Is i5 processor in new Macbook Air and step down from i7 in previous model?

[RichHI]

New Air looks to be perfect upgrade to current model. More Memory which I need for very large spreadsheets, More disk space which I need now I am downloading 4K from Itunes but I am concerned that the processor options do not allow for an i7 option. My current Air has an i7 of earlier range. Is there a downside to going for an i5 processor in new Air?

 

[ruka.snow]

I would wait to see the benchmarks for your applications. A newer i5 may outperform an older i7, but we need to wait for benchmarks. I will also add, you are never downloading 4k from iTunes, only streaming it.

 

[RichHI]

Thanks. Will do. I have just moved from recording my own avi's and mp4's to downloading HD 1080p content from itunes. I want to finish migration to 2160p and the new MacBook Air was to be part of that. If the limited amount of content is only available as streaming it drastically reduces its usefulness as I do a lot of watching on the road and hotel broadband is not always resilient enough to cope with 2160p streaming.

 

[ChrisChaval]

The CPU in the new MBA is a 7w Core i5-8210Y CPU which might well be at about the same CPU performance level as the i5 of the previous air .. graphics performance is a different beast

I do not expect it to outperform the i7, but benchmarks will tell

At that price point I would go for the 13 inch MB Pro