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Apple announces updated MacBook Air with scissor-switch keyboard

J-Wood

J-Wood

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,747
I'm thinking of getting rid of my iPad Pro and moving to this MacBook Air. I'd like to use it for:

1. Garage band to make music
2. Using office apps for random things, like running DND campaigns
3. Multimedia (Netflix, comic reading, etc)


Would this be powerful enough for that usage?
 
Skel1ingt0n

Skel1ingt0n

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,713
J-Wood said:
I'm thinking of getting rid of my iPad Pro and moving to this MacBook Air. I'd like to use it for:

1. Garage band to make music
2. Using office apps for random things, like running DND campaigns
3. Multimedia (Netflix, comic reading, etc)


Would this be powerful enough for that usage?
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Click to shrink...

Since you're in GarageBand and not Logic, I'd say almost definitely yes.
 
Senator Toadstool

Senator Toadstool

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,651
Does Apple take macbooks thst have broken displays for trades at any value? I have a 2017 pro that would cost 500 to fix but if I can get like 100 I'd rather spend 200 extra on this rather than 500 to fix it
 
DSP

DSP

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,120
This makes surface laptop 3 look even more silly. They charge a lot to go from 128gb to 256gb ssd. Completely ridiculous. This seems like a really competitive ultrabook and most people should get this, you dont even save money going with dell or whatever and finally we have 4core and good gpu in air.

I am wondering what the new 13 pro will be like . Thats what I want but it feels like I can just spec this for my needs anyway.
 
Arc

Arc

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,500
This is honestly a great update. The $1300 tier should be more than enough for a user like me and the base $1000 tier is great for your average Mac user. 256GB SSDs in the base model!! Has hell frozen over?
 
thePopaShots

thePopaShots

Member
Nov 27, 2017
1,687
Wish this would have come out two years ago, last year I gave up and used the money to build a PC at home and I'm very happy with it. Now I'm thinking I'll ride out this 2017 MacBook Air and just upgrade whenever this thing dies - so probably around 2030.
 

Deleted member 1476

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,449
Went on the website to check the price and Apple continues to think we're morons here. Shameful pricing outside of the US.
 
OP
OP
RBH

RBH

Official ERA expert on Third Party Football
Member
Nov 2, 2017
32,796
www.apple.com

Buy MacBook Air

Get a new MacBook Air laptop from only $83.25 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.
www.apple.com
 
indask8

indask8

Member
Oct 28, 2017
324
Quad core is cool, I was disapointed when the previous gen macbook Air went for a dual core Y series CPU, like the regular macbook instead of a quad core U chip (8250U for example) which was widely availlable at the time.
 
Vanillalite

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709
The Good

256 entry lvl storage
Scissor Keyboard
Same great display
i5 and i7 quad options
799 128

The Bad

Base model for 999 is a dual core i3
Same body style makes me wonder if the i5/i7 will throttle

The Other

MBP redesign 14" looms large
Price when you spec out makes its harder to pick between this and MBP line

My fantasy world would be 799 entry level for all. $899 would get you the current $999 256 model. 999 would get you the entry level i5 model.
 
Atilac

Atilac

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
688
For the MacBook air. I figure the cpu upgrade to a quad core is worth it, but is the ram upgrade worth it? Is the storage still soldered on making a HDD upgrade impossible?
 
ClivePwned

ClivePwned

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,612
Australia
Nice!

I have a 2018 MBA with the flat keys that i have gotten used to and typing away happily on, I also recently bought a mechanical keyboard for my imac which is often on the desk next to the MBA and that's quite the difference flipping between the 2. I won't be looking to upgrade till 2022 at the earliest assuming this one keeps trucking along but it's nice to know the keyboard issue will (hopefully) be a thing of the past.
 
J_ToSaveTheDay

J_ToSaveTheDay

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
18,775
USA
Huh, if I knew Macbook Air was about to get an update I probably would've held off on the iPad Pro I bought.

Oh well. I'm not too mad, the iPad Pro is actually legit living up to all of my use needs so far. This is a cool refresh, though.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
17,557
It really is a fantastic year-over-year update. Finally fixing the keyboard AND double the storage AND significantly faster graphics performance AND it's $100 cheaper than last summer's refresh and $200 cheaper than the model that debuted this design less than eighteen months ago. And there's a quad-core option for people who want it, too.

Apple's been hungry, lately. The iPhone 11 was also cheaper than the iPhone XR it replaced, and I thought they would try to sell the 16-inch MacBook Pro as a premium model above the 15-inch and instead they replaced that model at the same price points. It's good to know that they are still choosing to be aggressive sometimes, instead of always just squeezing their buyers for all they've got.

I might trade in my 2018 and get this, though I really like the sound of the new 14-inch MacBook Pro that's supposed to be coming in June.
 

vrietje

Member
Dec 4, 2018
886
I'm surprised by the €50 upgrade from i3 to i5. Thats un-apple. To bad the rest of the upgrades typical Apple prices. But ok voor 1499 i could buy a config that will last me a year of 7-10 I think. 256GB, I5, 16GB RAM
 
NameUser

NameUser

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,966
Atilac said:
If I could only upgrade one, do I double the ram or the storage?
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RAM, storage is pretty decent. And you can always use a USB drive. The RAM will make it more "future proof". I hate that phrase, but it'll help when 16 GB becomes the minimum in a couple years.

Using a base 4GB MBP from a few years ago is rough in 2020. Not so much for the ones with more RAM.
 
Atilac

Atilac

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
688
NameUser said:
RAM, storage is pretty decent. And you can always use a USB drive. The RAM will make it more "future proof". I hate that phrase, but it'll help when 16 GB becomes the minimum in a couple years.

Using a base 4GB MBP from a few years ago is rough in 2020. Not so much for the ones with more RAM.
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Thanks for the clarity
 
OP
OP
RBH

RBH

Official ERA expert on Third Party Football
Member
Nov 2, 2017
32,796
Atilac said:
If I could only upgrade one, do I double the ram or the storage?
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I''ve been debating this as well as whether it's worthwhile to upgrade to i5 from i3

I'm only going to be using my laptop for Chrome, Spotify, and Word. I have a bad tendency of having 20-30 tabs open at once, but that's really the extent of any "taxing" work that I do.
 
MercuryLS

MercuryLS

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,578
This is the best MBA is a long while, that that new iPad Pro with magic keyboard looks so effing nice. I need to try it hands on, but if that base is sturdy and the angles are good for lap use. I think I'm done with macs entirely.
 
NameUser

NameUser

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,966
MercuryLS said:
This is the best MBA is a long while, that that new iPad Pro with magic keyboard looks so effing nice. I need to try it hands on, but if that base is sturdy and the angles are good for lap use. I think I'm done with macs entirely.
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This is what's important to me too. I'm one of those people who actually use laptops on their laps lol.

I'm really curious about the weight distribution. If I can type fast on it on my lap without it bouncing like nuts then I'll get it.
 
Costa

Costa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
532
Canada
Was about to bite the bullet on the Macbook Air before hearing rumours of this new update; glad I did wait!

Grabbed that quad-core i7, 16gb, and 1TB configuration. Just in time too, the CAD is plummeting and prices are likely to be going up soon, lol. Happy to have a lightweight workstation again :)
 
Bunzy

Bunzy

Banned
Nov 1, 2018
2,205
So is the new iPad Pro a lot more powerful then the MacBook Air?

looks like it's going to be 500-600 more for the iPad Pro setup too
 

Deleted member 39374

Banned
Feb 1, 2018
5,083
alstrike said:
Why would I blame Intel? All 10th gen notebooks have WiFi 6.

Apple uses Broadcom cards and they have had WiFi 6 cards for like a year already out...
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"10th gen notebooks" is a broad term; AFAIK wifi6 is not available for this specific TDP... and Apple does funny custom stuff with their wifi packages for continuity and handoff so whatever Broadcom/Intel's currently offering either isnt compatible or available
 
Arc

Arc

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,500
RBH said:
I''ve been debating this as well as whether it's worthwhile to upgrade to i5 from i3

I'm only going to be using my laptop for Chrome, Spotify, and Word. I have a bad tendency of having 20-30 tabs open at once, but that's really the extent of any "taxing" work that I do.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's a $99 for twice the cores. Think of how absurd it is to use a dual core in 2020 let alone in 2024. Spend the $99 and you'll get a few more years out of this thing.
 
Previously on Lost

Previously on Lost

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,665
No option for 32GB Ram is a bummer for future proofers. I already find myself regularly using 10-12GB+ on my 2017 Macbook just from chrome tabs and MS Word being open.
 
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