Steve Jobs recently announced the new Macbook Air at the “Back to the Mac” event. This was a highly anticipated release since the Macbook Air was due for an upgrade. Jobs unveiled two models for the Macbook Air – 13.3 inches and 11 inches. The most noticeable difference with the new MBA compared to the previous model was the shift from hard drives to flash storage. According to Jobs, this was to prolong the battery life of the unit and to make it faster and snappier. The Macbook Air also got a significant price drop. Here are the new prices:
11-inch : 64GB
* 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2GB memory
* 64GB flash storage1
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
* ₱ 51,990.0011-inch : 128GB
* 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2GB memory
* 128GB flash storage1
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
* ₱ 61,990.0013-inch : 128GB
* 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2GB memory
* 128GB flash storage1
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
* ₱ 67,990.0013-inch : 256GB
* 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2GB memory
* 256GB flash storage1
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
* ₱ 83,990.00
Source: Apple website
Some Thoughts
I used to own a Macbook Air. My primary complaint with it was that it heated up and slowed down once you do a lot of activities on the machine. I distinctly remember my MBA almost coming to a halt when I have Youtube, iMovie, and Microsoft Word all on at the same time. I’m a bit worried that the new models won’t be able to handle the same load given the lower specs. I’m also not sure if the Philippine market is ready for a P50,000 notebook. Maybe for users who don’t really do much except for office applications, light browsing, and social media this is a good machine.
As for me though I’m more inclined to go for an 13.3 MBP.
New McaBook Air has a stronger processor and does not get hot like my MBA version 1.0. the new one is also all around faster. MBA 1.0 had the hinge problem and was replaced under applecare, also new hard drive and apple was generous replacing the entire machine when puppy jumped up on table and spilled cup of coffee that I brilliantly left standing next to my machine. The solid state hard drive speeds everything up – very nice.
Problem, though, is that the build quality seems lower. The old chassis was a beautiful rounded airstream aluminum design with a flip out door and no exposed plastic. It had a backlit keyboard and a separate metal on/off button on the chassis. The new machine has a cheaper feel with flat edges, a slight popping noise when put on a table, an on-keyboard power switch and no backlighting.
The other gripe I have is the bait and switch price reduction. The new base machine is 1299.00, but you have to add 99.00 pro-care to get apple to do the data migration and the mini-DVI/VGA and mini-DVI/DVI connectors now cost 30.00 each, where both of these things used to be free of charge, so the price reduction is a ruse.
I’ve only had this a week, so we’ll see how it goes, but I am not that satisfied by the new machine.
Thanks for the awesome review bro. Looking forward to hearing more from you!