If you’re already familiar with the MacBook Air, it could be difficult to spot the differences between the existing model and this new version. Both have the same unibody aluminium chassis, black Chiclet-style keyboard and oversized glass touchpad, although there are a few minor changes to spot.
It looks very similar to its predecessor, but there are a handful of significant updates
Apple has reduced the size of the MagSafe adaptor and replaced the old USB ports with faster USB3 variants, although it hasn’t coloured them blue to avoid spoiling the generic grey look it’s been using for the past five years. It also has a Thunderbolt port instead of a Mini DisplayPort connector - Apple is still the only manufacturer fitting its laptops with Thunderbolt. With compatible hardware, you can get significantly faster file transfer speeds than over USB2 or even USB3. Thunderbolt can also be used to drive Apple’s £900 Thunderbolt display. An SDXC card reader, 3.5mm headset audio jack, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi round off the specification. The headset jack means you don’t get separate microphone and headphone sockets, so you'll need to use a headset with the correct three-pin plug.
Here you can see the new, slimmer power connection
Underneath the all-aluminium chassis it’s a different story, however. The old Sandy Bridge processor has been replaced with one of Intel’s latest low-voltage Ivy Bridge chips. The Core i5-3427U normally runs at 1.8GHz, but can use Turbo Boost to reach a much snappier 2.8GHz when temperatures allow. Apple has also upgraded the old SATA2 SSD with a faster SATA3 model, which should help reduce boot and application loading times, as well as speed up file transfers. Paired with 4GB of RAM, this makes the Air incredibly quick for such a portable laptop. It managed to complete our multimedia benchmarks with an overall score of 61, meaning you’ll have no trouble performing everyday tasks such as web browsing or image editing, and will even be able to dabble in editing videos.
USB3 and ThunderBolt provide two options for fast external storage
The upgrade to Ivy Bridge also brings improved graphics capabilities. Intel’s HD 4000 integrated graphics are a welcome step up from the previous generation, speeding up GPU-accelerated applications and letting you play more modern games without having to drop down to lower resolutions. We couldn’t run our Windows-only Dirt 3 benchmark, but an average frame rate of 26.9fps in our Call of Duty 4 test is reasonable for an ultra-portable laptop with integrated graphics. It’s almost twice as fast as last year’s MacBook Air, and you’ll also get much better results once you disable anti-aliasing.
Despite receiving a significant performance upgrade, Apple has managed to keep the Air’s battery life at the same level as last year’s model. In our light-use test, which disables Wi-Fi, it achieved almost twelve hours away from the mains – we’ve yet to see a laptop last longer. Even with Wi-Fi enabled and videos streaming from YouTube, you’ll still get over nine hours of use from a single charge. If you’re going to be working on the move, you should have few concerns about running out of power.
In everyday use, the new MacBook Air feels almost identical to the old one. The 13.3in screen still uses a 1,440x900 panel which has above-average viewing angles, although the glossy screen finish can make it difficult to see anything in certain lighting conditions. Thankfully there’s plenty of tilt and the brightness can be turned up very high, so it wasn’t a major problem during our testing. Colours are vibrant and images look sharp, making web browsing a much more pleasant experience than on certain other ultra-portables.
No retina display here, with the MacBook Air retaining its 1,440x900 resolution
The stereo speakers don’t seem to have been upgraded from last year’s Air – they sounded the same to our ears, producing reasonably loud audio for such a small laptop, but we wouldn’t want to use them to watch a film or listen to music. Audio quality is distinctly average, with a clear mid-range and a crisp high-end that avoided sounding too sharp, although there was a definite lack of bass.
We had no concerns typing on the full-size Chiclet style keyboard, which was comfortable to use and incredibly responsive. Each key felt bouncy and had plenty of tactile feedback. Unsurprisingly there’s no numeric keypad, and Apple has had to shrink down the arrow keys, but it’s still one of the best laptop keyboards around. It’s also fully backlit, meaning you’ll be able to keep working even in low lighting conditions, and all the function keys double as Mac OS X shortcuts.
Still one of the best laptop keyboards around
As we’ve come to expect from Apple, the glass all-in-one touchpad is nothing short of excellent. Whether you’re pressing the whole pad inwards for a left click, using two-finger presses for right-clicks or performing multi-finger touch gestures, it recognises them all accurately. Our only complaint, being predominantly Windows users, is that Mac OS X reverses the traditional scrolling direction to better suit smartphone and tablet users. Thankfully, you can change this in Settings.
It’s always worth pointing out that OS X is a major departure from Windows, and it can be daunting making the switch. Apple makes this even easier than before with OS X Lion, which has a migration assistant built into the operating system to copy your contacts, files and settings from a Windows PC. You also get the benefit of iLife, Apple’s software suite which includes the self-explanatory iPhoto, iMovie, iCal, Mail and Facetime for video calling, as well as the GarageBand music synthesiser.
Apple hasn’t reinvented the MacBook Air with this latest refresh, only refined it. If you already own one, the performance increase alone isn’t worth upgrading for, but if you’re looking for a new ultra-portable and don’t mind leaving Windows behind (or you have a spare Windows license and are willing to use Boot Camp) it could be a much more tempting proposition. Right now, few Ultrabook manufacturers have updated their products to support Ivy Bridge, making the MacBook Air the current performance champion, but the Air's £1,249 price means there’s plenty of room for the competition to undercut Apple in the next few months. If you can’t wait, you’re unlikely to regret the decision, but you could save a few hundred pounds if you hold on a little longer.
Basic Specifications |
|
|---|---|
| Part Code | N/A |
| Review Date | 14 Jul 2012 |
| Rating |
|
| Processor | Intel Core I5-3427U |
| Processor clock speed | 1.8GHz |
| Memory | 4.00GB |
| Memory slots | 2 |
| Memory slots free | 0 |
| Maximum memory | 8GB |
| Size | 17x325x227mm |
| Weight | 1.4kg |
| Sound | Intel HD Audio |
| Pointing device | touchpad |
Display |
|
|---|---|
| Viewable size | 13.3 in |
| Native resolution | 1,440x900 |
| Graphics Processor | Intel HD 4000 |
| Graphics/video ports | Thunderbolt |
| Graphics Memory | 384MB |
Storage |
|
|---|---|
| Total storage capacity | 256GB |
| Optical drive type | none |
Ports and Expansion |
|
|---|---|
| USB ports | 2 |
| Bluetooth |
|
| Wired network ports | none |
| Wireless networking support | 802.11n |
| PC Card slots | none |
| Supported memory cards | SDXC |
| Other ports | minijack headset port, 2x USB 3.0 |
Miscellaneous |
|
|---|---|
| Carrying case |
|
| Operating system | MacOS X 10.7 |
| Operating system restore option | restore partition |
| Software included | iLife 2011 |
| Optional extras | £25 |
Buying Information |
|
|---|---|
| Warranty | one year RTB |
| Price | £1,249 |
| Details | www.apple.com |
| Supplier | http://www.apple.com/uk/ |
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar