How 'old' is a MacBook Air?

[johneaston]

After more than a year, I'm totally fed up with the numerous limitations of my iPad and wonder if an Air would be a better bet than my current set-up of a MacBook Pro and an iPad.

But looking at the specs (Core 2 Duo, 1066mhz frontside bus, 2GB RAM etc.) is like looking at the specs of an old MacBook.

So, thickness and weight aside, how old is the technology in the Air? Will it be like going back to my old PowerBook?

 

[DeaconGraves]

The MacBook Air was last updated in October 2010.

Yes, the Core 2 Duo may not be as powerful as what's currently in the MacBook Pros, but it certainly is better than your old Powerbook! It all comes down to what you want to do with the Air.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

One year.
And no, it will not be like going back to your PowerBook, unless you had one of those early Intel prototypes, which were still slower than the current MBA, but a tiny bit faster than those Lombards and Pismos.
Maybe wait till June?
Maybe this can put the MBA into perspective?

 

[johneaston]

The MacBook Air was last updated in October 2010.

Yes, the Core 2 Duo may not be as powerful as what's currently in the MacBook Pros, but it certainly is better than your old Powerbook! It all comes down to what you want to do with the Air.

I don't mean quite literally how old it is, what I mean is, in terms of computing power etc, what year of full-fat MacBook Pro does the current MacBook air compare to?

 

[johneaston]

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Maybe this can put the MBA into perspective?

So I'm paying £1,300 for a thin, light, four year old MacBook Pro. Oh dear!

 

[DeaconGraves]

I don't mean quite literally how old it is, what I mean is, in terms of computing power etc, what year of full-fat MacBook Pro does the current MacBook air compare to?

Well as simsaladimbamba linked, the 13" MacBook Air had higher GeekBench scores than a 2009 MacBook, but lower GeekBench scores than a mid-2007 MacBook Pro.

But again, it all comes down to what you want to do with the MacBook Air. If you're looking to get several years of gaming out of it, you may be disappointed. If you're mainly using productivity apps, you're fine.

I know people hate me saying this, but you can kind of compare the Air to a netbook. It's meant for portability and battery life.

 

[MBABuyer]

Plus, if you wait for another 1-2 months, you could very well see a MBA update.

For what I am using it for (no gaming), it would do nothing but improve. The SB MBA with thunderbolt will be a great machine

 

[fyrefly]

So I'm paying £1,300 for a thin, light, four year old MacBook Pro. Oh dear!

If you're looking completely at CPU benchmarks, and nothing else, then yes.

What are you planning on using the MBA for?

As everyone else has said, you need to wait if you can - we're probably about 4-6 weeks away from an update in the MBA line.

But regardless, the current MBA, when not used for highly CPU-taxing tasks "feels" lightening fast at booting, launching programs, etc...

I have an i5 iMac that gets 3 times the Geekbench numbers, but if I have to boot it up or launch a program, my MBA "feels" faster due to the SSD.