13" MacBook Air Review Roundup: Apple's Battery Claims Appear Accurate, SSD and Graphics Drive Performance Increases

[Mike Valmike]

I'm torn between getting a maxed out 13" MBA or upgrading my war torn late 2008 15" MBP with an SSD and new battery. 12 hour battery life and portability is tough to beat and speed sounds like it would be an upgrade minus the dedicated GPU but I have an iMac to take care of the heavy lifting...Anyone in a similar position have thoughts?

If you had told me you had an early 2011 MBP, I'd say stick with it and put an SSD in. But 2008, you've got a number of performance and accessibility improvements that make the new MBA a better choice for the long haul. You get thunderbolt, USB3, AirPlay mirroring in the OS, Recovery Partition, the old MBP will be EOLed on OS X support any version now while the new MBA will be good to go for years yet, etc. You've given it five years. Go ahead and make the jump; it's time.

/jumped from 2009 MBP to 2012 MBP and it was worth it

 

[AppleMark]

Good to see that the claimed battery life is not exaggerated, as it can often be.

 

[vmachiel]

Just read engadget's review, that battery test result is indeed amazing. Hope they bring it to the pro line soon. And with maverick coming, things will only get better

 

[neatokino]

I HATE glossy screens. The MBA seems to have a less glossy screen-- it has one less layer of glass-- which is one oddball but significant reason why I prefer the Air to the current MacBook Pro's, even the retina models.

That matte screen on the old 15" Macbook Pro is amazing, but it's part of Apple history, no longer made. The MBA has a little bit of gloss to it, but it's not distractingly and irritatingly reflective like other current mac screens.

How does the MBA glossy screen compare to the matte screen? The lack of a matte screen is what is making me hesitant to buy the new MBA

 

[donutbagel]

Wow, my MacBook lasts 1 hour on a full charge, and my Samsung TV takes longer to boot up than a new MacBook Air or Pro.

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I HATE glossy screens. The MBA seems to have a less glossy screen-- it has one less layer of glass-- which is one oddball but significant reason why I prefer the Air to the current MacBook Pro's, even the retina models.

That matte screen on the old 15" Macbook Pro is amazing, but it's part of Apple history, no longer made. The MBA has a little bit of gloss to it, but it's not distractingly and irritatingly reflective like other current mac screens.

My 2006 MacBook has a matte screen. It doesn't help with the glare, and it means that the screen gets dirty all the time. If you buy a new MBP and don't want the glass, take it off and send it to me

 

[notjustjay]

"Less than 12" refers to the MBP, see original comment.

Oops. That does change the context of the conversation. I stand corrected.

 

[NutsNGum]

Can't wait to see the results of the Half Life 2 FPS performance. I wonder if there are any more 10+ year old games we can test GPU performance out with.

 

[Marx55]

Performance Testing: Not All 2013 MacBook Air SSDs Are The Same

In the meantime, we have noticed a vast difference in write speeds between the two SSD offerings that we’ve received so far. The 512GB Samsung SSD found in our 13-inch model offers roughly a 400MB/s increase in write speeds over the 128GB SanDisk/Marvell SSD as our 11-inch model was configured.
http://blog.macsales.com/19008-performance-testing-not-all-2013-macbook-air-ssds-are-the-same

 

[DTphonehome]

Someone please tell me when they think the next MBPr refresh will be. Then take my money.

Couple of months, probably.

Now, where's that money?

 

[blackhand1001]

Apple is getting credit here that is not deserved. These battery life improvements are all because of Intel and Haswell. The other benchmarks clearly were being compared to machines with the intel hd 4000. Everyone else is getting these improvements as well.

 

[juanmanas]

What credentials do you have that we should trust you?

If you dont trust a comment full of common sense and rationality, maybe you are the one that should not be trusted.

 

[Rogue 7]

Apple is getting credit here that is not deserved. These battery life improvements are all because of Intel and Haswell. The other benchmarks clearly were being compared to machines with the intel hd 4000. Everyone else is getting these improvements as well.

So Apple didn't change the battery size in the new Airs?

 

[J.acks]

"Similar Windows machines" that were using Intel HD 4000, probably.

Those reviews really make you believe that GPUs are miraculous on Apple machines, which is a huge BS.

I believe the similiar machines here are mediocre notebook that cost about the same price as MBa. To be perfectly honest, there is no WINDOWS notebook that can deliver as MBa. Those cheap notebook with high spec machines can't perform quite the same. Their battery will drain within hour.

So if you still think this BS? Let us know if you have notebook that cost about the same price and has the same performance.

 

[AppleScruff1]

You can't argue about this kind of battery life. I'm curious to see what improvements will come on the Windows based pc's.

 

[iSayuSay]

Only for those that are completely unfamiliar with Apple. They have NEVER used miraculous GPUs. Their top notch systems have *always* had less-then-cutting-edge GPUs in comparison to the latest Windows ATI, NVidia, etc. Made up for it with hard work and "miraculous software".

The difference? Apple's 1+ year old drivers and software are actually vetted (or at least more so than others) and "optimized". While it's nice having the fastest GPU on Windows for a whole year or two, it's completely negated by the number of lockups, reboots, and crashes. This was highlighted when Windows Aero came out in Vista -finally native window manager acceleration in 2007 that supported GPU enhanced alpha channels (keep in mind that OS X had this some 8 years earlier). Of coarse with Microsoft, there was always stop gaps with DirectX and Win-G for libraries for games and apps that needed graphics performance above what the window manager could deliver. For many, a sputter of the monitor and a clicking to a new Hz refresh rate and monitor profile was acceptable and "good enough". But there is something to be said about the silky smooth "show contents while dragging windows" that was always native to OS X.

Well then how about give users a top-notch-cutting-edge graphic AND "miraculous and optimized software". For the price Apple asks for their computers, it shouldn't be that hard.
And even better, how about gives us vast library of software and huge title games by utilize OpenGL API.
How about also provides software for engineering and technical fields? Enough with iMovie and iPhoto jerkaround.

Why? Oh yes, they want 30% margin intact. So might as well give users a $#1ttY hardware and sell this miraculous snake oil software.

 

[Renzatic]

This device is dominant in its class. Probably getting one. 8gb/i7. Haven't seen speed and battery tests on that yet.

If you're talking about the Air, the Vaio Pro 13 beats it in quite a few areas. Basically in everything except Cinebench OpenGL performances.

Still, this has pushed me a good deal closer to getting an Air. I like it over the Windows ultrabooks just because OSX has much, much better trackpad support. Even with 8, Windows requires you carry around a mouse to get the most out of it.

...though the relatively low res screen kinda hurts it a bit in my eyes.

 

[gnasher729]

Apple is getting credit here that is not deserved. These battery life improvements are all because of Intel and Haswell. The other benchmarks clearly were being compared to machines with the intel hd 4000. Everyone else is getting these improvements as well.

Improvements are _not_ all because of Intel and Haswell. Clearly proven by Engadget when they ran Windows 8 on the identical hardware, with a drastic reduction in battery life.

And you really have a strange attitude. If other manufacturers announce (not ship, announce) laptops with Haswell processors, then Apple is outdated and cannot innovate. If Apple ships a laptop with Haswell processor, it's Intel who deserves the fame. Sure.

 

[iSteve-O]

Unfortunately I was wrong in thinking all of Apple's products this year will have retina screens

 

[gnasher729]

... but let's be honest: the new crop of PC ultrabooks will probably be able to post comparable battery life stats, especially under Windows 8.1.

Many lies start with "... but let's be honest". You make a claim, and then you pretend that anybody but a dishonest person would agree with that claim.

But let's be honest: Consumers are used to pay top dollar for a top quality Apple product. They are also used to pay peanuts for cheap and nasty Windows laptops. They are _not_ willing to pay top dollar for a laptop running Windows. Doesn't matter how good that laptop is and what battery life. So all these "Ultrabooks" will do is fail in the market. (And in 2012, ultrabook sales did indeed flop).

 

[Renzatic]

Many lies start with "... but let's be honest". You make a claim, and then you pretend that anybody but a dishonest person would agree with that claim.

But let's be honest: Consumers are used to pay top dollar for a top quality Apple product. They are also used to pay peanuts for cheap and nasty Windows laptops. They are _not_ willing to pay top dollar for a laptop running Windows. Doesn't matter how good that laptop is and what battery life. So all these "Ultrabooks" will do is fail in the market. (And in 2012, ultrabook sales did indeed flop).

Let's be honest, most PC ultrabooks are priced in the same range as the MBA, and are selling quite well. If by "flopped" you mean they didn't sell as much as the previous year, you're right. PC sales in general are down. But despite that, OEMs still sold millions of PCs in 2012.

Want proof? Just look up the 13.3 inch Lenovo Yoga sales. They're priced higher than MBAs, yet are selling pretty damn well.

 

[Skjetne]

I only hope Apple seeks similar battery performance improvements for the iPhone line.

Well, the battery improvements depends largely on the new haswell cpu not the software. And since iPhone use ARM not intel, don't bet on it

 

[blackhand1001]

Or maybe Apple could stop worry about being the thinnest phone in the world and focus on having enough internal volume for a larger battery.

There's always that.

Aesthetics at the loss of core functionality is a poor exchange, and it's not like anyone complained about the 4S/4 being a thick monstrosity.

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Imagine my surprise the first time I fired up Diablo 3 on my 2012 MBA and it ran as well as my dedicated PC machine.

Motorola essentially proved correct that consumers will sacrifice thinness for a larger battery with the original droid razr and razr maxx. The maxx version outsold the regular razr by a giant margin. The only stupid mistake motorola made was making it a verizon Exclusive. A razr maxx on every carrier would have sold great at the time. Hopefully they update the razr maxx again and this time sell it on every carrier.

 

[eXan]

Can't wait to see the results of the Half Life 2 FPS performance. I wonder if there are any more 10+ year old games we can test GPU performance out with.

Modern WoW isn't like anything it used to be in 2005, they update the engine and add graphical features every expac and every raid patch.

I can run it smoothly only on medium settings on my iMac which has a dedicated Radeon 6750 512 mb.

 

[shurcooL]

I only hope Apple seeks similar battery performance improvements for the iPhone line.

I now have way more than enough battery ever since I upgraded from my iPhone 3GS to iPad mini with Cellular.

 

[wiz329]

Many lies start with "... but let's be honest". You make a claim, and then you pretend that anybody but a dishonest person would agree with that claim.

But let's be honest: Consumers are used to pay top dollar for a top quality Apple product. They are also used to pay peanuts for cheap and nasty Windows laptops. They are _not_ willing to pay top dollar for a laptop running Windows. Doesn't matter how good that laptop is and what battery life. So all these "Ultrabooks" will do is fail in the market. (And in 2012, ultrabook sales did indeed flop).

Easy there. I'm not trying to manipulate the truth, nor am I lying (as you seem to be implying). I'm just saying, yeah, the Macbook Air is a great computer, but let's not pretend all these improvements are unique to it, or that Apple is solely responsible. Much (perhaps MOST even) of the battery life improvements came from improvements on Intel's end with Haswell. Thus, those benefits will accrue to other PC makers, and not Apple alone.

Finally, while the Macbook Air is indeed a dominant force in the ultrabook market, don't fool yourself that it is the only quality product out there. I suggest a trip over to anandtech.com to do some research.