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Updated MacBook Airs with Improved Haswell Processors See Minor Speed Boosts

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,716



Following the introduction of refreshed MacBook Airs yesterday, Geekbench 3 benchmarking scores have begun appearing, suggesting, as expected, just minor speed improvements for the new notebooks.

mbageekbench.jpg
Apple only updated the low-end processor option for the MacBook Air and that is seeing 32-bit single-core scores around 2532 and multi-core scores around 4781. Compared to the 2013 MacBook Air the new processor brings just a slight boost in processing power. The 11-inch 2013 MacBook Air saw average scores of 2379/4480, while the 13-inch version saw scores of 2369/4468.

macbook_air_2013_benchmarks.jpg
Single and multi-core Geekbench scores for the low-end 2013 MacBook Airs​
​
Along with minor speed improvements, the new 1.4Ghz Core i5-4260U processor has also increased the battery life of some tasks, namely video playback, which has gained an extra hour on the 11-inch model and an extra two hours on the 13-inch model.

Most notably, Apple's update brought lower prices for the MacBook Air, dropping its price tag by $100 across the board in the United States and many other countries. MacBook Air prices now start at $899 instead of $999, and there are also several more affordable 2013 and 2012 options available in Apple's online refurbished store.

Though this update has not been a significant change for the MacBook Air, Apple is said to be working on a significantly improved version of the notebook with a 12-inch Retina display, a slimmer body with a fanless design, and a buttonless trackpad. This redesigned MacBook Air may launch towards the end of the year.

Article Link: Updated MacBook Airs with Improved Haswell Processors See Minor Speed Boosts
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/30/macbook-air-minor-speed-boosts/
J

Jsameds

Suspended
Apr 22, 2008
3,525
7,987
Not really worth it, then. May as well hunt yourself out a bargain on the even more discounted 2013 model.

Either that or wait another 12 months when they will likely completely refresh the MBA line. That bezel has got to go!
 
Parasprite

Parasprite

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2013
1,698
144
This conclusion is extremely surprising. :rolleyes:

Edit: Was referring to the similar scores.

Edit 2: Disregard all of this, I'm silly.
 
Last edited:
M

Macboy Pro

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2011
730
52
They dropped the price and gave it a minor bump. The price drop tends to get lost but it is significant. Problem I have is that I can't deal with a 4GB RAM laptop, especially the soldered crap.
 
A

ageha

macrumors regular
Jan 30, 2008
245
0
Macboy Pro said:
They dropped the price and gave it a minor bump. The price drop tends to get lost but it is significant. Problem I have is that I can't deal with a 4GB RAM laptop, especially the soldered crap.
Click to expand...

Just buy it with 8GB then.
 
jsutcliffe

jsutcliffe

macrumors newbie
Apr 30, 2014
14
0
SSDs

When are we going to have the option of ~1 TB SSDs??? MBAs have been "stuck" at a max of 512 GB for some time now. Apple needs to offer 1 TB SSDs for the MBAs as soon as they possibly can. Even if they're expensive. 500 GB is too small. (for me and my needs).

Ideally, they'd figure out how to increase RAM to 16 GB too. **I know that space and design realities are limiting**, and I should go to a Pro if this is that important to me, but I LOVE my MBA 13"
 
L

LFMNX

macrumors regular
Feb 14, 2011
150
2
Wish for more RAM option

My only wish is for a 16GB RAM option. When is the 12" expected
 
OneMike

OneMike

macrumors 603
Oct 19, 2005
5,814
1,795
Battery life / price is more important to me, although I'm not sure if I want one yet.

More power is always nice, but I don't think the previous version was lacking.
 
Eidorian

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
It is only a little more for a 13" Macbook Pro Retina compared to a new 13" Macbook Air 8 GB/256 GB. Now to decide if I am going to wait for the next MBP update.

Do we have any specifics on how this increase in battery life was made? Is it just Build number voodoo or did we get another battery cell?
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
1,707
351
not that much of a gain, I rather take the $599 refurb macbook air, if it still available.
 
Aluminum213

Aluminum213

macrumors 68040
Mar 16, 2012
3,597
4,707
Why would anyone buy a new MacBook Air right before WWDC and the announcement of new MacBooks airs?
 
S

sehix

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2002
154
58
jsutcliffe said:
When are we going to have the option of ~1 TB SSDs??? MBAs have been "stuck" at a max of 512 GB for some time now. Apple needs to offer 1 TB SSDs for the MBAs as soon as they possibly can. Even if they're expensive. 500 GB is too small. (for me and my needs).

Ideally, they'd figure out how to increase RAM to 16 GB too. **I know that space and design realities are limiting**, and I should go to a Pro if this is that important to me, but I LOVE my MBA 13"
Click to expand...

I loved my 13" MBA, too. Until it was stolen recently.

Now I have a 13" rMBP 16GB/512GB, and it's better in just about every way you can imagine. Being 8 oz heavier and 0.03" thicker ... eh; otherwise it's faster, has better display, runs cooler and quieter (and the MBA almost never made a sound as it was).
 
A

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Oct 23, 2010
7,297
3,047
Marketing. Apple is slick. They get press for their new line and then say ohhh and btw... the retinal MBA is coming at the end of the year.
 
S

shurcooL

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
938
117
buttonless trackpad
Click to expand...

From what I know, the button is supposed to remain, it will just be implemented differently (in a more advanced way that takes up less space, can be pressed anywhere evenly, rather than bottom being easier to press).

So wouldn't it be better to describe as "improved button in trackpad" as to not mislead people into thinking the change is about removing the feeling of a button from the User Experience?
 
M

mozumder

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2009
1,283
4,416
for comparison, the iPhone 5s is at 1393 (single core) and 2485 (multi-core).

It might be possible for Apple to catch up to Haswell/Broadwell this year with iPhone 6.

They don't even need a major rearchitecture of A7 to catch up.. just bump up power limits and increase cache size and memory interface speeds.
 
Mr Fusion

Mr Fusion

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2007
841
1,061
Four months into 2014, we get a minor spec bump in one of the product lines... Yay?

"Can't innovate anymore my ***!!!"

:rolleyes:
 
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