Intel’s “Haswell is a big, big deal, and it’s the major reason why Apple’s newest MacBook Airs are a big deal,” Harry McCracken writes for TIME Magazine.
“In terms of industrial design and major features, the new Airs, in their aluminum unibody cases, are nearly indistinguishable from their predecessors stretching back to the versions that Apple introduced in October 2010,” McCracken writes. “That’s not a criticism: The original 13″ and 11″ models set out to be pleasing, general-purpose portable computers that happen to be unusually thin, light and fast, and succeeded so well that they inspired an entire class of Windows notebook, the Ultrabook.”
MacDailyNews Note: According to NPD, Apple’s MacBook Air outsold all Windows Ultrabooks combined in U.S. retail sales for the first four months of 2013.
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McCracken writes, “And they run OS X Mountain Lion, a first-rate computer operating system that doesn’t suffer from the what-am-I identity crisis that Windows 8 (and the upcoming Windows 8.1) are still working through… The [MacBook Air models] were already excellent ultraportable notebooks; now they’re excellent ultraportable notebooks that push battery life to new, productivity-changing heights.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
ZDNet reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: The new standard for laptops, a stunning achievement – June 14, 2013
PC Magazine reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Astonishing, astounding; Editors’ Choice – June 14, 2013
Engadget reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Stunning 12+ hour battery life – June 13, 2013
Hands-on with Apple’s new MacBook Air: True all-day battery life – June 13, 2013
Why the MacBook Air didn’t get a Retina display – June 12, 2013
Apple brings all day battery life to MacBook Air – June 10, 2013
I would disagree on one point, Netbooks/ultrabooks were around before the Macbook Air, it’s just that the Air is to the netbooks like a Fiat 500 (or another high-end mini car) is to a run-down Ford Fiesta, much better, faster, cleaner, more elegant, higher quality, etc. etc. etc. Yes there is a cost difference, but the difference is backed by so many things that it’s worth every additional penny.
Have you ever test driven a Fiat 500? It is not a high-end any kind of car. Think a little better than a Yugo or Lada.
I agree. The MacBookAir is maybe comparable to the 1-series BMW, or an A1-series Audi, if you talk about compact cars – but reduced to it’s very core in a way that I have never seen on a car.
OTOH, if somebody made cars like Apple makes laptops – I probably couldn’t afford them (or wouldn’t want to).
😉
Netbooks yes. Ultrabooks no. Netbooks and Ultrabooks are two completely different categories. The article compares MacBook Airs to Ultrabooks.
Ultra books are high-end ultracompact notebooks that were slavishly copied from Apple’s MacBook air’s looks, power, and price.
Netbooks are low-end, cheap plastic piece of crap that has no equivalent in the Apple world..
Netbooks were around before the Air. The Ultrabook label came after the Air.
Absurd comparison.
Sure, NetBooks were around before the MacBook Air…just as normal Windows-based laptops were.
Both were clunky, plastic, poorly-performing systems, that were nearly as thick as a normal PC laptop…just with a smaller screen. Compare a pre-Air Netbook with a MacBook Air.
They’re twice as thick, and feel like the piece of junk they truly are…small form-factor laptops that were so underpowered that they were useless for just about anything but basic web browsing and email (which is why the iPad has killed the netbook market).
If maximizing battery life is your most important criterion for selecting a portable computer the MBA is the only choice. Otherwise, get a MacBook Pro. Apple apparently sells millions of these, too.
Who cares about the dainty, little MBAs? MacBook Pros are the real deal.
Who cares? Millions of people actually. Didn’t you see the MDN note about sales?
Bully for the “millions”.
190 million Americans do not engage in regular physical exercise.
72 million Americans are obese.
18 million Americans abuse alcohol.
16 million Americans smoke.
Impressive indeed.