• faster—solid state flash storage is up to twice as fast as hard drive storage
• more reliable—hard drive crashes are eliminated
• lighter and smaller—solid state flash storage is up to 90 percent smaller and lighter than hard drives
Available in 11-inch and 13-inch models and weighing as little as 2.3 pounds, the new MacBook Air is Apple’s lightest and most portable notebook ever. MacBook Air uses the same solid state storage technology as iPad to deliver instant-on responsiveness, up to seven hours of battery life and up to 30 days of standby time.* Starting at $999, the affordable MacBook Air defines the next generation of MacBooks.
“MacBook Air is the first of a new generation of notebooks that leaves behind mechanical rotating storage in favor of solid state flash storage,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “We’ve taken what we have learned with the iPad—solid state storage, instant-on, amazing battery standby time, miniaturization and lightweight construction, to create the new MacBook Air. With its amazing responsiveness and mobility, it will change the way we think about notebooks.”
With its precision aluminum unibody enclosure, the new MacBook Air measures an incredibly thin 0.11-inches at its thinnest point and 0.68-inches at its thickest, and weighs just 2.3 pounds for the 11-inch model and 2.9 pounds for the 13-inch. Like iPad, MacBook Air was designed from the ground up to use flash storage exclusively. Apple’s custom-designed flash storage is 90 percent smaller and lighter than a conventional notebook hard drive, contributing to MacBook Air’s mobile, featherweight design. MacBook Air’s flash storage also provides faster data access and is more reliable than notebook hard drives due to its solid state design.
MacBook Air features a full-sized keyboard for typing comfort and productivity, as well as the highly acclaimed glass Multi-Touch trackpad found on Apple’s MacBook® Pro, so you can scroll through web sites, flip through photos, and resize or rotate images all from the trackpad. The built-in FaceTime camera, mic and stereo speakers are perfect for video calls with iPhone 4, iPod touch** and other Macs.
Flash storage combined with power-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processors and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics delivers an ideal balance of mobility, battery life and performance. MacBook Air features an 11.6-inch or 13.3-inch high-resolution LED-backlit display and Mini DisplayPort to connect your 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, projector or HD TV. Ultra-fast 802.11n Wi-Fi networking allows you to download music and movies from iTunes, back up data to Time Capsule and store or share files with MobileMe and iDisk. MacBook Air includes Bluetooth 2.1+EDR for wireless peripherals and two USB ports making it easy to sync and charge an iPad, iPhone or iPod while using another device. The 13-inch MacBook Air also includes an SD card slot.
Apple makes the industry’s greenest notebooks and the MacBook Air is the latest Mac notebook to achieve EPEAT Gold status and meet Energy Star 5.0 requirements.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.
Apple uses advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology to create a MacBook Air battery that delivers up to seven hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges.**** The built-in battery design results in less waste, and depleted MacBook Air batteries can be replaced for $129, which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.
Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes multiple features for portable computing such as Multi-Touch navigation, advanced wireless networking, easy file sharing, automated data backup and intelligent power management. The new iLife ’11 features iPhoto with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.
The 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are immediately available through the Apple Store® (http://www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 1.4 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $999 (US) with a 128GB model for $1,199 (US). The 1.86 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) with a 256GB model for $1,599 (US). Configure-to-order options and accessories include faster processors, 4GB of memory, MacBook Air SuperDrive and a USB Ethernet Adapter.
Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at http://www.apple.com/macbookair.
*Battery life and standby time vary by use and configuration. See http://www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
**iOS 4.1 required.
***EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit http://www.epeat.net.
****A properly maintained MacBook Air battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/batteries.
Find out more about Apple new MacBook Air here.
Design is stunning like always mac has been. But stop saying ‘reinvent’. Come on. Apple didn’t reinvent freaking netbook. It is not. I disagree. Actually, Intel did first time. Give me a break.
@anevilmeme I don’t see the MBP losing its HD. But I do see it gaining a slot for Apple’s new SSD. It wont take any real room and allow for mass storage and fast storage both.
Love the fact that restore is on a USB flash drive.
@anevilmeme I don’t see the MBP losing its HD. But I do see it gaining a slot for Apple’s new SSD. It wont take any real room and allow for mass storage and fast storage both.
Love the fact that restore is on a USB flash drive.
@Ddbluesilver
I looked at all of the technical specs for the new Air and I did not see anything about 3G connectivity. Nor did I see anything about GPS.
I agree with you – Apple should include the option for 3G and GPS on the new Air, just as it does for the iPad. A user upgrade option via a card (much like the old Airport card in the MacBook Pros) would be a very nice feature.
@Ddbluesilver
I looked at all of the technical specs for the new Air and I did not see anything about 3G connectivity. Nor did I see anything about GPS.
I agree with you – Apple should include the option for 3G and GPS on the new Air, just as it does for the iPad. A user upgrade option via a card (much like the old Airport card in the MacBook Pros) would be a very nice feature.
The 11″ would be perfect if it had a back-lit keyboard. Why would they remove that?
The 11″ would be perfect if it had a back-lit keyboard. Why would they remove that?
The only question I have about these is how well do Snow Leopard, Office/iWork, etc., run on the 1.4 Core 2 Duo CPU? If they run well, this is outstanding.
The only question I have about these is how well do Snow Leopard, Office/iWork, etc., run on the 1.4 Core 2 Duo CPU? If they run well, this is outstanding.
Instant on is da bomb!
Instant on is da bomb!
Maybe if I lay my iPad facedown on the Macbook Pro’s keyboard each night . . . okay, probably not.
Maybe if I lay my iPad facedown on the Macbook Pro’s keyboard each night . . . okay, probably not.
There is a fundamental difference between the iPad (and iPod/iPhone), and Macs. The iOS devices are devices you can use on the move; walking, riding a bus/train, standing up. Macs (from MBA to Mac Pro) are devices that you simply HAVE to use sitting down; otherwise, it is ergonomically unwise.
Apple is carefully drawing the line between the two groups. This line includes GPS and SIMM card slot. There is no doubt Apple carefully studied target market for this device. There is also no doubt that Apple’s findings are that, while a healthy number of iPad owners actually use the available 3G connectivity, negligible percentage of MBA/MB/MBP users would ever consider it. Same goes for GPS and location-aware applications (which are non-existent on the Mac platform to begin with).
MBA is a device where there is very little compromise when it comes to size and weight. There is a reason why there is no FireWire, optical disk, Ethernet… or GPS, 3G, audio IN, optical audio… The computer contains minimum features necessary to satisfy 95% of people in the market for such a computer.
The other 5% will have to look elsewhere.
There is a fundamental difference between the iPad (and iPod/iPhone), and Macs. The iOS devices are devices you can use on the move; walking, riding a bus/train, standing up. Macs (from MBA to Mac Pro) are devices that you simply HAVE to use sitting down; otherwise, it is ergonomically unwise.
Apple is carefully drawing the line between the two groups. This line includes GPS and SIMM card slot. There is no doubt Apple carefully studied target market for this device. There is also no doubt that Apple’s findings are that, while a healthy number of iPad owners actually use the available 3G connectivity, negligible percentage of MBA/MB/MBP users would ever consider it. Same goes for GPS and location-aware applications (which are non-existent on the Mac platform to begin with).
MBA is a device where there is very little compromise when it comes to size and weight. There is a reason why there is no FireWire, optical disk, Ethernet… or GPS, 3G, audio IN, optical audio… The computer contains minimum features necessary to satisfy 95% of people in the market for such a computer.
The other 5% will have to look elsewhere.
Original Jake,
Well, Snow Leopard (as well as iWork, and Office, and CS5) run surprisingly well on my old Core Duo 1.6GHz iMac (white one, 20″, in the same body as old G5). Snow Leopard actually improved performance of some tasks, compared to Tiger (skipped Leopard on that one).
I’m sure this one will perform significantly better than my old iMac.
Original Jake,
Well, Snow Leopard (as well as iWork, and Office, and CS5) run surprisingly well on my old Core Duo 1.6GHz iMac (white one, 20″, in the same body as old G5). Snow Leopard actually improved performance of some tasks, compared to Tiger (skipped Leopard on that one).
I’m sure this one will perform significantly better than my old iMac.
My friend’s MBA requirements have been met, including the critical price point. Shiny new entry-level 11.6″ MBA coming up
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My friend’s MBA requirements have been met, including the critical price point. Shiny new entry-level 11.6″ MBA coming up
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@Predrag,
“The other 5% will have to look elsewhere.”
But not too far. There are a lot of things the MacBook Pro 13″ has that the MacBook Air does not. It’s probably extremely rare that just one thing is missing for someone, or that the one thing wouldn’t require the size of the MBP 13″.
For example, for me, I want a 1TB hard drive, which meant getting the MPB 13″. I also wanted 8GB of RAM, FireWire, faster processor, backlit keyboard…and ended up also getting an optical drive and larger screen.
However, I’m damned tempted to get the MBA as another Mac in my arsenal. This, even though I already have an iPad and I’m looking for something in between it and my MBP 13″…or may get the MBA and go back to my MBP 17″.
What makes it tempting is the price.
@Predrag,
“The other 5% will have to look elsewhere.”
But not too far. There are a lot of things the MacBook Pro 13″ has that the MacBook Air does not. It’s probably extremely rare that just one thing is missing for someone, or that the one thing wouldn’t require the size of the MBP 13″.
For example, for me, I want a 1TB hard drive, which meant getting the MPB 13″. I also wanted 8GB of RAM, FireWire, faster processor, backlit keyboard…and ended up also getting an optical drive and larger screen.
However, I’m damned tempted to get the MBA as another Mac in my arsenal. This, even though I already have an iPad and I’m looking for something in between it and my MBP 13″…or may get the MBA and go back to my MBP 17″.
What makes it tempting is the price.
What a lame upgrade! Why did they even bother with this junk? A year and a half ago this would have been a decent upgrade for Air, but now it’s just plain sux.
What a lame upgrade! Why did they even bother with this junk? A year and a half ago this would have been a decent upgrade for Air, but now it’s just plain sux.
I’ll wait for the one with USB 3.
I’ll wait for the one with USB 3.