Apple has lifted the embargo on reviews of the new 2018 MacBook Air. The thin notebook will be released tomorrow November 7th.
You can find a roundup of reviews from across the web below. Click here to learn more about the new 13-inch MacBook Air.
Verge:
If you were hoping that lightning would strike twice and this new MacBook Air would be as revolutionary as the old MacBook Air, well, it’s not. It’s basically a MacBook that finally includes all of the stuff that has been happening with laptops for the past few years. It is on par with the rest of the laptop world, but it hasn’t moved beyond it. Sometimes that means the fan is going to spin up on you.
TechCrunch:
There’s no doubt the new Air marks a sizable update. It’s pricier, too, though Apple’s kept things more in check here than with the Mac Mini. With all of its upgrades and lower price point to boot, the Air is the clear pick over the 12-inch MacBook in practically every way. As a matter of fact, barring some major future upgrade, the 12-inch likely isn’t long for this world. And that’s perfectly fine. The new Air is very clearly the better buy.
Wired:
Apple has heard the calls for a newer, better MacBook Air, and it has answered. Thank goodness for that. But one might get the sneaking suspicion, as she stares at the gorgeous, liquid-looking display of this new machine, that such a laptop could have arrived two years ago. Or more. The new MacBook Air is not pure innovation; it's an incantation composed to make you think it is.
CNET:
The new model has such sweeping overall design, usability and component upgrades that it's certainly worth at least $200 more than the old one. It's just a shame that right as the MacBook Air is again one of the most universally useful laptops you can buy, it's that much more of a reach for potential owners.
Daring Fireball
A lot of people are looking at the lineup as it stands today thinking they must be missing something, because it seems obvious that most people looking for a MacBook in this price range should buy the new MacBook Air. They’re not missing anything. The new Air is exactly that: the MacBook most people should buy, and exactly the MacBook everyone has been asking Apple to make.
AppleInsider:
MacBook Air is an enticing machine. It fits squarely between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, with tradeoffs of course. If you opted for the MacBook with a Retina screen instead, you'd be getting a much less powerful machine, no Touch ID, and a single USB-C rather than dual Thunderbolt 3. However, it is smaller and cheaper than the Air. On the other end of the scale, if you chose the MacBook Pro then that's more expensive and heavier, but it comes packed with two more Thunderbolt 3 ports and better performance.
MacWorld
If you’re familiar with the 12-inch MacBook, using the new MacBook Air makes it immediately obvious that this is a slightly updated and scaled-up version of that model, with the “Air” name attached. If you’ve been waiting for years for Apple to finally re-imagine the MacBook Air in a way that will once again revolutionize the thin-and-light laptop market, you’re going to be disappointed to find that it has only been brought up to the standards of other modern Mac laptops, with all the good and bad that goes with that.
You can find a roundup of reviews from across the web below. Click here to learn more about the new 13-inch MacBook Air.
Verge:
If you were hoping that lightning would strike twice and this new MacBook Air would be as revolutionary as the old MacBook Air, well, it’s not. It’s basically a MacBook that finally includes all of the stuff that has been happening with laptops for the past few years. It is on par with the rest of the laptop world, but it hasn’t moved beyond it. Sometimes that means the fan is going to spin up on you.
TechCrunch:
There’s no doubt the new Air marks a sizable update. It’s pricier, too, though Apple’s kept things more in check here than with the Mac Mini. With all of its upgrades and lower price point to boot, the Air is the clear pick over the 12-inch MacBook in practically every way. As a matter of fact, barring some major future upgrade, the 12-inch likely isn’t long for this world. And that’s perfectly fine. The new Air is very clearly the better buy.
Wired:
Apple has heard the calls for a newer, better MacBook Air, and it has answered. Thank goodness for that. But one might get the sneaking suspicion, as she stares at the gorgeous, liquid-looking display of this new machine, that such a laptop could have arrived two years ago. Or more. The new MacBook Air is not pure innovation; it's an incantation composed to make you think it is.
CNET:
The new model has such sweeping overall design, usability and component upgrades that it's certainly worth at least $200 more than the old one. It's just a shame that right as the MacBook Air is again one of the most universally useful laptops you can buy, it's that much more of a reach for potential owners.
Daring Fireball
A lot of people are looking at the lineup as it stands today thinking they must be missing something, because it seems obvious that most people looking for a MacBook in this price range should buy the new MacBook Air. They’re not missing anything. The new Air is exactly that: the MacBook most people should buy, and exactly the MacBook everyone has been asking Apple to make.
AppleInsider:
MacBook Air is an enticing machine. It fits squarely between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, with tradeoffs of course. If you opted for the MacBook with a Retina screen instead, you'd be getting a much less powerful machine, no Touch ID, and a single USB-C rather than dual Thunderbolt 3. However, it is smaller and cheaper than the Air. On the other end of the scale, if you chose the MacBook Pro then that's more expensive and heavier, but it comes packed with two more Thunderbolt 3 ports and better performance.
MacWorld
If you’re familiar with the 12-inch MacBook, using the new MacBook Air makes it immediately obvious that this is a slightly updated and scaled-up version of that model, with the “Air” name attached. If you’ve been waiting for years for Apple to finally re-imagine the MacBook Air in a way that will once again revolutionize the thin-and-light laptop market, you’re going to be disappointed to find that it has only been brought up to the standards of other modern Mac laptops, with all the good and bad that goes with that.