13-Inch Haswell-Powered MacBook Air With PCIe SSD Tested 224
MojoKid writes "In addition to the anticipated performance gains that Intel's new Haswell CPU architecture might bring to the table for their new MacBook Air, there are additional component-level upgrades that Apple baked in to their latest ultra-light notebook; namely a higher capacity 54 Whr battery and a PCI Express-based Solid State Drive (SSD). Apple still hasn't seen fit to up the ante on the MacBook Air's display, opting instead to stick with the 1440x900 TN panel carried over from the previous generation 13-inch machine, with the 11-inch variant sporting a 1366x768 native res. But in terms of performance, this is Apple's fastest Air yet, with storage throughput in excess of 700MB/sec for reads and 400MB/sec for writes, along with graphics horsepower that rivals entry level discrete GPUs, thanks to Intel's HD Graphic 5000 core in Haswell. Battery life has been improved dramatically as well, with the new Air lasting over 9 hrs on a charge, playing back 1080p video content. Apple also reduced their MSRP by $100 versus last year's model."
Not too bad at around $1100. The 54Wh battery looks it improves the portability a bit.
I have one ... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:seems the Mac premium is disappearing (Score:5, Informative)
That's actually a pretty competitive price. I can't find a way to configure, say, a Lenovo Ultrabook with an SSD and anywhere near comparable CPU for less than $1200.
IMHO the "Mac Premium" has always been overstated for things like the Air. Yes the computing power per $ ratio may be lower than for competitors - but only when you don't take form factor into account. Every time a competitor produces an Air apparent in a similar form factor the price comes in about the same.
Re:Nobody is buying these (Score:3, Informative)
I got the 2012 Air when it was released. Since then, my parents each bought one, plus an iMac.
When I got mine, they did the usual "oh, it's so light" bit and I thought that was the end of it. A few months later, I find out they bought the machines and got everything set up by themselves, including migrating data from their old computers.
Fuck off, troll.
"mac premium" (Score:4, Informative)
The myth of the "apple tax" or "mac premium" has always been based on pretending that the largest distinguishing feature (the operating system) doesn't exist, or isn't worth anything to people in the market for a new computer. Windows 7 closed the gap a bit, but OS X is still less virus-prone, has better backup integration, doesn't use a registry, and benefits from less platform diversity / hardware+OS from the same vendor.
It also ignores the fact that for years, whenever PC magazines have tested Macs, they've consistently found them to be amongst the best-performing machines money can buy at time-of-release. Boot Camp changed things dramatically, in the sense that suddenly PC magazines could directly compare them to PC hardware with the same benchmark tools.
Apple is reaping the benefit of in-house design (instead of "show me what you got that we can slap our label on"), top-notch system architects, and aggressively securing rights with suppliers for major components to get the best stuff before everyone else.
Re:Nobody is buying these (Score:5, Informative)
The Mac Air has 56% marketshare in the ultraportable segment as of July 1st (http://bgr.com/2013/07/01/macbook-air-market-share/). So while you claim that "nobody is buying these", sales figures instead prove that "most people are buying these".
Re:seems the Mac premium is disappearing (Score:5, Informative)
The problem is that Apple's lineup doesn't update as frequently as ***every competitor combined***, so people like to bitch nine months after launch that an Apple computer is overpriced.
No, the problem is that the price doesnt update as frequently as every other competitor.
You are arguing a straw man right now. Nobody complained that Apple doesnt update their Air feature set more frequently. The complaint continues to be that Apple will try to sell this ultrabook at the current price well beyond the point where competitors have much nicer solutions at much lower prices.
The proof is quite simple:
If you purchased an 11.6" Macbook Air 30 days ago, it cost you $1100 but what was inside was a 1.7ghz i5-3317U, 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3, with a 1366x768 display.
These specific features are common in ultrabooks, but for the same money you can have an upgrade:
Same price (little lower actually) [newegg.com], 1.7ghz i5-3317U, 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3, 11.6" 1920x1080 touch screen, convertible.
How about a faster CPU too [newegg.com], 1.8ghz i5-3337U, 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3, 11.6" 1920x1080 touch screen, convertible.
Wow, its $100 cheaper! [newegg.com], 1.8ghz i5-3337U, 128GB SSD, 8GB DDR3, 11.6" 1920x1080 touch screen, convertible.
The Apple Premium remained in full effect for ultrabook shoppers last month, and will be again be in full effect a month from now too.
Re:Except they don't (Score:5, Informative)
Chrome OS does not require an internet connection
I said crippled, not dead. And from the link you supplied Storage:
One terabyte Google Drive cloud storage for three years1
32GB solid state drive (64GB on LTE model)2
Once you have no network connection that 32Gb is really going to get you a long way </sarcasm>. The Airs come with a minimum of 128Gb of flash and you can spec them out from Apple all the way up to 512Gb .. so once again .. they are different beasts with different design considerations.
Re:"mac premium" (Score:2, Informative)
I suppose if I were only vaguely familiar with the topic I might feel this way too. Trouble is there are facts available.
The first is that Apple charges for the OS so you don't need to pretend it's value is greater than it is. That OS can be made to run on compelling hardware not offered by Apple. It's a shame that process sucks more than you'd like.
Second is that Apple uses commodity hardware and has since the switch to Intel. "Amongst the best-performing machines" doesn't really say anything.
Third is that Apple uses less "in-house" design than at any time in their history. They slap their label on like everyone else, just in a prettier package. Apple controls their hardware better because of the captive OS; their hardware isn't better it's the same.
Finally, Apple sometimes gets the "best stuff" and occasionally before "everyone else". More often they can't be bothered to get the best stuff ever, like the aging Mac Pro for instance. It becomes even clearer when you recognize that Apple refuses to even offer products that would have significant demand, like a midrange desktop that's not an all-in-one for instance. Apple is about maximizing profit and maintaining prestige, not about offering the best solution.
The "apple tax" is no myth.
Not buying an air again. (Score:2, Informative)
- heavy. It looks like it should be light, but it's just as heavy as my 15" vaio.
- no backlit keys. This is pretty much a show stopper. No keyboard should not have backlit keys.
- only two USB ports
- no HDMI out without external adapter
- need an external converter for ethernet
- aluminum is a terrible material for the case. Dings, scratches and cuts.
- low screen resolution
- proprietary SSD
- no way to move remap control key under windows
Re:seems the Mac premium is disappearing (Score:4, Informative)
Last time I did that the Dell was cheaper and the Xeon's were a later generation.
Re:Not buying an air again. (Score:4, Informative)
Sounds like you need a 13". Thunderbolt, and an SD Card make the USB ports go pretty far. Battery life is amazing.
Backlit keyboard is now standard.
I find myself doing more wirelessly, between AppleTV and wifi-attached NAS devices. I had gripes with my 2010 Air, but this is a whole new ball game.