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2012 MBA vs 2013 MBA
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You won't notice any differences other than the battery life, where you can expect anywhere from 3-4 more hours. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7085/the-2013-macbook-air-review-13inch/6
I did that exact update and while the SSD in tests and benchmarks shows much faster speeds, in real world usage I don't notice much difference. When opening iPhoto with a large library I notice a little difference.
CPU performance is the same. I do notice a little better graphics performance when using the new Air with my Thunderbolt display.
The BIG difference I do notice is the greatly improved battery life. The battery life specs Apple shows on their page are not inflated. I am seeing real world results of all day usage like the specs page shows.
One thing to consider though... I see you have the 128GB version of the 2012. That uses a Toshiba flash drive with a Sandforce controller, and all of a sudden in the last month or so there are multiple posts in the forums here from users reporting that drive just up and dying. I mean there are a LOT of posts on this. I think Apple has a defective drive on their hands here. Users are reported a long wait for repairs due to parts back log. I don't mean to scare you, but if you decide to keep that thing make sure you are backing up your data regularly. If you have the budget, this might be a good reason to upgrade to the 2013.
Or, if you intend to keep it, ensure you buy Applecare before the year is up if possible (in case Apple decides not to recognize and solve this problem).
I upgrade my MBA every year. I love the longer battery life... it has changed my usage.
Previously, I would charge whenever I was near a wall outlet. Now, I do not worry about it anymore.
During the week... my MBA get's naturally charged when I bring it to the office and attach it to my ACD. During the weekend... I charge it overnight, but otherwise use it on batteries.
BTW: even though I replace my personal MBA every year... I buy them with a plan to use them for 5+ years. They get handed down to others in my immediate family.
/Jim
Previously, I would charge whenever I was near a wall outlet. Now, I do not worry about it anymore.
During the week... my MBA get's naturally charged when I bring it to the office and attach it to my ACD. During the weekend... I charge it overnight, but otherwise use it on batteries.
BTW: even though I replace my personal MBA every year... I buy them with a plan to use them for 5+ years. They get handed down to others in my immediate family.
/Jim
In that case just change out the SSD then.
Some body here says (unconfirmed) the 2012 was already fitted with the faster SATA interface, so a new, faster SSD not only gives you more room, but faster access speed as well. Unless of course you are itching for a new box.
*The 2012 uses a proprietary SSD design. Which means that you're limited to Apple, OWC or Ebay (and pray) for a replacement, ensuring you'll be spending a premium for the upgrade and/or replacement. Depending on what kind of model he has, and what similar models sell for in his area, it may cost roughly the same amount of money to sell his model and buy a new one with ALL of the improvements.
**Aren't we all?
*The 2012 uses a proprietary SSD design. Which means that you're limited to Apple, OWC or Ebay (and pray) for a replacement, ensuring you'll be spending a premium for the upgrade and/or replacement. Depending on what kind of model he has, and what similar models sell for in his area, it may cost roughly the same amount of money to sell his model and buy a new one with ALL of the improvements.
**Aren't we all?
I thought it was 2013 that used proprietary and 2012 used SATA?
They are both proprietary. The 2012 is a sata interface and the 2013 is the faster pcie interface. Both non-standard though.
Thanks for clarifying that - I was thinking the 2012 would be better because of the SATA interface and potential for more 3rd party options but it sounds like you are limited either way.
Yep. Perhaps even more so on the 2013. And the devilish thing is that the drives on the low end machines are failing where people are less likely to have purchased extended Applecare. I suspect that had this happenned on the 256 or 512 gb models it wouldn't be an issue, since owners of top end machines are more likely to buy it.
As a techie, I would always advice to backup critical data whether it is on a SSD or HDD. In this context, the SSDs used in all 2012 MBP are all not defective. The actual issue is with the firmware incompatibility across the SSD manufacturer & Apple. I say this quite confidently because the same sandforce controller used with same SSDs in other OEMs are having absolutely no issues!