Review: Apple's new 11-inch MacBook Air (Mid-2013)

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 73
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by runbuh View Post


    I think you should say "never do with Apple support is run Mac OS X..,".  The Hackintosh program is alive and well, and there are plenty of folks running OS X ML as a VM (VMware, Hyper-V, and Virtualbox).


     


    Also - I don't believe that the new Samsungs are convertibles.



    I'm aware of hackintoshes, and those work best when building a system from scratch, choosing and using the exact right components, such as motherboard, cpu, gpu etc., and even then it takes some effort and fiddling around to make it work 100%. It's a bit more difficult and sometimes impossible when somebody is just trying to install OS X onto any out of the box PC laptop. Virtualization is another story.


     


    Also, the Samsung Ativ Q laptop is definitely a convertible.


     


     -- It's a hybrid device, transforming from a Windows 8 slate into a full-fledged laptop in one quick motion. That's not all, though -- at the tap of an icon it'll boot into Android Jelly Bean, letting you swipe around all of your favorite apps from the Google Play store.


     


    http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/samsung-ativ-q/4505-3126_7-35796877.html


     


    That sounds like a device from the deepest gates of hell, running Windows 8 and Android, plus it's a convertible! image I can hardly think of a more unappealing device that I would want.image

  • Reply 42 of 73
    Abigazal is right. The 13inch MBA is stated as 12 hours of battery life. Online someone tested it and it lasted for over 13 hours on medium brightness while using safari the whole time. Apple under states battery life. On lowest brightness it can probably last like 14 hours
  • Reply 43 of 73


    Michael,


     


    In addition to better battery life with Mavericks 10.9 installed, Apple Maps will be included which duplicates functionality of the iOS version.


     


    I can't comment directly, but I don't think you'll be disappointed a GPS chip is not included, as long as wifi is switched on.

  • Reply 44 of 73
    brutus009brutus009 Posts: 356member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    These new Macbook Airs look great! The best models ever! And that battery time is just off the charts!


     


    And what kind of a fool mentions anything about any Samsung Windows 8 vaporvare, that will no doubt suck. Who gives a shit about Windows 8 and who gives a shit about a Samsung product that is not even released? What a joke. Were you just born yesterday?



     


    I agree... this has me itching for a new MBA.


     


    But about Windows 8... I actually just installed it via Bootcamp on my 2011 Mac Mini along with Office 2013 (mostly because MS Office for OS X is horrendous).  I've got to say that it runs really well.  It's actually quite interesting to see the kind of design choices Microsoft has made.


     


    The funny thing about Windows 8 is this:


    After using it for awhile, my biggest complaint is the lack of polish.


     


    Small bits of the UI or interaction animations just aren't quite right.  When I see these things, I'm the type to really inspect them and repeat the interaction several times.  I always end up wondering how it is that a person could be responsible for shipping such unpolished work.  I'd be embarrassed, but then I know people who I could show these things to and they wouldn't know what I'm talking about; they wouldn't even see it if I pointed it out.

  • Reply 45 of 73
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dmccall View Post



    My new 11" is only lasting 3h40m running an external monitor and moderate use of Chrome Browser.




    If you can use an external monitor why do you care about the battery life?  Further why do you disconnect power using external monitor?

  • Reply 46 of 73
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dmccall View Post



    My new 11" is only lasting 3h40m running an external monitor and moderate use of Chrome Browser.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tzeshan View Post




    If you can use an external monitor why do you care about the battery life?  Further why do you disconnect power using external monitor?



     


    I'm starting to think this was a drive by troll.

  • Reply 47 of 73
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    philboogie wrote: »
    Nice review, but I'd rather read up on the 13" model. Oh well.
    I thought that was already posted.
    abazigal wrote: »
    With regards to the battery life, I think Apple is about the only company who actually understates their duration.
    Yes, that is a dream company.

    2 years ago I went searching for the longest battery life standard (bottom model)on a computer, I found some as low as 3 hours, yet the max I found was 7 hours included in macs and a few other weird brands. Apple has now uped that to 9. With some people testing up to 10 1/2 on 11 inch model, and 14 on 13 inch model.
  • Reply 48 of 73
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    Sure it is.

    Also, you need to condition your battery when you first buy it.
    Maybe it's not a MacBook and one of cheap ones, or its powering the monitor.
  • Reply 49 of 73
    uraharaurahara Posts: 733member
    >enough tilt for typing..
    Why would you need tilt of the keyboard for typing? Are you still looking at the keyboard while typing?
    I never could undertand why the tilt of any keyboard is needed - it makes it so non-ergonomic.
  • Reply 50 of 73

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    The battery life in the new 11" is amazing. I just wonder how much of it is due to Haswell, and therefore the PC notebooks will get it too. However hopefully with the Mavericks changes the Mac will pull ahead even further.



    I 'spect you be rite... The Air running on Mavricks will be a killer combo about the time the Brand X ultrabooks start hitting the market.

  • Reply 51 of 73
    runbuhrunbuh Posts: 315member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    I'm aware of hackintoshes, and those work best when building a system from scratch, choosing and using the exact right components, such as motherboard, cpu, gpu etc., and even then it takes some effort and fiddling around to make it work 100%. It's a bit more difficult and sometimes impossible when somebody is just trying to install OS X onto any out of the box PC laptop. Virtualization is another story.


     


    Also, the Samsung Ativ Q laptop is definitely a convertible.


     


     -- It's a hybrid device, transforming from a Windows 8 slate into a full-fledged laptop in one quick motion. That's not all, though -- at the tap of an icon it'll boot into Android Jelly Bean, letting you swipe around all of your favorite apps from the Google Play store.


     


    http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/samsung-ativ-q/4505-3126_7-35796877.html


     


    That sounds like a device from the deepest gates of hell, running Windows 8 and Android, plus it's a convertible! image I can hardly think of a more unappealing device that I would want.image



    My only point was that "never" is a mighty strong word.image


     


    Also - jusephe brought up with Ativ Book 9 Plus. which is not a convertible.  As you pointed out, the Ativ Q *is* a convertible, and is like a device from the deepest gates of hell - blech.  Destined to sell by the dozens.

  • Reply 52 of 73
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    philboogie wrote: »
    Nice review, but I'd rather read up on the 13" model. Oh well.
    I thought that was already posted.

    Earlier? Because this article is about the 11". And I would like a review on the 13.3". You know 1440 vs 1366 px, 9 vs 12 hours, SD slot, all that.
  • Reply 53 of 73
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post





    Earlier? Because this article is about the 11". And I would like a review on the 13.3". You know 1440 vs 1366 px, 9 vs 12 hours, SD slot, all that.


    http://www.anandtech.com/show/7085/the-2013-macbook-air-review-13inch

  • Reply 54 of 73
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by abazigal View Post



    With regards to the battery life, I think Apple is about the only company who actually understates their duration.


     


    Yay, I bought one over the weekend. So far I get about 7:30 minutes, that's so great it's double the time of my older one, very happy. Still would have liked a Retina version, oh well maybe next year, still an awesome upgrade though.

  • Reply 55 of 73
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by darkdefender View Post


    .... but these are the best battery life specs of any computer right now..



    Really, my husbands Asus VivoTab 810c gets about 18 hours, my ThinkPad X230 none Haswell with the 9 Cell get's 12 hours, if I add the bottom battery slice it's over 20 hours, with browsing on the WWAN and listening to music. Not to say the new Macbooks aren't great but there are a lot of laptops that get the same if not better battery. When the new Haswell Thinkpad X's come out their talking 12 hours with the 6 Cell, 18 with the 9 and 28 hours with the external battery slice. The Panasonic SX is 18 hours and only weighs 2.55 lbs, they just announced the Haswell version with a 24 hour battery, same weight.

  • Reply 56 of 73
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    I wonder why the Haswell MBPs didn't come out at the same time? Perhaps they will come out at the same time as the new Mac Pro, and have Thunderbolt 2 also, and work with an Apple 4K display.

  • Reply 57 of 73
    abazigalabazigal Posts: 114member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jason98 View Post





    Despite of my hate of Samsung , to be honest, their Ativ book laptop with 3200x1800 display, more powerful cpu options,

    12 hour battery life, and comparable thickness, makes the new MBAs immediately outdated. Was saving money for a 13", guess will have to wait for another year


    Is that 3200x1800 display using retina software to display the equivalent of a 1600x900 screen, or really 3200x1800?


     


    If it is the latter, then it serves little except to make everything appear comically small on the screen. Heck, even 2560x1440 on my 27" imac makes some of the fonts extremely small. 


     


    Has anyone gotten their hands on one to try? Seems like it would be a pain to see anything on it!

  • Reply 59 of 73
    runbuhrunbuh Posts: 315member
    abazigal wrote: »
    Is that 3200x1800 display using retina software to display the equivalent of a 1600x900 screen, or really 3200x1800?

    If it is the latter, then it serves little except to make everything appear comically small on the screen. Heck, even 2560x1440 on my 27" imac makes some of the fonts extremely small. 

    Has anyone gotten their hands on one to try? Seems like it would be a pain to see anything on it!

    Windows 8 scaling sort of sucks. It maxes out at scaling things up to 150%. I'm guessing this thing will release with Windows 8.1 which is not only supposed to provide better scaling options, it will also allow different scaling settings on different monitors (simultaneously for multiple monitor configs). Only time will tell. Maybe Samsung has something custom up their sleeves (I have not watched the review videos).
  • Reply 60 of 73
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by abazigal View Post


    Is that 3200x1800 display using retina software to display the equivalent of a 1600x900 screen, or really 3200x1800?


     


    If it is the latter, then it serves little except to make everything appear comically small on the screen. Heck, even 2560x1440 on my 27" imac makes some of the fonts extremely small. 


     


    Has anyone gotten their hands on one to try? Seems like it would be a pain to see anything on it!



    I hate to say this due to fear of a reprisal but that thing is pretty bitch'n. I think I want it, I'll just add it to my wish list of notebooks I'll never buy, right next to the ChromeBook Pixel and a Panasonic Toughbook. The Pixel by the way is without out a doubt one of the most beautiful laptops I have ever seen.

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