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First 2018 MacBook Air Benchmark Shows Moderate Gains Over 2017 MacBook Air and MacBook

- rob - said:
I also think that RAM has been the biggest limiter on the 2015 MBA 11". If they had offered that in 16GB at the time, it would have been very, very powerful. There wasn't even a question in my mind that I'd put 16GB on the MBA I just ordered. I'm a bit surprised Apple is still selling 8GB. It feels like when they were selling their 16GB iPhones--stingy and not in the best interests of the customer even if it offers a lower pricepoint.

If my 2016 11" air had 16GB of ram, I think it would have been harder to justify this upgrade because much of the time I can't see the retina screen when I'm docked, nor use the touch ID.

So I am now very curious about how thermal / IO / GPU performance on this machine. Can you recommend any sites that do some of the tests you're describing? I'll run the tests when the machine arrives Wednesday and compare them directly w 2015 MBA 11".

I'm now starting to understand why Apple cut the 11" MBA in 2015. The price and performance was actually too good. Price wise it competed too directly with the retina macbook and was on track to perform better than the MBP line. If they had kept selling it, I don't think they would have sold many nTB MBP 13's as people opted for the old keyboard, old screen but won on processor / ram / graphics performance.

It isn't talked about, but I really do think the removal of the 11" MBA in 2015 left a gaping performance / price hole in Apple's portable line. I don't think it will be filled again until we see this ARM machine.
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There are a variety of tech sites and YouTube casters who cover tech. I generally read and watch widely because sometimes the chipsets, rather than specific Mac devices, are what is being reviewed. You could try some sites like ExtremeTech and NoteBookCheck. I also appreciate YouTubers Lisa on MobileTechReview and Dave Lee on D2D. There are plenty of other tech enthusiast sites and forums (HotHardware, HardOCP, ArsTechnica, AnandTech, etc). I have found no one site or group of sites that covers everything. Just keep your eyes and ears open.
 
agentsmithone said:
Excited to upgrade my MacBook Pro (Late 2013) [Single Core: 4193] to the MacBook Air (Late 2018) [Single Core: 4248]. I'm happy to get a lighter Mac with Thunderbolt 3, similar single core performance, longer battery life, I have to check on the 'improved' keyboard. Buying up my USB-C device cables now lol
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You sound just like me! I'm replacing a late 2013 MBP too and I am actually really excited to try out this new MBA. Dropping 3/4 lb from my daily commute, as well as not needing to carry a portable battery charger (roughly another 3/4 lb) is just a huge deal for me. I will say the only thing that really worries me is how I'll like the new butterfly keyboard, but I would have to switch over to it whether I bought a current MBP or MB too. Performance wise I'm not too worried switching from an MBP to an MBA. I'm not a power user so while it's nice to have something more powerful, it's not my main requirement. Even just going by the very lowest end geek bench scores that were posted, it's still a 20% performance increase for both s-c and m-c of what I currently have (30% on the higher end) and also a little higher than the i/5 12" MB which was really the only other option I was seriously considering at this point in time. Yes, this new MBA may not be ideal for everyone, but at least for my needs giving up some power to get a lighter laptop with better battery life, will hopefully be the sweet spot for me. Fingers crossed!
 
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Big Apple said:
You sound just like me! I'm replacing a late 2013 MBP too and I am actually really excited to try out this new MBA. Dropping 3/4 lb from my daily commute, as well as not needing to carry a portable battery charger (roughly another 3/4 lb) is just a huge deal for me. I will say the only thing that really worries me is how I'll like the new butterfly keyboard, but I would have to switch over to it whether I bought a current MBP or MB too. Performance wise I'm not too worried switching from an MBP to an MBA. I'm not a power user so while it's nice to have something more powerful, it's not my main requirement. Even just going by the very lowest end geek bench scores that were posted, it's still a 20% performance increase for both s-c and m-c of what I currently have (30% on the higher end) and also a little higher than the i/5 12" MB which was really the only other option I was seriously considering at this point in time. Yes, this new MBA may not be ideal for everyone, but at least for my needs giving up some power to get a lighter laptop with better battery life, will hopefully be the sweet spot for me. Fingers crossed!
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Same here. Returning my mid-2011 MBA in a few days. Waited for a decent storage solution; 1.5 TB does the trick.
 
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Got the machine!
UHD 617 GPU is slightly better than my old 2014 13" MBP Intel Iris something. The application folder opening from dock is smoother than the old MBP with same resolution settings. But ultimately still lags hahahaha. GG intel/apple.

But will still keep the machine until I figure out how to calibrate the display out of the green tint people have been complaining about. If not, its because of the panel manufacturer or maybe apple.
 
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