Performance
We are pleased to see that the MacBook
Air comes standard with 2GB of RAM, but with a processor that runs at a
much slower clockspeed than the standard MacBook (2.0GHz or 2.2GHz),
plus a 4,200rpm 1.8-inch hard drive (as opposed to the standard
5,400rpm), it's not surprising that the MacBook Air is not as fast a
performer as the £949 MacBook. Do note that the baseline £699 MacBook
features a slower processor and half the memory of our MacBook review
unit.
And as we often point out, any modern dual-core CPU is going to be more than adequate for Web surfing, multimedia playback and productivity tasks, and we were able to surf the Web, play videos and work on a document at the same time with absolutely no slowdown or stuttering.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the MacBook Air is the lack of a replaceable battery. While most laptops will be obsolete before their batteries wear out, we are sensitive to the desire to occasionally carry an extra battery for extended field use. In everyday testing, the Air lasted for nearly 4 hours of mixed use, including video playback, software installation, Web surfing and productivity tasks. That's reasonably close to Apple's 5-hour claims, but may not be enough for a full day of off-site use.
We're still not fans of Apple's nearly obligatory extended warranty upgrade. The default warranty for the MacBook is one year of coverage for parts and labour, but free telephone support is limited to a mere 90 days -- well short of what you'd typically find on a PC -- unless you purchase the £199 AppleCare Protection Plan, which extends phone support and repair coverage to three years.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
System configurations:
Apple MacBook Air 1.6GHz
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 80GB Samsung 4,200rpm
Sony Vaio TZ150
Windows Vista Business Edition; 1.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low
Voltage U7500; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 64MB Mobile Intel 945GM
Express; 100GB Toshiba 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portege R500
Windows Vista Business Edition;
1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage U7600; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM
533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945GM Express; 120GB Toshiba 5,400rpm
Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz/13.3-inch
OS X 10.5.1 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 144MB Intel GMA X3100; 160GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm
Edited by Matthew Elliott
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews3
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swanson 9 November 2010
Good: boot up, shut down speed are incredible, its quick than my £800 1 year old desktop
Bad: limited storage
Comment: I've had this for a couple of weeks now and so far it is so much better than my £800 desktop computer everything on it is about 4 times as quick and my desktop is less than a year old. This is the perfect laptop for doing so many everyday thing e.g. FM 2011, internet, watching videos, editing photos and so much more, i really could rave on about this all day and i think have to my friends. But imo what makes this laptop even more exciting this that the mac app store and lion are out next year and i think with the app store this laptop will be fantastic. I would recommend a few accessory to go with this though, firstly a Wireless modem e.g. a 3 mifi so you can get internet anywhere, secondly a portable external hard drive to store you film and in my case photos (ive got millions), lastly a external dvd drive just so you can upload games and software. With these thing it really is the only computer you need and to anyone who calls it a netbook i would really suggest they use it for a day or so because this is nothing like any netbook there has ever been so please dont call it one because this is most defiantly a notebook and a brilliant one at that.
Simon Philpott 21 August 2010
Good: Thin, light, well built and it doesn't run Windows.
Bad: The price.
Comment: Thin, light, well built and with the ultra smooth Apple OS this machine is excellent. It's not super fast but I use mine for business and always have multiple MS Office/Mac application open at the same time and it does a fine job. I replaced a much more expensive Dell XPS with a huge amount of memory and a 500GB disk drive but have not suffered. There is no comparison as the Air has much more reliable hardware, operating system and software.
mace 23 April 2008
Good: Design
Bad: Price
Comment: This is a beautiful laptop but it could do with being cheaper.
See all 3 user reviews