Retina screens (and desktops capable of 4K output) are slowly rolling out across the Mac lineup. Between that and the tricks Apple is using in the Retina MacBook, it definitely seems like Apple could shrink this thing down without an appreciable loss of functionality or quality. The XPS 13 doesn't actually weigh much less than the Air-something like a third of a pound-so you know Dell is still squeezing most of the same parts in there. Anyone trying to work on an airplane while the person in front of you is reclining knows that you don't always have a lot of clearance for a lid. A slim bezel around most of the display allows Dell to shrink the rest of the computer, delivering a screen the same size as the 13-inch MacBook Air's in a body that's closer in size to the 11-inch MacBook Air. #Is 2015 macbook pro still good PcOf the many PC Ultrabooks out there now, Dell's latest XPS 13 is probably the frontrunner from a design standpoint. It's got a fine port selection compared to other laptops in the general size and price range, and Thunderbolt 2 is something few others offer. It's made well, as Apple's aluminum unibody notebooks always have been, though some people don't care for the way the hard metal edge of the wrist rest feels while you're typing. The trackpad is still accurate, and OS X and its trackpad gestures take good advantage of it. Certain elements remain class-leading: the keyboard is firmer and has a bit better travel than most chiclet-style keyboards in PCs. In many ways it's a credit to the 2010 MacBook Air's design that it has only really started to feel its age in the last 12 to 18 months or so. Webcam, backlit keyboard, dual integrated mics Specs at a glance: 13-inch 2015 Apple MacBook Airġ.6GHz Intel Core i5-5250U (Turbo up to 2.7GHz)ĤGB 1600MHz LPDDR3 (soldered, upgradeable to 8GB at purchase)Ģx USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2, card reader, headphonesġ2.8" × 8.94" × 0.11-0.68" (325 mm × 227 mm × 3-17 mm) There are a few notable things about this update-we ran the Air through our standard battery of tests and have all the data you need below-but unfortunately it doesn't do much to bring this once-forward-thinking design into an era where its best qualities have been co-opted and improved upon by other laptops. Battery life, the biggest improvement in the 2013 Air, is about the same. The Thunderbolt port now uses Thunderbolt 2. You swap out Intel's Haswell processors for newer Broadwell equivalents, which provide a speed increase but not a big one. Functionally, the differences are relatively minor. Visually, there is absolutely nothing to distinguish the 2015 MacBook Air from the 2013/2014 model that preceded it. Unfortunately, as the rest of the MacBook lineup and the wider PC industry has shifted around it, the Air's design has stood still. And the new MacBook takes the qualities of the Air-thin, light, minimalist-to their logical extremes. The MacBook Pro soon imitated the Air by getting thinner, moving to standard SSDs, and dumping stuff like FireWire and the optical drive. Its construction and design were a major improvement over previous Airs, it was Apple's first Mac to go with solid-state storage across the lineup, and it came with a price drop that made them palatable to people who otherwise would have just bought a vanilla MacBook. The current design of the MacBook Air was a big deal when it was unveiled back in 2010.
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