Last month, Apple hosted a launch event where they unveiled the new range of iPhones. Towards the end of October, Apple yet again launched a few new products to add to its existing line of consumer electronics. One of the products that were launched in the Apple’s New York Event, on October 30, was the all-new MacBook Air. The old MacBook Air carried the same look since 2010, which was teased to be refreshed when Apple announced the new specs during last year’s WWDC. The new MacBook Air was launched alongside the refreshed Mac mini and the brand new iPad Pro models.
Apple’s New York event on October 30 saw the refreshed design and specs of the new MacBook Air which now features a new 13.3-inch Retina Display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixel, giving the display a 16:10 aspect ratio. This way the bezels around the display has become 50 percent narrower and offers 48 percent more colour gamuts than the previous generation MacBook Air. Another key feature is the inclusion of a Touch ID that was much needed to make your MacBook secure. The Touch ID will be enabled using a T2 chip which not only provides security to the device but also contains an SSD controller and an image signal processor. The new MacBook holds a host of new specifications including the backlit keyboard with each key having its individual lighting. The new keyboard is based on 4 times more stable third-generation Butterfly mechanism. The brand new Force Touch trackpad which provides pressure-sensing capabilities along with a 20 percent larger capacitive area to the trackpad.
The 720p HD FaceTime camera is still present above the display, and the 3.5mm headphone jack has been placed where it had been always. Also, the company says that the stereo speakers on the new MacBook Air 2018 are louder than before with more bass, featuring a three-mic array. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.2, along with a set of the usual USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. These ports are present on the left of the MacBook Air, which will allow the user to provide power, USB connectivity, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, and eGPU connectivity to the device.
The MacBook Air packs a 50.3Wh battery, under the hood, which is touted to provide up to 12 hours of on-battery web surfing, up to 13 hours of iTunes video playback, and a whopping 30-days of standby time. The new display design will let the new MacBook to use 17 percent lesser volume than what the previous generation MacBook Air used to take. With a thickness of just 15.6mm, the new MacBook is 10 percent thinner than its predecessor. That’s not all, the new device weighs at just 1.25g, which is a bit lighter that the previous generation MacBook Air that weighed in at 1.34kg.
Wrapping up, the all new MacBook Air is priced at $1,199 (roughly Rs 88,000) for the variant with 8GB of RAM, expandable up to 16GB, Intel’s Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, alongside Intel’s UHD 617 Graphics, and a 128GB SSD (going up to 1.5TB). The new MacBook Air will be up for pre-orders on October 30 in US, with shipping starting from November 7. However, the Air has been priced at Rs 1,14,900 in India which is way higher than the previous generation MacBook Air.
The new MacBook will also come in three colour choices like the Gold, Silver, and Space Grey to choose from. Another model with 256GB SSD storage was also specified at the launch event, priced at $1,399 (roughly Rs 1,02,000). The Indian price is still unknown at the moment, but will be revealed soon once the product hits the market soon.
Quick Specifications
| Display | 13.3-inch Retina Display (2560 x 1600) |
| Processor | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 chipset (Turbo speed up to 3.6GHz) |
| Graphics | Intel HD 617 Graphics |
| Cameras | 720p FaceTime HD Camera |
| Battery | 50.3Wh long-lasting battery |
| RAM | 8GB (up to 16GB) |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB SSD (up to 1.5TB) |
