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MacBook Air 2018
- Thread starter Dave245
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I’m thinking of returning it. Super slow and screen not all that nice compared to other computers for the price. I love the OS but to have to pay $1,800 for the actual starter Mac is horse
The Touch ID on it is nice tho
The Touch ID on it is nice tho
I like mine so far...but...Best Buy is now selling the NTB Pro 256GB for 1299 for their Black Friday Deals. Making it the exact same price as the air. Rough placement for the air.
Gonna share my thoughts in the two main MBA threads in this forum to help prospective buyers.
I just went to the Apple store and compared the nTB MBP and new MBA side by side. The MBA is noticeably dim in person compared to the MBP (even at max brightness). I absolutely would recommend the MBP nTB over the Air. Not even a question. You would need to really value Touch ID or that extra hour of battery to get it over the nTB IMO.
I just went to the Apple store and compared the nTB MBP and new MBA side by side. The MBA is noticeably dim in person compared to the MBP (even at max brightness). I absolutely would recommend the MBP nTB over the Air. Not even a question. You would need to really value Touch ID or that extra hour of battery to get it over the nTB IMO.
Regarding fan noise, coming from a 2016 12" MacBook I was disappointed to hear that the 2018 MBA had a fan. I really like quiet computers.
Anyway, bought a 16GB/512GB model today at the Apple Store in Rochester NY and can say that it is very quiet and, in fact, much of the time the fan isn't running at all.
BTW, I don't find the screen to be dim at all. YMMV.
Anyway, bought a 16GB/512GB model today at the Apple Store in Rochester NY and can say that it is very quiet and, in fact, much of the time the fan isn't running at all.
BTW, I don't find the screen to be dim at all. YMMV.
Agreed. I've yet to hear the fan on mine even after setup, macOS update that it needed and the initial Time Machine back up and whatnot. No sound and no hot temperatures either.
Again with the “Dim” word. There is no dim. It’s not as bright..sure. Dim is not the right word.
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It has a fan?? Haven’t heard it once.
That's what others seem to be saying, but I don't know for sure since I never looked for or saw any inside teardown of it. Like you, I've not heard a fan spin up on mine.
I told myself I wasn't going to even consider this at all. I went down to the local Apple store to play with the Macbook Air earlier and I have to say it feels really nice. It seems to zip along just fine, keyboard is much better then what was on the 2015 macbook, still just as lightweight and the screen is gorgeous but even in the Apple store it seemed a little too dim at max brightness. I REALLY love magsafe and while it's still around I love having ports. I just bought my 2017 macbook air in July of this year and this thing has been a champ for me. I hated having to deal with dongles with the Macbook but we'll see. I'm sure I'll talk myself into this and sell my old macbook air. I guess the question I have to ask myself is do I really want to basically spend at least $700 (presuming I can get $700 for a gently used 256 GB 2017 Macbook Air) for a better retina display? Sigh I hate that I do this to myself...
Dim is the right word. I could barely see the screen at half brightness. At full brightness it left a lot to be desired. I would call that a dim screen. Please don’t tell fellow members what they can or can’t say.
I exchanged mine today and the 1st was pretty dim.... My guess is mid 200's nit wise. The exchanged unit is better and probably at 300 nits...
Still not as bright as I'd like but I am thinking it's doable unless outside in direct sunlight, then you can probably just pack it up and wait for clouds.......
Ouch, that's not good. I'll have to check it out next to the 12". The 12" isn't exactly super bright, but it seems better than what you describe.
LOL the MBA 2018 screen is way better than your macbook, i get when people say that it has a worse screen than pro but really 12" macbook.
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u are gonna notice a difference coming from a pro, IDK why u think it be as good or better than the Pros. SMH
The 12” MacBook has consistently measured brighter (even back in 2015) than what the MBA is measuring at.
The screen looks like trash compared to even the 12” side by side. Not only the brightness but the colour profile is off or something.
Go to apple.com and scroll through and you can tell the Air looks washed out.
I wanted to replace my 2015 MacBook with this but I won’t go backward in screen quality compared to what I already have.
Was happy to accept the processor since it’s essentially a 13” Macbook but they can’t even get the screen right. The Pro screen is on another level past this
Go to apple.com and scroll through and you can tell the Air looks washed out.
I wanted to replace my 2015 MacBook with this but I won’t go backward in screen quality compared to what I already have.
Was happy to accept the processor since it’s essentially a 13” Macbook but they can’t even get the screen right. The Pro screen is on another level past this
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Between the comments about the Lag, the screen and the uncertainty about the keyboard reliability i think i'm going to keep my 2011 MBA a little longer.
Any saying the screen is dim, not bright enough etc is doing a disservice to anybody considering the Air if they are comparing it to a 2016 upwards Pro.
You’re comparing a laptop with 300nits and sRGB to one with 500nits and P3. Of course the screen is going to look bad side by side!!
I’ve said this before and will say it again.
My early 2015 rMBP has a 300nit screen and sRGB. It is bright enough for anyone and I do mean anyone. People managed just fine doing photo and video editing on these screens prior to apple bringing out the better screens.
Put the air on Auto Brightness and it will serve you well. If you are still unsure then do the following.
Go into a store that has the new air, ensure it’s set on auto brightness. Turn the light on max brightness on your phone and shine it directly into the light sensor next to the camera and see how bright the screen goes.
If it’s not bright enough for your needs after that then you either need the Pro or you need your eyes checking!
You’re comparing a laptop with 300nits and sRGB to one with 500nits and P3. Of course the screen is going to look bad side by side!!
I’ve said this before and will say it again.
My early 2015 rMBP has a 300nit screen and sRGB. It is bright enough for anyone and I do mean anyone. People managed just fine doing photo and video editing on these screens prior to apple bringing out the better screens.
Put the air on Auto Brightness and it will serve you well. If you are still unsure then do the following.
Go into a store that has the new air, ensure it’s set on auto brightness. Turn the light on max brightness on your phone and shine it directly into the light sensor next to the camera and see how bright the screen goes.
If it’s not bright enough for your needs after that then you either need the Pro or you need your eyes checking!
Any saying the screen is dim, not bright enough etc is doing a disservice to anybody considering the Air if they are comparing it to a 2016 upwards Pro.
You’re comparing a laptop with 300nits and sRGB to one with 500nits and P3. Of course the screen is going to look bad side by side!!
I’ve said this before and will say it again.
My early 2015 rMBP has a 300nit screen and sRGB. It is bright enough for anyone and I do mean anyone. People managed just fine doing photo and video editing on these screens prior to apple bringing out the better screens.
Put the air on Auto Brightness and it will serve you well. If you are still unsure then do the following.
Go into a store that has the new air, ensure it’s set on auto brightness. Turn the light on max brightness on your phone and shine it directly into the light sensor next to the camera and see how bright the screen goes.
If it’s not bright enough for your needs after that then you either need the Pro or you need your eyes checking!
That’s all well and good - the issue is the nTB being only $100 more for that better screen and better processor, despite being 2 years old in design. You can try look for things better on the Air, but again, you are comparing to something 2 years out of date.
So far so good. There is occasional lag depending on the task, but as I use a VPN Client for work, Macbook does not much else have to do then displaying what's happening on the server. I haven't opened up huge Excel Files yet, but will within the next week.
Fan, like in almost every other model, turns up way to slow, minutes after the core hits 100C. Only if the sustained load keeps on going for more than a minute fans noticeably ramp up. In my opinion the curve should be more aggressive.
Sorry for the confusion. The step off only refers to the Benchmark being finished. The performance throughout the whole benchmark was stable, with core clock slightly decreasing over time. A more aggressive fan curve would solve it imho. But then again, 10 x Cinebench after Cinebench isn't a real life workload.
I got 281 after the OS update and after everything was synced, with he processor idling at 1%. Will re-upload a screenshot in a minute.
Thanks for this information! When the fan does turn on, how noticable is it? Do you have any comparison with the new 2018 Pro models? Do you happen to know how high the max fan speed is?