Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
everyone is happy with the battery too certainly?

Definitely! 7 hours is what I expected and I'm totally fine with that. All these other things, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD as default in 13", 1440x900 etc just make it even better.

I assume you're happy since you're buying two of them
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Definitely! 7 hours is what I expected and I'm totally fine with that. All these other things, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD as default in 13", 1440x900 etc just make it even better.

I assume you're happy since you're buying two of them

I am more happy than I have ever been after one of these live events. Literally ecstatic. This is by far my favorite Mac ever, and it just got a whole lot better. Minimal upgrades to what we need, but everything we need is covered. Sure we could have gotten more, but this is Apple. Given their track record, this was a heck of an update.
 

Spacekatgal

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2009
203
0
How is it mediocre? It's the same glass and high color gamut as the MBP has but in higher resolution at 1440 x 900.

That is the same workspace as the 15" MBP, and everyone is happy with the battery too certainly?

The viewing angle. It just sucks with the Rev A - Rev C screen. That's the biggest advantage I find in the IPS display of the MBP.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
The viewing angle. It just sucks with the Rev A - Rev C screen. That's the biggest advantage I find in the IPS display of the MBP.

The MBP does not have an IPS display. You're wrong there. It's a high color gamut LED backlit, and the MBA just got the same display.
 

lasuther

macrumors 6502a
Feb 13, 2004
670
0
Grand Haven, Michigan
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

ahlong said:
should I get a decked out 11.6 inch or base 13 inch with upgraded ram..

same price.. hmm

The 13" has a higher res screen, SD card reader, longer battery life, faster processor, and twice the L2 cache. The 13" is a easy pick. This is my favorite laptop right now.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)



The 13" has a higher res screen, SD card reader, longer battery life, faster processor, and twice the L2 cache. The 13" is a easy pick. This is my favorite laptop right now.

Agreed. My favorite computer or tech device ever. Love my iPhone 4, but I really love this new MBA. With 4 GB RAM, Nvidia 320m, 256 GB NAND Flash, and maybe one of the best features added the high resolution LED-backlit 13.3" display. Same workspace as the 15.4" MBP in a 13.3" display. LOVE IT.

Don't enjoy the idea of losing backlit keyboard, as things like this might come at the cost of advertising a 7-hour battery. Does anyone know what the new standards are for advertising the battery? Does it mean it will work for seven hours with the WiFi on? How about display? Still 1/2 brightness?

I really like the backlit keyboard, and it's far more important to me than extra battery life. But that's just me. I suppose Apple did the research and found that people would prefer an extra five minutes of battery life at the cost of a few tiny LED low energy lights running the backlighting for the display.
 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
Does anyone know what the new standards are for advertising the battery? Does it mean it will work for seven hours with the WiFi on? How about display? Still 1/2 brightness?

Testing conducted by Apple in September 2010 using preproduction 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo–based 13-inch MacBook Air units and preproduction 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo–based 11-inch MacBook Air units. The wireless productivity test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 50%. Standby testing conducted by Apple in September 2010 using preproduction 1.86GHz and 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo–based 13-inch MacBook Air units as well as preproduction 1.4GHz and 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo–based 11-inch MacBook Air units. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network, to enter deep sleep mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See http://www.apple.com/batteries for more information.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/performance.html
 

gwsat

macrumors 68000
Apr 12, 2008
1,920
0
Tulsa
I am ambivalent about the new MBA, although I agree that it is a significant improvement over the old model. I fear that 4Gb of RAM would not be enough to allow me to comfortably run both Windows apps and OS X apps from the OS X desktop with VMware Fusion. The 6 Gb of RAM I have on my MBP has been more than ample but nobody here whose posts I have read has ever claimed that 4Gb would be enough. It's a beautiful computer, though. Like Scottsdale, the 13 inch model with 4Gb of RAM would be my choice.

An illustration from the Apple site led me to believe that there may be a RAM slot in the new model of the MBA. If so, I wonder if it could accommodate an 8Gb RAM module?
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
I am ambivalent about the new MBA, although I agree that it is a significant improvement over the old model. I fear that 4Gb of RAM would not be enough to allow me to comfortably run both Windows apps and OS X apps from the OS X desktop with VMware Fusion. The 6 Gb of RAM I have on my MBP has been more than ample but nobody here whose posts I have read has ever claimed that 4Gb would be enough. It's a beautiful computer, though. Like Scottsdale, the 13 inch model with 4Gb of RAM would be my choice.

An illustration from the Apple site led me to believe that there may be a RAM slot in the new model of the MBA. If so, I wonder if it could accommodate an 8Gb RAM module?

I really think this is one available RAM slot with 2 GB soldered on board. You might just get your 6 GB of RAM, as the 4 GB RAM chips might work in there.

I will be happy to try it for you as soon as I get mine.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,742
155
An illustration from the Apple site led me to believe that there may be a RAM slot in the new model of the MBA. If so, I wonder if it could accommodate an 8Gb RAM module?

Are you talking about the slot on the side?
 

godslabrat

macrumors 6502
Aug 19, 2007
346
110
I am ambivalent about the new MBA, although I agree that it is a significant improvement over the old model. I fear that 4Gb of RAM would not be enough to allow me to comfortably run both Windows apps and OS X apps from the OS X desktop with VMware Fusion. The 6 Gb of RAM I have on my MBP has been more than ample but nobody here whose posts I have read has ever claimed that 4Gb would be enough. It's a beautiful computer, though. Like Scottsdale, the 13 inch model with 4Gb of RAM would be my choice.

An illustration from the Apple site led me to believe that there may be a RAM slot in the new model of the MBA. If so, I wonder if it could accommodate an 8Gb RAM module?

In any case, I would love to know if you NEED to get the 4GB model from Apple BTO, or if there's a way to DIY.
 

JPSensei

macrumors newbie
Aug 4, 2010
23
0
Arstechnica on their hands-on says that you cant upgrade ram :(

Some (but not all) questions from our readers were answered by the Apple PR people standing by. Yes, both Air models come with glossy screens, and you can get them both with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM built in. You cannot upgrade the RAM though—you must order it at the capacity you want it, or else you're out of luck.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...hands-on-with-the-new-11-inch-macbook-air.ars
 

gwsat

macrumors 68000
Apr 12, 2008
1,920
0
Tulsa
I really think this is one available RAM slot with 2 GB soldered on board. You might just get your 6 GB of RAM, as the 4 GB RAM chips might work in there.

I will be happy to try it for you as soon as I get mine.
Scottsdale -- Had not considered the possibility that there could be a RAM slot plus 2GB of soldered RAM. That makes sense, though, because $100 for a 4Gb RAM module would be unbelievably cheap by Apple's standards. Please do check it out when you get yours and let me know. If I could order the 2Gb model and add a 4Gb module in the slot, that would handle my RAM needs. I certainly hope this turns out to be the case.
 

C64

macrumors 65816
Sep 3, 2008
1,236
222
Don't forget that swapping (writing to your disk whenever you run out of RAM) to the flash storage will be waaay faster than swapping to a regular hard drive. It won't be as fast as RAM, but with regular use you won't notice that much of a difference. So don't worry too much about the default 2GB or max 4GB.
 

godslabrat

macrumors 6502
Aug 19, 2007
346
110
Arstechnica on their hands-on says that you cant upgrade ram :(

Some (but not all) questions from our readers were answered by the Apple PR people standing by. Yes, both Air models come with glossy screens, and you can get them both with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM built in. You cannot upgrade the RAM though—you must order it at the capacity you want it, or else you're out of luck.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...hands-on-with-the-new-11-inch-macbook-air.ars

Then I guess my next question is, will the SKUs for the 4GB models be available to other vendors, or just Apple? (wondering aloud, doubt anyone knows yet)
 

thinkdesign

macrumors 6502
May 12, 2010
341
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

So, which ones will be in Apple stores? Just the 2GB versions of each one of the 11" and 13"?

The photo of the 11" one's left edge, being held by the hand off to the right, is incredible. The "Twiggy" of laptops! (google it.)
 

kingsal

macrumors member
Aug 29, 2010
94
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

So, which ones will be in Apple stores? Just the 2GB versions of each one of the 11" and 13"?

The photo of the 11" one's left edge, being held by the hand off to the right, is incredible. The "Twiggy" of laptops! (google it.)


Apple store will have the "stock" models with 2GB RAM only. You can BTO 4GM via Apple Online Store.
 

robeddie

Suspended
Jul 21, 2003
1,777
1,731
Atlanta
Great! But....

First off, I am pleased with the update, for the most part, but once again Apple hits us with what is a HUGE 'gotcha' (to me anyway).

The lack of a backlit keyboard is stunning to me. That's been a feature of the Air since the start and it's currently standard on every Apple laptop except the budget, plastic, macbook.

I've had a backlit keyboard on ALL my Mac laptops since my late 2003 macbook pro.

Why take away such a useful feature, that's been around this long, and not at least offer it as an upgrade option is beyond comprehension to me.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
I have a 2007 MBP with a 2.2 ghz Core 2 Duo. Is the 2.13 ghz version of the new MBA actually a slower processor than my 3 year-old MBP? Seems odd

I will take a 2010 MBA over your MBP any day of the week. The MBA will almost literally run circles around your MBP. The NAND Flash will make SSDs look SLOW. The 2.13 GHz still has 6MB L2, while yours has 3MB... in addition, when needing extra L2 the NAND is going to be fast access.

Features like instant on and etc just make it much better. And, it's a higher resolution display than the 13" MBP has.

First off, I am pleased with the update, for the most part, but once again Apple hits us with what is a HUGE 'gotcha' (to me anyway).

The lack of a backlit keyboard is stunning to me. That's been a feature of the Air since the start and it's currently standard on every Apple laptop except the budget, plastic, macbook.

I've had a backlit keyboard on ALL my Mac laptops since my late 2003 macbook pro.

Why take away such a useful feature, that's been around this long, and not at least offer it as an upgrade option is beyond comprehension to me.

I agree. This is a huge loss. I am really disappointed about it too. I don't understand, and this was my worst fear come true. We lose a capability we had before so the MBA's battery can be bettered. In reality too, the battery isn't so much better. I suppose we will have to use it, but 7 hours stated isn't going to add up to 2 extra hours over 5 hours stated unless they truly changed how they measure it.

I am disappointed, and Apple will use this to sucker me into the first update to this version of the MBA. When the next one comes out, it will have an IPS display and an LED-backlit keyboard and my money will go flying out the door again.

I had hoped when this MBA came, that I would have a two-year Mac that would just work for two years without me wanting to upgrade and etc. Now, we will all be back in four months waiting for the IPS displays and backlit keyboards to be shipped with Lion MBAs next Summer. And by then, the 13" MBP, MB, and Mm will all get updates too. Should definitely be the switch from C2D by then. But I don't care about that, I just want an IPS display and LED-backlit keyboard and I would have been happy until the January 2013 update. Oh well, this is Apple we're talking about. Still the best updates ever.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.