Is it me, or is MacBook Air 2018 much slower than old ones?

[Steve121178]

What is sad is that the performance of my 5 and a half years old MacBook Air was really fine, even today. WTF is happening to Apple? They produce worse hardware for higher prices after so many years. This is beyond ridiculous. There is no spirit in this company anymore.

Apple cheaped out on the processor. If it was a regular 15W i5/i7 it would scream.

Its not even the processor that bothers me with the 2018 Air. Apple have also cheaped out when it comes to build qualty & choice of components. The 2018 screen is crap. I'm sure people will be queuing up to tell you otherwise & will defend it, but it's not a good panel. It's the sort of panel you'd find in a mid-range Windows laptop that costs $500. All Apple had to do was throw in a 13" version of the panel in the 12" MacBook, but Apple's bean counters said NO.

The keyboard on the machine is crap as well. Forget that it's third-gen of this butterfly nonsense - it's not very good! And how much have you paid for this machine to have the privilege of all these flaws?

 

[bearinthetown]

I enjoy typing on this keyboard though, I must admit. To me, the best of this MacBook Air 2018 is how it looks and sounds. I wouldn’t call the screen as bad neither. If the computer had better performance, i.e. was more smooth, I believe it would look really good. But it makes me sad that there are no longer near-perfect machines from Apple. MacBook Air was almost perfect. The only real problem was the screen, which was still acceptable for my work and fun. It was like Nintendo - great hardware with lower resolution for smoothness. Today, even the most expensive MacBook Pro is flawed af. And don’t get me started on cameras and touchbars.

 

[mj_]

It’s 3 times the pixels, not „4-6x”. Do the simple math.

Sure, let's do the simple math.

The old MacBook Air had a 1440x900 display, aka 1,296,000 pixels.
The new MacBook Air has a 2560x1600 display, aka 4096000 pixels. When running in 1280x800 HiDPI mode this would be the amount of pixels rendered by the GPU.

However, the new MacBook Air also offers two additional scaled resolutions: 1440x900 (HiDPI) and 1680x1050 (HiDPI). Due to the unique way in which macOS renders HiDPI resolutions these amount to 5,184,000 (4x) and 7,056,000 (5.44x) pixels, respectively. Once rendered, each frame is then downscaled to 2560x1600 and sent to the display.

Hence my 4x-6x ballpark. I don't know about the Air, but on the 13" MacBook Pro with the exact same 2560x1600 resolution Apple changed the default resolution from the initial 1280x800 unscaled HiDPI to 1440x900 scaled HiDPI a while ago. I am simply going to assume that the Air is similar, and is running in 1440x900 scaled HiDPI by default.

 

[bearinthetown]

Scaled modes don’t work like that. They do not require proportionally more GPU power. Anyway, I am using the default setting.

 

[Hiredgoon6]

Don't deny your experience. I returned my base model to MicroCenter yesterday because it ran like a dog.

The 2018 Air was to replace my MBP 13" 2015 but the stutters, frame drops, and overall sluggishness were obvious on day one. I set it up as new, let it index for a few days and all. Editing PDFs with a few FireFox tabs and Mail open was plain choppy. Finder takes 3+ seconds to pop up and waking from sleep takes 10+ seconds. Little things like that. My 2015 MBP on the other hand - smooth as butter.

I should have done more research on this "i5" processor. Turns out it's a rebranded Y-series which is a rebranded Core-M intel released on the 2015 12" MacBook. That thing had atrocious performance.

Notebookcheck observed the same if you would like to read their review.

 

[bearinthetown]

Why are there so many people defending it and calling it „subjective” then? I hate it that there is so much delusion in Apple community. I remember discussions before iPhone battery gate was revealed. Half of the users claimed there is no lag.

 

[Nbd1790]

I would like to say it has something to do with the operating system. I have a 2013 15 inch pro max specs running a much older OS (Yosemite) and just recently picked up a 2018 15 inch Pro. The 2018 model is running Mojave, and although it's a very powerful machine for heavy tasks, I've noticed with lighter applications such as Chrome or Firefox, I see the spinning wheel more frequently than I ever did on my 2013 model (hardly ever happened on that one)

My Mom has a 2017 MBA that is currently running High Sierra and I use it from time to time. It seems to be buttery smooth when I'm using it for everyday tasks. I wouldn't be surprised if the new airs suffered harsher symptoms than my current 15 inch model considering it's running much lower specs even when it's fully equipped.

 

[mj_]

Scaled modes don’t work like that. They do not require proportionally more GPU power. Anyway, I am using the default setting.

Yes, they do. That's the big difference between macOS and Windows.

However, I get the feeling that you are not really interested in the truth or facts but would much rather prefer if we all agreed to what you're saying, then talked smack about the new MacBook Air and praised the old one. So be it, enjoy. I'm out of here.

 

[bearinthetown]

Yes, they do. That's the big difference between macOS and Windows.

However, I get the feeling that you are not really interested in the truth or facts but would much rather prefer if we all agreed to what you're saying, then talked smack about the new MacBook Air and praised the old one. So be it, enjoy. I'm out of here.

Okay, so me, who i stating the truth that it is slower, is not interested in reality, huh? Interesting.

Scaling modes are optimized on Macs. If you think that using the „more space” option requires as much more GPU power as the ratio of pixels difference, then you should learn how GPU works.

 

[jlyanks85]

Just return the machine if it’s not suitable for your needs and get a mbp, or even a windows if you don’t need a Mac.

Everybody has different needs for a computer. For some, the mba might be really fast, for others it might seem slow.

I can understand your frustration for what the air costs though.

I’m still deciding between a new laptop myself. Since I haven’t even had a new computer since the 2011 air. Been using a iPhone and iPad Air for internet and other tasks.

 

[bearinthetown]

Just return the machine if it’s not suitable for your needs and get a mbp, or even a windows if you don’t need a Mac.

Everybody has different needs for a computer. For some, the mba might be really fast, for others it might seem slow.

I can understand your frustration for what the air costs though.

I’m still deciding between a new laptop myself. Sincd I haven’t even had a new computer since the 2011 air. Been using a iPhone and iPad Air for internet and other tasks.

And I got 16 GB of RAM, man :/

If you don’t care about retina, get the MBA 2017. That’s what I would do, but at this point I need a retina display.

 

[auxbuss]

Why are there so many people defending it and calling it „subjective” then? I hate it that there is so much delusion in Apple community.

Mate, I have an MBP and the MBA. The MBA runs fine. It's not delusion – you should take care with insults – it's personal experience.

No need to put subjective in quotes. It's a word. Its meaning is clear. Your subjective experience differs to others. That's normal. My only grumble about the MBA is its price; but since I got it for -15%, I'm good.

 

[bearinthetown]

Mate, I have an MBP and the MBA. The MBA runs fine. It's not delusion – you should take care with insults – it's personal experience.

No need to put subjective in quotes. It's a word. Its meaning is clear. Your subjective experience differs to others. That's normal. My only grumble about the MBA is its price; but since I got it for -15%, I'm good.

Then it must be something about the ability to tell the difference. If it was subjective, you’d see people saying that the new one is faster too, by definition of subjectiveness, there must be a whole range of options supported. You don’t see the difference, good for you. But it’s your brain’s slower perception or something. Most people say it is slower, including me. That means something, doesn’t it?

 

[bearinthetown]

I have MBA 2018 for about two months now and I would like to share my impressions.

What I definitely love about it, is the smaller footprint. This notebook feels just right in terms of size to me and is also pretty light. The screen is really good too, despite people complaining about the brightness. Think how often you use maximum brightness on your MacBook Pro. You probably never do, or almost never do. The screen in MBA 2018 is definitely bright enough for me. The keyboard is really comfortable to type. Sound quality is the best I've heard in a laptop. Touch ID works very good, I have had no problems so far.

Now to the bad parts. Performance is my biggest complain. I got 16 GB machine and it is slower than my MBA 2013, which is not acceptable. It is perfectly usable 99% of times, but it just doesn't feel as good as old MBA. Most operations require micro-lag, which feels like some random Asus. This was one of the main reasons why I loved Apple, because their hardware/software was smooth. It's not anymore, at least for this MacBook. Some people can't tell the difference, so I guess it's not that terrible, but if you are really a user-experience junkie like me, you will feel like it's a massive downgrade. It also gets hot way too often and the fan starts sometimes even with some softcore tasks. Next, battery. I don't know where did Apple get 12 hours from. For me, the battery goes down pretty quickly. It's annoying when I'm watching video on YouTube and I see like the battery is running out. And that's with Bluetooth disabled, keyboard backlight disabled, screen dimmed to half. I will never trust any claims about battery life from Apple anymore. The battery is clearly a downgrade from 2013 model's and they still call it better. This is just outrageous, even by Apple standards. The aluminum quality is not the best neither. I carry my MBA like a baby and I once accidentally hit it against the wall while it was in a soft case. It wasn't a hard hit, but it left mark on the corner. I imagine how it's gonna look like after several months for people who are not that careful with their hardware. The keyboard backlight looks really bad. It's so uneven, looks like some Chinese crap. It's especially obvious after looking at the space bar. Awful. USB-C cable quality is bad too, it looks very cheap, while obviously being expensive. Apple way. I feel uncomfortable while plugging and unplugging it, it feels like it can break any time. And the last thing, I wish they made the touchbar a little smaller. The space between keyboard and touchbar feels kinda weird - it's either too big or too small. In my opinion they should either make touchbar start almost directly below the keyboard, or leave the gap like in previous models. They wanted to make the touchbar as big as possible, which is cool, but this gap is poorly designed.

That's my 2 cents after 2 months.

 

[auxbuss]

My 8Gb MBA runs cool all the time (and I use it mostly in my lap). I've only heard the fan once – during a macOS update.

I get a full day on one charge. That can vary, but mostly between 10 and 14 hours. Video use is about 10% per hour. (I don't watch long YouTube videos, so can't speak about that. I do run an adblock [uBlock Origin], though.) Bluetooth is always on to drive headphones.

I have experienced some "micro-lags"; but I also get them on my 16Gb MBP. Both are on Mojave, fwiw.

Other than the keyboard backlight, which I agree has uneven spots (I wouldn't call it awful, but hey), I have no problem with hardware quality – although I'm in Europe where there are regulations on cables. I'd much prefer magsafe, though.

So, I'm happy with mine, since it does what I expected. However, I did pay close to 1,000 for it and not 1,200. For a higher spec machine (> 1,600, perhaps 1,400), I'd buy the MBP. In other words, I believe the base price is too high, as are the upgrade prices.

 

[bearinthetown]

That’s very interesting how one person can call the same hardware slow and another person calls it fast. Isn’t it? I feel micro hiccups all the time and it drives me nuts. Scrolling is not smooth and it used to be on MBA 2013.

Same with battery life. What browser are you using? I’m using Chrome and it’s marked as an app using lots of battery under battery icon.

What do you mean by cable regulations? I live in Europe too and for my recall, it doesn’t matter. Apple cables are same piece of crap no matter where you live.

 

[aakshey]

I have MBA 2018 for about two months now and I would like to share my impressions.

What I definitely love about it, is the smaller footprint. This notebook feels just right in terms of size to me and is also pretty light. The screen is really good too, despite people complaining about the brightness. Think how often you use maximum brightness on your MacBook Pro. You probably never do, or almost never do. The screen in MBA 2018 is definitely bright enough for me. The keyboard is really comfortable to type. Sound quality is the best I've heard in a laptop. Touch ID works very good, I have had no problems so far.

Now to the bad parts. Performance is my biggest complain. I got 16 GB machine and it is slower than my MBA 2013, which is not acceptable. It is perfectly usable 99% of times, but it just doesn't feel as good as old MBA. Most operations require micro-lag, which feels like some random Asus. This was one of the main reasons why I loved Apple, because their hardware/software was smooth. It's not anymore, at least for this MacBook. Some people can't tell the difference, so I guess it's not that terrible, but if you are really a user-experience junkie like me, you will feel like it's a massive downgrade. It also gets hot way too often and the fan starts sometimes even with some softcore tasks. Next, battery. I don't know where did Apple get 12 hours from. For me, the battery goes down pretty quickly. It's annoying when I'm watching video on YouTube and I see like the battery is running out. And that's with Bluetooth disabled, keyboard backlight disabled, screen dimmed to half. I will never trust any claims about battery life from Apple anymore. The battery is clearly a downgrade from 2013 model's and they still call it better. This is just outrageous, even by Apple standards. The aluminum quality is not the best neither. I carry my MBA like a baby and I once accidentally hit it against the wall while it was in a soft case. It wasn't a hard hit, but it left mark on the corner. I imagine how it's gonna look like after several months for people who are not that careful with their hardware. The keyboard backlight looks really bad. It's so uneven, looks like some Chinese crap. It's especially obvious after looking at the space bar. Awful. USB-C cable quality is bad too, it looks very cheap, while obviously being expensive. Apple way. I feel uncomfortable while plugging and unplugging it, it feels like it can break any time. And the last thing, I wish they made the touchbar a little smaller. The space between keyboard and touchbar feels kinda weird - it's either too big or too small. In my opinion they should either make touchbar start almost directly below the keyboard, or leave the gap like in previous models. They wanted to make the touchbar as big as possible, which is cool, but this gap is poorly designed.

That's my 2 cents after 2 months.

I can almost guarantee your unit is defective. I’ve seen in store units, I actually found the MBA 2018 snappier than any Pro on display.

 

[bearinthetown]

I can almost guarantee your unit is defective. I’ve seen in store units, I actually found the MBA 2018 snappier than any Pro on display.

Try to select 100 images and move them to another folder. I highly doubt it that my unit is defective.

 

[bearinthetown]

Hey guys. The weirdest thing happened today. I had a scheduled call with Apple today and after several things I did after their guidance, I promise my MacBook is better. It's weird, but it's more responsive and also the battery is better. I'm pretty sure the screen contrast is also better.

How could that be justified? Did I have some bad settings? Or garbage in the new macOS?

Apple guided me to reset PRAM, reset something else and then reinstall the macOS entirely by holding the option key on boot and selecting to reinstall. I would say, now the machine is as responsive as my previous MBA, just the framerate is still not as smooth. But now it feels like the screen capability and not the performance issue.

Yay! What happened?

 

[triangletechie]

Don't deny your experience. I returned my base model to MicroCenter yesterday because it ran like a dog.

The 2018 Air was to replace my MBP 13" 2015 but the stutters, frame drops, and overall sluggishness were obvious on day one. I set it up as new, let it index for a few days and all. Editing PDFs with a few FireFox tabs and Mail open was plain choppy. Finder takes 3+ seconds to pop up and waking from sleep takes 10+ seconds. Little things like that. My 2015 MBP on the other hand - smooth as butter.

I should have done more research on this "i5" processor. Turns out it's a rebranded Y-series which is a rebranded Core-M intel released on the 2015 12" MacBook. That thing had atrocious performance.

Notebookcheck observed the same if you would like to read their review.

Similar experience with mine. Opening simple apps took longer and overall the system did feel a little sluggish. What bothered me was simple web browsing was causing the spinning wheel way too often. For a machine that starts at $1200 that is just unacceptable. I was fine with the display and keyboard but everything else was certainly underwhelming. I too eventually got rid of it. I may just stick with my ipad Pro as my portable machine. The new MBPs are just too costly and have way more power than I'll ever need. My use is just web surfing, Office apps, email, etc. I was hoping the Air would be the right choice but it appears to be too gimped for even that type of use. The performance certainly doesn't match the entry cost. I may just opt for a Surface or another PC laptop.

 

[jinnyman]

I've tried MBA 2018 many times when I went to the store. To me, MBA is good for light users who only do internet browsing, light stuff word processing and excel, that kind of stuff. If what you do depends on the performance, you should get MBP 13" 2018 quad.

For me, I would consider MBA only if:
- you don't really depend on the performance
- price less
- you can't stand touchbar

Otherwise MBP 2018 beats all.
- as portable
- quad core with much better integrated graphic
- screen better quality

 

[Falhófnir]

This perceived sluggishness is most likely due to the fact that your new Air has to push 4-6x the amount of pixels than your old Air, and GPUs simply have not gotten 6x faster in the last few years. They may be twice as fast now than they were in 2014, but that's about it.

I can pretty much confirm your observations, although I'm using a 2017 MacBook and not a 2018 MacBook Air, but 2D accelerated GPU performance between those two models is pretty much identical. Resizing windows is sluggish, scrolling can be sluggish, and some applications such as LibreOffice are outright unusable.

The UHD 617 graphics on the new model is actually significantly weaker than the HD 6000 on the 2015 model!

 

[Dave245]

I've tried MBA 2018 many times when I went to the store. To me, MBA is good for light users who only do internet browsing, light stuff word processing and excel, that kind of stuff. If what you do depends on the performance, you should get MBP 13" 2018 quad.

For me, I would consider MBA only if:
- you don't really depend on the performance
- price less
- you can't stand touchbar

Otherwise MBP 2018 beats all.
- as portable
- quad core with much better integrated graphic
- screen better quality

I wish Apple had priced the difference between the Macbook Air and Pro much more. I get a discount via the Corporate Perks EPP Apple store, i've checked out the difference between the new Air and the 13" Pro, with base specs there is about a £300 difference between the Pro with Touch Bar and the new Air for me.

 

[bearinthetown]

I wish Apple had priced the difference between the Macbook Air and Pro much more. I get a discount via the Corporate Perks EPP Apple store, i've checked out the difference between the new Air and the 13" Pro, with base specs there is about a £300 difference between the Pro with Touch Bar and the new Air for me.

Definitely. Apple is dangerously manipulative these days. This is a short path though, just a few years more and people will go somewhere else or Apple will change their exploiting strategy. Year after year they have more angry customers, that trend can’t last forever.

 

[torana355]

As others have stated its the average GPU in the new Air having to drive the retina panel. It's one of the many reasons I chose not to upgrade my 2011 MBA.