Hands-On With the New 2018 MacBook Air

[Gudieve Ning]

I am going to get this. I have tested it at Apple and it has been a pure pleasure to type on. I am however waiting to sell of my macbook 2017 first. Has anyone tested this on an external monitor yet?

Are you serious? I tried it, the keyboard is awful, plus even for those who like the keyboard, it is going to go serious long term harm to your finger and hand joints. I actually bought a used but as new condition 2017 MB Air yesterday to get a decent keyboard because I was so saddened at Apple's choice to stick with the low travel keyboard.

 

[Gordie]

Just upgraded from a Mid 2012 MacBook Pro to the 2018 MacBook Air (strange that going from Pro to Air can be an upgrade)...So far, I'm loving it. It took me 2 maybe 3 seconds to adjust to the new style keyboard. It's great. Love the TouchID as password function, although I'll love it more if/when OSX will allow 1Password to autofill via TouchId. Wondering if this much more portable machine will have me using my iPad less.

 

[James_C]

For those who also have an Apple watch, is using Touch ID really better than just letting the Apple watch unlock the Mac?

I have the Watch and it is handy to unlock the my MacBook Pro, however that is all the Watch can do. Installing software, using  Pay, as someone has already mentioned 1Password and buying stuff from Mac App Store or iTunes all require authentication and using Touch ID is so much more convenient than having to type in your password.

 

[GadgetBen]

Love it. Although I bought the base model and now starting to worry about storage.

Is it possible to get the storage upgraded after purchase either with Apple or without?

 

[Bacillus]

I don’t care what Apple says... the MacBook Air can never replace my iPad Pro.

Nor the other way around. Surface Pro changes that paradigm.
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I agree, if they want to continue with TB it had to be everywhere. Nobody is gonna support this gimmicky thing when they have only on two devices. Just remove it, everybody is happy.

Have consideration with Phil. He uses it frantically - when not charging his mouse upside down.

 

[McTool]

Would you prefer a $1,399 256GB entry level model instead, with no $1,199 128GB model available at all?

No. The 256GB should have been the entry model at $1,199.

 

[jellyjeff]

"Not as portable as..." is not a sentence i expect to see when a description of what is intended to be the most portable Mac is being made.

 

[melchiorsen]

I still can't wrap my head around the fact, that Apple didn't take the opportunity to discontinue the MacBook Air and do some tweaks of the MacBook instead and hit the $999 mark.
8th gen. Y processor, Two USB-C ports - one on each side, 128GB storage and 13" screen.

 

[0134168]

The keyboard and the trackpad haptic response are ridiculous. have returned the previous Macbook pro 2108 and have returned this.

Been mac user for more than 20 years

Really, there are times when I really don´t understand a ****ing thing. The key-bo-ard and the track-pad.

****ing jokes

 

[SBlue1]

Just upgraded from a Mid 2012 MacBook Pro to the 2018 MacBook Air (strange that going from Pro to Air can be an upgrade)...So far, I'm loving it. It took me 2 maybe 3 seconds to adjust to the new style keyboard. It's great. Love the TouchID as password function, although I'll love it more if/when OSX will allow 1Password to autofill via TouchId. Wondering if this much more portable machine will have me using my iPad less.

This is gonna be my decision soon. Have a maxed out 2012 MacBook Pro with 16 Gig Ram and 1TB SSD. Needed it for gfx and 3D work but that changed so I am using it purely private for surfing, mail, youtube and movies, casual gaming and my music (guitar and Garageband, maybe later Logic, recording and editing). But I still have no clue how to fit that 1TB of data in a 128Gig machine. Do I buy a Mini as a server, do I get a NAS? Should I get a Pro instead? Or go with Windows or a Hackintosch? Still no idea.

 

[gpat]

Would you prefer a $1,399 256GB entry level model instead, with no $1,199 128GB model available at all?

You sure deserve your nickname, sir.

 

[idontbyte]

Here's what I think -

Recommendation - Don't buy, wait until they put iPad Pro 2018 processor in it, then it will be the best ultrabook in the world.

 

[melchiorsen]

Here's what I think -

Recommendation - Don't buy, wait until they put iPad Pro 2018 processor in it, then it will be the best ultrabook in the world.

I wonder how the A12X chip will perform in a laptop like the Air. I'm thinking battery life, background processes in MacOS, photo and video editing etc.

 

[dwdyer]

Love it. Although I bought the base model and now starting to worry about storage.

Is it possible to get the storage upgraded after purchase either with Apple or without?

The storage is soldered to the main board so I don't think there's much scope for an upgrade. How much usable storage does the 128Gb version have out of the box?

 

[lowkey]

no. for 1199, it better contain 256GB.

Yeah right. So you expect a 13” ‘MacBook’ with a 7watt CPU for $100 less than a 12” Macbook with a 5watt CPU? Hardly realistic.
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No. The 256GB should have been the entry model at $1,199.

Because numbers?
[doublepost=1541761454][/doublepost]

I still can't wrap my head around the fact, that Apple didn't take the opportunity to discontinue the MacBook Air and do some tweaks of the MacBook instead and hit the $999 mark.
8th gen. Y processor, Two USB-C ports - one on each side, 128GB storage and 13" screen.

How do they take a $1299 12” MacBook, increase the screen size, up-spec the CPU and drop the price by $300? I think your pricing is basically wishful thinking.

 

[S.B.G]

Please tell me about the fan noise. The entry level MBP 13 w/o Touch Bar is a noise machine aka PowerBook G4 12. It's unbearable how hot it gets even under small stress. Could you please elaborate on the fan noise of the new MBA?

Zero fan noise.

So far, I've heard nothing out of this machine. That includes initial setup, then doing the macOS update it needed and installing some of my apps including Evernote and downloading all the notes from the cloud and doing the initial Time Machine backup, something like 52GB in all. I have never felt it get hot yet either.

I don't do any CPU intensive tasks anymore and am more of a general, everyday typical computer user, so this MacBook Air fits my bill nicely.

 

[Veinticinco]

Best MacBook in a while. This is going to sell like hotcakes.

Hmmm. Depends if your local bakery was selling hotcakes 3 years past their sell-by date, having repackaged them in fancy wrappers and sprinkled them in metallic glitter.

 

[melchiorsen]

Yeah right. So you expect a 13” ‘MacBook’ with a 7watt CPU for $100 less than a 12” Macbook with a 5watt CPU? Hardly realistic.
[doublepost=1541761306][/doublepost]

Because numbers?
[doublepost=1541761454][/doublepost]

How do they take a $1299 12” MacBook, increase the screen size, up-spec the CPU and drop the price by $300? I think your pricing is basically wishful thinking.

With Apple's need for high profit margin it might be wishful thinking. The MacBook pricing has been $1300 from the beginning. The only explanation for that price has been the 256GB storage. Three years later and it's still priced at $1300. Basically the MacBook doesn't make sense to me at that price point, that's why I think Apple should have revamped it with 128GB storage, priced it at $999 and discontinued the Air.

 

[Veinticinco]

Apple should really rename the MacBook Air the “MacBook” and make the 12” the MacBook Air, but I don’t know how they do that without confusing the hell out of everybody at this point.

But that's EXACTLY the logical right way round and how Apple used to have the lineup before common sense flew out of Infinite Loop's windows and they introduced the rMB in 2015.

 

[manu chao]

There is only 1 reason to buy the MacBook 12", slightly more portable. But with how portable and slim the air is, the MacBook does not make sense any more.

So, a 450 g gap (MB vs 13" MBP) makes sense, but a 330 g gap (MB vs new MBA) doesn't? And all the while the 120 g gap between the new MBA and the 13" MBP appears to make more sense?

Or isn't it rather that you don't see any place for two modern (aka retina) laptop lines filling the cheaper-than-the-13"-MBP space? Or are you falling into the trap of the MB being more expensive than the MBA while doing less? Which is only true if you compare apples with oranges, aka 128 GB with 256 GB models. With the same SSD size, the MB is cheaper or costs the same as the new MBA. Only if you pick the fastest CPU option for the MB will you end up with a computer that still does less, CPU & screen-wise, than the new MBA while costing more.)
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With Apple's need for high profit margin it might be wishful thinking. The MacBook pricing has been $1300 from the beginning. The only explanation for that price has been the 256GB storage.

Are you trying to imply that the 256 GB storage option is something few people will upgrade to on the new MBA? Because at 256 GB, the MB is $100 cheaper than the new MBA.

Three years later and it's still priced at $1300. Basically the MacBook doesn't make sense to me at that price point, that's why I think Apple should have revamped it with 128GB storage, priced it at $999 and discontinued the Air.

Which again seems to imply that you largely care only about the price of the entry level, ie, about the outside optics (before people start speccing out their computer) and not about the price most people will actually pay (ie, for 256 and 512 GB models).

 

[Veinticinco]

I mean, what a fragmented mess, bit like the iPhone family.

Consumers should either be able to choose between an Air or a Pro, with specs and prices accordingly. Clear and simple.

Sure, I still miss MagSafe (the most) and an SD-card slot, but what are you going to do? This is the Mac line under Cook.

 

[manu chao]

Love it. Although I bought the base model and now starting to worry about storage.

Is it possible to get the storage upgraded after purchase either with Apple or without?

You can upgrade it 'via Ebay', ie, sell your 128 GB version on it and buy a used 256 GB version, the delta for that will probably drop below $200 in a year or so. Only Problem is that is going to take a while until there is a decent supply of used retina MBAs.
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Are you serious? I tried it, the keyboard is awful, plus even for those who like the keyboard, it is going to go serious long term harm to your finger and hand joints.

Are you privy to the results of a long-term medical study on this? Or are just making things up fuelled more by subjective dislike than actual results from at sustained usage by even a single person?
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Compared to the 12" MB with 256gb SSD, the new Air with 256gb SSD is $100 more, and that $100 buys you a bigger display, 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports instead of 1 USB-C port, a newer processor, a fingerprint sensor and T2 chip, and 3rd gen keyboard. Hopefully the 12" MB gets a spec bump and a $100 price cut, otherwise the new Air will cannibalize 12" sales.

The interesting comparison is with the 2017 non Touch Bar MB Pro. Everyone considering the 2018 Air should consider the nTB MB Pro, too. Especially if the nTB Pro gets a spec bump (and the 3rd gen keyboard). The Pro is heavier but only a little heavier. And it's a lot more powerful.

I get the impression that you primarily see those laptops (MB, MBA, MBP) via their 'performance' features (screen size, resolution, CPU/GPU performance, ports, fingerprint sensor, T2 chip) vs price and that low weight is a nice-to-have feature, but not one you'd spend much if any money on.

 

[lowkey]

Super hard to understand?

12” MacBook for the ultra portable
13” MacBook (Air) for general computing
13” MacBook Pro for compact power
15” MacBook Pro for maximum specs.

The range goes up in price, weight and performance. Simple.

I mean, what a fragmented mess, bit like the iPhone family.

Consumers should either be able to choose between an Air or a Pro, with specs and prices accordingly. Clear and simple.

Sure, I still miss MagSafe (the most) and an SD-card slot, but what are you going to do? This is the Mac line under Cook.

 

[MPW99]

Are you serious? I tried it, the keyboard is awful, plus even for those who like the keyboard, it is going to go serious long term harm to your finger and hand joints. I actually bought a used but as new condition 2017 MB Air yesterday to get a decent keyboard because I was so saddened at Apple's choice to stick with the low travel keyboard.

you bought an old,outdated, massively underpowered laptop with a truly awful screen in 2018 on the same day the new one came out ?
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I have the Space Gray version with 16GB RAM and the 512 GB SSD. I'm quite happy with the purchase so far and I've already taken it on a road trip to a distant meeting today. I took it off of the charger at about 7 am this morning and after 10.5 hours It still has 68% battery life remaining.

The keyboard is nice and it's my first time experiencing the butterfly design. The screen brightness is also good. I recognize that the nits are lower than other laptops and some aren't happy with that. But for my use case, always indoors with dim light and bright lights, the screen is just fine and I don't even have it at 100% most of the time.

I do like the force touch trackpad too. Very nice to be able to click anyplace on it verses at the the bottom.

Having Touch ID and Apple Pay on here is also very awesome.

This is all an experience in comparison to my now retired 2012 15" cMBP which weighed a ton. I love how the new MBA is so small, thin and lightweight. It makes it so much better to carry around from meeting to meeting at work.

Edit: Updated info since others are asking me about it.

Fan noise:

Zero fan noise.

So far, I've heard nothing out of this machine. That includes initial setup, then doing the macOS update it needed and installing some of my apps including Evernote and downloading all the notes from the cloud and doing the initial Time Machine backup, something like 52GB in all. I have never felt it get hot yet either. That includes using this as a true laptop. What I mean by that is, I was working on my book, browsing the web and such with the MacBook Air on my lap, with a blanket between it and my legs and it never got hot, or started to overheat or made any kind of fan noise. My old MacBook Pro would always start to overheat and spin up the fans in that situation and I ended up buying a laptop holder thing to rest it on and then rest that on my lap.

I don't do any CPU intensive tasks anymore and am more of a general, everyday typical computer user, so this MacBook Air fits my bill nicely.

Keyboard
Regarding the keyboard, this is my first experience with the butterfly design and I quite like it very much. I'm not having any more typos than I get on any other type of keyboard. In fact, I feel like I'm typing even faster on this one than my old 2012 MacBook Pro or on the Apple Wireless keyboard. I know a lot of people are unhappy with this keyboard design, but many others are equally satisfied with it.

I was even doing some work last night on my book with this machine and just typing away was effortless for me and dare I say it, enjoyable.

Totally agree, they keyboard is particularly good if you are a touch typer I would guess I am typing about 25% faster and find it easier as the keys are closer together and do not need to be pushed as far / hard. I cannot for the life of me understand the anti-keyboard hating, can only guess it is from people who play with a display model in store and react badly to the sound and feel.

 

[S.B.G]

sound and feel.

To me, its no better or no worse than anyother keyboard I've ever used. The pitch may be a bit different than some others, but overall, that is a non-issue for me. The feel of the keyboard is very nice to me and I have nothing to complain about regarding that.