Apple updates MacBook Air and Mac Mini (photos)
Apple's summer 2011 hardware refresh includes updates to the MacBook Air and Mac Mini computers, now with Thunderbolt.
Multitouch
The trackpad on the new Macbook Air is multitouch enabled, meaning you can use its glass surface to gesture and scroll, and the whole thing is a button.
Keyboard
The keyboard is backlit and can automatically adjust to changes in surrounding light.
Build
The Air's flash chip and solid-state hard drive allow the hardware to measure less than an inch thin, leaving room for a larger battery with up to 5 hours on the 11-inch model and up to 7 hours on the 13-inch.
Unibody
The Macbook Air's enclosure and display both feature Apple's unibody design, allowing the chassis to remain wafer-thin.
Unibody
The Macbook Air's enclosure and display both feature Apple's unibody design, allowing the chassis to remain wafer-thin.
Thunderbolt
The right side of the body now features a Thunderbolt port in addition to an SD card slot (13-inch only) and a USB 2.0 port. The new Thunderbolt interface can transfer up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and works with Apple's new Thunderbolt Display.
Left-side connections
On the left of both sizes, you'll find an additional USB 2.0 port, microphone and headphone jacks, and Apple's MagSafe power cord.
FaceTime
Unlike the Nvidia graphics processor found in the last iteration of the MacBook Air, the 2011 models use the Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU that's built into the Core i-series chips.
Unlike the built-in 3G or 4G broadband options found on many Windows laptops, the MacBook Air still only supports Wi-Fi.
Thunderbolt
The right side of the body now features a Thunderbolt port in addition to an SD card slot and a USB 2.0 port. The new Thunderbolt interface can transfer up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and works with Apple's new Thunderbolt Display.
Build
A power supply built into the chassis allows the Mac Mini to remain small inside a small hardware enclosure with fewer cables to connect.
Panel
The removable bottom panel makes it easy to upgrade.
The new Mac Minis feature Intel Core i7 and Core i5 processors, up to 8GB of optional memory, and dual 500GB on the Lion Server model.
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