Upgrade MacBook Air?

[Ironhead1428]

My current MacBook Air is a 2013. I use it everyday for work and travel all over with it. It is mainly used for excel, word, PowerPoint, web browsing, you tube, listening to music and watching videos, etc. I want a new one but wonder if I will see any performance improvements or if I just want a shiny new toy. The specs for my current one are below. My question: will I see performance improvements with what I use it for the bulk of the time or should I stick with what I have until there are real problems other than my impatience?
2013 Air, 1.3GHz dual core I5, 4 GB memory1600Mhz DDR3, Intel graphics 5000 1536 MB

 

[glenthompson]

Activity Monitor is your friend in assessing this. Run it during your normal activities and see how the processor and memory are doing. With 4gb of memory you might be seeing memory pressure problems. How full is your SSD? That can have an effect on performance too.

 

[Ironhead1428]

Thanks. How do I check the SSD?

 

[0128672]

Thanks. How do I check the SSD?

Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.

Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.

Free up storage space on Mac - Apple Support

Use any of these solutions to make more storage space available.

support.apple.com

 

[Boyd01]

I also have a 2013 MacBook Air, but mine is the 11" model with the i7 processor, 512gb SSD and 8gb RAM. It has been a great little computer and runs "everyday" software just fine - Safari, Mail, Office 365, FileMaker Pro, Photoshop, etc. I really don't need a laptop anymore though, so I upgraded to a top spec Mac Mini. That is a much more powerful machine that lets me do more advanced things and I'm very pleased with it. However, those "everyday" programs feel pretty much the same for typical tasks.

In your case, the 4gb RAM is probably your biggest limitation (also possible the SSD, since you don't say what size you have). But you don't list any complaints about how your computer performs, you just wonder if a new one will be better. Do you need it to be better? I don't see much reason to upgrade quite yet, unless you want a "shiny new toy" and have disposable money to spend. Might be worth waiting a bit to see what the new ARM laptops look like.

Battery Likely for New MacBook Air Again Spotted in Certification Listings

Rumors suggest an updated MacBook Air could be launching sooner rather than later, and we've already seen certifications for a possible MacBook...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Ironhead1428]

Looks like I have 130GB of the 250 GB available. But in the activity monitor memory section, it says Physical memory of 4GB and 3.15 of it is used. That sounds like a lot used, yes?

 

[Boyd01]

4gb RAM really isn't enough anymore. But MacOS has virtual memory, which "swaps" data between the SSD and RAM when there isn't enough room in physical memory. I got my first MacBook Air in 2011 and was really impressed by how well this works (4gb was the maximum RAM you could get back then). With an old computer that has a spinning hard disk, swapping basically brings the system to its knees. But the SSD is so fast, you may not even be aware this is happening. And the 2013 MacBook Air has an even faster SSD than the 2011.

This is also related to what version of MacOS you're running. 4gb RAM was considered plenty back in the days of MacOS Lion for example. Some people feel that Mavericks is the newest version you should use on these older machines. But (IIRC) High Sierra is the oldest system that Apple currently supports with security updates.

So, I think it comes back to what I mentioned above. Are you unhappy with the way your 2013 MBA performs? What kinds of problems are you having? If everything works well, this might not be a good time to upgrade since Apple will soon roll out the all-new ARM line of Macs and the MacBook Air is rumored to be one of the first, possibly arriving in the next few months. Even if you don't want one of these, there may be some better prices on current models.

I think there's no question that a new Mac with 8gb (or, even better, 16gb) will perform better. However, the question is... do you really need better performance for the kinds of things you do?

 

[Ironhead1428]

Thank you so much for the feedback. It works fine, it just feels slow to me. But I am impatient, I like new toys, some of it could be network issues and not the machine itself.

 

[Boyd01]

Well... I got a new MacBook Air for my granddaughter a couple months ago (really for the whole family, but she uses it the most). She is beyond thrilled with it. I previously gave then a 2018 MacBook Air and they loved that too... until "somebody" spilled a glass of water on it. But that's another story. ?

Anyway, they like the new one even more - especially the keyboard. The 2013 MBA has a very nice keyboard though, but for awhile Apple was using their much-criticized butterfly keyboard on the MBA. This was updated to the new "magic keyboard" in 2020.

So, I'm sure you'd find a 2020 MBA a nice upgrade. But ask yourself.... will you wish you'd waited if Apple rolls out the all-new MacBook Air with their own processor a couple months later? The new machines could have much better battery life and performance. The new processors could have a variety of issues though, I try to avoid the first version of new Apple products myself.

 

[glenthompson]

Looks like I have 130GB of the 250 GB available. But in the activity monitor memory section, it says Physical memory of 4GB and 3.15 of it is used. That sounds like a lot used, yes?

There should be a graph showing memory pressure at the bottom of the screen. If that’s all green then no severe memory problems. If you have more memory than needed it gets used for caches.

 

[AdIonascu]

I agree with some other previous oppinion: you do not have to change the computer yet! Pay attention to battery also, a consumed battery can affect dramaticaly the performance. You can use coconut batteryy to check, a 80% or more indicate a good battery life. Do not be afraid to reinstall the OS (backup your important data first), a clean OS (not upgrade the old one) will be always helpful.

 

[ctddallas]

My wife has a 2013 MacBook Air that is used mostly for word processing and internet browsing, nothing high end, and the logic board just died. Should I pay the $499 to get that repaired, or just bite the bullet and get a new 2020 model (~$1,500)?

If I get the new one, I'd be upgrading the hard drive from a 256 GB (that's currently full) to the 1 TB, and increasing the RAM from the 4 GB to the 8 GB. That's obviously an improvement on the specs, but how much difference would she see in typical low-end functions?

As more of a hands-on PC guy, I don't know much about Apple products. Is the 2013 MacBook Air upgradeable by a professional with a bigger SSD hard drive and more RAM? Or is it stuck with whatever it came from the factory? Are there any recent upgrades that are aesthetically noteworthy? How's the new keyboard work? Anything else that might sell me on buying the new one instead of just fixing the old one? I'm not big on buying the new shiny just because it's new and shiny, but I'm willing to shell out for a quality upgrade when I'm getting my money's worth. I shopped around on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and I didn't see any MacBook Air discounts, only some minor promotions for the MacBook Pro, and my wife doesn't want all that with the larger size and added weight.

Obviously, this is entirely subjective. I'm just wondering what the forum's thoughts are on the topic.

TL; DR: Is the 2013 MacBook Air still relevant & worth repairing the logic board?

 

[circatee]

My wife has a 2013 MacBook Air that is used mostly for word processing and internet browsing, nothing high end, and the logic board just died. Should I pay the $499 to get that repaired, or just bite the bullet and get a new 2020 model (~$1,500)?

If I get the new one, I'd be upgrading the hard drive from a 256 GB (that's currently full) to the 1 TB, and increasing the RAM from the 4 GB to the 8 GB. That's obviously an improvement on the specs, but how much difference would she see in typical low-end functions?

As more of a hands-on PC guy, I don't know much about Apple products. Is the 2013 MacBook Air upgradeable by a professional with a bigger SSD hard drive and more RAM? Or is it stuck with whatever it came from the factory?

Obviously, this is entirely subjective. I'm just wondering what the forum's thoughts are on the topic.

TL; DR: Is the 2013 MacBook Air still relevant & worth repairing the logic board?

Merely my opinion. But, if the idea is to keep the unit long term, I'd purchase 16GB memory. As for storage, depending on how you use your data, I would simply add external storage, for less used data. Thus, making the unit cheaper initially...

 

[Boyd01]

Is the 2013 MacBook Air upgradeable by a professional with a bigger SSD hard drive and more RAM? Or is it stuck with whatever it came from the factory?

The SSD can be upgraded, but not the RAM. 4gb is not much for Apple's recent versions of MacOS, but may be enough for your use. Macs use virtual memory, so when 4gb isn't enough then data is "swapped" to the SSD. With an old hard drive based computer, that would bring things to a crawl. With a SSD, you might not even notice in light usage.

I wouldn't spend $500 to fix a 2013 MacBook Air, and it sounds like the storage is no longer adequate for you anyway, so that would be another cost to upgrade.

The recently-intoduced "M1" MacBook Air uses Apple's brand new custom processor and should be much faster and have longer battery life than the Intel MacBook Air from earlier in 2020. There could be compatibility issues with old software because it runs that in emulation mode, maybe not an issue for your use. But if you have any old 32-bit software, that won't run on the new M1 and it won't even run on new Intel Macs that have either Catalina or Big Sur pre-installed.

The keyboard on the 2020 Intel MacBook Air is nice and AFAIK the new M1 MacBook Air is the same. You may still find deals on the 2019 MacBook Air, but it has the older-style keyboard that has been criticized a lot.

 

[tphan91]

TL; DR: Is the 2013 MacBook Air still relevant & worth repairing the logic board?

You can buy a good used Macbook Air of the same model on eBay. Then remove its logic board and install that into your wife's MBA. If you have experience taking apart PC, I think you can handle this job easily.

 

[ZacksWorld]

The Macbook Air is due for a refresh, probably this year, and honestly if you can afford it I definitely think you should upgrade to the base model of whatever new MBA comes out – it will feel like lightning compared to what you have now, plus have a better screen, etc.

Of course, if it's a stretch financially then you have to factor that in, but if you can swing it: do it!

I upgraded my laptop from a 2015 MBP to the new M1 Macbook Air as soon as it came out and I couldn't be happier – the new machine is silent, faster, crisper, colder, sleeker, shinier, and has a way better screen, plus: battery life!

 

[Lwii2boo]

The Macbook Air is due for a refresh, probably this year, and honestly if you can afford it I definitely think you should upgrade to the base model of whatever new MBA comes out – it will feel like lightning compared to what you have now, plus have a better screen, etc.

Of course, if it's a stretch financially then you have to factor that in, but if you can swing it: do it!

I upgraded my laptop from a 2015 MBP to the new M1 Macbook Air as soon as it came out and I couldn't be happier – the new machine is silent, faster, crisper, colder, sleeker, shinier, and has a way better screen, plus: battery life!

Depends, if the next base model is again only equipped with 256 GB SSD and 8 GB unified memory, upgrade to 512 GB / 16 GB can be a wise choice too, depending on upgrade cost and user's needs ofc.
Generally speaking current MBA M1 is a superb machine for its price but unified memory at 16 GB is the best upgrade I could recommend for this machine since it's the spec (At 8 GB) that can be first a bottleneck during laptop's life