OUR VERDICT
Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air now comes with much faster storage, better battery life and slightly improved performance in other areas. On the other hand, its display and design are beyond dated.
FOR
- Excellent battery life
- Nippy storage
- Keyboard
AGAINST
- Dated design
- Display
- Speakers
Apple MacBook Air 13" (2015) deals
COMPARE DEALS
AMAZON DEALS
While the future of the MacBook Air is up in the, well, air at the moment, the rumor mill is in full force once again suggesting that the next round of MacBooks will render it null. While some folks suggest it’s about to be replaced by a 13-inch MacBook, others say the MacBook Air is due for an imminent refresh.
There’s no doubt in our minds that the MacBook Air is in dire need of a re-tooling, yet for right now, it’s the least expensive MacBook that you can buy. So if you’re in the market for an Apple computer that you can take on the go, complete with the works of macOS High Sierra, let it be known that although we’d like to see a MacBook Air with a higher resolution screen and an up-to-date processor in the future, it’ll get you by as-is for the time being.
Price and availability
While the MacBook Air model sent to us for review was maxed out with the highest specs you could get at the time of its original writing, it can currently be had in a variety of configurations.
It still starts at the comparatively humble amount of $999 (£949, AU$1,499), but now you’re looking at a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD space for that price.
Should you be interested in stepping its game up, you can upgrade the processor to a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 CPU and 512GB of storage for a pretty penny more. For that, you’re looking at a price tag of $1,549 (£1,384, AU$2,339).
That’s a higher asking cost than an up to date MacBook Pro for a frankly older set of components (the MacBook Air uses a 5th-generation Intel processor as opposed to the MacBook Pro’s 7th-gen chip), but it might tempt those who crave lots of storage and a longer battery life.
Design
By and large, the MacBook Air generally looks the same as it has since 2010, and there don’t appear to be any changes in tow, either. That’s a shame, particularly because we’re now seeing virtually bezel-less laptops with smaller footprints and high resolution screens that dismally put the MacBook Air in its place.
Forget the Dell XPS 13's physics-defying InfinityEdge display, which is lightyears ahead – even Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, once seen as slightly tubby compared to the Air, has a smaller footprint and takes up slightly less space on your lap.
Yet, the old ‘if it ain't broke’ mantra applies – at least to a point. The MacBook Air's aluminum unibody design, which supports the main enclosure and the display, is as durable as ever. Its lid can be easily raised with a single hand and doesn't droop in any position, and you have to press really hard to detect flex on the machine's base or lid.
It's also easy to clean with a damp cloth. If there's one drawback, it's that the aluminum body can scratch easily to leave permanent black marks, so you should consider buying a sleeve if you're going to sling it into a bag for transportation.
Gabe Carey has also contributed to this review
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