As you have certainly seen, Apple took advantage of today to update some of its product lines. We had news on the iPad Pro, Mac mini and MacBook Air. For the very last one we will deal with now: what is new? What are the differences? What remains the same in Apple's most affordable laptop?
Next, we'll list everything that's (or isn't) new in the 2020 MacBook Air.
Magic Keyboard
The main novelty of the new MacBook Air was already expected, and can be felt at your fingertips: taking the same path already followed by the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the new version of the Air embraced the Magic Keyboard or, in other words, abandoned the problematic keyboard with butterfly mechanism from previous generations, bringing back the scissor mechanism of ureous times.
The changes are evident to anyone who has already interacted with the two keyboards: the Magic Keyboard has keys with greater depth (1mm), with a much more accentuated tactile sensation besides making much less noise.
Furthermore, the new keyboard apparently does not have the reliability problems that have plagued all generations of the butterfly keyboard; even so, the new MacBook Air does not enter Apple's keyboard replacement program.
Processors
The new MacBooks Air also won the tenth generation (“Ice Lake“) from Intel processors, the previous models were equipped with the eighth generation of the giant chips, so we can expect a significant performance gain. According to Apple, the new generation of notebook features processing speeds up to 2x bigger (but hopefully benchmarks and tests to substantiate these claims).
The two-generation leap on Intel chips brings some peculiarities, including: while the cheaper 2019 Air featured an i5 processor dual-core 1.6GHz, the new incoming Air brings a 1.1GHz i3 processoralso dual-core. On paper, for less familiar eyes, it would mean that the new model is inferior to its predecessor; in practice, of course, this is not the case: advances in technology allow a lower frequency processor to achieve higher performance than a faster one a few years ago.
It is also worth noting that those who want more performance now have a better option: it is possible to configure the new MacBook Air with a chip Core i7 quad-core 1.2GHz, while the previous model allowed, at most, a Core i5 processor dual-core 1.6GHz. The gains are expected to be significant.
Graphics
The new generation continues with a graphics chip built into the processors, but as the processors have changed, the graphics have also been changed. Now, we have the technology here Iris Plus Graphics, from Intel; previously, we had the UHD Graphics 617.
According to Apple, the gains in graphics performance are in the home of 80% in relation to the previous models another statement that will have to be proven in benchmarks and tests of actual use, which will certainly pop up in the coming days.
A practical difference from the new graphics is in the support for monitors: it is now possible to connect the MacBook Air to a 6K monitor at up to 60Hz which means that the new generation natively supports the Pro XDR Display. Until the previous version, it was necessary to use an external GPU to connect the laptop to the professional monitor of Ma.
Storage
Raise your hands and give hallelujah: Apple has finally abandoned 128GB on the entry-level MacBook Air. Now, the cheapest model comes with 256GB, a much more reasonable capacity for most consumers.
The storage options have jumped: it is now possible to configure the machine with an SSD up to 2TB, twice as much as the previous model.
RAM
The options are still the same: 8GB in standard configurations, with the option of configuring machines with 16GB. However, as we were reminded in the comments (thanks!) There is an important change: the new MacBooks Air are the first Macs equipped with LPDDR4X RAM, 3733MHz frequency much faster and not yet seen on any portable machine from Ma.
In other words: the memory is the same in terms of quantity, but it is much faster. Let's see how this translates into gains in the real use of the new generation.
Weight
The new generation of MacBook Air gained a few pounds. I mean, some graminhas: it weighs, in its new version, 1.29kg 40 grams more compared to the 1.25kg of the previous generation. It is certainly an imperceptible difference in everyday life, but it is worth the reminder.
Drums
As usual, Apple does not disclose exact numbers of battery capacity of its products for this, we will have to wait for the infamous dismantling of iFixit. Still, according to Ma, we have a small loss in the ability of the new machine to survive far from the outlet: according to the company, only 11 hours of battery life in the new generation it was 12 hours in the previous model.
Price
In the United States, the MacBook Air won a very welcome cut in its entry price: now, it comes out from $ 1,000, against $ 1,100 from the previous generation.
In Brazil, on the other hand, the situation is reversed: with the dollar's astronomical high and the price adjustment of Ma in the country, the new generation of Air will be (still) more expensive: when available here, it will leave for prices from in R $ 10,300, while the previous model started from R $ 9,700. Certainly the increase would be much greater if there was no such price cut in the USA, but it is a blow.
What stays the same
In terms of design, the two models are indistinguishable until you touch the keyboard, at least. The color options are also identical, limited to silver, space gray and gold. We still have the same two Thunderbolt 3 ports and the same Retina LCD screen with True Tone technology; the FaceTime HD camera still captures the same (few) 720p.
And, did you like the news? Leave your afflictions, satisfactions and doubts below. 😁
