MacBook Air 2019

If you are wondering if the MacBook Air 2019 is for you, the student, the business owner, or the content creator, then here’s what I think.

The MacBook Air 2019. It’s light, it’s slim, it’s cheaper but not cheaper than competitors.

Will I buy it for myself? Will I buy it for my kids? Let’s find out.

Price

As at September 2019. US$1099/S$1599 (128GB), US$1299/S$1899 (256GB).

Specifications

• 13-inch 16:10 display
• Crisp Retina display featuring Apple’s True Tone display technology
• 2.8 pounds
• 0.2~0.6 inches thick
• Good battery life. Tested 8 hours.
• Ships with macOS Mojave
• Gold colorway looks slick, also available in the space gray and silver
• 2x thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports
• Headphone jack
• Stereo Speakers
• 720p 0.7-megapixel webcam
• 8th Gen Core i5-8210Y CPU
• 8GB of RAM
• 128GB of SSD storage
• Upgrades include 16GB of RAM for US$200
• No CPU upgrade option

Reviews

“Recommending a MacBook used to be easy: the original MacBook Air was great for everyone. It’s not as simple anymore, however, thanks to PCs getting better and Apple’s rising prices.” ~ https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/apple-macbook-air-2019

“While an excellent entry with a gorgeous new screen, the 2019 MacBook Air’s dual-core processor still feels underwhelming. Even with a lower entry price, it’s still expensive considering its light starting specification and expensive upgrades… there’s no easy way to open up the MacBook Air yourself and upgrade the SSD.” ~ https://www.techradar.com/sg/reviews/apple-macbook-air-2019

“The MacBook Air (2019) is a great option for light computing, and excellent for portable office work or students. Apple’s cheapest laptop doesn’t feel it at all – it’s a fast and capable machine. Just choose your amount of storage carefully… The processor appears a tad on the disappointing side for the price, compared to what you get elsewhere – the identically-priced HP Envy 13 gives you a quad-core processor – but HyperThreading means it can act like a quad-core processor, and it can boost its speed up to 3.6GHz for short tasks… It also holds onto battery really well when closed, so it can last several days if you’re just using it for little bits at a time… There are stereo speakers on either side of the keyboard that are really, surprisingly good.” ~ https://www.t3.com/reviews/macbook-air-2019-review

Comparisons

“…the MacBook Air’s Y-series Intel CPU is going to be great for some, but it’s not as speedy as U-series chips in PCs and the new 13-inch MacBook Pro… those who need to get serious work done are probably better off with the $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro… One thing I have to commend Apple for, even though it can be taken for granted, is the complete absence of bloatware on the Air. Many PCs can’t say the same about their set of pre-loaded applications… If you’re not tied to the Apple world (and you’re OK with a lower-res screen), look at the 1080p Dell XPS 13 we tested, which is faster, lasts longer and costs $100 less than our MacBook Air, at $1,199.” ~ https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/apple-macbook-air-2019

“The MacBook Air does get one over some rivals at similar prices here – you’ll often find them with 1920×1080 screens, so you get some extra sharpness from the Air.” ~ https://www.t3.com/reviews/macbook-air-2019-review

YouTube

Wishes

I wish the webcam can match the quality of the camera on the iPhone. At 720p, it’s crap.

I wish the screen aspect ratio is 16:9 instead of 16:10, so that I can capture screencasts without the black edges when rendered in HD 16:9.

Review, Specs, weight, price Singapore, accessories.

Worthy?

The screen resolution and the immersive stereo sound speakers are great for content consumers.

The poor quality 720p camera and low 128GB/256GB RAM makes it a bad choice for content creators.

So you think it’s great for students then? Yes, as a parent, I might consider the MacBook Air for my Kid.

So you think it’s great for the business user? I think not, because most business users I know have to create content every day.

Feel free to comment.

See you in the next one.

AdrianLee | AdrianVideoImage.com