“The Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) ($999 list) is the latest iteration of Apple’s ultraportable laptop,” Joel Santo Domingo reports for PC Magazine. “It retains all of the features that MacBook Air fans have grown to expect, though there are a few facets that are starting to seem dull and could bear a little improvement.”
“The system’s main improvements have to do with the new fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor and their effect on battery life and 3D performance,” Santo Domingo reports. “Overall, the 11-incher is improved over last year’s model, but concurrent improvements to the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) ($1,099) make that model more attractive for the majority of users… The Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) is the Haswell updated version of the iconic ultraportable laptop. It lasts over 10 hours running on battery power, so it’s a highly recommended choice if you must have the thinnest possible laptop with the most battery life.”
Santo Domingo reports, “At $999, the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) is an attractive ultraportable. Still, for only $100 more, you can get the 13-inch MacBook Air with almost the same components, but with a larger screen and almost five more hours of battery life. We still recommend the 11-inch model for those who need portability more than any other factor, but the fact of the matter is that the 13-inch model is ultimately a better buy and continues as our Editors’ Choice for mainstream ultraportable laptops.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
With new 13-inch MacBook Air, Apple just made the perfect notebook even better – July 1, 2013
Wired reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: ‘The best gets better; buy it now’ – June 27, 2013
Ars Technica reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Big boosts to storage, GPU, and battery performance – June 27, 2013
AnandTech reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Really quite awesome – June 24, 2013
TIME Magazine reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Pushes battery life to new, productivity-changing heights – June 19, 2013
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’m a MBP hustler. I love the user accessible internal parts enabling the ability to swap out RAM and HDD/SSD or add another HDD/SSD in the DVD slot. That’s flexibility.
The MBA strikes me as a sissy machine – too light for what it does and too limited in terms of upgradeability.
Obviously the MacBook air wasn’t designed for your needs, neither were loads of other devices.
In reality only a small percentage of people are keen on changing parts on laptops. Most simply buy a device that suits their needs and then enjoy using it.
If only the GPU of MBA is on par with discrete Nvidia geforce GPU, then I can switch to MBA. I need to use the high-end GPU specs.
For what?
For gaming of course. And the occasional editing and handling of HD videos and photos.
I think many people underestimate the power of the Intel 4000/5000 integrated GPU(s). Personally (a former self described “power user”) haven’t missed discrete graphics one bit. My MBA (last gen) allows me to game lightly, edit photos, and create movies with ease. I guess maybe it might take an extra moment or two to render a final video in HD… but that’s a welcome trade off, for added portability.
After a couple of years of hauling the first 17″ MBPro overseas and back, I went to a 15″ MBPro. Then when the i7 MBA came out, I moved to it. I haven’t looked back with any kind of languish! I am on my 2nd MBAir, with the first one handed down to my daughter. Wife moved from a 13″ MBPro to the MBAir and hasn’t looked back.
For combination of long travel times and having basic documents and apps, it is great!
This headline makes me laugh and laugh. “New” is used by Apple so loosely now for any minor update to an existing product. Can’t wait for the “all new” iPhone that’s coming . . . four months from now, when we’re all thinking about what Halloween costumes to wear. Here’s one: go as an iPhone 5S. You can start making it now, just use the exact same design as the iPhone 5 (or 4S or 4, doesn’t really matter, they’re all essentially the same).
@Tom Hanks:
I don’t want the size of the iPhone to change and I’m happy with the appearance. But as improved hardware components become available Apple has upgraded the series of iPhones, and improved performance in a variety of ways. I didn’t see a need to upgrade from the 4S to the 5, but ‘new’ features of the 5S will probably result in an upgrade. ‘New” in feature performance is what’s important and meaningful to me.