Apple Announces the 2020 MacBook Air

[btarunr]

Apple today updated MacBook Air, the world's most loved notebook, with faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999, and $899 for education. The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance, letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games. Now starting with 256 GB of storage, MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. With its brilliant 13-inch Retina display for vivid images and sharp text, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life combined with the power of macOS Catalina, it's the best MacBook Air ever made.

"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."



Faster Everyday Performance
Offering quad-core processors for the first time, MacBook Air now delivers even more speed across everyday activities, from organizing photos and creating presentations to editing videos. Featuring the latest 10th-generation Intel Core processors up to 1.20 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.80 GHz, MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster performance when compared to the previous generation. And with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, MacBook Air now delivers up to 80 percent faster graphics performance, so graphics-intensive activities like playing games and editing video are faster than ever.

New Magic Keyboard
MacBook Air now features the new Magic Keyboard, first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. A redesigned scissor mechanism delivers 1 mm of key travel for a comfortable and stable key feel, while the new inverted-"T" arrangement for the arrow keys makes them easier to find without looking down. MacBook Air features a stunning unibody wedge design made from 100 percent recycled aluminium and comes in three finishes — gold, silver and space gray. The 13-inch Retina display delivers over 4 million pixels and millions of colors, so whether customers are reading an email, enjoying a movie or editing their photos, text is razor sharp and images are more true to life.

Double the Storage
MacBook Air now starts with 256 GB of storage, double that of the previous generation, so customers can store even more movies, photos and files. And for those who need even more storage capacity, MacBook Air offers up to a 2 TB SSD, double the previous maximum storage.

Built-in Security and Privacy
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. This allows MacBook Air and any Mac with the T2 chip to deliver the most secure boot process and storage of any notebook. The T2 also protects Touch ID information, so whether customers are unlocking their Mac, entering an online password or making online purchases, their information stays safe.

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.

macOS Catalina
Every new MacBook Air comes with macOS Catalina, the latest version of the world's most advanced desktop operating system. macOS has always been at the core of the Mac experience, and with apps like Safari, Mail, Photos, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, customers have powerful tools to do amazing things. macOS also makes MacBook Air the perfect companion device to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with built-in Continuity features that allow users to make and receive phone calls without picking up their iPhone; automatically unlock their Mac with Apple Watch; copy and paste images, video and text straight from iPhone or iPad to a nearby Mac; and in macOS Catalina, extend the workspace of their Mac using an iPad and Sidecar. Security features keep users better protected and Voice Control lets users control their Mac entirely with their voice.

Updates coming to Pages, Numbers and Keynote offer a variety of new features aimed at unleashing creativity, improving productivity and enhancing collaboration. A wide selection of gorgeous new templates in Pages and Keynote gives users a head start on creating beautiful documents and, for the first time in iWork, users can add a drop cap to make a paragraph stand out with a large, decorative first letter. Collaboration will also become easier than ever with support for iCloud folder sharing and the ability to edit shared documents while offline.

Apple Services
Customers can also enjoy Apple services right on their MacBook Air, including new Mac versions of the Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV apps, as well as Apple News. Apple Arcade is available through the Mac App Store, bringing 100+ new and exclusive games to Mac customers. And for a limited time, customers who purchase a new MacBook Air can enjoy one year of Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app for free.4

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 256 GB, while the $1,099 configuration features 512 GB of storage, and every Mac mini is made from 100 percent recycled aluminium.

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.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Flanker]

The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance, letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games.

Is that comparing to the 2019 MacBook Air or ...?

 

[notb]

Is that comparing to the 2019 MacBook Air or ...?

Yes, from the last model. It had a dual-core i5-8210Y.
New one can be had with a quad-core i5 (Ice Lake Y).

 

[ebivan]

It means they put in quad cores

 

[Flanker]

Yes, from the last model. It had a dual-core i5-8210Y.
New one can be had with a quad-core i5 (Ice Lake Y).

Ah, that explains the "Offering quad-core processors for the first time." Which is a little shocking, guess I haven't been paying attention to Apple products lately

 

[Rahnak]

Still not ARM based. Maybe next year, haha.

 

[notb]

Ah, that explains the "Offering quad-core processors for the first time." Which is a little shocking, guess I haven't been paying attention to Apple products lately

It's an -Y CPU and Apple correctly assumed 2 faster cores are better than 4 slower running under 10W.
Macbooks Pro come with up to 8 cores (i9-9880H)

 

[Object55]

For all the plebs, heres your new facebook machine.

 

[Vayra86]

Struggling to see the point of this. Its a very, VERY expensive web browsing device.

 

[GlacierNine]

Struggling to see the point of this. Its a very, VERY expensive web browsing device.

Yeah. 1.2GHz base frequency Quad Core? It's never going to get *anywhere near* that 3.8GHz boost and we all know it.

 

[Rahnak]

Yeah. 1.2GHz base frequency Quad Core? It's never going to get *anywhere near* that 3.8GHz boost and we all know it.

It'll probably get there in spikes. When you open an application, for example. And on a device like this, that's really when you need it the most, to be honest. This is made for web browsing and office work.
At my previous job there was a person that had the original thin and light Macbook that was super expensive and had one of those early Y cpus. Never heard her complain or show any frustration at using the machine so it was probably fine.

 

[notb]

Struggling to see the point of this. Its a very, VERY expensive web browsing device.

Shame on millions of programmers, scientists, analysts, photographers and students.
Shame! Shame!

 

[Rahnak]

Shame on millions of programmers, scientists, analysts, photographers and students.
Shame! Shame!

All of the above, except the students would (should, at least) use the Pro.

 

[ShurikN]

Shame on millions of programmers, scientists, analysts, photographers and students.
Shame! Shame!

Almost none of them use Air. Regular MacBook, sure.

 

[GlacierNine]

It'll probably get there in spikes. When you open an application, for example. And on a device like this, that's really when you need it the most, to be honest. This is made for web browsing and office work.
At my previous job there was a person that had the original thin and light Macbook that was super expensive and had one of those early Y cpus. Never heard her complain or show any frustration at using the machine so it was probably fine.

Or your coworker simply didn't know any better, having never had a faster machine, or your coworker simply didn't care. You'd be surprised how much inefficiency people are prepared to put up with, or indeed *perpetuate* as long as it means they look busy or get 10 seconds to zone out while a program loads.

There's a guy at my work whose firefox is unable to update itself due to a configuration error, whose machine is far slower than it should be for it's already modest specifications. It prompts him for his admin password every time he opens the browser so that it can update. He doesn't know his admin password and so this prompt remains for months at a time until one of our more technical staff has to use his machine and is immediately irritated by it.

He's also using an optical mouse on a blue/green sea pattern mousepad that the red light is totally absorbed by, meaning his mouse barely functions. The mouse is also missing all of it's feet. There are several network shares he's accidentally disabled in the past and we've discovered months later this is impeding his ability to work properly.

He insists on printing out huge amounts of documentation that he doesn't actually need to print out, always in colour, despite the fact our colour printer had a damaged toner cartridge that meant every page looked like it was covered in virulent mould.

On top of all of that, the colour printer was *not* the default printer for his machine - he was manually selecting the colour printer every single time he wanted to print on a broken printer, and he never changed it to default.

We ultimately resolved that problem by removing the colour printer as a mapped device to his machine, mostly because he had been told dozens of times not to use the colour printer as it was more expensive per page and there was zero actual benefit to him doing so.

Despite having spent over a year manually selecting the colour printer, he didn't say a word about being unable to select it again when we did this.

Some/Most people simply don't care how inconveniently they use the tools available to them, or how inconvenient those tools are to use, or even if those tools are functioning properly. While the person I'm discussing is an unbelievably extreme case, I can confidently say that a milder form of this affliction is the case for all but about 3 people in this office, and every other office I've ever worked in.

 

[Rahnak]

Or your coworker simply didn't know any better, having never had a faster machine, or your coworker simply didn't care. You'd be surprised how much inefficiency people are prepared to put up with, or indeed *perpetuate* as long as it means they look busy or get 10 seconds to zone out while a program loads.

I'm sure she knew better, the rest of the company was pretty much all using thinkpads. I think she just preferred the form factor.

Your co-worker has attained unhealthy levels of not giving a shit.

 

[Vayra86]

Nuff said, thanks.

 

[notb]

Almost none of them use Air. Regular MacBook, sure.

If you live in Japan, maybe.
In many countries people settle for an Air. And it's perfectly fine. There's enough oomph - especially in a cloud era.

All of the above, except the students would (should, at least) use the Pro.

Why if Air is fast enough? And that "should" - OMG. :/

 

[xkm1948]

Good for a little coding platform. The stability as well as integration with zsh/bash is still really good compared to W10.

 

[Cheeseball]

Yeah. 1.2GHz base frequency Quad Core? It's never going to get *anywhere near* that 3.8GHz boost and we all know it.

It's the i7-1065G7. It can do it as long as it is configured to 25W and thermals permit.

My RBS 1650 (same 1065G7 and GPU disabled in Device Manager) can manage 3.4 GHz all-core around 55C, but this comes with 2 fans.

EDIT: Looking at the MBA pictures, that thing is extremely thin. Does it even have a fan? I can see it not hitting the all-core boost, but maybe it can still do the 3.8 GHz single-core boost.

 

[notb]

It's the i7-1065G7. It can do it as long as it is configured to 25W and thermals permit.

Nope. All offered SoCs are Ice Lake-Y (9W). The top one is i7-1060G7.

EDIT: Looking at the MBA pictures, that thing is extremely thin. Does it even have a fan? I can see it not hitting the all-core boost, but maybe it can still do the 3.8 GHz single-core boost.

AFAIR all Airs had a fan. It's just very thin:

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Good for a little coding platform. The stability as well as integration with zsh/bash is still really good compared to W10.

Exactly. Good shell, stable docker support, good keyboard and screen. It's quite perfect IMO.
I'm working in MS ecosystem, but if I could tolerate MacOS, this would be a feasible alternative to a Macbook Pro (for half the price).

 

[Chrispy_]

What are the 2020 magic keyboards like?
2017-2019 magic keyboards were the #1 reason to avoid all Mac computers, period.

 

[Chomiq]

They're boasting about using recycled aluminum but still deliver hardware that locks users out of servicing it on their own or by a third party.

 

[notb]

They're boasting about using recycled aluminum but still deliver hardware that locks users out of servicing it on their own or by a third party.

I don't get this. Is servicing "eco" or what?

 

[Chomiq]

I don't get this. Is servicing "eco" or what?

Nah, I'd much rather throw my electronics in trash once it's broken because everything is soldered or glued inside.