Apple ignored the MacBook Air for far too many years, yet despite this, the product maintained a remarkable level of popularity throughout this time. Then, in October of 2018, Apple released a new MacBook Air that was well-designed and deserving of its popularity. The MacBook Air 2018 was the ideal portable computer for someone who places a premium on mobility without being willing to compromise on performance.
The 2018 MacBook Air offers the following as standard:
· 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost to 3.6GHz
· 128GB or 256GB SSD
· 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
· Intel UHD Graphics 617
· Build-to-order options include:
· 16GB RAM (previously only 8GB)
· 512GB or 1.5TB storage
The basic edition of the MacBook Air 2018 features 8 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM) and an Intel Core i5 CPU running at 1.6 gigahertz with the ability to turbo boost up to 3.6 gigahertz for more demanding processing activities (upgradeable to 16GB).
Compared to laptops that cost $1,000, it is a relatively reasonable price in the larger scheme of things. You may thank the very sleek design for that.
Despite this, that power level is more than enough for carrying out routine activities like navigating the internet, chit-chatting with friends, typing papers, viewing movies, and listening to music. Regarding our regular processing requirements, we rarely saw any slowdowns thanks to the lightning-fast performance provided by macOS Mojave.
Power users and creative types who require a laptop capable of handling heavy-duty image editing, layout work, and video editing will surely want to look at the MacBook Pro instead, which has more power than the base unit and can be significantly upgraded. You should look at the MacBook Pro if you need such a device.
The MacBook Air, equipped with an integrated Intel HD Graphics 617 GPU, is not exactly a powerhouse for gaming as one would anticipate. When we fired up the battle royale shooter phenomenon known as Fortnite, we were able to run the game well at the medium settings; nevertheless, the gameplay became choppy whenever other players came into view or if we made quick camera movements.
To improve the situation, we had to reduce most of the settings; nonetheless, genuinely competitive players will not want to play on the Air.
We could play Fortnite acceptably with the settings set to medium; nevertheless, the game became choppy whenever other players were in view or if we rushed with the camera.
To make the chaotic car-soccer game Rocket League playable without hiccups, we were forced to take off almost all of the game’s visual effects. In both instances, the games looked and functioned the same as they do on the Nintendo Switch, which is to say that there was some graphic degradation, but the games were still playable and enjoyable.
And whether you’re playing 3D games or putting a lot of pressure on the CPU, you can anticipate the inbuilt fan to become pretty noisy when you’re dealing with big downloads.
The power gap between this laptop and other laptops in the same price range was noticeable during benchmark testing. We received a score of 657 while using Cinebench, although we got a score of 1,017 on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (a more excellent score preferable) and 1,675 on the brand new MacBook Pro for 2019 (both entry-level configurations).
That is a significant improvement compared to the MacBook Pro in particular, and it demonstrates just how much more power you can get by investing an additional $200 and adding a little bit more size by opting for the Pro model.
