If you really want an Apple MacBook Air, now is the time
Today, we have talked briefly about Apple’s latest mild refresh of the 13 inch MacBook Air, following the 2016 update of the 12 inch MacBook Retina, which was announced early this week.
The MacBook Air’s latest configuration includes a standard memory upgrade to 8GB, a 5th generation Intel Core i5 and i7 CPU, and an Intel HD Graphics 6000 GPU, which, according to Apple, “...offers advanced performance you’ll especially notice with games and other graphics-intensive task...”. But, wait... didn’t the previous 13 inch MacBook Air feature a Broadwell CPU and Intel HD Graphics 6000? Yes it did.
With specs updates primarily in terms of clock speed and standard memory, the 2016 MacBook Air, looks more like a “2015S”. With that said, this week’s refresh of the Air might just be one reason to grab one now, while supply lasts. Why, you ask? A couple of reasons:
First of all, the price. As of this week, all 2015 MacBook Air stock comes with a $200 discount, slashing the price down to $1,099, which is a bargain by Apple standards, considering the premium quality of MacBooks in general. With that said, it’s pretty obvious that the Air will be taken to pastures without the Retina display, but this doesn’t mean it won’t remain an all-time favorite in colleges and universities, and we are prepared to bet that this latest incremental update of the MacBook Air, will be even more in demand than its previous refresh, most likely due to its more affordable price.
Next, the specs. Yes, the CPU is still Broadwell, and yes, the GPU is still an Intel HD Graphics 6000, with no Retina display, and with the same selection of PCIe Flash storage options. However, this latest update of the MacBook Air doubles the original stock RAM to 8GB, a move that Mac watchers have been waiting for since 2012, which makes the 2016 MacBook Air a more attractive bargain.
Even without Skylake, or a newer GPU, the MacBook Air is still, performance-wise, a workhorse for daily tasks like writing term papers, doing research on the web, or accessing email, which is, in most cases, the bulk of what most MacBook Air owners do anyway, while for anything more resource-intensive, there’s the MacBook Pro, or the iMac.
Finally, if the MacBook Air is really reaching the end of the assembly line, the chances of getting our hands on an equally great Apple laptop within this price range, is next to none, especially if the 12 inch MacBook Retina is joined by an 11 inch little brother and a 13 inch bigger brother next year, possibly powered by an Intel Kabi Lake CPU, and priced accordingly.
Of course, before any of that happens, and before even KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo slips a note to investors, to that effect, in 2017, Apple might have a few more surprises up its very long sleeves, at least according to latest patent applications concerning extravagant ideas of keyboardless laptops. With that said, and until then, the 2016 MacBook Air is most likely the laptop students will go for, until anything of equal specs, and especially price, is available, as far as Apple products go.