Today’s golden children may be iOS 7 and all things software, but that doesn’t mean the actual machines running that software are being tossed to the wayside. Confirming recent rumours and stock shortages, we are officially seeing Apple’s super skinny MacBook Air get a much-deserved refresh.
Perhaps most exciting, all MacBook Airs will now come packing Intel’s kickass new Haswell processors. And that means better battery life, which has become a major issue these days. So instead of six hours of HD video playback, for instance, you can get away with a full nine hours. With just regular use, though, your laptop should supposedly last up to 50 per cent longer, although we’ll soon see if Intel’s claim actually holds up.
Matching its more power-hungry, Pro brother, the Air has also been updated with a dual built-in microphone design, making it all the easier for you and Siri to chat it up. Considering it’s built for maximum portability, we’re happy to see a Wi-Fi boost with 802.11ac along with new AirPort Extremes and Time Capsule updates to support the faster speeds.
Considering that MacBook Airs run almost entirely on Flash, the fact that the drive will be running up to 40 per cent faster is huge. The new MacBook Air is available today. The 11-inch version comes with a 1.3GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6GHz, 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at $1099, while the 256GB model starts at $1349. The 13-inch version comes with a 1.3GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6 GHz, 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage for $1249, or you can get the 256GB model for $1449.