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The "I just bought/ordered/got/shipped my new/refurb MBA" thread, [Merged]
- Thread starter kfscoll
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It can look a *bit* pinkish at certain angles but most of the time it has a copper hue.
I checked it out last night at Micro Center and it's definitely a copper color. I didn't like it at all. But to each their own.
Just ditched my 2018 13'' Touch Bar MacBook Pro and got the brand new MacBook Air. I was feeling like I had to have the latest MacBook on the market (so materialistic...) and this one was impossible not to fall in love with. Since I am not a "pro" user (no 3D renderings, no video or professional photo editing and stuff) and all I do is media consumption, text processing and e-mails I think this Mac will suit my needs perfectly.
I was undecided between the silver and the gold finish but the latter looked more like copper than actual gold so I went with the classic, timeless silver. Everyone seems to be getting everything in space gray these days going by the reviews on YouTube. Well, here are some pics of this beauty right after unboxing.
I was undecided between the silver and the gold finish but the latter looked more like copper than actual gold so I went with the classic, timeless silver. Everyone seems to be getting everything in space gray these days going by the reviews on YouTube. Well, here are some pics of this beauty right after unboxing.
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I'm happy. It has a lot of the features I loved about the Pro like the same keyboard (unlike many I absolutely love the butterfly switches), Force Touch trackpad, same display resolution, and the sound is just as great. I can tell that the display is less bright and I miss True Tone when reading though. Overall it's quite good and has been handling just as fine my everyday "non-pro" work flow.
From video's I've seen online the new Air seems speedy, there's a video where someone opens all the apps, it looked very speedy. A lot of people will be happy with this machine, there is more bank for the buck with the Macbook Pro range, but if you don't need that much performance then it's a waste.
As for the screen, there are a lot of posts about it, i'd guess that most people who buy it are going to be fine, general consumers probably won't notice the difference and that's who this is aimed at, along with students.
I have been very happy with mine so far too since I've had it. Obviously everyone is different though and look for different things in their laptops. When I first came here I was mainly asking for advice on whether I should keep the 12" MB I had just received or return and get the MBA that had just been announced. People gave me great advice and in the end I looked at the things that were most important to me and made my decision based on that. I even considered both models of MBP but for my main needs, the MBA was really the best compromise of everything available.
I spend 90% of my time looking at a white background(emails, spreadsheets, reports, web browsing) so graphics and display were never as high on the priority list for me. Coming from an older MBP that benchmarked roughly 30% less that ran everything I needed fine, I knew the processor on the MBA would be good enough and honestly I've not even heard the fan or felt it get hot since I've got it. For me it's felt fast for my needs and it's zipped though everything with no problems at all. Battery life has been great, the Touch ID has been awesome and I have no personal problems with the brightness or display that would warrant me sending it back. For others who mainly work with photo and video editing, that would be a completely different story though and I wouldn't recommend the MBA for that.
One thing I didn't know how much I'd love or appreciate is the wedge shape. I don't know if it's they way I type and how I rest my wrists but the tapering makes it so much more comfortable for me to use than my old MBP. Since I spend most of my day typing on the keyboard it actually makes quite a difference to me and is now always going to be a consideration going forward. I also even like the keyboard, so go figure! After reading so many negative comments about these new butterfly keyboards I was terrified of what it was going to be like but it wasn't bad at all and didn't take me long to adjust (maybe this makes me a a bad reviewer though since so many people hate it lol).
Maybe tomorrow something will change and I'll feel differently but as of right now my experience has only been positive.
That would be a BIG thing for me too, since writing is my living and something i do for hours a day, comfort and a decent keyboard is important to me! i have tested out the butterfly keyboard, both in store and on a friends Macbook Pro when he got the 2016 one, i seemed to be able to type better without missing keys since when compared to the older style keyboard which didn't seem as big.
I haven't noticed any speed difference to my previous 2018 13'' MBP doing the stuff I usually do which involve apps such as Safari, Pages, Keynote, Photos, Mail (and I always keep Messages and Apple Music open).
I guess I did notice it because I was coming from a 500-nit MBP.
I also find it easier to hold than the Pro. Feels more natural. The tapered chassis adapts better to my hands.
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See now you’re selling it too me haha,
that’s mostly what apps I use (Safari, Pages, Mail, Apple Music) as well as Pixelmator Pro which runs great even on my 2012 iMac, (it’s not a power hungry app in other words).Agreed! I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but having that thinner front makes it so much easier for me to pick up and hold too. My older MBP was thicker (even compared to current MBP's) so that could also be a factor but I really notice the difference now.
See now you’re selling it too me haha,
The wedge shape of the MBA is awesome, and sounds like your are the same kind of user as Big Apple. Buy it and try a 2018 and return it if you don't like. I don't think you will as you sound like a perfect MBA person too. Rocking the 2012 MBA and love it everyday. I am the kind of person that doesn't even mind the screen resolution of the old one. Maybe because I have never had a retina before. Can't wait to get one in the distant future!
Good luck with your decision! Or have you already got one, congratulations I think
So i ended up purchasing the 256 GB model in space grey on Friday. I was so enamored by the whole thing in the store the night before including the keyboard that I honestly really love so far. I didn't NEED it but my old Air the 2017 model with 256 SSD is a few months old and I've taken care of it so I figure it should still resell for a decent price. Anyway I loved the machine but noticed earlier this afternoon that it had a dead pixel almost right in the center of the display. I could've tried to take care of it on my own but I figured for a machine that's 3 days old at this price I shouldn't have to do that. So I took it back to the Apple Store near me and they swapped it out and I went with the classic silver model which I wanted in the first place. Hopefully no issues come up with this one in the next few weeks. I had a 2012 Macbook Pro for a few years but I didn't care for the display and CD Drive, downgraded to the 2015 Macbook base model which I hated everything except for the display, sold that for the 2017 Macbook Air which I loved but that display. So I THINK this will be the computer for me for the next few years.
The wedge shape of the MBA is awesome, and sounds like your are the same kind of user as Big Apple. Buy it and try a 2018 and return it if you don't like. I don't think you will as you sound like a perfect MBA person too. Rocking the 2012 MBA and love it everyday. I am the kind of person that doesn't even mind the screen resolution of the old one. Maybe because I have never had a retina before. Can't wait to get one in the distant future!
Good luck with your decision! Or have you already got one, congratulations I think
Yea that's what i'm thinking, I have thought about getting a Macbook Pro but what's the point if i'm not going to use the performance it would just be a waste. Sometime soon i'm planning on going to the Apple store and checking out the new Air in person, if i like i will order online. I want to see the gold in person as well so i can make a decision whether that's the colour i want, or space grey
Yea that's what i'm thinking, I have thought about getting a Macbook Pro but what's the point if i'm not going to use the performance it would just be a waste. Sometime soon i'm planning on going to the Apple store and checking out the new Air in person, if i like i will order online. I want to see the gold in person as well so i can make a decision whether that's the colour i want, or space grey
Even though I am not in the market for one at this point in time. I want one in the future so I was passing a Best Buy anyway while running errands so I stopped by to look at the rMBA I guess is how you shorten it. I thought maybe I might want a Gold in the future and that is what was on display sitting right next to the none retina MBA like my 2012, and I guess a 2015 ( I have no idea last time they updated it ). If you are thinking about the color's I would go in a store if you can and look at it in person. I like the Gold but I think I want the Space Grey in the future, only because I have had Silver since 2012 and probably won't upgrade for a few more years ( wanting the price to get back down to $999, might never happen ), and at first I was like I don't get the Retina display looking at them side by side, UNTIL I started opening the exact same app's on each machine, the Retina looked really, really crisp, etc... as it should. I opened iTunes, Garage Band, sounds weird but it has all those wave forms that look great on the rMBA! I use both my USB ports at times and really like the magnetic power adapter on my 2012. But, just like companies dropping the CD/DVD players and people freaked, we will all get used to it.
Best of luck, for sure go in store and look! Well worth it, unless you don't have a store that carries Apple products in your area!
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How do you like so far, and good think you got it swapped out quickly!
Good luck!
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Oh yeah! I'm glad that didn't happen after the two week return period. I love this thing! It's so light and small but the screen is still big enough and I really hope this keyboard can last me. It's an absolute joy to type on. I can't really comment too much on things like battery life since I've only had it for two days but so far it seems to be lasting well. I don't have an issue with the screen brightness and really the display is perfectly fine for me. I know some say it's not as good as the macbook pro but it's fine for what I'm using it for. We'll see if anything changes over the course of the next week or so. One thing I haven't tested on my old air or my new air and that's editing on GarageBand. Can anyone comment on performance in terms of editing things on there? Can the air handle it? I'm talking about like spoken audio not like a full on audio track.
Thank you. I’m trying to decide if I should spend the extra money to get the 16gb. Do you find it adequate for your usage? I mainly surf the web, backup photos and music. I’m thinking 8 will be enough, but I want it to last me several years.
My usage is similar to yours. 8 is enough in my opinion. I haven't had any problem so far. Everything is running smoothly.
I hated giving up my 11” MBA, and that was probably a mistake. I had the “ultimate” with the i7, 512GB SSD and all 8 gigs of RAM. I just couldn’t handle the subpar display any longer.
Anyway, I’ve been looking for a travel laptop; my 2016 15” MBP is just too big and too heavy for long-distance travel, especially when I’m packing a camera and a couple of lenses as well.
I had ordered a refurb 13” quad core MBP and found it - believe it or not -disappointingly sluggish. I also couldn’t find an appreciable difference between the 13” and 15” in terms of size and weight. There was a difference, but it was not enough to justify the purchase. I returned the refurb.
I finally ordered the space gray MBA with 16GB and a 512GB SSD. Thus far, I’m impressed. I can tell that I’m not picking up my big MBP. I’m still an Air fan and I enjoy the wedge, which seems to debulk the machine. The new MBA fits my Harber London sleeve I’ve had for some years.
I quite like the keyboard, and the screen is bright enough for my usage. I’m sure I won’t be head over heels about this new machine like I was with my 11”, but I hope it will fill my travel needs for a few years.
Anyway, I’ve been looking for a travel laptop; my 2016 15” MBP is just too big and too heavy for long-distance travel, especially when I’m packing a camera and a couple of lenses as well.
I had ordered a refurb 13” quad core MBP and found it - believe it or not -disappointingly sluggish. I also couldn’t find an appreciable difference between the 13” and 15” in terms of size and weight. There was a difference, but it was not enough to justify the purchase. I returned the refurb.
I finally ordered the space gray MBA with 16GB and a 512GB SSD. Thus far, I’m impressed. I can tell that I’m not picking up my big MBP. I’m still an Air fan and I enjoy the wedge, which seems to debulk the machine. The new MBA fits my Harber London sleeve I’ve had for some years.
I quite like the keyboard, and the screen is bright enough for my usage. I’m sure I won’t be head over heels about this new machine like I was with my 11”, but I hope it will fill my travel needs for a few years.
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