Somewhere on Macrumors somebody posted it might be i7-1060NG7 (throttled).
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MacBook Air 2020 USER reviews
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Thanks for this quick review. You've confirmed my suspicions. My work computer (which I obviously use regularly) is a fully loaded 15" MBP circa 2018. I've been trying to sell myself on a 2020 MBA, but I'm a hobbyist photographer and I've been fearful that the display performance (both color and nits) would fall short of what I'm accustomed to. You've convinced me to wait for the rumored 13/14 MBP.
I love it, but for me it is clearly a work -- or even light work -- machine. In basic tasks when its not under load, it feels faster than any machine I have except my iMac Pro (including my MBP 16" 1tb). The kind of work I do 90% of the time (very basic mathematical computing, excel, tex, VMware with windows XP) runs really well.
But the machine seems to cry uncle under abuse pretty quickly. By abuse I mean, alongside work having a bunch of browser tabs open including some very poorly programmed sites, maybe a second user open, maybe 4k videos open, etc. I can also get my MBP 16" to cry uncle with this kind of treatment pretty quickly, but my 2020 i5 MBA seems to start stumbling under loads not much heavier than my 2014 MBA did. On the other hand, MBA 2014 was not running a Retina display, and this machine may still be indexing or perhaps suffering from some new very-ill behaved software (paging Adobe...)
I am in love with the form factor. I think it is ideal. Typing and interface is a genuinely pleasurable experience, much better than even the MBP 16" (because of tapered edge and not-ludicrously-oversized trackpad). I can go back to touch to click without worrying about second-rate palm rejection software. It feels like I can execute the physical tasks of interfacing with the computer itself twice as fast as I can on the MBA 16".
Screen seems great, until you put it next to MBA 16". Then you're like, wow. Speakers as well, that seem to have little range. It's vastly inferior for consuming media (which I'm not supposed to be doing on either machine...)
I am looking forward to it really showing its worth when quarantine is over. It's a little redundant on home lockdown although still nicer to carry and toss around the house.
But the machine seems to cry uncle under abuse pretty quickly. By abuse I mean, alongside work having a bunch of browser tabs open including some very poorly programmed sites, maybe a second user open, maybe 4k videos open, etc. I can also get my MBP 16" to cry uncle with this kind of treatment pretty quickly, but my 2020 i5 MBA seems to start stumbling under loads not much heavier than my 2014 MBA did. On the other hand, MBA 2014 was not running a Retina display, and this machine may still be indexing or perhaps suffering from some new very-ill behaved software (paging Adobe...)
I am in love with the form factor. I think it is ideal. Typing and interface is a genuinely pleasurable experience, much better than even the MBP 16" (because of tapered edge and not-ludicrously-oversized trackpad). I can go back to touch to click without worrying about second-rate palm rejection software. It feels like I can execute the physical tasks of interfacing with the computer itself twice as fast as I can on the MBA 16".
Screen seems great, until you put it next to MBA 16". Then you're like, wow. Speakers as well, that seem to have little range. It's vastly inferior for consuming media (which I'm not supposed to be doing on either machine...)
I am looking forward to it really showing its worth when quarantine is over. It's a little redundant on home lockdown although still nicer to carry and toss around the house.
Not sure this helps but just in case: I have a 2018 MB Air and use sidecar with my 2017 10.5" iPad Pro all the time, and the fan never comes on.
Apple also has a generous return policy extension right now - they will take returns up to 14 days after their stores reopen.
I live like 500km from the nearest Apple store, so it’s online only for me. As far as I can tell, the online return policy is still 15 days.
Just got my i7/16/512 a few hours ago, coming from a 2016 15" MBP.
First thoughts:
- The keyboard is phenomenal. Miles better than the butterfly keyboard. Even better than the standalone magic keyboard. It's so comfortable and quiet compared to the butterfly keyboard.
- Love the size and weight. This is my first non-MBP MacBook and it's so nice having something that's not massive and is relatively pretty light.
- Screen looks great. I've already turned off and put my MBP aside until I send it in for trade-in, but the screen difference doesn't bother me at all. The only thing that looked different to me initially was the color because of True Tone.
- No Touch Bar. I knew I wouldn't really miss it, and I don't. I didn't mind it, but knew if I ever got a Mac without it that I wouldn't miss it, and having the physical keys back is nice.
I haven't done anything intense with it yet, just Safari. The fan was running full-speed during the data migration, but other than that it's been quiet. I plan to use this for web development that I started learning, maybe occasional video editing (one or two times a year), but probably nothing in 4K.
First thoughts:
- The keyboard is phenomenal. Miles better than the butterfly keyboard. Even better than the standalone magic keyboard. It's so comfortable and quiet compared to the butterfly keyboard.
- Love the size and weight. This is my first non-MBP MacBook and it's so nice having something that's not massive and is relatively pretty light.
- Screen looks great. I've already turned off and put my MBP aside until I send it in for trade-in, but the screen difference doesn't bother me at all. The only thing that looked different to me initially was the color because of True Tone.
- No Touch Bar. I knew I wouldn't really miss it, and I don't. I didn't mind it, but knew if I ever got a Mac without it that I wouldn't miss it, and having the physical keys back is nice.
I haven't done anything intense with it yet, just Safari. The fan was running full-speed during the data migration, but other than that it's been quiet. I plan to use this for web development that I started learning, maybe occasional video editing (one or two times a year), but probably nothing in 4K.
Please let me know more of what you think as you spend more time with it. Unlike many of the youtube review that focuses on video/photo editing. I just want to use it for self learning coding, STEM related project. Unfortunately most of reviews don’t focus on that. Thanks!
This policy extension was announced at a time when the stores were closed for two weeks, not indefinitely as now.
Does this policy still apply, even to items bought now?
Just got my i5/8GB/256 and coming from a 2013 MBP it's a huge improvement obviously. My 2013 MBP was starting to show its age. Having Touch ID is super convenient and while I can't speak for the Butterfly keyboard as I never used it, the keyboard on the new MBA feels really good, just as good if not better than my old MBP. Overall I'm very pleased with it.
Good question. I have a new Air on the way. I expect to keep it, but I’d like some clarity on the return policy. I’ll call Apple tomorrow.
Got mine mid-day and same thoughts as above poster. Coming from a 2018 MBP 15" i7/16/512, I couldn't be happier to have something more portable again - even though it will just be for around the house movement.
Loving the new keyboard - better than the 2015 MBP that used to be my favorite.
Screen is much more uniform than past Airs we've had and plenty bright/colorful.
Fan came on briefly and hasn't since initial setup.
I expect mine next wednesday (i7/16GB/1TB) and i don't run matlab, but i do run VMs in fusion, do remote admin (i'm a network guy), etc. Possibly some similar workloads (in terms of cpu/memory stress) to yourself. I also have an iPad 10.5 that i plan to try using as an external display.
I'll post my review shortly after it arrives.
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"Need" is very subjective. I do 1080p video editing on my 13" pro from 2015. With 8 GB and a dual core. I haven't tried 4k, but i work with 1080p60 because that's why my go pros can capture, they're older and only do 4k30 which isn't as good for the stuff i capture.
If you're not doing it for money and are willing to wait for renders to complete and only dealing with short hobbyist stuff the air will be fine. It will massively outperform my current machine with the new ice lake CPUs (especially the quad core) and new GPUs.
Of course if you're doing video for money, time is money and the 16" will pay for itself.
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Extremely happy with mine so far. Keyboard is stellar...tomorrow when I turn on my work computer (2019 MB Pro), I'm going to be very disappointed. No issues with heat at all, occasionally hear the fan when doing something intensive, but nothing significant. The i7 in this is a champ so far.
For everything I do (browsing, email, docs, spreadsheets, photos, some coding, and the occasional GarageBand project), the 2020 Air seems to be perfect.
For everything I do (browsing, email, docs, spreadsheets, photos, some coding, and the occasional GarageBand project), the 2020 Air seems to be perfect.
Are you using an external monitor for any of this? Have you tried plugging into a monitor, and does this ramp the fan up?
just curious, as lots of people are talking about screen brightness. Do they actually put the screen on full brightness? I have my 2014 MBP at about 40% and it's plenty bright. Anything beyond 50 and I feel like I'm getting so bright that I can't read words as well.
How much ram do you have in your MBA?
As an extension, anyone here with 8gb ram? How is your notebook performing?
It probably depends if you use it outside in daylight. Most machines are fine indoors, but when you use them in the sun it really pushes the need for brightness.
I could see that with my phone or tablet. In Arizona’s constant sun (we love cloudy days), I need my phone and iPad at 100%, but use them in-doors at around 30-40%. But I’ve never used a computer outdoors except on vacation, and I’d imagine that’s for most people on here. It wouldn’t be a variable I would critically look at when debating MBP or MBA
From what I’ve heard, depending on the coding, the MBA should be perfectly fine. Heard it's great for web development (which is what I’m doing and web development doesn’t need a whole lot of power). Not sure about iOS or Android development. I think depending on your workload it’ll be fine.
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Not so sure about that
, CPU goes to 100c if you're fooling around in Chrome with some tabs.
Yeah depends what you use the device for and how.
If you use it outside at cafes, or maybe outside to program embedded devices, then it can be a factor.
Most don't, but I have done those things from time to time. That said, i'm not too concerned about the air purchase.
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Not so sure about that
Chrome likely doesn't use h.265 hardware decode on the mac yet, given this cpu is brand new to the mac... Chrome has always been pretty garbage on the mac in terms of optimisation. Remember: Apple and Google are kinda enemies in the marketplace....
With regards to the boost behaviour, i suspect Apple will fix this via OS update(s). The box is literally brand new.
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What box?
And yeah, I'm not worried about heat/noise. The 2018 Air ran silent and cool for the most part, and there's no reason this one wont either. Most reviews say it has solid performance for office productivity work. Its a everyday notebook, not a intensive performance workhorse like a MBP. What is compromises on performance it makes up in size, battery life and price.
Really hope so. Safari is not an option when you're developing web apps unfortunately..
One thing I do miss from my old MBP is the MagSafe connector. Really wish they'd kept that on their laptops.