2020 MacBook Air Reviews Praise Magic Keyboard and Faster Performance at Lower $999 Starting Price

[chucker23n1]

Maybe the 10th gen i3 with 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM is a 'big upgrade' from the 8th gen i5 with 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM?

It is.

Intel didn't upgrade the memory controller for years as they were waiting for Cannon Lake to do that, but then Cannon Lake was basically canceled, so they lost another ~two years. Ice Lake (Sunny Cove) finally brings a better memory controller, which they've then proceeded to backport to some (but not all!) Comet Lake chips.

Which would allow Apple to ship 32 GB RAM as an option on the next 13-inch MacBook Pro.
[automerge]1584903453[/automerge]

Yes you’re right, it is being reported as an i5-1030NG7. I remember seeing those “N” parts on some roadmap leaks, but I can’t remember how they differ from the non-N. It might just be binning, with the N parts not rated for 800MHz at 7W. I’m sure we’ll learn more soon 🙂

The N is for nonfictitious.

(Has any Ice Lake-Y product shipped, other than with N CPUs?)

PS Intel power gadget was showing a 13W CPU consumption during the Cinebench R20 I mentioned previously, fwiw.

That might just be Turbo Boost doing its thing?

 

[Tozovac]

720p is a red herring.

What people want is a better sensor, and just how much Apple can do to fit a better sensor into 2mm is unclear. They might be able to hack it by putting multiple sensors next to each other and fusing the image.

Now that may hold more water, if indeed the current 720p sensor is lagging in terms of some type of key performance metric. As I rarely use the webcam, I have no sense of how/where its performance noticeably lags to where function is degraded. The point of my original comment was this from the OP:

One criticism that Haselton offered is that the new MacBook Air continues to have a 720p webcam, with many customers wishing that Apple would offer a 1080p front-facing FaceTime camera on its notebooks.

 

[chucker23n1]

Now that may hold more water, if indeed the current 720p sensor is lagging in terms of some type of key performance metric. As I rarely use the webcam, I have no sense of how/where its performance noticeably lags to where function is degraded. The point of my original comment was this from the OP:

Yeah, I don't agree with Haselton.

The MacBook camera doesn't need to be good for selfies (you'll already have a phone for that). It needs to be good for video conferencing. Resolution doesn't matter much there, but one thing does: you'll typically record yourself from indoors, so good lighting matters, and Apple will hopefully find ways to get better there. (Preferably not with a nose cam.)

 

[acconda81]

I am sure there is a YouTube video showing thermals and how erm “ great “ the cooling and throttling is, if you want to be optimistic and actually call it a cooling System.the constant near 100c heat will soon make use of your Apple care folks have it handy

 

[fbr$]

Thermals:

 

[cmaier]

I am sure there is a YouTube video showing thermals and how erm “ great “ the cooling and throttling is, if you want to be optimistic and actually call it a cooling System.the constant near 100c heat will soon make use of your Apple care folks have it handy

When I designed chips at AMD we did all the design work assuming 100C. I’m sure it’s fine.

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

Thermals:

Thanks! This answers all questions.

• Cooling system is practically the same, but slightly improved heatsink
• Better heatsink would yield up to 30% more performance
• Peak Power draw is 26W, which is a lot and very difficult to cool in that case, even with a proper cooling system
• The 2019 model is a bad joke in comparison.
• Saving 100 bucks on the CPU would be a big mistake

 

[carlos700]

Looks like the spec pages for the N chips are up

Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Looks like they are 9 and 10-watt parts.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The N is for nonfictitious.

(Has any Ice Lake-Y product shipped, other than with N CPUs?)

lol five years late but 10nm is finally here. Yeah I haven’t seen anyone using the 7W/800MHz non-N parts. Even though the ARK has them released 3Q19, it could be they aren’t available, at least in any quantity.

That might just be Turbo Boost doing its thing?

I think that’s exactly what’s happening 🙂

With the Air’s cooling system, with all cores at 100% Apple can run the chip well above its 10W/1.1GHz spec and stay at or below 100°C. With fewer cores in use and less than 100% utilization, it’ll run at higher clock speeds, up to and including the single-core 3.5GHz spec.

It is a big upgrade as you mention, especially with regard to multicore and graphics performance.

Given the limitations of the cooling system, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any real difference in performance with the i7. To me, the $200 upgrade from 8—> 16 GB RAM is a no brainer, since I keep my machines a long time. I’m skeptical about the value of the i7 upgrade, but I’ll be interested to see some head to head testing.

 

[PickUrPoison]

<snip>
Isn't already ridiculous calling the MacBook 13.3" with 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg) an "Air"?

What exactly do you think Air means? It’s just a brand name, like the Retina display or Magic keyboard.

PS It’s lighter than the original 🙂

 

[Eorlas]

I'm still a little fuzzy on the benefits of WIFI 6

I understand the general concept of an ever-growing list of devices we have connected in our homes... phones, tablets, computers, smart lightswitches, door locks, security cameras, Roku, Fire Stick, etc. And they're all fighting for bandwidth.

But wouldn't most of those devices have to be using WIFI 6 to take full advantage?

If you're upset about this new Macbook Air not having WIFI 6... what about all those other devices that don't have WIFI 6 either?

Are people prepared to replace their router... and also EVERY OTHER DEVICE in their homes?

I keep hearing "I'm not buying a laptop unless it has WIFI 6..."

Well... your current laptop doesn't have WIFI 6... is there something it cannot do without WIFI 6?

Let's face it... you're still gonna have dozens of devices that are stuck on WIFI 5 for the foreseeable future... even if you had a WIFI 6 router and a WIFI 6 laptop.

My dozens of other devices were not just released. I don't expect my Switch released almost 4 years ago to have AX support since it was not yet an adopted standard.

Again, Apple released a line of smartphones 6 months ago that support this. I just checked, and sadly their 16" MBP also lacks this hardware in a machine that starts over 2k and was released 2-3 months ago.

The question of having to be WiFi 6 compatible for full advantage is a yes/no. On one end, a great deal of this has to do with the router itself so WiFi 5 devices will still experience the benefits of a router that has this functionality.

Why does my current laptop have anything to do with it? Again, what is the issue with adopting a new standard...just because my current stuff doesn't have it? I mean....duh?

The point still being: it's the current standard. It also brings WPA3 which would be fantastic for everything to have.

I'm not sure how else to put it for you.

 

[Michael Scrip]

My dozens of other devices were not just released. I don't expect my Switch released almost 4 years ago to have AX support since it was not yet an adopted standard.

Again, Apple released a line of smartphones 6 months ago that support this. I just checked, and sadly their 16" MBP also lacks this hardware in a machine that starts over 2k and was released 2-3 months ago.

The question of having to be WiFi 6 compatible for full advantage is a yes/no. On one end, a great deal of this has to do with the router itself so WiFi 5 devices will still experience the benefits of a router that has this functionality.

Why does my current laptop have anything to do with it? Again, what is the issue with adopting a new standard...just because my current stuff doesn't have it? I mean....duh?

The point still being: it's the current standard. It also brings WPA3 which would be fantastic for everything to have.

I'm not sure how else to put it for you.

Well... it wouldn't be the first time Apple released a new product that did not use the current standard.

Once again... Apple disappoints.

I guess people will have to wait until 2021 to buy a WIFI 6 Macbook... hopefully.

 

[Jury]

I deny it.

So I guess it’s not undeniably bad.
[automerge]1584896283[/automerge]


Why is that terrible, exactly? That‘s what the chip is designed for, and it’s not terribly high for a semiconductor device.

The intel low watt chip can tolerate running at 100 degrees celsius but it is extremely terrible that it generates as much heat as high watt CPU.

 

[chucker23n1]

The intel low watt chip can tolerate running at 100 degrees celsius but it is extremely terrible that it generates as much heat as high watt CPU.

It generates as much heat because it's crammed into a smaller space. That's kind of the point why low-watt CPUs exist: to generate the same amount of heat while not requiring as much space.

 

[Jury]

It generates as much heat because it's crammed into a smaller space. That's kind of the point why low-watt CPUs exist: to generate the same amount of heat while not requiring as much space.

We can infer that the low-watt CPU from Intel is significantly worse due to excess of 100c heat.

 

[cmaier]

We can infer that the low-watt CPU from Intel is significantly worse due to excess of 100c heat.

no we can’t. That doesn’t make any sense.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

WiFi 6/AX routers are available right now for consumers, and a good handful of them are in the reasonable price range for a router.

From a strictly speed perspective, the average consumer will see no benefit, but then again, neither would they with AC which has been mainstream for years.

There is a longer list of benefits, especially with multiple devices being on the network, and we're only each getting more of them as time goes on.

It's just a weird Apple thing, really. Latest iPhones released in September have WiFi 6 hardware, but their new MBA released 6 months later does not?

In the US, 90+% of households just use the router/modem combo that comes from the cable company that provides high speed internet. The latest hardware from big players like Comcast and Verizon FiOS all do Gigabit speeds and no one really has a problem with them anymore in my experience. Only the real tech enthusiasts want to buy their own router and deal with the setup and management of the network. That's why I asked.

 

[Naaaaak]

IOS as a replacement for an operating system like MacOS is ridiculous.

Meanwhile, macOS is getting increasingly nerfed into something more like iOS.

 

[Tekguy0]

Apple, please bring out a 16” Air!

I don’t need MacBook Pro specs or the thickness of it.

Perhaps one with a Ryzen APU or an ARM chip?

 

[Jury]

Apple, please bring out a 16” Air!

I don’t need MacBook Pro specs or the thickness of it.

I absolutely think it makes sense. The 15” MBAir can price competitively at $1499 against 15” surface laptop 3.
[automerge]1585124664[/automerge]

Meanwhile, macOS is getting increasingly nerfed into something more like iOS.

Agreed. Apple need to merge the status bar with a full-screen app on macOS!

 

[chucker23n1]

Perhaps one with a Ryzen APU or an ARM chip?

I don't see why. There's nothing wrong with the chips they just put in the MacBook Air.

Now, on the 16-inch, I'm more concerned. Comet Lake-H and its successor Rocket Lake-H will likely be rather ho-hum updates, and we won't be seeing an exciting 16-inch MacBook Pro for another year or more. That might be a good opportunity to try AMD Ryzen Mobile 4000-H instead.

 

[GadgetBen]

Great idea!
And iPad Air 12" to 13" with 4GB of RAM too!
And iPhone Air too!😳

Yes it is. A lot of people agree with me.

 

[PickUrPoison]

In the US, 90+% of households just use the router/modem combo that comes from the cable company that provides high speed internet. The latest hardware from big players like Comcast and Verizon FiOS all do Gigabit speeds and no one really has a problem with them anymore in my experience. Only the real tech enthusiasts want to buy their own router and deal with the setup and management of the network. That's why I asked.

Exactly why Apple discontinued AirPort products in 2018.

re: WiFi 6, it’s not nearly the essential feature that some like to pretend it is. It’s usually just something for the Apple-hate crowd to bash Apple over the head with re: Mac hardware.

It’s hard for me to imagine how few people actually care about it (real customers, not MR forum experts). iPhones have it because the supplier already cut over their production, Macs will come later this year or maybe next year 🤷‍♂️

Then those who posted here that they refused to buy a Mac Pro unless it had 802.11ax can find another reason it’s a no-buy 🤣

 

[Jury]

Exactly why Apple discontinued AirPort products in 2018.

re: WiFi 6, it’s not nearly the essential feature that some like to pretend it is. It’s usually just something for the Apple-hate crowd to bash Apple over the head with re: Mac hardware.

It’s hard for me to imagine how few people actually care about it (real customers, not MR forum experts). iPhones have it because the supplier already cut over their production, Macs will come later this year or maybe next year 🤷‍♂️

Then those who posted here that they refused to buy a Mac Pro unless it had 802.11ax can find another reason it’s a no-buy 🤣

You are mistaken for plenty of reason, the MBAir lack of WIFI 6 is a deal-breaker for the vast majority of people who travel and the congested area often experience weak signal that can be mitigated by WIFI-6 AX.

 

[Michael Scrip]

the MBAir lack of WIFI 6 is a deal-breaker for the vast majority of people who travel and the congested area often experience weak signal that can be mitigated by WIFI-6 AX.

Doesn't "weak signal" have more to do with the router itself rather than its wireless protocol?

Ya'll are acting like 802.11ax is a white knight riding in to save the day. Save you from what, exactly?