Apple has announced the launch of its 2020 MacBook Air. It\u2019s powered by Apple\u2019s new M1 processor. This is the first MacBook Air, and one of the first laptops, to feature Apple\u2019s own Arm-based CPUs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eight-core M1 is a 5nm processor based on the A14 Bionic, the chipset that powers the iPhone 12 and iPad Air lines. Apple stated at its \u201cOne More Thing\u201d event that the M1 contains four of the world\u2019s fastest CPU cores, paired with four high-efficiency cores \u2014 an effort to balance performance with efficiency. It also claims that the chip offers the world\u2019s best performance per watt of any CPU, and enables instant wake speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design-wise, the new Air looks pretty similar to the MacBook Air we\u2019ve seen before. It\u2019s 2.8 pounds and 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.16-0.63 inches \u2014 the exact same weight and almost the same dimensions as its predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Apple says the it\u2019s faster than \u201c98 percent of PC laptops sold in the last year.\u201d It\u2019s also up to 3.5 times faster than the Intel MacBook Air, with up to five times faster graphics performance, nine times faster machine learning, and two times faster SSD performance, per the company. Apple didn\u2019t say how it measured these differences.
The laptop includes a 49.9Whr battery and a 30W USB-C power adapter. Apple also claims you\u2019ll get 15 hours of web browsing and 18 hours of video playback to a charge. It says you\u2019ll be able to extend video calls up to twice as long (If that claim holds up, it would be an improvement from the Intel-powered MacBook Air.) There\u2019s no fan inside, so it should run noiselessly as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of specs, the new Air comes with a 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 Retina display with P3 wide color gamut support and 400 nits of brightness, a backlit scissor-switch keyboard and up to 16GB of memory and 2TB of storage. It supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and Touch ID. There are two Thunderbolt ports that support USB 4, charging, and DisplayPort, as well as a headphone jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The laptop comes with the same 720p camera as its predecessor (a lower resolution than modern iPhone and iPad cameras), but Apple says it\u2019ll deliver better results thanks to the M1\u2019s new image signal processor (ISP), which should improve noise reduction, dynamic range, auto white balance, and face detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The release is the first step in Apple\u2019s transition away from Intel processors, which Apple\u2019s computers have used since 2005. The company expects the process to take two years.
Apple claims the chips will deliver better performance and power efficiency than its Intel competitors. But the biggest advantage of Arm systems is that they\u2019ll be able to run iOS and iPadOS apps natively on macOS. As for macOS apps: Apple has updated its own programs, such as Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, to support its silicon, as have other major companies like Microsoft and Adobe. At its June event, Apple demonstrated Lightroom and Photoshop running smoothly on its new Macs \u2014 Lightroom is slated for release next month, and Photoshop early next year. And macOS Big Sur, which the Air will run, includes an emulator called Rosetta 2 that will \u201ctranslate\u201d any apps that haven\u2019t yet been updated for Arm at launch.
The new MacBook Air starts at $999, and $899 for education. That makes it the same price as the previous MacBook Air released in March, which started at an Intel Core i3. (That model appears to have been discontinued on Apple\u2019s website.) It\u2019s available November 17th, but you can order it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The base model includes a seven-core GPU and 256GB of storage, as well as 8GB of memory. Models with an eight-core GPU and 512GB of storage start at $1,249 (with 8GB of memory) \u2014 the maxed-out configuration with 16GB of memory and 2TB of storage is $2,049. For an extra $299.99 and $199.99 respectively, the machine can come preinstalled with Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X. Like its predecessor, it comes in gold, silver, and space gray.
The Verge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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