Noticeable difference 2010 MBA vs. 2013 MBA?

[John25]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading from my late 2010 MBA base model 13" to the base model 2013 MBA. Is there a noticeable difference going from Intel C2D to Haswell? Is it worth the upgrade? Thanks

 

[Saberon]

The CPU/SSD changes alone are huge. Not to mention battery life. I'd say go for it unless you're happy with everything on the 2010. If you do any light gaming, the HD5000 will destroy the 320m

I'd get 8gb of ram though. It's 2013 and 4GB just simply is disappointing to put it mildly.

 

[wermy]

Yup, the differences will be pretty dramatic. Every difference by itself would be a big improvement: CPU, memory, SSD, GPU, battery... With all those combined, you're looking at a HUGE upgrade.

 

[calvol]

I'm sticking with my 2010 13" MBA until there are meaningful changes, such as:
- IPS or IGZO screen
- thinner bezels
- 50% more battery life (still get 10+ hours)
- DDR4 memory

Faster CPU and SSD doesn't add much for my day-to-day usage pattern. Who cares if an app opens a few seconds faster? I would have upgraded for a better screen, may consider the rMBP later in the year.

 

[kahkityoong]

Massive difference between my 2010 and 2013 MBA. Both are Ultimate builds. I gave my 2010 to my GF as a hand me down as it was virtually unusable for Photoshop.

 

[aaseattle]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading from my late 2010 MBA base model 13" to the base model 2013 MBA. Is there a noticeable difference going from Intel C2D to Haswell? Is it worth the upgrade? Thanks

HUGE difference. I struggled with if I should upgrade as I was hoping for a visual refresh (esp bezels), but after over a week I am VERY happy with the upgrade.

Posted some thoughts here as well:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17438032

 

[Ronnoco]

I noticed a HUGE difference between my late 2010 11" MBA Ultimate and my new mid 2013 13" MBA Ultimate. It was night and day. I think those that upgrade from the late 2010 MBA's (or earlier) will benefit the most. Just about every internal component has been upgraded since the 2010 models including the I/O (USB 3 and Thunderbolt)...heck, even the FaceTime camera is better...

 

[newdeal]

2010 has core 2 duo which is MUCH slower than haswell
2010 doesnt have a backlit keyboard
2010 battery life is far less
2010 graphics performance is less
2010 memory performance is less
2010 ssd performance is less
2010 wifi performance is less
2010 has no thunderbolt as I recall
2010 has no USB 3.0

 

[maxosx]

I made the switch from my 13 2010 to my 13" mid 2012 when it was released. It's a lot faster than I expected.