MacBook Air 2020 USER reviews

[The Fork]

Got my i7/16/256 yesterday (ordered within an hour of the announcement) - as others have noted, this runs far too hot under my normal workload, to the point where I’m likely going to return it. I’m coming from a 2015 MBA so I was really looking forward to this becoming my new workhorse too, it’s a step up in almost every way from my current machine.

For me, there seems to be a real heating problem particularly with the GPU under my normal use cases - I like to keep a Twitch tab open in my browser (Chrome, because I have multiple GSuite accounts I need to use daily) and with my 2015 MBA that makes the GPU run at about 20-25% over idle with that tab currently active and playing 1080p60fps streams. This does make the fan come on, but it’s nowhere near max, I can’t hear it unless I basically put my ear to the case.

On the 2020 MBA though, having the same tab active pins the GPU at 100%, the fan kicks in and is at full blast within a minute, and after a few minutes the video frame starts to flicker like the GPU is going to crash. Okay, fine, I know Chrome is pretty much trash on a Mac when it comes to resource utilization (don’t get me started), let me try Safari. Much to my surprise, same thing - pinned GPU, fan blasting, *hot* case. I had better luck with the ‘native’ Twitch Mac client, that loaded the GPU to about 25-30%; the fan was audible though and the case was still uncomfortably hot.

I’ve tried a couple of other video playback tests, notably VLC playback, and while the performance issues aren’t as dramatic as with Chrome/Safari video, relative to the performance of my 2015 MBA they are still present and the case just gets too hot for my comfort. I even dug out my ancient 2012(?) Mac Mini just to see how it would react and it didn’t break a sweat with the full-fat streaming video I like to consume nowadays.

I’m genuinely surprised by this, tbh. I know that the 2020 MBA has ~4x the pixels to push than my 2015 MBA, but I feel like over the last half-decade integrated graphics should have become at least more than 4x efficient, even Intel’s. I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, but I’m not in a position where I am willing to commit ~$1500 to a hunch. Added to this, even under my “normal” workloads without videos running, the 2020 is running uncomfortably hot, judged entirely subjectively. My 2015 MBA never had these heat/GPU issues, and still doesn’t - heck, my decade-old Mac Mini doesn’t have these issues! I’m going to try a couple more tests on the 2020, but at this point I’m inclined to return it and wait until there’s either a fix or the next model comes out. Which is a bummer because it’s a really nice laptop otherwise.

 

[Eithanius]

Got my i7/16/256 yesterday (ordered within an hour of the announcement) - as others have noted, this runs far too hot under my normal workload, to the point where I’m likely going to return it. I’m coming from a 2015 MBA so I was really looking forward to this becoming my new workhorse too, it’s a step up in almost every way from my current machine.

For me, there seems to be a real heating problem particularly with the GPU under my normal use cases - I like to keep a Twitch tab open in my browser (Chrome, because I have multiple GSuite accounts I need to use daily) and with my 2015 MBA that makes the GPU run at about 20-25% over idle with that tab currently active and playing 1080p60fps streams. This does make the fan come on, but it’s nowhere near max, I can’t hear it unless I basically put my ear to the case.

On the 2020 MBA though, having the same tab active pins the GPU at 100%, the fan kicks in and is at full blast within a minute, and after a few minutes the video frame starts to flicker like the GPU is going to crash. Okay, fine, I know Chrome is pretty much trash on a Mac when it comes to resource utilization (don’t get me started), let me try Safari. Much to my surprise, same thing - pinned GPU, fan blasting, *hot* case. I had better luck with the ‘native’ Twitch Mac client, that loaded the GPU to about 25-30%; the fan was audible though and the case was still uncomfortably hot.

I’ve tried a couple of other video playback tests, notably VLC playback, and while the performance issues aren’t as dramatic as with Chrome/Safari video, relative to the performance of my 2015 MBA they are still present and the case just gets too hot for my comfort. I even dug out my ancient 2012(?) Mac Mini just to see how it would react and it didn’t break a sweat with the full-fat streaming video I like to consume nowadays.

I’m genuinely surprised by this, tbh. I know that the 2020 MBA has ~4x the pixels to push than my 2015 MBA, but I feel like over the last half-decade integrated graphics should have become at least more than 4x efficient, even Intel’s. I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, but I’m not in a position where I am willing to commit ~$1500 to a hunch. Added to this, even under my “normal” workloads without videos running, the 2020 is running uncomfortably hot, judged entirely subjectively. My 2015 MBA never had these heat/GPU issues, and still doesn’t - heck, my decade-old Mac Mini doesn’t have these issues! I’m going to try a couple more tests on the 2020, but at this point I’m inclined to return it and wait until there’s either a fix or the next model comes out. Which is a bummer because it’s a really nice laptop otherwise.

Could it be that your 2020 MBA still in the midst of background indexing...? You might wanna wait another few more days before toasting and tossing your MBA again...?

 

[magbarn]

Got my i7/16/256 yesterday (ordered within an hour of the announcement) - as others have noted, this runs far too hot under my normal workload, to the point where I’m likely going to return it. I’m coming from a 2015 MBA so I was really looking forward to this becoming my new workhorse too, it’s a step up in almost every way from my current machine.

For me, there seems to be a real heating problem particularly with the GPU under my normal use cases - I like to keep a Twitch tab open in my browser (Chrome, because I have multiple GSuite accounts I need to use daily) and with my 2015 MBA that makes the GPU run at about 20-25% over idle with that tab currently active and playing 1080p60fps streams. This does make the fan come on, but it’s nowhere near max, I can’t hear it unless I basically put my ear to the case.

On the 2020 MBA though, having the same tab active pins the GPU at 100%, the fan kicks in and is at full blast within a minute, and after a few minutes the video frame starts to flicker like the GPU is going to crash. Okay, fine, I know Chrome is pretty much trash on a Mac when it comes to resource utilization (don’t get me started), let me try Safari. Much to my surprise, same thing - pinned GPU, fan blasting, *hot* case. I had better luck with the ‘native’ Twitch Mac client, that loaded the GPU to about 25-30%; the fan was audible though and the case was still uncomfortably hot.

I’ve tried a couple of other video playback tests, notably VLC playback, and while the performance issues aren’t as dramatic as with Chrome/Safari video, relative to the performance of my 2015 MBA they are still present and the case just gets too hot for my comfort. I even dug out my ancient 2012(?) Mac Mini just to see how it would react and it didn’t break a sweat with the full-fat streaming video I like to consume nowadays.

I’m genuinely surprised by this, tbh. I know that the 2020 MBA has ~4x the pixels to push than my 2015 MBA, but I feel like over the last half-decade integrated graphics should have become at least more than 4x efficient, even Intel’s. I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, but I’m not in a position where I am willing to commit ~$1500 to a hunch. Added to this, even under my “normal” workloads without videos running, the 2020 is running uncomfortably hot, judged entirely subjectively. My 2015 MBA never had these heat/GPU issues, and still doesn’t - heck, my decade-old Mac Mini doesn’t have these issues! I’m going to try a couple more tests on the 2020, but at this point I’m inclined to return it and wait until there’s either a fix or the next model comes out. Which is a bummer because it’s a really nice laptop otherwise.

I assume you’ve Given it time to index as posted above. Please read the thread on the 2020 MBA’s heat sink which talks about the lack of a proper heat pipe which your 2015 has. It does just barely have enough cooling but either Apple is trying to keep the MBA from competing with mbp in performance or they didn’t want to spend too many dollars on re-engineering the logic board, you’re left with a laptop that’s mostly good for light bursty load use. The GPU in the 2020 is decent enough but it’s fighting with the cpu for a very small power and heat budget.

 

[larsschuhmacher]

Could it be that your 2020 MBA still in the midst of background indexing...? You might wanna wait another few more days before toasting and tossing your MBA again...?

Could be also an explanation. But I don't know if the fan/heat issues would be that bad then.
I think what The Fork said here "I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, [...]" could be true.

 

[magbarn]

Could be also an explanation. But I don't know if the fan/heat issues would be that bad then.
I think what The Fork said here "I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, [...]" could be true.

I hope so as Apple still hasn’t fixed the mbp 16’s bug when trying to use laptop lcd and an external monitor that causes to run hot unless you run in clamshell mode.

 

[mick2]

I hope so as Apple still hasn’t fixed the mbp 16’s bug when trying to use laptop lcd and an external monitor that causes to run hot unless you run in clamshell mode.

A suggestion:

It would be helpful to keep this thread focussed on users' initial reports / experiences, and keep the heatpipe and other disussions to the existing thread(s) that's about that issue. The 'apple should have fitted a heatpipe' disussion seems to quickly devolve into an ideological flame-fest wherever it arises and it would be useful to keep this thread clear of that, as there aren't many reports from actual users out there yet, apart from this thread.

 

[The Fork]

Could it be that your 2020 MBA still in the midst of background indexing...? You might wanna wait another few more days before toasting and tossing your MBA again...?

I mean it probably is? I can understand how this might make the overall 'baseline' case heat seem above normal, but my problem is specifically with the GPU, which is clearly overheating to due to video playback issues. You make a perfectly valid point though; I'm going to nuke the new MBA from orbit and I'll let it sit and reindex for a while before trying video playback again.

I assume you’ve Given it time to index as posted above. Please read the thread on the 2020 MBA’s heat sink which talks about the lack of a proper heat pipe which your 2015 has. It does just barely have enough cooling but either Apple is trying to keep the MBA from competing with mbp in performance or they didn’t want to spend too many dollars on re-engineering the logic board, you’re left with a laptop that’s mostly good for light bursty load use. The GPU in the 2020 is decent enough but it’s fighting with the cpu for a very small power and heat budget.

Again, I don't think the indexing is really significant here as the GPU is the problem, but since any contribution the indexing process might make to the overall heat issue is going to be transient, I'm willing to wait that out before proceeding with more video/GPU loads. The heat pipe/sink issue certainly is interesting and relevant from an engineering standpoint; as far as I'm concerned the issue here is that the GPU in a brand-new MBA should not be getting *massively* outperformed by the GPU in a 5-year-old MBA. There just simply shouldn't be any meaningful heat to manage, much less the heat coming from a GPU under 100% utilization overwhelming an underengineered thermal management system.

 

[Zahni]

Got my i7/16/256 yesterday (ordered within an hour of the announcement) - as others have noted, this runs far too hot under my normal workload, to the point where I’m likely going to return it. I’m coming from a 2015 MBA so I was really looking forward to this becoming my new workhorse too, it’s a step up in almost every way from my current machine.

For me, there seems to be a real heating problem particularly with the GPU under my normal use cases - I like to keep a Twitch tab open in my browser (Chrome, because I have multiple GSuite accounts I need to use daily) and with my 2015 MBA that makes the GPU run at about 20-25% over idle with that tab currently active and playing 1080p60fps streams. This does make the fan come on, but it’s nowhere near max, I can’t hear it unless I basically put my ear to the case.

On the 2020 MBA though, having the same tab active pins the GPU at 100%, the fan kicks in and is at full blast within a minute, and after a few minutes the video frame starts to flicker like the GPU is going to crash. Okay, fine, I know Chrome is pretty much trash on a Mac when it comes to resource utilization (don’t get me started), let me try Safari. Much to my surprise, same thing - pinned GPU, fan blasting, *hot* case. I had better luck with the ‘native’ Twitch Mac client, that loaded the GPU to about 25-30%; the fan was audible though and the case was still uncomfortably hot.

I’ve tried a couple of other video playback tests, notably VLC playback, and while the performance issues aren’t as dramatic as with Chrome/Safari video, relative to the performance of my 2015 MBA they are still present and the case just gets too hot for my comfort. I even dug out my ancient 2012(?) Mac Mini just to see how it would react and it didn’t break a sweat with the full-fat streaming video I like to consume nowadays.

I’m genuinely surprised by this, tbh. I know that the 2020 MBA has ~4x the pixels to push than my 2015 MBA, but I feel like over the last half-decade integrated graphics should have become at least more than 4x efficient, even Intel’s. I have a hunch that the GPU performance/heat is a software/driver/firmware issue that will likely get resolved over time, but I’m not in a position where I am willing to commit ~$1500 to a hunch. Added to this, even under my “normal” workloads without videos running, the 2020 is running uncomfortably hot, judged entirely subjectively. My 2015 MBA never had these heat/GPU issues, and still doesn’t - heck, my decade-old Mac Mini doesn’t have these issues! I’m going to try a couple more tests on the 2020, but at this point I’m inclined to return it and wait until there’s either a fix or the next model comes out. Which is a bummer because it’s a really nice laptop otherwise.

Did you tried https://www.rugarciap.com/turbo-boost-switcher-for-os-x/ ?
Very useful test. If you don't need full speed, disable Turbo Boost:

 

[PrestoMovie]

That seems high for 9 tabs and YouTube. How much RAM do you have?

16GB.

I was doing both tests while connected to my external monitor. I'm not sure how much that affects it, but using it now without my monitor, my MBA is at 54 degrees with the same 9 tabs open in Safari with a YT video, VS Code, and a couple other things open.

You can see the temp along the top menu bar.

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I mean about 80 degrees is ok but its definitely too hot. At this moment I have 30 Safari Tabs open + playing a 1080p youtube video + Mail + Calendar + Notes + a PDF is open and the temperature on my 2014 MacBook Air is only 60 degree when just watching the vid. Fan at minimum 1200 U/min. When I switch fast between tabs and programs it goes up to 70 degrees for a few seconds.
Could this be a software issue cause the processor is new? I mean this can't be a fan issue, because no processor should heat up to 80 degrees when you only have 9 tabs open with a youtube video (especially in safari).

I did both tests while connected to my external monitor. Not sure how much that affects the tests, but did both again now while just using the MBA and the results were very different.

57 degrees with Safari open with the same tabs. 72 degrees for Chrome.

 

[SaranshRolex]

hey guys ,
so Ive finally gotten my MacBook Air I went for the basic model i3.
ive put it under stress. played a 4k video 60 fps (which I transferred from my 11promax) Netflix YouTube had 3 tabs open Spotify open mails open i have more than 700k mails that needed downloading and was running Geekbench with a pdf reader open as well all at the same time ! I had still zero lag my MacBook did heat up but I am amazed. plus while all that was running I got a single core score of 670 en multi of 1800 ! while everything was playing and running at I repeat the same time. I also proceeded to flip as in turn pdfs using gestures for the fun of it and it handled like a champ.
ps geekbench scores without any apps open : single core 1100 and multi 2300.
I am amazed but still might be cuz I came from a mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13 inch.
screen is nice as well speakers are amazing . I have an iPad Pro 12;5 inch and 10.5 inch so tbh colour gamut is better on those but man having a laptop is still wayyyy better .

 

[MacBoy-HH]

Hello,
could the proud owners of the new Air check out how the device behaves on an external monitor?
- is the temperature rising?
- do the fans turn up?
- which monitor with which resolution did you use?
- was there a difference whether you had the display open or closed? (Clamshell Mode)

Thank you for your support

 

[The Fork]

Following up on my post from earlier:

So I took both my 2015 and 2020 MBA, went into Recovery Mode, wiped the internal drives, reinstalled Catalina 10.15.4 from scratch, and took a backup of my 2015 MBA from yesterday and restored it to both the 2015 and the 2020 to make them both as identical to my standard workspace as possible. I gave them both enough time for Spotlight to reindex everything and for iCloud to sync everything back up, which didn’t take long because I typically only have about 90Gb stored locally and handful of data to sync back up to iCloud.

The tests (and I use the term ‘test’ loosely here) I ran on both laptops were a 1080p60fps Twitch stream in Chrome, the same Twitch stream in Safari, the same Twitch stream in the ‘native’ client, a 1080p Youtube video in Chrome, and a 1080p h264-encoded video in VLC. For the Chrome tests I tried both with my most frequently used profile and the “Guest” profile. I ran the tests both as my normal user account, and as a new blank user I set up for the occasion. No tests were run concurrently.

I suppose the good news is that after the reinstall the 2020 MBA is no longer pinning the GPU at 100% for whatever reason, but that’s the end of the good news. Across the board, on *all* tests, the 2020 MBA GPU was somewhere between 15-30% usage, whereas on the 2015 MBA I rarely saw GPU usage go over 1% (one percent, not a typo).

I used a utility called XRG to monitor the temps (in F, not C; I also prefer volume in fractional hogsheads to firkins, don’t @ me) at the same time as I was running the tests. Since the number and location of the sensors obviously varies between devices, the broad conclusion I drew was that the 2020 MBA seems to operate in a wider temp range than the 2015 MBA. The 2020 actually seems to idle about 20 degrees cooler, but gets 20-30 degrees hotter when it’s running on all (throttled) cores, which seems to be quite often. The “bottom” sensor, which I interpret to mean the sensor closest to my lap, reports temps consistently 10-20 degrees hotter on the 2020, however, regardless of workload, which dovetails with what my lap tells me directly.

These aren’t the most scientific tests, and I’m sure your mileage will vary when you do them; I probably didn’t test Your Favorite Streaming Service, I just tested what I use the most. I don’t have a good explanation for these results. Maybe Your Favorite Streaming Service will work flawlessly. Maybe the 2020 MBA I got was a dud; maybe I somehow wound up with the magic 2015 MBA. Maybe Catalina is well-optimized for the 2015 MBA but poorly optimized for the 2020 MBA. Maybe it will improve with time. Maybe Apple did god-tier thermal management engineering work on the 2015 MBA but screwed the pooch on the 2020 MBA. Maybe there’s something *really* obvious I’m missing in all of this.

But at the end of the day, the graphics performance and temperature profile of *my* new 2020 MBA is an unacceptable regression over my 2015 MBA for whatever reason, and I’m not paying for the privilege of using something that does a significantly worse job - in any aspect - than what I already have. I’m going to keep an eye on this, after the Apple stores reopen I’ll pop into one at some point and see if I get the same behavior on a floor model as what I have in my hands right now, but for now this one’s going back to Apple. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

 

[Falcon80]

Following up on my post from earlier:

So I took both my 2015 and 2020 MBA, went into Recovery Mode, wiped the internal drives, reinstalled Catalina 10.15.4 from scratch, and took a backup of my 2015 MBA from yesterday and restored it to both the 2015 and the 2020 to make them both as identical to my standard workspace as possible. I gave them both enough time for Spotlight to reindex everything and for iCloud to sync everything back up, which didn’t take long because I typically only have about 90Gb stored locally and handful of data to sync back up to iCloud.

The tests (and I use the term ‘test’ loosely here) I ran on both laptops were a 1080p60fps Twitch stream in Chrome, the same Twitch stream in Safari, the same Twitch stream in the ‘native’ client, a 1080p Youtube video in Chrome, and a 1080p h264-encoded video in VLC. For the Chrome tests I tried both with my most frequently used profile and the “Guest” profile. I ran the tests both as my normal user account, and as a new blank user I set up for the occasion. No tests were run concurrently.

I suppose the good news is that after the reinstall the 2020 MBA is no longer pinning the GPU at 100% for whatever reason, but that’s the end of the good news. Across the board, on *all* tests, the 2020 MBA GPU was somewhere between 15-30% usage, whereas on the 2015 MBA I rarely saw GPU usage go over 1% (one percent, not a typo).

I used a utility called XRG to monitor the temps (in F, not C; I also prefer volume in fractional hogsheads to firkins, don’t @ me) at the same time as I was running the tests. Since the number and location of the sensors obviously varies between devices, the broad conclusion I drew was that the 2020 MBA seems to operate in a wider temp range than the 2015 MBA. The 2020 actually seems to idle about 20 degrees cooler, but gets 20-30 degrees hotter when it’s running on all (throttled) cores, which seems to be quite often. The “bottom” sensor, which I interpret to mean the sensor closest to my lap, reports temps consistently 10-20 degrees hotter on the 2020, however, regardless of workload, which dovetails with what my lap tells me directly.

These aren’t the most scientific tests, and I’m sure your mileage will vary when you do them; I probably didn’t test Your Favorite Streaming Service, I just tested what I use the most. I don’t have a good explanation for these results. Maybe Your Favorite Streaming Service will work flawlessly. Maybe the 2020 MBA I got was a dud; maybe I somehow wound up with the magic 2015 MBA. Maybe Catalina is well-optimized for the 2015 MBA but poorly optimized for the 2020 MBA. Maybe it will improve with time. Maybe Apple did god-tier thermal management engineering work on the 2015 MBA but screwed the pooch on the 2020 MBA. Maybe there’s something *really* obvious I’m missing in all of this.

But at the end of the day, the graphics performance and temperature profile of *my* new 2020 MBA is an unacceptable regression over my 2015 MBA for whatever reason, and I’m not paying for the privilege of using something that does a significantly worse job - in any aspect - than what I already have. I’m going to keep an eye on this, after the Apple stores reopen I’ll pop into one at some point and see if I get the same behavior on a floor model as what I have in my hands right now, but for now this one’s going back to Apple. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

So will you be going for the 16" MacBook Pro?

 

[throAU]

But at the end of the day, the graphics performance and temperature profile of *my* new 2020 MBA is an unacceptable regression over my 2015 MBA for whatever reason, and I’m not paying for the privilege of using something that does a significantly worse job

this surely has to be software/driver/firmware bug related. the gpu hardware is far stronger and has updated codec support in hardware. the video playback situation really should be reversed based on the hardware in the machine.

 

[The Fork]

So will you be going for the 16" MacBook Pro?

Ha, no, I'm getting by OK on a 5-year old MBA, I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of power.

this surely has to be software/driver/firmware bug related. the gpu hardware is far stronger and has updated codec support in hardware. the video playback situation really should be reversed based on the hardware in the machine.

Honestly I think you're right, that's what I think too - I'll give the 2020 MBA another go if/when this gets fixed...

 

[Jimmy James]

Most people are saying that it’s fine for normal use. Some are saying it gets too hot using an external monitor and/or streaming. This has been my normal use for nearly the last 20 years. Is this not normal? Am I misunderstanding?

 

[high heaven]

MBA 2020's CPU itself is great and better than what 2019 13 inch MBP has but due to the cooling design, it's not good. Yes, the cooler does not enable the CPU to have better performance. They should've added a heat pipe for a proper cooling system for better performance. Even browsing or watching can overheat the CPU.

 

[Trixs]

MBA 2020's CPU itself is great and better than what 2019 13 inch MBP has but due to the cooling design, it's not good. Yes, the cooler does not enable the CPU to have better performance. They should've added a heat pipe for a proper cooling system for better performance. Even browsing or watching can overheat the CPU.

Pretty disappointing. The CPU seems to have a lot more potential but is just crippled by the cooling.

 

[KPOM]

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 have the 13” base Pro and just got the i7 Air. My initial reaction is that the average user is better off with the i5 Air with 16GB, but that users used to the Pro should stick with it or wait for the 2020 Pro. They are similar in size, but when pushed the Air operates consistently around 10W while the Pro is about 20-25W. In burst settings the Air is fine, but anything sustained is better on the Pro because the thermals are better.
As for the screen, the Pro has a better screen. Since my favorite Mac was the 12” MacBook, the Air’s doesn’t bother me, but photo editors are better off with the Pro.

All that said, the 2020 Air is a far better deal than the 2019 Air was. The base 2019 13” Pro thoroughly outclassed the 2019 Air. But the 2020 Air upgraded to the i5 ($100 upgrade) is really nice for $400 less than a 13” Pro with 256GB.
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MBA 2020's CPU itself is great and better than what 2019 13 inch MBP has but due to the cooling design, it's not good. Yes, the cooler does not enable the CPU to have better performance. They should've added a heat pipe for a proper cooling system for better performance. Even browsing or watching can overheat the CPU.

It’s the TDP. The Ice Lake Y is intended to stay around 10W, even when pushed, while the 13” Pro’s chip has a base of 15W and consistently stays near 20-25W when pushed. Intel has an Ice Lake version of the 13” Pro chip ready that will likely go into the 2020 Pro in a few months.
I wouldn’t replace a 2019 13” Pro with a 2020 Air, but for the average user I’d now recommend the 2020 Air with the i5.

 

[aajeevlin]

Really appreciate all the discussion here. But I wonder if we are over analyzing it too much (no disrespect to anyone). I’m looking to replace a 2011 MacBook Pro 13. Mainly because I can no longer upgrade the OS and some of the software are starting to not support the OS. This is also why eventually I stopped using my G5 many years ago as well. So overall this is still a good buy?

 

[KPOM]

Pretty disappointing. The CPU seems to have a lot more potential but is just crippled by the cooling.

I saw a YouTube post where someone hooked up a liquid cooler to the Air. It did ramp up to about the same speed as the 13” Pro, but was voltage limited. Remember, this was the chip to replace the Y series. It isn’t intended to run at 20W for an extended period of time. That’s why Apple didn’t put in a stronger cooling system. We’ll see that in the 2020 13” Pro.
[automerge]1586053313[/automerge]

Really appreciate all the discussion here. But I wonder if we are over analyzing it too much (no disrespect to anyone). I’m looking to replace a 2011 MacBook Pro 13. Mainly because I can no longer upgrade the OS and some of the software are starting to not support the OS. This is also why eventually I stopped using my G5 many years ago as well. So overall this is still a good buy?

If you are using a 2011 13” Pro, the 2020 Air with the quad core i5 will blow it away. When pushed, the 2019 13” Pro is still noticeably faster than the 2020 Air, but for basic tasks the 2020 Air and 2019 13” Pro are similar.
If you are looking for faster speed, wait for the 13” 2020 Pro, but the Air is a nice machine.

 

[SaranshRolex]

My 2 cents.
Want a zippy nice macbook air without much to think about i3
For the peace of mind ( mind you doesnt mean its the right choice a bit of a hype imo) i5
Living in Antartica i7 ( you wont need a heater)

 

[high heaven]

It’s the TDP. The Ice Lake Y is intended to stay around 10W, even when pushed, while the 13” Pro’s chip has a base of 15W and consistently stays near 20-25W when pushed. Intel has an Ice Lake version of the 13” Pro chip ready that will likely go into the 2020 Pro in a few months.
I wouldn’t replace a 2019 13” Pro with a 2020 Air, but for the average user I’d now recommend the 2020 Air with the i5.

Still, MBA's cooling system is not even able to hold TDP 10W. Y series used to have 4.5W instead of 10W. And now, the core had been increased dramatically from dual to quad. Quad core 10W would be... hot.

And dont forget that 13-inch MBP has two different types: 15W with two TB3 ports and 28W with four TB3 ports.

In terms of power consumption, H series consumes way higher than 45W which can reach up to 130W depends on the workflow. Even 1065G7 consumes up to 60W of power. TDP 15W seems to be meaningless if you start using all cores at high clock speed and Intel is quite well known for using inaccurate TDP value.

 

[KPOM]

Still, MBA's cooling system is not even able to hold TDP 10W. Y series used to have 4.5W instead of 10W. And now, the core had been increased dramatically from dual to quad. Quad core 10W would be... hot.

And dont forget that 13-inch MBP has two different types: 15W with two TB3 ports and 28W with four TB3 ports.

In terms of power consumption, H series consumes way higher than 45W which can reach up to 130W depends on the workflow. Even 1065G7 consumes up to 60W of power. TDP 15W seems to be meaningless if you start using all cores at high clock speed and Intel is quite well known for using inaccurate TDP value.

Intel gave up on the 5W TDP. Even the “base” Y is now 9W, with a downward setting of 7W. The stated upward setting is 12W. Apple limited it to 10W.

The U-Series is 15W. As a practical matter, it has a hard time staying there in the 13” Pro. The Air stays within the stated specs more often.

This explains why the single core scores on Ice Lake exceedCoffee Lake, but the multi-core scores are somewhat disappointing.

Apple didn’t build in a better thermal system because the Y-series isn’t intended for it.

 

[high heaven]

Apple didn’t build in a better thermal system because the Y-series isn’t intended for it.

That does not justify the poor cooling system especially since both TDP and cores increased much more than before. At this point, you can not just say Y series isnt intended for it cause both TDP and cores increased.