Haswell-Based MacBook Airs See Minor Speed Boosts Alongside Battery Life Focus

[MacRumors]

With the introduction of its new Haswell-based MacBook Air models yesterday, Apple revealed a strong emphasis on battery life, pushing the rated operating time from five hours to nine hours on the 11-inch model and from seven hours to 12 hours on the 13-inch model.

Even with the focus on battery life, Apple was also able to bring some minor performance improvements, as seen in Geekbench 2 benchmarking results highlighted by Primate Labs. Overall, the new MacBook Air models performed 3-8% better than their previous-generation counterparts.

With Haswell, Intel's focus was on reducing power usage. Rather than improve performance by 25%, Intel improved performance by 10% while consuming 25% less power.

Apple then went a step further. Apple reduced power usage even more by selecting processors with lower frequencies. In the low-end Air, the frequency has been reduced to 1.3 GHz from 1.7 GHz, while in the high-end Air, the frequency has been reduced to 1.7 GHz from 2.0 GHz.

The new MacBook Air is available now through Apple's online store, although the company recommends waiting until tomorrow before trying to obtain one at any of its retail stores. Pricing begins at $999 for the 11-inch models, with the 13-inch models starting at $1099.

Article Link: Haswell-Based MacBook Airs See Minor Speed Boosts Alongside Battery Life Focus

 

[needfx]

I am really interested in how battery will perform under truly heavy usage with demanding software such as cinema 4d, after effects, premiere/fcp, zbrush & of course renderings while connected to iphone via bluetooth for internet access along with an ipad as secondary monitor via wifi on dedicated vpn

 

[azentropy]

Not much of a performance bump, but that was expected. Really interested to see the reviews of real world battery tests to see if they live up to the claims.

 

[JayCee842]

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

 

[Ricanlegend]

still waiting for rmbp update :-(

 

[Ventilatedbrain]

WHAT? No touch screen MBA ? Wheres the innovation ? Who cares about battery life?? thats it im moving to android .



/S

 

[JayCee842]

still waiting for rmbp update :-(

Same here. It will probably be another two years or so before we get a retina display model.

EDIT: Sorry, I misread your comment. I skimmed through it quickly and thought you had said rMPA. lol

 

[bbeagle]

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

The real reason to get this year's model is if you need longer battery life. 5 to 9 and 7 to 12 are huge differences. Close to double.

If you're always on the road, this is a no-brainer upgrade. For those who mainly use their laptops near power sources, there is no need to upgrade.

 

[samac92]

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

If only Apple sold a 13 inch retina laptop!

 

[hydr]

There was a lot of battery optimizing in OSX Maverick. Anyone know if the 12 hours 13" MBA rating was made on ML or M?

 

[vmachiel]

Performance boosts are not that important for an Air. That battery life though... damn

 

[Ventilatedbrain]

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

With all due respect sir ..im curious as to why you dont see the RMBP as an alternative to your wish for a RMBA... they are the same thickness granted the RMBP is not tapered but the RMBP has a smaller footprint and a bit more powerful

 

[Boomhowler]

Also, don't miss that these airs have PCI-SSDs and not SATA-connected ones as the last ones had. Anandtech shows 800MBps speeds, even faster than my OWC Accelsior!!!!

Awesome Can't wait for the rMBP 13"

 

[pscl]

WHAT? No touch screen MBA ? Wheres the innovation ? Who cares about battery life?? thats it im moving to android .



/S

apple will not adopt touchscreens at all lineups. and that is great. way too uncomfortable to controll a computer

i aggree... u better move to android!

 

[SvenSvenson]

Why?

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

Out of interest, why would you buy the previous generation over this one? Plus what'e the extra reason (over and above no Retina display) for not getting this version?

 

[CausticPuppy]

I am really interested in how battery will perform under truly heavy usage with demanding software such as cinema 4d, after effects, premiere/fcp, zbrush & of course renderings while connected to iphone via bluetooth for internet access along with an ipad as secondary monitor via wifi on dedicated vpn

So would I-- but that seems more like a Macbook Pro use case.

 

[blesscheese]

What about the new integrated GPU?

Has anybody benchmarked graphics performance? Framerate comparison for games? That is what I want to see, the new Haswell graphics capabilities were also highly touted...

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I was hoping for a retina MacBook Air, but they announced this instead. I have even more reason to skip out on this model. I'll settle with the previous generation instead.

There is a rMBA --- the rMBP.



EDIT: Besides, they need a differentiating factor for the rMBP to sell.

 

[shareef777]

There was a lot of battery optimizing in OSX Maverick. Anyone know if the 12 hours 13" MBA rating was made on ML or M?

I would assume ML since they're shipping today and Maverick isn't.

 

[Woyzeck]

I pulled the trigger on an i7/8GB 13" because I can't wait any longer for a new notebook. I hope that the screen is not as bad as the previous one, but I'm afraid the situation is not very promising regarding that. Are there any display reviews already available ?

The stupid 8GB limit is just a marketing wall to prevent a drop in sales of the more profitable MBP. It's comfortable to sit on a monopoly I guess. I know no other PC company that can constantly deliver far-from-perfect products at a high price. Well done, marketing department.

 

[bbeagle]

WHAT? No touch screen MBA ? Wheres the innovation ? Who cares about battery life?? thats it im moving to android .



/S

I do note your sarcasm.... these are typical Samsung troll comments that litter these boards.

Apple doesn't add a touchscreen to their laptops? No innovation.
Apple DOES add a touchscreen to their laptops? Playing catch up.

Say that you hate something Apple did? Good feedback, open minded
Say that you like something Apple did? You're a brain-less fanboy.

This Samsung/Apple war is so much like politics, where the Samsung fans are trying to control the conversation by saying that nothing Apple can do is good. Samsung fans are playing the offensive, forcing Apple fans to play the defensive. It's working so far.

 

[macchiato2009]

from what i understood, the new OS X is supposed to offer more battery life

therefore, selling the old MBA and getting the new one is not worth it

 

[iScott428]

Got to say I am rather impressed with the 1.3 i5 benchmark, and not as much with the 1.7 i7. Battery improvement is obviously great on both chips but the power cranking out of the Core i5 at 1.3GHz is well stunning. Kudos to intel.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I pulled the trigger on an i7/8GB 13" because I can't wait any longer for a new notebook. I hope that the screen is not as bad as the previous one, but I'm afraid the situation is not very promising regarding that. Are there any display reviews already available ?

The stupid 8GB limit is just a marketing wall to prevent a drop in sales of the more profitable MBP. It's comfortable to sit on a monopoly I guess. I know no other PC company that can constantly deliver far-from-perfect products at a high price. Well done, marketing department.

And so it begins...

 

[pscl]

these benchmarks are just one more reason to wait for the 13" rmbp with haswell. Who needs extended battery life with just a little more performance. well ok... 100 bugs less on the price ;-)


please apple.. gimme some rmbp updates!