The computer that originally emerged from Steve Job's envelope, but a little quicker
- 9/10
- 949.00
- Buy MacBook Air from Apple
What we love...
- Superquick on top spec model
- Light and very portable
- Fantastic battery life
What we don't love...
- Screen isn't as good as retina
- Gets expensive on higher models
- Would like built-in 3G/4G
I’ve always had a thing about small portable laptops, the first one’s were lap breakers! Not really portable, battery life was poor but Sony managed to allow their Vaio range to break into the market. They did tiny laptops and they were usuable, that was until I tried to install Windows Vista on to it, but I really wanted Apple!
The first time the Apple Macbook Air came out I was blown away with how small it was, but the lack of superdrive, ports, firewire and a few other bits really did put me off. The first initial tests of the Macbook made it look very slow, slower than my older Mac Mini and I do use heavy software such as Photoshop and Illustrator.
However my previous Macbook Air, the 11″ version was given a boost when I bought it, I upgraded the Ram, Hard Drive and although the fan made itself known when doing batch exports on Lightroom, it coped well.
This time around and the 13″ MacBook has been ordered, I wanted a change and wanted a slightly larger screen. This time 8gb of Ram was specified along with a 512gb Hard Drive, 1.7ghz Processor and of course, some spare power adapters…
MacBook Air Overview...
I find setting Apple’s up a breeze, this was no exception. An Apple Time Machine in both my office and home meant that restoring where my 11″ Macbook Air left off, was easy. All I had to do was enter a few passwords and find my serial number for MS Office.
Creative Cloud downloaded the bits I need and away I went, within a few hours! The battery life on the 11″ was great, this thing was amazing! Lightroom usage was amazing, InDesign Usage was amazing! I love it! Finally a laptop thats light to carry around and powerful enough to do with my work.
(UPDATE- February 2015) – With Yosemite, my life is easier. I can now tether to my iPhone 6 just by using the drop down menu, I can use handoff to swap between apps on my iPhone and Macbook Air and my life is easier, well done Apple.
Additional Information...
The Macbook Air’s are coming down in price, Apple refresh their range often, but not too often. Where as this Macbook Air cost in excess of £1700, the same model can now be purchased for a little under £1500. Add Applecare, people think that extended warranties are a waste of money, but when it comes to Applecare I wouldn’t. Not only does it cover you for accidental damage, warranty for the full 3 years, but selected accessories too, including keyboards and even my old time capsule.
Also, these new Macbook Air’s have the new MagSafe 2 – So adapters will be needed at £10 a pop to use any old power supplies, I have got 5 of these on order as they are small (Update Feb 2015 – These adapters are no longer available).
Enjoy the Macbook Air, if you really don’t need the power of a Macbook Pro – go for one of these, they are so much easier to take around, have built in SD card readers and great battery life, they don’t have retina displays but thats not a big thing!
What Would Go Well With It...
My list here would be endless! Depends on how you are going to use the Macbook Air. If you use it both in the office and on the go, then have a look at a Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock from Belkin, it allows you a single connection from the Macbook to a range of accessories, it has HDMI, USB 3 and a few other bits.
A nice case, I opted for the Cocoon Backpack with a nice patented cable tidy. It has lots of straps to hold all of those thunderbolt cables, lightning cables and usb leads. Plenty of space for my Macbook and a few other files.
Last but not least! An iPhone 6 or equivalent, to use all of those handoff features and tethering via the Three Network. Makes life so much easier!
Disclaimer...
Unfortunately for us, we’ve got no affiliation with Apple or its connected businesses. This particular model was purchased directly from Apple UK and reviewed because its our hobby. Clicking links on this website, may result in us getting a small commission or kickback.
