At first glance, this looks like a very good move. The key takeaway for me is the keyboard.
Yes, ABSOLUTELY!
But another is the upgrade to 256Gb storage in the base model. With a soldered in non-upgradeable SSD, 128Gb simply wasn't enough. Rather, it was a recipe for disaster when a user, falsely assuming Apple always does things right, spends a lot of money on an Apple product only to be told a short time later that he has to buy a replacement for it at even more money because the puny 128Gb SSD wasn't up to the task.
In fact, yesterday I upgraded my grandson's MBA from its original 128Gb to 512Gb so I could install Windows 10 under Bootcamp for him.
That is why I intentionally bought a (new) 2017 MBA for him for Christmas -- a combination of the better keyboard and replaceable SSD.
I did not realize the SSD could not be upgraded. That must be a marketing decision, and IMHO a silly one that most OEMs couldn't get away with without attracting vociferous complaints from reviewers and customers.
I've never heard why they soldered it in. But I agree that it was a silly move. I can see it in watches, iPhones and even iPads but not in laptops.
I've long argued that Apple needed their entry level laptop to come in at under $1K and stay there. Not only does this latest MacBook Air update achieve that mark, with a retina display and 256GB SSD hard drive there isn't much reason left to upgrade it.
My one concern is the fact that this (along with all of Apple's entry-level products) only comes with 8GB of RAM. That seems like a bottleneck to me compared to everything else that comes built-in. Am I correct that 8GB of RAM isn't much for even basic tasks you would expect to do on a laptop these days?
I regard 8Gb Ram as perfectly adequate for most tasks while 16Gb is mostly for future proofing and unexpected needs. More than that is strictly for specialty uses.
I have an 8Gb MacBook Air (plus my grandsons) and, until recently, an 8Gb Thinkpad and all ran well. I recently upgraded to a 16Gb Thinkpad and frankly have not noticed any difference - (The second 8Gb stick was only $30 so, why not? But, Apple charges $200 so I would have to think about that upgrade for awhile).
Love the improvements, but where is the larger screen for adults?
On the shelf at a retailer near you, ready to be used on your desk. Many sizes and prices available.
These are ultra-portable laptops. A bigger screen would make the MBA not an ultra-portable. I've used a couple of the new 16" MBPs and they're lovely — but big.
We're talking another 3 inches, not 3 feet. It would be an ultra portable 16". What other 16" would come close in portability?
You don't think it's wrong that if a person would prefer the next screen size up they have to spend an additional $1,400?
Love the improvements, but where is the larger screen for adults? Also, why not include wifi 6, which has been in the iPhone for months?
1) 13" isn't for adults? OK. :eyeroll:
2) Another reason why moving from Intel to ARM is a good move.
He may have mean that older eyes see larger screens more easily?
I have an 11" and I can read it but its work. I can see my grandson's 13' much better and my 15' Thinkpad the best.
1) Older adults or people with poor vision isn't the same as adults. His comment is clearly stating that it's for kids.
2) You can increase the UI elements. You do lose some useful areas of your display, but like some people (of all ages) having poorer eyesight and liking a smaller device, which includes the SE-sized iPhone, these devices are used by people of all ages without suggesting it falls into the "toy" category, as is often said about Apple's reminded products as a whole.
I've long argued that Apple needed their entry level laptop to come in at under $1K and stay there. Not only does this latest MacBook Air update achieve that mark, with a retina display and 256GB SSD hard drive there isn't much reason left to upgrade it.
My one concern is the fact that this (along with all of Apple's entry-level products) only comes with 8GB of RAM. That seems like a bottleneck to me compared to everything else that comes built-in. Am I correct that 8GB of RAM isn't much for even basic tasks you would expect to do on a laptop these days?
I agree very much. The old "toilet seat" iBook did a lot to enable "switchers." $1000 is the sweet spot.
I disagree re: RAM, in fact I think it matters less than ever. 8gb is plenty for web + word processing + spreadsheets. Given the fast virtual memory performance of SSDs, I think you'd even find 4gb mostly usable unless you're a web tab fiend or use iCloud a lot.
I have to use Chrome at work (on a Windows-only machine). 8 GB is barely enough even with only a few tabs open. I constantly have to manage memory on it so performance doesn't go down the tubes. Considering how poor a job that most developers do with creating applications that are efficient it is quite necessary to have a minimum of 8 GB and preferably 16+ GB for future-proofing if the RAM cannot be upgraded. Part of the blame with inefficiency lies with the software environments -- I have run across a lot of Visual Basic programs that do very little, take 1 GB of RAM, need 2 GB of install space, plus the environment needed to run them requires a gigantic amount of disk space.
I'm running Chrome on my Mac right now with two tabs open -- 522 MB of RAM in use. Looking at Safari right now and it's not much better.
Although I'd be inclined to spend the extra $200 for 16GB for future proofing anyway, 8GB of RAM is by no means inadequate for ordinary users. And with SSD main storage, even paging in and out of virtual memory is no longer any big deal the way it used to be.
However unless it's been fixed while I wasn't paying attention, Chrome can be a real memory hog when you have lots of tabs open, and worse, it doesn't always release memory properly when you close tabs.
At first glance, this looks like a very good move. The key takeaway for me is the keyboard.
Yes, ABSOLUTELY!
But another is the upgrade to 256Gb storage in the base model. With a soldered in non-upgradeable SSD, 128Gb simply wasn't enough. Rather, it was a recipe for disaster when a user, falsely assuming Apple always does things right, spends a lot of money on an Apple product only to be told a short time later that he has to buy a replacement for it at even more money because the puny 128Gb SSD wasn't up to the task.
In fact, yesterday I upgraded my grandson's MBA from its original 128Gb to 512Gb so I could install Windows 10 under Bootcamp for him.
That is why I intentionally bought a (new) 2017 MBA for him for Christmas -- a combination of the better keyboard and replaceable SSD.
I did not realize the SSD could not be upgraded. That must be a marketing decision, and IMHO a silly one that most OEMs couldn't get away with without attracting vociferous complaints from reviewers and customers.
You must not use MacBooks in addition to iPhones. It’s been this way for years and is not “but marketing!” (whatever that means, as being more rigid isn’t a selling point). They use soldered chips that are smaller, faster, and more reliable than slotted drives. EOS
At first glance, this looks like a very good move. The key takeaway for me is the keyboard.
Yes, ABSOLUTELY!
But another is the upgrade to 256Gb storage in the base model. With a soldered in non-upgradeable SSD, 128Gb simply wasn't enough. Rather, it was a recipe for disaster when a user, falsely assuming Apple always does things right, spends a lot of money on an Apple product only to be told a short time later that he has to buy a replacement for it at even more money because the puny 128Gb SSD wasn't up to the task.
In fact, yesterday I upgraded my grandson's MBA from its original 128Gb to 512Gb so I could install Windows 10 under Bootcamp for him.
That is why I intentionally bought a (new) 2017 MBA for him for Christmas -- a combination of the better keyboard and replaceable SSD.
I did not realize the SSD could not be upgraded. That must be a marketing decision, and IMHO a silly one that most OEMs couldn't get away with without attracting vociferous complaints from reviewers and customers.
I've never heard why they soldered it in. But I agree that it was a silly move. I can see it in watches, iPhones and even iPads but not in laptops.
Appliance computing, like your iPad. It’s not a DIY tinkerer machine.
Nice little laptop. I really wish they would have a 16" version. My wife is currently working off of an ancient 15" Pro (2006). She doesn't want a 13" because the screen is just a little bit too small for what she does and understandably doesn't want to be tied in to a monitor.
When she works from home she remotes in to her office desktop. While the new 16" MBP is awesome, it's overkill for what she does.
It's overkill for what I do too, but it's the only way to get a large screen.
It's still a machine for older students, or as a client-server machine for web and data workers.
And the iPad is only a content consumption device Just stop with the banal categorizations. Enough already.
Apple has a MBP13 with 2 TB3 ports that is not much larger, heavier or more expensive than the MBA. It's really a sliding scale of people's desires and how much they are willing to spend. Hard to say someone should buy the MBA over the MBP, other than through the banal categorizations, like budget buyer, low need user, so for and so forth.
Love the improvements, but where is the larger screen for adults? Also, why not include wifi 6, which has been in the iPhone for months?
1) 13" isn't for adults? OK. :eyeroll:
2) Another reason why moving from Intel to ARM is a good move.
He may have mean that older eyes see larger screens more easily?
I have an 11" and I can read it but its work. I can see my grandson's 13' much better and my 15' Thinkpad the best.
1) Older adults or people with poor vision isn't the same as adults. His comment is clearly stating that it's for kids.
2) You can increase the UI elements. You do lose some useful areas of your display, but like some people (of all ages) having poorer eyesight and liking a smaller device, which includes the SE-sized iPhone, these devices are used by people of all ages without suggesting it falls into the "toy" category, as is often said about Apple's reminded products as a whole.
Yeh, it did sound that way. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.
One nice feature in Safari that I take advantage of on my "kids sized" (or is it "toddler sized"?) 11" is it will zoom in a to a certain percentage based on the website. That makes it a lot easier on these old eyes of mine.
At first glance, this looks like a very good move. The key takeaway for me is the keyboard.
Yes, ABSOLUTELY!
But another is the upgrade to 256Gb storage in the base model. With a soldered in non-upgradeable SSD, 128Gb simply wasn't enough. Rather, it was a recipe for disaster when a user, falsely assuming Apple always does things right, spends a lot of money on an Apple product only to be told a short time later that he has to buy a replacement for it at even more money because the puny 128Gb SSD wasn't up to the task.
In fact, yesterday I upgraded my grandson's MBA from its original 128Gb to 512Gb so I could install Windows 10 under Bootcamp for him.
That is why I intentionally bought a (new) 2017 MBA for him for Christmas -- a combination of the better keyboard and replaceable SSD.
I did not realize the SSD could not be upgraded. That must be a marketing decision, and IMHO a silly one that most OEMs couldn't get away with without attracting vociferous complaints from reviewers and customers.
I've never heard why they soldered it in. But I agree that it was a silly move. I can see it in watches, iPhones and even iPads but not in laptops.
Appliance computing, like your iPad. It’s not a DIY tinkerer machine.
Neither is it upgradeable even by an Apple technician. It was very user-unfriendly move. And, comparing it to an iPad is a false analaogy: iphones and Ipads are primarlly mobile devices where size significantly impacts its overall functionality. The same is far less true for laptops: yeh, you want them as thin and light as possible but not at the expense of functionality -- and once you fill up that tiny little 128Gb SSD its functionality comes to a screeching halt and the MacBook becomes a paper weight.
It's still a machine for older students, or as a client-server machine for web and data workers.
And the iPad is only a content consumption device Just stop with the banal categorizations. Enough already.
Apple has a MBP13 with 2 TB3 ports that is not much larger, heavier or more expensive than the MBA. It's really a sliding scale of people's desires and how much they are willing to spend. Hard to say someone should buy the MBA over the MBP, other than through the banal categorizations, like budget buyer, low need user, so for and so forth.
It's still a machine for older students, or as a client-server machine for web and data workers.
It's capable of much more than that. It packs a quad-core i7, fast SSD, enough graphics power to drive a 6K external display...that's more powerful than some of the older MacBook Pros that I got "real" paid work done with. This new MacBook Air could probably sub pretty well for my current 2018 13" quad-core i5 MacBook Pro that I am running a business off of. Some would point out that my MBP has double the Thunderbolt 3 ports than the Air, but since I run everything through a desktop or mobile hub, I have found that I rarely need more than one port on the machine itself.
The degree to which some downplay the capabilities of today's computers is astounding. There are obviously people walking around who have a perception of the MacBook/MacBook Air that is 15 years old.
There is not one big SSD block you can yank out, you won't find it. If you look at the teardowns, internal storage on Mac laptops is multiple chips scattered on the motherboard. Sometimes the chips are not even next to each other, or on opposite sides of the motherboard. These spread out chips are combined, ganged up, managed, and encrypted by the Apple T2 chip to appear as one big volume in your Finder.
Curious, Intel 10th gen processor internally supports WiFi6 and the same the 10th gen used in 2020 Macbook Air than any reason why WiFi 6 is not supported ?
I have to use Chrome at work (on a Windows-only machine). 8 GB is barely enough even with only a few tabs open. I constantly have to manage memory on it so performance doesn't go down the tubes.
I'm running Chrome on my Mac right now with two tabs open -- 522 MB of RAM in use. Looking at Safari right now and it's not much better.
Your beef is with Chrome, not 8Gb. Chrome is very well known to be a resource hog. Sure you're stuck with it at work, but at home you should use Firefox. It's far more secure and resource-efficient.
Comments
I've never heard why they soldered it in. But I agree that it was a silly move. I can see it in watches, iPhones and even iPads but not in laptops.
I regard 8Gb Ram as perfectly adequate for most tasks while 16Gb is mostly for future proofing and unexpected needs. More than that is strictly for specialty uses.
I have an 8Gb MacBook Air (plus my grandsons) and, until recently, an 8Gb Thinkpad and all ran well. I recently upgraded to a 16Gb Thinkpad and frankly have not noticed any difference - (The second 8Gb stick was only $30 so, why not? But, Apple charges $200 so I would have to think about that upgrade for awhile).
You don't think it's wrong that if a person would prefer the next screen size up they have to spend an additional $1,400?
2) You can increase the UI elements. You do lose some useful areas of your display, but like some people (of all ages) having poorer eyesight and liking a smaller device, which includes the SE-sized iPhone, these devices are used by people of all ages without suggesting it falls into the "toy" category, as is often said about Apple's reminded products as a whole.
However unless it's been fixed while I wasn't paying attention, Chrome can be a real memory hog when you have lots of tabs open, and worse, it doesn't always release memory properly when you close tabs.
There are hundreds of thousands of users currently using MacBooks with 8GB.
Mail, web browser, office suite, edit photos and videos. Gee, my 5-year-old iPad mini 4 can still do all of that, even with 2GB RAM.
Assuming one isn't using a resource pig like Google Chrome with forty open tabs, Joe Consumer should be fine with an 8GB MacBook for years to come.
It’s the appropriate amount of RAM for an entry level device.
Neither is it upgradeable even by an Apple technician. It was very user-unfriendly move.
And, comparing it to an iPad is a false analaogy: iphones and Ipads are primarlly mobile devices where size significantly impacts its overall functionality. The same is far less true for laptops: yeh, you want them as thin and light as possible but not at the expense of functionality -- and once you fill up that tiny little 128Gb SSD its functionality comes to a screeching halt and the MacBook becomes a paper weight.
The degree to which some downplay the capabilities of today's computers is astounding. There are obviously people walking around who have a perception of the MacBook/MacBook Air that is 15 years old.
There is no "SSD" as such.
There is not one big SSD block you can yank out, you won't find it. If you look at the teardowns, internal storage on Mac laptops is multiple chips scattered on the motherboard. Sometimes the chips are not even next to each other, or on opposite sides of the motherboard. These spread out chips are combined, ganged up, managed, and encrypted by the Apple T2 chip to appear as one big volume in your Finder.
Your beef is with Chrome, not 8Gb. Chrome is very well known to be a resource hog. Sure you're stuck with it at work, but at home you should use Firefox. It's far more secure and resource-efficient.