Apple today announced its new MacBook Air lineup. The new notebooks feature a scissor-switch Magic Keyboard, faster processors, expanded storage, and a new lower base price of $999, and $899 for education.
The new Air models now start with 256GB of storage, offering double the storage of the previous lineup’s base model. Up to a 2TB SSD is available, double the previous maximum storage.
The new MacBook Air boasts a 13-inch Retina display, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, and a large trackpad.
“From students and consumers buying their first computer to customers looking to upgrade, everyone loves the Mac, and they especially love MacBook Air. Today we’re giving it a huge update, with two times faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, double the storage, a new lower price of $999 and an even lower price of $899 for education,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing. “With its stunning, thin and light design, brilliant Retina display, all-day battery life and the power and ease-of-use of macOS, MacBook Air is the world’s best consumer notebook.”
Apple says the new notebooks are powered by the latest 10th-generation Intel Core processors up to 1.2GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.8GHz, delivering up to two times faster performance when compared to the previous generation. Intel Iris Plus Graphics delivers up to 80% faster graphics performance.
MacBook Air now includes the same Magic Keyboard as the 16-inch MacBook Pro. A redesigned scissor mechanism delivers 1mm of key travel for a comfortable and stable key feel, with a new inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys.
MacBook Air’s unibody wedge design made from 100% recycled aluminum and comes in three finishes — gold, silver, and space gray.
MacBook Air comes with the Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple’s own custom-designed second-generation silicon, which checks that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with and provides on-the-fly data encryption for everything stored on the SSD.
Additional Features
- A three-mic array for more clear voice capture for FaceTime calls with friends and family.
- The industry-best Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and multi-touch navigation.
- Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and video output in a single connector.
- Support for up to a 6K external display, a first for MacBook Air.
- Advanced stereo speakers for immersive, wide stereo sound for activities like watching Apple TV+ content or playing games in Apple Arcade.
Mac mini Also Updated Today
Whether they are using it as a desktop computer, a music and movie storage hub for the family, or as a code compile server for Xcode, customers love Mac mini. The standard configurations of Mac mini now come with double the storage capacity. The $799 configuration now comes standard with 256GB, while the $1,099 configuration features 512GB of storage, and every Mac mini is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum.
Pricing and Availability
Starting at $999, and $899 for education, the new MacBook Air is available to order starting today on apple.com and in the Apple Store app. MacBook Air will be available in stores starting next week. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available online at apple.com/mac.
