That said, the MacBook Air internals are dated in some areas and (relatively speaking) lower-power than before in others, from the processor in use to the memory type on offer. However, we were always surprised by what the laptop could do considering its limitations. The best news here is the new MacBook Air 2018 has increased the maximum memory capacity from 8GB to 16GB.įrom its inception to today, the MacBook Air was always billed as a lower-power device – it’s practically in the name.
We were hoping this latest rendition would feature full fat Intel Core processors that go up to quad-core, instead what we got was a machine that only features dual-core Intel Core Y-series CPUs.Īs if that wasn't a bad enough blow, the MacBook Air 2018 only features (albeit faster) DDR3 2,133MHz memory – the same type found on the MacBook 2015 – when many laptops have since moved onto DDR4 memory, which supports larger capacities. Here's where the MacBook Air 2018 fails to impress.
It almost seems assured that we won't see run times hit double digits. We'll have to see how the new MacBook Air fares in our battery tests with its vastly sharper display. And, if you’re the type to simply write papers and read emails on a laptop, the display is completely passable. However, the previous MacBook Air may never have achieved its legendary battery life figures if not for that highly-tuned (if awfully muddled) display resolution.
At the time, laptops in its price range were already pushing 1080p resolutions. Additionally, Apple claims its latest Retina Display renders 48% more color.Įven when it first launched, the MacBook Air display was not nearly as sharp as competing rivals in its price bracket: a mere 13.3-inch panel at 1,440 x 900 resolution. Now featuring a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution that amounts to 4 million total pixels, the MacBook Pro 2018 screen is four times sharper than the previous 2015 model.
The higher resolution display is easily the biggest upgrade the 2018 MacBook Air has seen. Those perforations aren't just for show, either they house speakers that are 25% louder and deliver two-times the amount of bass than that of the previous MacBook Air, according to Apple.Īll told, it's a better design in terms of portability, but it doesn't leave much room for power similar to that of what the MacBook Air held against contemporaries of the time. Last but not least, the MacBook Air 2018 now features dedicated speaker grills, like the MacBook Pro. On the top right side of that keyboard, you'll also find a Touch ID fingerprint reader. Mercifully, you'll still be able to find a headphone jack on this laptop as well.Īpple's other modern laptop reinventions have also made there way here including the company's latest-generation butterfly switch keyboard and Force Touch trackpad.Īlthough we would have much rather preferred a touchpad that clicked, at least MacBook Air 2018 tracking surface is now 20% larger. explains that the former has “extremely low power consumption” but “raw performance is quite low and barely sufficient for modern games.” The latter graphics card on the other hand has a “superior performance” and “games as of 2014/2015 will usually run fluently only at low settings.On this latest MacBook Air, you'll find two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports that both support charging, up to 5K display out and 40Gbps file transfers. The 12-inch MB has Intel HD Graphics 5300 while the 13-inch MBP has Intel Iris Graphics 6100. Since the 13-inch MBP 2015 has a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, it is significantly faster with a speed of 2.7GHz and Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz.Īnother main difference is the graphics card. However, it is slower compared to the i3 and i5 processor. With Core M, the TDP is low enough that hardware vendors can use passive cooling methods instead of fans.” The Core M also made it possible for the 12-inch MB to be thinner and promise a longer battery life. According to Laptop Mag, the Core M “operates at a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of just 4.5 watts. The 12-inch MB has a dual-core Intel Core M while the 13-inch MBP has a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor. The key difference between the two is the processor.
The MacBook comes with a 256GB storage space while the MacBook Pro comes with a 128GB storage, both for the base model. 12-inch Macbook versus MacBook Pro 2015: Specsīoth ultrabooks have Retina displays and 8 GB RAM for the base model. After all, we use our laptops in different ways. While it might be a no-brainer for some people as to which ultrabook to choose, it is still worth deliberating the merits of each MacBook model.