get the same or close to the same cpu performance. And you can get the better cpu model on any of the configs for $150 it seems.

Anand says he is going to test out the HD 5000 graphics. I am going to try to get ahold of one to test it out, too.

I do not like the way the price balloons into the Pro (with Retina) line-up if you add in the better cpu, additional ram, and bigger SSD. But all in, it is still less expensive than the Pro (with Retina) line. If you do not need four cpu cores and can live without the high resolution screens, a beefier version of this could be quite the little workstation in a great form factor at a . . . reasonable price. And the battery life is really, really tempting . . . not having to plug it in for most of the day is really something (assuming Apple's number hold up).

Writergirl7 said:

I know the MBA isnt ideal for rendering but i like the idea of a computer that can be used at my desk connected to a monitor but also be light and ultra-portable when i need it to be. I know i can't get the best of all worlds in one purchase and I intend to keep whatever computer I get for ~ three years. I would max out the RAM anyway but I don't want to be frustred by processor speed even though the Haswell promises better performance.

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I think you'll be pleased with the performance you get when editing photos. Remember that the 1.3 is just the "base clock" speed that the CPU runs at. It will give good performance when doing most tasks you throw at it: writing, browsing, music & watching movies. But don't forget that the current chips have TurboBoost. When you do complex computing (such as adding filters in Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, etc), the CPU can tap into some extra power and double the clock speed of the cores to plow through the tasks.

You can tell that it's working because the fans will spin up pretty loud, but you should never notice any difference. It's by design.

dnn said:

Hey there. I'm doing exactly the same things as you.
I'm currently using a 2011 Macbook Air 11", 1.6ghz i5, 4GB ram, 128GB SSD.
I've been successfully running Pro Tools 10, with sessions up to 40 something tracks and editing HD videos in Final Cut Pro X.

Many people are blown away that I'm running Pro Tools 10 on this tiny little computer.

I can feel that I'm pushing the machines limits with these tasks but nevertheless, I have been able to complete some great projects with this tiny computer.

I'm going to upgrade to the new model ASAP so I can run more plugins in Pro Tools without any running out of CPU errors. I've decided I'll stick with the 11" (because I love the size), but I'm going to upgrade to a custom configuration of 256GB SSD, because it's so much better running my projects off the SSD rather than external drives. It really is amazingly fast and the newer drive is supposed to be even faster. That's pretty awesome! With 256GB, I should be able to run all my current projects on the internal drive, then copy them off to an external once I'm done with it.

I'm also going to upgrade the processor to the faster i7 and the RAM to 8GB. If my current machine can already handle my needs, albeit with a little bit of struggle when the sessions start getting large, then this upgrade should do it with ease.

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Sounds good man, thanks for your input. It sounds like you are doing much more serious audio than I am so I'd imagine I should be ok there. I usually don't handle more than 10 tracks on a song and honestly garageband is usually adequate- I just use it for demos and pre-production.

As far as video I basically have a hundred or so old 8mm and VHS-C tapes that I'd like to dump in to a computer asap. I want to dump each tape in it's entirety, probably on an external just to back everything up. Then I can do this huge editing project from there that I've been talking about for years haha. It sounds like a MBA can handle everything for me. I may still get an iMac because I know my girls wants a new computer too and these days there isn't much sense in us each having a high end PC when I only really need the power when I'm at home anyway.

Thanks again for your input!

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mark88 said:

My late 2010 MBA, had a 1.8ghz core 2 duo, 4gb RAMM AND 128GB flash storage.

At the same price point today, I get a 1.3ghz Dual Core i5, 4GB Ramm, 128GB Flash drive.

Yea I get it's faster and has more batter life and more ports but it's doesn't seem like much progress in nearly 3 years.

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Fine, stick with your ancient C2D and buy a MacBook when the newest Intel 3.2 ghz octocores are for sale.

Now, on a serious note. Why don't you and the countless other spec whores on here understand that clock speed doesn't mean much these days. Just wait until the benchmarks start to pop up...then you'll get some sense beat into that brain of yours. You have a 2.6 ghz headroom if required when doing intensive/heavy tasks - with a Haswell CPU. That isn't enough for you?

...it's like saying 25 megapixels is better than 16.1 mp which most of us know it isn't true. There are more to it than numbers.

Penn Jennings said:

Seriously, what percent of people need a 12 hour battery?

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My guess is, more than the number of people that need a dGPU.

Elwe said:

Anand posted some more information earlier this evening. It looks like Apple did not just go with a faster SATA stick/drive using the SATA interface; it seems they went with a PCIe-based SSD solution. Nice (this has been happening in the enterprise to get better performance for a little while now). Nice, but I would have thought expensive.

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Yes, and they still managed to reduce the price by €100 for every model. Hopefully it's a standard interface and not proprietary. That would mean faster SSDs, faster Wi-Fi and a day long battery for less money. Bad Apple, bad, bad, bad ! :-D


Peter.

ApplNat said:

Nope. No better screen.

Marketing hype to call it the all new line of MacBook Airs.

Same Macbook Airs just with Haswell chip, which provides longer battery life.

Same body, same size screen, same everything else.

That said, I'm ready to purchase as I don't have a mac now and was waiting for the 2013 models to come out. And now they have. 13" is in my (near) future as soon as I can purchase one.

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Yup, this is merely a look, hasewell IS great for notebooks release.

Let's be serious guys: the update has just been to replace Ivy Bridge for Haswell, period. The battery life and graph performance boost are a direct result of the new processor's own characteristics, not Apple's engineering wizardry.

So yeah, a little bit of a "meh" update.

I still think that Apple needs to merge the MBA 13" and the rMBP 13" into one single laptop: do we really need two 13" models that are so similar?

KohPhiPhi said:

Let's be serious guys: the update has just been to replace Ivy Bridge for Haswell, period. The battery life and graph performance boost are a direct result of the new processor's own characteristics, not Apple's engineering wizardry.

So yeah, a little bit of a "meh" update.

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The switch to PCIe SSD from SATA3 isn't just a Haswell refresh. 750 MB/sec read and write from a SSD is nothing to scoff about. I'm hoping this spreads to the other line.

The PCIe switch is being reported by various sources including Anandtech.

The MBA display is great. Color, contrast, viewing... Its perfect.
With 9 or 12 hours of battery life, you wont need your charger for a whole day and you have fast cpu and insanely fast ssd. ITs the ultimate machine for a internet/office user.

The mac line:

Macbook Air for basic user (almost 80% of all users)
Macbook Pro for more advanced users
Mac Pro for professional users

And then you have iMac and Mac mini for all users between.

Im sure that this year all macbook pros will go retina. Th problem is that almost everyone on the forums are advanced or pro users so they dont see them with an MBA and that dosent meen its a bad notebook. Infact its exactly that, a notebook.

Not so much.....

surprises in this front. Haswell chips were expected in this iteration of Apple portables. Power management? I suppose we will have to wait if the Air lives up to te claims of Apple or at least come closer.....

Rubbish.

MBA Now - And an MBA Later

Fantastic upgrade for me. Cheap enough to get another one when the next version comes out.

First Macs were about $3500, more like $5000 in today's dollars. These MBAs are a bargain.

The insanely great battery life for those who travel is a boon. Someone earlier mentioned they mostly use their Air at home and knocked the new battery life. Why by or comment on an Air if you sit on your ass at home all day?

And where is the bump in storage???

Still the same.

RichardF said:

I can relate to this.

But what would you need 16GB of RAM for?

It wasn't long ago, 4GB seemed like a lot and Mac OS X hasn't required more RAM to function.


Edit: oh and question for everyone: the better battery life is with the current build of Mac OS X? Didn't Mavericks also boast a better battery life performance on stage?

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Honestly, mainly "futureproofing" - I do have to run a "mixed" environment of OS X and Win8, so every ounce of RAM helps. And Windows is just a PITA resource-hog.

juanmanas said:

Have you noticed that all those models use complete different OSs? It looks like something to take into account...

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Heh. You know, if you had asked me 10 or even 5 years ago if I would buy a Windows laptop, my answer would be a resounding no. But these past few years, the landscape has been changing a lot. You hear much, much less nowadays about viruses, malware attacks, BSODs, etc. and the build quality is steadily getting better (though, admittedly, still not quite to Apple's level).

During the Christmas holidays I walked into a Microsoft Store for the first time, fully intending to scoff and laugh at how crappy the Surface tablet and Windows 8 were going to be. I spent half an hour playing with one and I have to say I liked it! A lot more than I like Android. And after playing with some of these touchscreen convertible laptops, I can definitely see myself using one as a hybrid travel laptop/tablet.

I currently own an iPad and a 2007-era MacBook Pro. Oh, and a crappy Windows 7 netbook. I could foresee replacing those with a nice powerful laptop as my main home machine (Retina MBP?) and a small travel laptop to replace my iPad (11" MBA? Windows 8 convertible?)

Knowing that my main machine is likely still going to be a Mac allows me to be a bit more open minded about what I buy as a travel machine.

My last Mac (and my only mac) was a <get ready for it> Powerbook Duo 280c!

Circa 1996, Appl's first color laptop. Teeny tiny. I worked for the company at the time at headquarters in Cupertino. Yeppers, had 2 Netwtons as well. Farrrrrr Out!

Been on Wintel machines my computing life though, so it will be fun to be on OSX as change of pace.

greenythebeast said:

It's my understanding that Haswell ULT processors are dual core only. That sucks

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Um...The only Haswell processors that are DUAL core are the i5s...

Unless I am missing something....

UberAppleGeekUS said:

Um...The only Haswell processors that are DUAL core are the i5s...

Unless I am missing something....

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The Ultra-Low Voltage chips that are used in the MacBook Air are dual-core only, whether i5 or i7. Quad-core mobile chips exist only in the regular versions.

I assume this storage is soldered onto the logic board?

Davy.Shalom said:

I assume this storage is soldered onto the logic board?

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That is what I am waiting to see. I imagine it is on a PCIe card instead though. Now to wait for the take apart.

Eidorian said:

That is what I am waiting to see. I imagine it is on a PCIe card instead though. Now to wait for the take apart.

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Yeah a PCIe card would allow for some expandability. On another note, I'm eager to see how the Mac Pro sells....seems reminiscent of the G4 cube.