I’m a fan of Apple’s operating system and software, so I am not writing this post out of PC bias. The Macbook Air has been extremely popular over the years, and it’s by far, the most common laptop I see on my campus. Its success was with good reason: 5 years ago, it was a light portable laptop with reliability great build quality. But since then, Apple (as of 2017) has not made any major changes to the formula and many competitors emerged.
For $1000 in 2017, the Macbook Air is a low to mid-range laptop at a high-range price.
- The processor and graphics are strong enough for most tasks, but not for intensive apps.
- The display is lacking modern advances in contrast and color gamut. The display panel is comparable to a $300 laptop’s.
- The 900p display resolution results in less workspace for multitasking compared to the standard 1080p full HD.
- 128 GB SSD storage is small and most laptops in this range have 250+.
- The storage/processor can be upgraded by Apple, but at $1200-1400, you may as well buy a Macbook Pro.
Macbook Air is in a catch 22. At just a few hundred more, the 2015 Macbook Pro is a better deal. But If you’re just looking for basic tasks browsing/streaming/office, you can get the same specs with a better display for $500 or less.