First 2018 MacBook Air unboxing videos hit YouTube

AppleInsider

The embargo has lifted on first look videos of Apple's redesigned 2018 MacBook Air, meaning the web is awash with obligatory unboxing content just a day after the laptop was revealed at a special event in New York.

2018 MacBook Air

Impressions seem largely positive, though none of these videos amount to much more than extended hands-on looks like those offered during Apple's post-event gathering on Tuesday.

One nice touch that was noted by various YouTubers is that the Apple stickers that are included with the new Airs are color matched to the laptop's finish. So the gold models we saw unboxed had shimmering golden Apple stickers rather than the regular matte white.

We will continue to update this article with additional videos as they are posted. In the meantime, check out AppleInsider's own first impressions of the new MacBook Air with Retina display.

Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.

chasm

Thanks for including the TechMeOut video. I was not aware of her, and she did a great job. Gonna go check out (er, tech out) more of her videos.

ireland

There’s inherent bias built into knowing you’ve early access to an Apple product and that you’re expected to do a video unboxing of it. If you react badly it’s understood you won’t get early access again. Apple makes great products, but these videos are ads.

slurpy

ireland said:

There’s inherent bias built into knowing you’ve early access to an Apple product and that you’re expected to do a video unboxing of it. If you react badly it’s understood you won’t get early access again. Apple makes great products, but these videos are ads.

Pretty much every tech reviewer receives every single non-Apple tech product to review for free. So, on this topic it's absurd to think Apple has any advantage over anyone else, quite the opposite. As far as I know, they don't spam out free units and massive gift bags like all their competitors. Also, kind of different and cool that Apple sent these to lesser known (more amateurish), female Youtubers instead of the better known tech reviewers. Clearly they want to appeal to a different audience.

jdw

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

ireland

slurpy said:

ireland said:

There’s inherent bias built into knowing you’ve early access to an Apple product and that you’re expected to do a video unboxing of it. If you react badly it’s understood you won’t get early access again. Apple makes great products, but these videos are ads.

Pretty much every tech reviewer receives every single non-Apple tech product to review for free. So, on this topic it's absurd to think Apple has any advantage over anyone else, quite the opposite.

Do you dream at night with Apple struggling against other companies, because your comment has no relation to mine. I mentioned only one company, Apple. This website is about Apple and this video is about an Apple product. That’s what my comment is about. Why must we discuss other companies vs Apple the whole time. It’s playground stuff. I literally couldn’t give a shit about Google, what shit they talk about and what privacy raping slab they are working on.

My comment remains the same. These videos are biased; they are ads.

coolfactor

The 2013 MacBook Air already had impressive speaker sound, so it's interesting that they felt they needed to improve this even more. Glad to see some love given to the microphone tech, too. Guess Siri was the primary driver behind that. The clearer the sound that Siri receives, the better the experience will be, so I expect all Apple products will receive mic upgrades over time.

iqatedo

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone...

I bought an Air because of a need to continue with some documentation work whilst travelling, nothing heavier than that and yet I use it quite a bit on my desk now. I haven't used the SD card slot much, don't think I'll miss it. Extra storage over the 128 GB of FLASH would have been nice. I haven't tested the MagSafe utility yet, happily. I love my glowing Apple and wonder whether it was necessary to remove it. Wonder if Apple had received complaints of distraction or whatever caused by it in classroom settings for example.

The new computer looks great and I''l consider upgrading. Would like to have seen another USB-C port on the opposite side, I'm sure it was considered.

coolfactor

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

I agree with parts of what you said. A 2013 Air is my current daily driver, and it's great for all the reasons that you mention. But USB-C is a game-changer, as it's both data + power in one. Connect it to a hub that powers drives, monitors, etc, and that charges the Mac at the same time. So I think it's more about us users adjusting to this new world in certain respects. Wireless has already become a mainstay tech, not a nice-to-have option. We just need to adjust. Just because older ports and tech is gone doesn't mean the machine can do less. It just does things in a different way.

randominternetperson

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

I think you do get it.  You just don't like it.

The MacBook Air is probably the perfect Mac laptop for 80% of users.  The MacBook was/is limited by the single/non-thunderbolt port, and the MacBook Air addresses that.

Only a small proportion of MacBook_ users ever use the omitted ports--especially the SD card slot, and if they ever do, there are plenty of options.  MagSafe is a non-issue (as I was late to appreciate) since (as others have pointed out well before I accepted this truth), with modern battery life we simply don't need to stay tethered all day.

Who gives a flying fig about the glowing Apple logo?  It was a cute gimmick, but there are times when a glowing logo is distracting/unappreciated and no times when someone will "need" the lit logo.  Good change there.

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro and use it every day.  I love the keyboard and have had no problems with it.  To say it's it's not "good" is highly subjective.

I don't quite get why Apple didn't nix the MacBook from the lineup completely.  It's a little cheaper than the Air overall, but most people would be better off with the Air, I expect.  Oh well, that's what choices are for.  Some people need the each power of the Pro, so they can get the chunkier, but still svelt 13" Pro; some people know they will never need Thunderbolt, so they can save a bit with the MacBook.  In any case, the MacBook Air will be the #1 Mac seller in 2019.

(Also, "mess of wires that they call dongles"?  Show me anywhere that an Apple employee uses the word "dongle.")

racerhomie3

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

The previous Air is still available for $1000

ireland

coolfactor said:

The 2013 MacBook Air already had impressive speaker sound, so it's interesting that they felt they needed to improve this even more. Glad to see some love given to the microphone tech, too. Guess Siri was the primary driver behind that. The clearer the sound that Siri receives, the better the experience will be, so I expect all Apple products will receive mic upgrades over time.

Indeed. A research study conducted in the last year suggests as much—a critical issue with dictation comprehension is lack of smartphone mic quality and mic count. Future CE devices need an array of mics like HomePod.

Regarding MBA, while the speakers are decent, I have Boom permanently in use on device for a volume increase. In a kitchen you have various noises and I need more volume. Quality is a bonus. That said, this machine is not for me as I hate these keyboards. Down the road I don’t know what I’m going to do, as Apple are being most stubborn on this issue. My prediction is they significantly redesign the keyboards within three years. I hope I am right and I hope they fix the feel of these things. Stability is not what I’m after in a keyboard, I’m after a keyboard that feels lovely. Theses IMO do not. And I’ve never heard of a MBA keyboard dying from dust. In the words of Yoda, ‘unfortunate, this is’.

rogifan_new

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

You bring up a good question of who this machine is for and how similar it is to the MacBook. Pretty much all the reasons people were buying the old Air with a non-retina screen and an aging design are missing from this new computer. So it’s maybe a better MacBook but the MacBook is still in the lineup. On MacBreak Weekly the other day they were discussing this. Adam Engst from Tidbits said the laptop lineup is more confusing than ever. And Leo Laporte said based on his experience with the Surface Go he’s not sure the whiskey lake processors in this machine will be much better than what’s in the MacBook. I’m thinking the MacBook will become Apple’s first ARM laptop but that shoe is probably several years from dropping so it keeps the lineup confusing for a while.

rogifan_new

randominternetperson said:

jdw said:

I just don't get it.  Why should we veteran Mac users care that a glorified MacBook has now replaced the extremely popular AIR?  Seriously.  It's a MacBook with another USB-C port.  No SD Card slot.  Good keyboard gone.  And the very iconic and glowing Apple logo which Apple itself so laughably showed in the opening video of its keynote is now gone too.  MagSafe is gone.  Everything great about the AIR that differentiated it from other Apple notebooks is now gone.  It's almost getting as bad as the Performa days at Apple, with so many choices that are similar that the buyer is confused as to what to get.  Whether it be a MacBook, MacBook AIR or MacBook "Pro" you basically get the same limited functionality (limited until you buy a mess of wires they call dongles).  It's totally preposterous.  And it's not like Apple is allowing us to go totally wire free seeing they would need to allow wireless charging of MacBooks for that to happen.

I just don't get it.  I love legacy Macs but loath the new stuff coming out of Apple.  Apple has always forged their own path.  The difference is I liked the old path they were on because it satisfied my practical needs.  The new path satisfies only the Cupertino-is-inerrant worshippers.

I think you do get it.  You just don't like it.

The MacBook Air is probably the perfect Mac laptop for 80% of users.  The MacBook was/is limited by the single/non-thunderbolt port, and the MacBook Air addresses that.

Only a small proportion of MacBook_ users ever use the omitted ports--especially the SD card slot, and if they ever do, there are plenty of options.  MagSafe is a non-issue (as I was late to appreciate) since (as others have pointed out well before I accepted this truth), with modern battery life we simply don't need to stay tethered all day.

Who gives a flying fig about the glowing Apple logo?  It was a cute gimmick, but there are times when a glowing logo is distracting/unappreciated and no times when someone will "need" the lit logo.  Good change there.

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro and use it every day.  I love the keyboard and have had no problems with it.  To say it's it's not "good" is highly subjective.

I don't quite get why Apple didn't nix the MacBook from the lineup completely.  It's a little cheaper than the Air overall, but most people would be better off with the Air, I expect.  Oh well, that's what choices are for.  Some people need the each power of the Pro, so they can get the chunkier, but still svelt 13" Pro; some people know they will never need Thunderbolt, so they can save a bit with the MacBook.  In any case, the MacBook Air will be the #1 Mac seller in 2019.

(Also, "mess of wires that they call dongles"?  Show me anywhere that an Apple employee uses the word "dongle.")

If Apple nixed the MacBook at the same time they introduced the retina MacBook Air the narrative would be  how the MacBook was a failure and this new Air is what Apple should have delivered 2-3 years ago. I’m sticking to my theory that it will become Apple’s first ARM laptop. It would be the perfect machine for Apple to test out macOS (or something completely new) on their own custom chip. 

maciekskontakt

Instead of getting orgasm while opening box, get those screws on case out and check finally what CPU is there instead of speculating based on analysis of websites and some performance characteristics. Thank you.