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Is the new Air worth buying right now?

M

mt8888

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 8, 2013
6
0
I have been patiently waiting to pull the trigger on a new macbook Air. Now, with the back to school sale about to start, I am ready to purchase one. However, with the reported wifi issues, speaker problems, etc., I am hesitant. I don't want to buy a new machine and have to return it. Do you guys think these are only software issues that will be solved? Or, is it a risk to buy an Air right now? I'm half tempted to just buy a refurbished 2012 Air for $300 less because at least I know it won't have these problems... Thanks
 
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Those problems are few and far in between. I would say just buy it. If you do end up having one of those reported issues, it's nothing Apple won't fix for you.
 
Who knows?

There are no guarantees that anything you buy (2012 or 2013) will be OK. Fortunately, you have a return policy. I am enjoying my 2013 MBA a lot, so from my perspective, the upgrade from 2012 was great.
 
I am more than happy with my new macbook air.
I think its definitely worth getting the 2013 one since it will allow you to leave home without the charger (unlike the older models afaik) and not worry about running out of juice.

I did have some minor issues with the wifi on my home hotspot. I fixed it by changing the wireless security protocol from WPA to WPA2. While I had an issue with WPA, it was occurring once per hour or so. And even then all it took was switching the wifi off and on again. I am pretty sure thats something they will fix with a software update relatively soon.

Edit: Correct me if i am wrong but I dont think there is a "known speaker problem" that affect a portion of the macbook air computers out there. If somebody got a computer with any sort of problem they can always get it replaced. In my opinion, the speakers in this thing (13 inch 2013 air) are amazing! Especially considering how small the machine is.
 
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I bought a 2013 macbook air and am not regretting a thing. Don't worry about it. If you want it and need it, then buy it.
 
No issues with mine so far, it's been great. I had a 2012 model as well. The few upgrades, especially the battery life are well worth the jump.

I have no regrets. I hope to keep this one for a couple of years.
 
You need to understand that any consumer product that sells in the millions is bound to have a few units with problems. And those with problems will form a very, very vocal minority. The vast majority will have zero problems with their computer.

And I for one am very happy with mine.
 
Amplelink said:
You need to understand that any consumer product that sells in the millions is bound to have a few units with problems. And those with problems will form a very, very vocal minority. The vast majority will have zero problems with their computer.

And I for one am very happy with mine.
Click to expand...
I once heard from an industry source that the acceptable defective rate for all electronics is 10%.

As for the Air, if you don't have an issue with the non-Retina screen (I can't stand it) you definitely can't beat the battery life. What an amazing little MacBook.
 
If you are looking for an ultraportable, its the best option for sure.

However, I believe this is the last iteration of this current chassis.
 
If you choose to wait for all the kinks to be worked out, you will probably be waiting each time a new model becomes available. I believe the new MBA's are very much worth buying, even right now. In fact, I'm typing this on my 1 1/2 week old 11" air.

Please also remember that for every post from someone who has a problem with their new device, there are many, many others who have no issues and do not post.

Best regards!
 
No issues here, very pleased with the 2013 MBA.
Real powerhouse for sure (considering the form factor).

So for what it´s worth - Go for it, if MBA is the one of your choosing. Don´t read to much into different comments on forums etc. The ones writing on forums are mainly those who have run into any kind of issue...But for sure there is plenty more than those few % that has no issues what so ever.

You have your return policy (No questions asked, assuming you live in US, don´t know the policy for other countries) if you run to any issues...

Good luck!
 
No problems here at all with my i7/8gb. For every person that's having an issue there's many more who's not having that issue. There's a great deal of us who have bought 2013 Air's and are having no issues.
 
Loving my 2013 11 base model. This thing is fast but best of all is the battery life. This is now my favourite Mac. Happy to leave the charger at home.
 
Do you own one?

PDFierro said:
Those problems are few and far in between. I would say just buy it. If you do end up having one of those reported issues, it's nothing Apple won't fix for you.
Click to expand...

Do you own a 2013 Air? Have you tried photoshop cs6 and streaming videos from youtube or other sites?

I ask because I am on my 2nd air, and BOTH have the problems. No wifi issues though..:)

First one came from Emerville store and then a BTO from China two weeks later. Both have the problems.

I don't know about few and far between but my small sample seems to indicate this is a fairly large problem.
 
This is my first Macbook (in nearly 20 yrs). So far I'm thrilled with it. I have the 13" 8/i5/256. I'm getting 12 to 13 hours off my battery charge. I wasn't aware of any speaker issue. I do have some wifi drops when I'm @ work. It's pretty steady @ home. I haven't tested it elsewhere yet. I'm assuming Apple will find a fix for the Wifi issues.

I can recommend the Macbook Air without hesitation. Thin, light, long battery life, instant-on, runs cool and quiet.
 
cake1 said:
Edit: Correct me if i am wrong but I dont think there is a "known speaker problem" that affect a portion of the macbook air computers out there. If somebody got a computer with any sort of problem they can always get it replaced. In my opinion, the speakers in this thing (13 inch 2013 air) are amazing! Especially considering how small the machine is.
Click to expand...

It's not a speaker problem, it's a volume fluctuation problem and only when watching streaming videos. Both 2013's I got have the problem and it's easily noticeable.
 
Stealth777 said:
Do you own a 2013 Air? Have you tried photoshop cs6 and streaming videos from youtube or other sites?

I ask because I am on my 2nd air, and BOTH have the problems. No wifi issues though..:)

First one came from Emerville store and then a BTO from China two weeks later. Both have the problems.

I don't know about few and far between but my small sample seems to indicate this is a fairly large problem.
Click to expand...


I'm unaware of these speaker problems. Is it that the speakers don't work or aren't loud enough?
 
mt8888 said:
I have been patiently waiting to pull the trigger on a new macbook Air. Now, with the back to school sale about to start, I am ready to purchase one. However, with the reported wifi issues, speaker problems, etc., I am hesitant. I don't want to buy a new machine and have to return it. Do you guys think these are only software issues that will be solved? Or, is it a risk to buy an Air right now? I'm half tempted to just buy a refurbished 2012 Air for $300 less because at least I know it won't have these problems... Thanks
Click to expand...

If you live near an Apple Store, what do you have to lose by purchasing and if you are not satisfied return it, no problem. All these people can't be wrong.
 
QuarterSwede said:
I once heard from an industry source that the acceptable defective rate for all electronics is 10%.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not true. The acceptable defect rate depends entirely on the company and their own policies, however any company that is aggressively pursuing six sigma has defect rates that are extremely low.
 
Stealth777 said:
Do you own a 2013 Air? Have you tried photoshop cs6 and streaming videos from youtube or other sites?
Click to expand...

I do, and I've run Photoshop CS6 and streamed youtube and Vimeo and other vide sites from it. I've purposefully tried to replicate the problems reported, and so far have not had any "luck" with it.

I don't know about few and far between but my small sample seems to indicate this is a fairly large problem.
Click to expand...

Two out of potentially millions is still not "fairly large." It's unfortunate that you ended up with two units exhibiting the issue, but even so, all indicators point to be it being a software issue (and therefore, correctable without requiring a repair or exchange). It's just a matter of updated software being delivered with the fix.
 
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