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2013 MacBook Air: Nice Machine Overall
The lateste MacBook Air deserves some praise for its (claimed) awesome battery life as well as the move to ultra-high-speed internal PCIe-based flash store. I could almost see using one if I didn’t already have my 2.7 GHz MacBook Pro with Retina display, but three key things hold me back:
- Retina display option. I won’t buy an Air until it has a Retina display; the MBPR has spoiled me forever.
- 8GB memory limit. Just not enough for me.
- Even the fastest CPU is too slow for my big images (1.7 GHz vs 2.7 GHz for the MBPR), and it’s dual core, not quad-core.
Given that the new type of flash in the MacBook Pro Air is only made by Apple (for now and probably for at least several months), it makes sense to pay for the 512GB upgrade if 256GB might be too tight.
My recommended MacBook Air configuration includes the faster CPU and the 8GB option. However, the slower CPU will be fine for email and web browsing. The flash storage is fine at 256GB for some users, but in context the not unreasonable upcharge for 512GB makes a lot of sense.
B&H Photo has the MacBook Air available for pre-order.
