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

[Dave245]

Yeah, I'm going back and forth here. I know what my use-cases are: mostly web browsing, writing, keynote, and email. Battery life is a paramount concern for me more than pure power. I'm still 99% fine in most scenarios with my 2012 MBA, but the keyboard is failing a bit (space bar only works on one side, and some of they keys are a little wonky), the apple logo has burned through and is constantly slightly visible on the other (read: my) side of the screen, keynote sometimes hangs a bit on larger files, and the battery needs replacing.

So I could fix all of that for $500 or so, or I can spend another grand and get a nicer screen, more power, a 3X faster hard drive, and TB3. Or I can spend another $1500 and get a lot more than that, most of which I won't need, but some of which I would use (I dabble in music, and would like to run Acid Pro again.)

So it's a tough call, because realistically the MBA fulfills all of my needs and more - especially the largest and most paramount concern of battery life. But for just a little bit more, I can get some of my wants as well.

It can be a difficult one, I’ve gone back and forth with different MacBook models for a while now, but what I’ve learned is that these “low powered” Macs are still very capable, for example people have been doing photoshop work on the 12 MacBook (I’ll link some videos do you can check them out) while there are even videos of 4K editing, granted the MacBook Pro would be better for those types of things but it can be done. If that’s achievable with the 12” MacBook, surely it can be with the new Air? And possibly more.

I was using a 2011 MacBook Pro before it died, I’ve been looking for its replacement for a while now and I think with this new Air I’ve found it. The screen alone will be a big upgrade, from none Retina to Retina display.

 

[EugW]

No.

It's a massive improvement in screen, size, disk speed, build, security and sound. It is also moderately faster. It will run great for the people it's intended for, now with a beautiful display and refreshed looks, way more secure with T2 and TouchID. A very big upgrade and a good laptop.

Not at all worthy of an "ouch".

OTOH, 16 months later, it’s no faster than the 12” MacBook, while finally getting the Retina screen and super fast SSD that the 12” MacBook already has had for years.

 

[JacobStark98]

I'm torn between the base retina air for 1199 or the base macbook nTB for like 50 bucks more. Right now I'm on a base 13 inch macbook pro 2011, no retina. So either upgrade will be huge.

From what I can tell the air's advantages are
- better battery life
- touch id
- lighter (but not much)
- slightly better keybord

The MBP on the other hand has about the same singel core performance but better multi core. But it probably wont matter for my use. What I am unsure about is the difference in graphics performance with the intel uhd 617 vs the intel iris plus 640. And also do you think the screen on the air (no p3 gamut) is that much worse then the pros?

 

[Dave245]

OTOH, 16 months later, it’s no faster than the 12” MacBook, while finally getting the Retina screen and super fast SSD that the 12” MacBook already has had for years.

Except it’s in a 13.3” screen, has better battery life and is in the wedge shape that Air lovers like. Also there’s no official word on the benchmarks yet, so we don’t know how it compares to the 12” in terms of performance, let’s wait and see what the reviews have to say. That’s exactly what I’m doing personally, then if it’s on par with the 12” or better then i’ll be buying, the bigger screen, Touch ID, better battery life are all things that make it worth while.

 

[lambertjohn]

I'm torn between the base retina air for 1199 or the base macbook nTB for like 50 bucks more. Right now I'm on a base 13 inch macbook pro 2011, no retina. So either upgrade will be huge.

From what I can tell the air's advantages are
- better battery life
- touch id
- lighter (but not much)
- slightly better keybord

The MBP on the other hand has about the same singel core performance but better multi core. But it probably wont matter for my use. What I am unsure about is the difference in graphics performance with the intel uhd 617 vs the intel iris plus 640. And also do you think the screen on the air (no p3 gamut) is that much worse then the pros?

Why don’t u buy a refurb MBP instead? Much better value. There’s a base MBP on Apple’s refurb website right now with 16GB of ram for $1269. Go check it out!

 

[EugW]

Except it’s in a 13.3” screen, has better battery life and is in the wedge shape that Air lovers like. Also there’s no official word on the benchmarks yet, so we don’t know how it compares to the 12” in terms of performance, let’s wait and see what the reviews have to say. That’s exactly what I’m doing personally, then if it’s on par with the 12” or better then i’ll be buying, the bigger screen, Touch ID, better battery life are all things that make it worth while.

That’s my point. It only just finally caught up, keeping its 13” size. However, it has the exact same footprint as the MacBook Pro and is only a quarter pound lighter than the Pro (and 35% heavier than the 12”), but at MacBook level performance, yet still retains the fan. Also, despite being mainly a catch-up release, pricing isn’t exactly cheap.

I'm torn between the base retina air for 1199 or the base macbook nTB for like 50 bucks more. Right now I'm on a base 13 inch macbook pro 2011, no retina. So either upgrade will be huge.

From what I can tell the air's advantages are
- better battery life
- touch id
- lighter (but not much)
- slightly better keybord

The MBP on the other hand has about the same singel core performance but better multi core. But it probably wont matter for my use. What I am unsure about is the difference in graphics performance with the intel uhd 617 vs the intel iris plus 640. And also do you think the screen on the air (no p3 gamut) is that much worse then the pros?

GPU is superior in that Pro.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Iris-...raphics-640_7656_7441_7655_7656.247598.0.html

Also, wide colour gamut is nice.

 

[Rocko99991]

There's a 2017 Macbook air?

Yep. Works great.

 

[Dave245]

That’s my point. It only just finally caught up, keeping its 13” size. However, it has the exact same footprint as the MacBook Pro and is only a quarter pound lighter than the Pro (and 35% heavier than the 12”), but at MacBook level performance, yet still retains the fan. Also, despite being mainly a catch-up release, pricing isn’t exactly cheap.

That’s down to Apple not updating it sooner, I have a feeling that they intended the 12” MacBook to take the place of the Air, however it didn’t work out that way, maybe sales weren’t as good but people kept on buying the Air. Maybe then they decided to update the MacBook Air.

All in all for a general purpose laptop I don’t think it’s bad, it’s better than being stuck with the last generation Air, a machine I wouldn’t even considering buying because it had no Retina display.

It all comes down to what you may want from a machine, for me personally, I don’t need the power of the MacBook Pro I’m a writer who also makes minor photo edits in Pixelmator, all things that i’ll probably be able to do with the new Air.

 

[EugW]

I'm torn between the base retina air for 1199 or the base macbook nTB for like 50 bucks more. Right now I'm on a base 13 inch macbook pro 2011, no retina. So either upgrade will be huge.

From what I can tell the air's advantages are
- better battery life
- touch id
- lighter (but not much)
- slightly better keybord

The MBP on the other hand has about the same singel core performance but better multi core. But it probably wont matter for my use. What I am unsure about is the difference in graphics performance with the intel uhd 617 vs the intel iris plus 640. And also do you think the screen on the air (no p3 gamut) is that much worse then the pros?

That’s down to Apple not updating it sooner, I have a feeling that they intended the 12” MacBook to take the place of the Air, however it didn’t work out that way, maybe sales weren’t as good but people kept on buying the Air. Maybe then they decided to update the MacBook Air.

All in all for a general purpose laptop I don’t think it’s bad, it’s better than being stuck with the last generation Air, a machine I wouldn’t even considering buying because it had no Retina display.

It all comes down to what you may want from a machine, for me personally, I don’t need the power of the MacBook Pro I’m a writer who also makes minor photo edits in Pixelmator, all things that i’ll probably be able to do with the new Air.

I’d echo the advice to consider a refurb Pro. The screen is better for one thing.

 

[Gudi]

That’s my point. It only just finally caught up, keeping its 13” size. However, it has the exact same footprint as the MacBook Pro and is only a quarter pound lighter than the Pro (and 35% heavier than the 12”), but at MacBook level performance, yet still retains the fan. Also, despite being mainly a catch-up release, pricing isn’t exactly cheap.

And with that fan comes a higher wattage processor and a whole other level of sustained performance. Stop comparing apples with oranges!

 

[Dave245]

I’d echo the advice to consider a refurb Pro. The screen is better for one thing.

If I was going to go Pro I’d go for the base 13” with Touch Bar I think. However another to consider is that the MacBook Air can connect to the eGPU that’s used by the MacBook Pro.

Bench marks and real world usage will be interesting for this new Air.

 

[EugW]

And with that fan comes a higher wattage processor and a whole other level of sustained performance. Stop comparing apples with oranges!

If you want sustained performance, that is another reason to consider the Pro.

 

[ignatius345]

What a shame.

Imagine if they'd used the existing chassis and upgraded. They could have made a great machine. Instead they had to thin it down, shrink the battery etc.

And the keyboard. Never forget the keyboard. That's the reason I'm not touching the new Air with a ten-foot pole, myself.
[doublepost=1541175771][/doublepost]

I completely agree with you. However, some people have been financially responsible in so many other areas that allows them to spend a $1,000 on a laptop for word docs, YouTube and social media without being irresponsible. I mean an iPhone cost $1,000 these days. Most people probably spend a ton of time on social media with their phones too.

I've spent $1K easily on a Mac laptop that mostly gets used for email, writing, web stuff. Thing is, it does those things well. Could I get a PC of some kind for a few hundred $ less that would technically let me do the same things? Kind of. But then 1) I'd have to deal with Windows, and honestly eff that and 2) I wouldn't have access to all the things I like about Apple's ecosystem, easy interoperability with my other Apple stuff, etc and 3) I know we all like to kvetch here about Apple hardware but honestly it works beautifully and in my experience I'm able to get 5 years use, easily, out of a Mac. So, have I been willing to spend $200/year on a Mac laptop? Yes.

 

[user74246]

And also do you think the screen on the air (no p3 gamut) is that much worse then the pros?

You’ll probably much more notice 300 nits vs. 600 nits maximum brightness.

The display was the main reason why I upgraded from a 2011 Air to my current 2016 MBP. Now I though about getting the new Air because I prefer the wedge shape design. But now that I got used to the 600 nits I can’t go back.

Edit: sorry, it’s 500 nits for the MBP, 600 nits is the new iPad Pro.

 

[Gudi]

If you want sustained performance, that is another reason to consider the Pro.

I don’t want high performance and I don’t want ultraportability either. But I want to be able to charge my laptop and use an external hard drive at the same time. I want an allrounder that sits right in the middle between MacBook and MacBook Pro. The extremists can keep buying their solutions.

 

[ikramerica]

Thinner is not always better, as portable devices these things need to last a beating not crack on the first drop.



When Jobs got back with Apple in 1997 one of the first things he did was to slash out all sort of products because it confused the consumer especially with naming. He made the 2x2 grid, Pro Consumer x Desktop laptop. As a long Apple user, it even confuses me more with iPad product line.

Very good point. I don’t understand the point of both the Air and plain MacBook.

I don’t understand the iMac Pro either.

I don’t understand the all “pro” pricing of the iPhone. The base entry phone is $800? Cheaper phones are old models? That only shows that the XR is overpriced, as was the 8

The true reason the iPhones are priced so high is so that carriers can give you huge “discounts” based on their low wholesale price, and Apple can directly sell them for massive markups. The BOGO sales where carriers are giving you roughly $700 worth of credits on two phones show the true price of an XR could easily be $500 and everyone involved would still make lots of money.
[doublepost=1541177385][/doublepost]

I don’t want high performance and I don’t want ultraportability either. But I want to be able to charge my laptop and use an external hard drive at the same time. I want an allrounder that sits right in the middle between MacBook and MacBook Pro. The extremists can keep buying their solutions.

USB-C or thunderbolt dock. It’s more than a dongle.

I have a TB dock on my unibody. One cable connects to the MBP, and then the dock connects UHD monitor, USB3 Time Machine, USB keys, keyboard, trackball, gigabit Ethernet, SATA HD hit swap HD dock. When I want to take MBP with me, just unhook one cable.

Granted my machine has the awesome MagSafe so I have to also connect that.
[doublepost=1541177558][/doublepost]

And the keyboard. Never forget the keyboard. That's the reason I'm not touching the new Air with a ten-foot pole, myself.
[doublepost=1541175771][/doublepost]

I've spent $1K easily on a Mac laptop that mostly gets used for email, writing, web stuff. Thing is, it does those things well. Could I get a PC of some kind for a few hundred $ less that would technically let me do the same things? Kind of. But then 1) I'd have to deal with Windows, and honestly eff that and 2) I wouldn't have access to all the things I like about Apple's ecosystem, easy interoperability with my other Apple stuff, etc and 3) I know we all like to kvetch here about Apple hardware but honestly it works beautifully and in my experience I'm able to get 5 years use, easily, out of a Mac. So, have I been willing to spend $200/year on a Mac laptop? Yes.

And they do last forever, too. Most out of warranty failures on MBP involve graphics chips, and generally Apple has instituted out of warranty repair programs for those issues. I don’t think that kind of failure mode is even possible with integrated graphics either.

 

[Penlocky]

If you want sustained performance, that is another reason to consider the Pro.

I am more concern about the UHD617 performance on the general MacOS UI animations.
I read through lots of comments saying the retina resolution is taxing on iGPU graphics cards.

My MBP 13" mid 2014 Intel Iris 5100 lags when opening "applications" from the dock.
My mum's 2015 Macbook HD 615 lags when opening "applications" from the dock.
My sold 2016 Macbook pro 15" HD 530 lags when opening "applications" from the dock. (doesn't lag when using AMD GPU)
I read that the new 2018 Macbook pro 15" UHD 630 also lags.

Only the non retina macbook pros/ macbook air doesnt lag on MacOS UI animations. And the only retina models that doesn't lag that I know is the 2015 15" MBP that has intel iris pro.

Using an expensive machine, I expect no OS UI lags. Do you think the UHD 617 will lag?
Lag as in jitter and stutter.

 

[Commander64]

What would you do? I have around $1,500 to spend on a new laptop/computer, but I need to spend it soon and cannot wait for the next cycle of MBPs, MBs, etc. I have been waiting for the new MacBook Air but am now not so certain anymore that this would be the best upgrade for me. I currently use a Mid 2013 MacBook Air with an i7 processor. Love it. It's still snappy, has (considerably) great connectivity and a card reader, which is nice and one of the reasons I got this model in the first place. While I usually use the computer for office tasks and lots of PowerPoint, I also like that I can do image processing.
I was so set on ordering a new Air that I feel a little stunned because it doesn't give me much more than what I now have. Yes, slightly smaller form factor, better screen, a bit faster, but overall no reason to upgrade. I feel that I would get a better package by buying a refurb 2018 MacBook Pro. I don't need the TB but would probably enjoy the processing power (I only looked at Geekbench) and the screen. Weight is an issue because I commute and travel with it but it's not that substantial. Do I miss anything?
I have the impression that many are in the same boat and wonder how the new MBA fits into the line of laptops.

 

[rtdunham]

The headline cites “moderate” improvement but the scores indicate 25 to 30% improvements in both the single and dual core benchmarks, compared to the 2017 MBA. That doesn’t seem moderate. Am I missing something?

And BTW, is the SSD user-upgradable in the new retina MBA?

 

[mi7chy]

Just another Intel rehash of constrained 14nm node. No buy until 10nm or better bump.

 

[Wags]

Why don’t u buy a refurb MBP instead? Much better value. There’s a base MBP on Apple’s refurb website right now with 16GB of ram for $1269. Go check it out!

The 2017 ntb13 seems to be on sale ever other week $200 off. Will have to see how the new air affects sale pricing on ntb13.

 

[rog]

LOL! So my 2012 Mac Mini 4 core is 50% faster after 6 years. Remember, this was a low end Mac 6 years ago. Remind me why this sells for over $500 please? Modern Macs are so outrageously priced so little faster than years old models, I guess I'll be buying used Macs for the forseeable future. There isn't a compelling model in their current lineup that isn't a complete rip off.

 

[Gudi]

USB-C or thunderbolt dock. It’s more than a dongle.

Your new Mac comes with(out) external gpu, external storage, external ports.
BYODKM: display, keyboard and mouse *NOT INCLUDED*

At this point they could sell an empty aluminum frame.

 

[FrostyF]

To be fair, they should have compared it to the lower spec 13" 2017 MacBook Pro Intel Core i5-7267U, which actually got a lower Geekbench score of 4208 vs 4248 of the 2018 MBA.

https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/415

I still think it's silly that people are even comparing performance between the Air line and Pro line. Hey guys, why is a 2018 BMW 318i slower than a 2017 BMW 340i or a 2015 BMW M3?
[doublepost=1541182718][/doublepost]

LOL! So my 2012 Mac Mini 4 core is 50% faster after 6 years. Remember, this was a low end Mac 6 years ago. Remind me why this sells for over $500 please? Modern Macs are so outrageously priced so little faster than years old models, I guess I'll be buying used Macs for the forseeable future. There isn't a compelling model in their current lineup that isn't a complete rip off.

How long does it take to setup your Mac Mini on a plane or at Starbucks?

 

[Dave245]

I’ve just been looking around YouTube and I saw this video, it shows the guy demoing the new MacBook Air, about a minute later it shows him opening Affinity Designer and then zooming in quite a bit into the layers.

Just think it’s worth sharing, at least this has confirmed that it will be able to handle my kind of work flow

Also there is this from AppleInsider