Apple’s MacBook Air may have fallen into the shadow of the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display at their WWDC 2012 launch this past week, but the updated ultraportable has plenty going for it. A proven design favorite, and undoubtedly the inspiration for a legion of Windows-powered ultrabooks, the MacBook Air now gets a fresh batch of processors in the shape of Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge chips, along with a general refresh to the spec sheet. Is that enough to keep the MacBook Air at the top of the ultraportable tree? Read on for the full SlashGear review.
Design
Apple saved its design news for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and outwardly there’s almost nothing to distinguish this updated MacBook Air from its predecessor. That’s arguably no bad thing, though; given the Air is still one of the more distinctive and good-looking ultraportables out there.
The wedge-profile remains, with ports split between the left and right edges. Our 13-inch review model has power, a USB 3.0, headphone socket and microphone on the left side and Thunderbolt, a second USB 3.0 and an SDXC card slot on the right; the 11-inch MacBook Air lacks the SDXC slot.
The one noticeable change from the 2011 Air is the power connector, with the 2012 model using the same MagSafe 2 port – slimmer and wider – as the new MacBook Air. That means you’ll need a $10 adapter to use older power supplies with the new notebook.
Open the lid and there’s the same bare display, with no glass cover-layer on top, as well as a backlit keyboard and large mutlitouch trackpad. At 0.68-inches at its thickest when closed, and 2.96 pounds (2.38 pounds for the 11-inch), the Air remains one of the lightest and most portable notebooks on the market.
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