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

maz-o said:
The display should be the same as the previous model. I'm curious, what's so bad about it? I had a 2008 MBP that was 15" and had the same resolution as the current 13" MBA. I found it to be more than decent. Is it the color accuracy or brightness or what that makes it so bad? (genuinely curious, not defending it or anything, haven't really had the chance to thoroughly test it)
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Just go to an Apple store and place a rMBP and a MBA side-by-side (ignore the different resolution). I've used Thinkpads with IPS panels for years (and Thinkpads generally don't get the best panels) and they were obviously much better. Furthermore the 1440 resolution is a little bit dated these days. But we'll see.

Maybe it's just first-world problems. I tend to get used to anything ;-) Overall i think that the update is well-balanced.
 
blesscheese said:
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...
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Exactly what I'm looking forward to seeing! Benchmarks on those INTEL HD5000 Graphics chips.

Woyzeck said:
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.
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Don't know what you're planning to use it for, but for day-to-day computing, 8GB of memory on a 13" i7 Air is plenty. Unless you ran real CPU intensive applications, you probably wouldn't notice more memory, and in that case, a rMBP would probably be your choice anyway. And if you think it's a high priced, far-from-perfect product, I wouldn't even consider buying it. It's not like there are no other choices out there.

I can only speak for myself but, although pricey, I'm pleased as punch with my 2012 maxed-out 13" MBA. It's a terrific little addition to the desktop, and serves my day-to-day computing needs very well.
 
Ventilatedbrain said:
WHAT? No touch screen MBA ? Wheres the innovation ? Who cares about battery life?? thats it im moving to android .

:rolleyes:

/S
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LOL I wouldn't go that far, but seriously, without touch there it does seem I will be -sticking with- Windows 8, which I would be putting on an MBA anyway, they just make it easier to decide. There's still hope for the rMBP, I don't want another machine with a display rim anyway, gorilla glass all the way down!!
 
oliversl said:
Shocking! Really, I was expected more performance improvement. Also, a retina display or MacBook Pro news.
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But for what reasons would you need more performance in a mobile device ? Today's CPUs are fast enough for almost anything that you throw at them. The new SSDs seem to be faster as well. The main weakness of the MBA is the display and the lack of connectivity (no integrated 3G), but the performance is sufficient for almost anything.
 
bbeagle said:
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.
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I have NO idea where you got Samsung from that.
 
AnonMac50 said:
I have NO idea where you got Samsung from that.
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It's like I've always said, no one talks about Samsung more than Apple fans. On any given topic, someone somewhere will find a way to fit Samsung into the conversation.

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Woyzeck said:
Maybe it's just first-world problems. I tend to get used to anything ;-) Overall i think that the update is well-balanced.
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It is a decent update, but I would have liked to have seen a modest resolution bump. Just about every Windows ultrabook out now has a 1920x1080 screen in a package that's just as small as the MBA for about the same price. Other than some trackpad features (which has improved greatly on the Windows front, but still isn't quite as good), there aren't many compelling reasons to pick an MBA against, say, a Zenbook.
 
Grassgreen said:
riddle me this Apple fans!

I have a macbook unibody, the one before they changed it to mbp.

I use my mac for watching movies, surfing the web(multiple, mupltiple, multi.. tabs ^^) and thats it, no video editing or heavy gaming except the occational world of warcraft.

My MB 2009 is slow as hell in WoW on low settings and has a heavy time streaming HD videos. It sports 4 gb ram and 5400rpm hdd.

Will the new MBA kick user experience up a notch or can I expect the same ?

(I have no computer tech knowledge so don´t flame me if I´ve written anything wrong :p)
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I think you are at the perfect point to upgrade now. You have 4 or so years on your old MacBook, and you haven't invested heavily in upgrades.

If all you want to do is surf the web, watch movies (do you need a DVD player) and play the occasional WoW, the new MBA will fly fly fly. And give you plenty of battery life.

If you wanted another year or two out of your old MacBook, you could throw in extra RAM and maybe replace the HD with an SSD, but that would be money you could put toward a new MBA.
 
blesscheese said:
If you wanted another year or two out of your old MacBook, you could throw in extra RAM and maybe replace the HD with an SSD, but that would be money you could put toward a new MBA.
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Thought about that but like you say those money is better invested in something new. I do NOT need a Dvd player.
 
FuNGi said:
If only my old-news 2010 C2D MBA wasn't still chugging along swallowing all I need it do :(
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I have the 2010 11 inch ultimate. 1.6 C2D 128gb, 4GB. It rocks hardcore still to this day. I wonder if anyone can chime in on speed differences between the 1.6 C2D and the 1.3 i5 haswell?!?!
 
Comparison question for you.....

So i have a 15" 2010 MBP i5 (2.4GHz i think), 4GB RAM, 6,1 model. It sits on my desk most of the time as its a bit weighty.

If i was to upgrade to the spec Air, 13" top model, how much of a difference in performance would i see?

I've already upgraded the internal drive to SSD, so i know the speed change there, but generally would this be a good upgrade? I use it for photoshop and Aperture and i'm starting to notice a slow down. I know an imac might be better, but more $$, and what im thinking of doing is having the air on a stand with a graded monitor and external k/board mouse.

Hunting on the web im seeing the MBP has a geekbench score of 4806, with the new Air is 7097, which is obviously a great difference, so nearly a 50% speed increase?

Any thoughts?
 
I have learnt not to take battery life claims as being true. My current 2011 Air had claims of 6 hours. With very light use I'm lucky to get 4 hours. With heavy use more like 2 hours. Claims of 9 and 12 hours, for respective 11" and 13" models, should realistically be reduced to 6 and 9 hours. Heavy use and maybe make it 4 and 7 hours. That will be real world use.
 
BTW, I'm blaming Intel, not Apple.

Woyzeck said:
But for what reasons would you need more performance in a mobile device ? Today's CPUs are fast enough for almost anything that you throw at them. The new SSDs seem to be faster as well. The main weakness of the MBA is the display and the lack of connectivity (no integrated 3G), but the performance is sufficient for almost anything.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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



CausticPuppy said:
So would I-- but that seems more like a Macbook Pro use case.
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If you guys are doing all this, you should be using an iMac not an air? Airs are for computing while traveling not full work load.
 
 
Airs compared to 2010 MBP

Hey guys

Not sure if this is the right forum to post this question but I'm just curious how these new Airs compare to my 2010 MBP. I understand that the Pro is going to always be more powerful, but Im interested in how much diff there is in these two specs.

One is the brand new Air I have specced and the other pic is a screenshot of my Mac's specs.

If anyone can help that would be great. I mostly surf and listen to music, but occasionally I do gfx/cpu intensive tasks like Photoshop and Lightroom.

6gd8wj.jpg

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Cheers :)
Cheb.
 
Eidorian said:
You lost me at soldered RAM .
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Apparently what *he* knows (and nobody else on this list) is that *real power users* get up every morning and switch the RAM around in their slots before breakfast...

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Grassgreen said:
Thought about that but like you say those money is better invested in something new. I do NOT need a Dvd player.
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Yeah, typically upgrading between four and five years after your previous purchase is the sweet-spot...you get maximal usage out of the previous laptop, and you get a great speed increase when you upgrade, which makes it worth it.

If you invest heavily in upgrades (RAM and HD), you may lose money/not gain the most from the new laptop. Somebody on a previous thread had a 4 year old MacBook, and had upgraded it to 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. While he is getting great performance from his current book, he isn't going to see much of a huge performance gain by buying a new MacBook Air (or Pro, for that matter).

Of course, he can more easily wait a year now...but depending on when he bought the RAM and the SSD, may have spent a lot on that (which could have been used to fund a newer MacBook Air/Pro sooner...).

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ch382 said:
Hey guys

Not sure if this is the right forum to post this question but I'm just curious how these new Airs compare to my 2010 MBP. I understand that the Pro is going to always be more powerful, but Im interested in how much diff there is in these two specs.

One is the brand new Air I have specced and the other pic is a screenshot of my Mac's specs.

If anyone can help that would be great. I mostly surf and listen to music, but occasionally I do gfx/cpu intensive tasks like Photoshop and Lightroom.

Cheers :)
Cheb.
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I don't really believe in artificial benchmarks, but they are something. Check out the Geekbench info on the new Mac Book Airs and then look up your old MacBook Pro (a quick glance seemed to show the 2010 MacBook Pro 15" scoring in the mid-5000's).

That being said, the biggest speed increase you will see will be having an SSD, and not a hard drive. BTW, do you really need the 512GB Flash? Expensive, but...nice...shall we say, "flashy?" ;)
 
blesscheese said:
I don't really believe in artificial benchmarks, but they are something. Check out the Geekbench info on the new Mac Book Airs and then look up your old MacBook Pro (a quick glance seemed to show the 2010 MacBook Pro 15" scoring in the mid-5000's).

That being said, the biggest speed increase you will see will be having an SSD, and not a hard drive. BTW, do you really need the 512GB Flash? Expensive, but...nice...shall we say, "flashy?" ;)
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Thanks heaps for the reply mate.

My GB score (with the SSD as CTO) is: 6171
The new Air's 1.7GHz is: 7097.

So here's another nice n00bish question. Since the Air has a higher Bench score; am I right to suggest that it will be at LEAST as good as what I've got in every way performance-speaking? If not just that little bit better?

It's pretty amazing to suggest I could run PS the same way I currently do on a huge MBP (in comparison) to such a small notebook :)

As for the SSD- you are right, it is flashy lol.. But i def need the space with large PSD's, etc. :)

Thanks again! :)
C
 
ch382 said:
Thanks heaps for the reply mate.

So here's another nice n00bish question. Since the Air has a higher Bench score; am I right to suggest that it will be at LEAST as good as what I've got in every way performance-speaking? If not just that little bit better?

It's pretty amazing to suggest I could run PS the same way I currently do on a huge MBP (in comparison) to such a small notebook :)

Thanks again! :)
C
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I should have explained further re: real-life benchmarks.

How soon does it take to boot up your current MacBook Pro? The new MBA will boot up in under 20 seconds, maybe even less (my 2009 MBA boots up in about 20 sec), due to the SSD.

Anything you read off the SSD will be faster...so opening programs up will be faster, etc. Again, that is due to the SSD primarily, and not really due to the processor.

You could post a question specifically about using Photoshop on the Graphics design forum...I would think the major limiting factor would be screen real-estate (13" size vs. your current rig of 15"), but you would definitely gain portability. If you are on the road a lot but have a desk somewhere, you could easily hook it up to an external monitor, and then the screen size issue would not be a problem.
 
Areas to Rent

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Toltepeceno said:
You want to rent the space around your screen to a black person?
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Excellent, thanks for that !!!

And another thing - Why do people just not get sacrasm even when there is a roll eyes Smily AND a large "s"???
 
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Macthemaca said:
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Excellent, thanks for that !!!

And another thing - Why do people just not get sacrasm even when there is a roll eyes Smily AND a large "s"???
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Ha, I couldn't resist it.

I think people are far more serious than they used to be (I'm old), I hate to say it but with the growing of the internet people are more serious, edgy, easy to get provoked. Not as laid back as days of old.
 
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