Why You Can Trust CNET Apple's MacBook Air is in a holding pattern
The severely outdated 13-inch ultraportable gets a blink-and-you-might-miss-it processor update for 2017 and that's all.
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MacBook Air 2015 or 2017? The only difference is inside.
The MacBook Air is the least expensive laptop option from Apple. It also hasn't had a significant update since 2015.
Starting at $999, £949 and AU$1,499, the 13-inch Air has taken a backseat to the slimmer, lighter 12-inch MacBook. While Apple announced a minor speed bump for the Air's processor at WWDC 2017 -- going from 1.6GHz to 1.8GHz -- that was the extent of the changes. The base configuration now has 8GB of memory, too, up from 4GB.
Shop for Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
See all pricesApple also continues to use fifth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors (Broadwell) in the Air, while the rest of the company's laptops run on Intel's seventh-generation processors (Kaby Lake). And the laptop is the only one left in Apple's lineup without a high-resolution Retina display: The 13-inch Air's resolution is 1,440x900 pixels.
Other key specs include:
- 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
- Intel HD Iris Graphics 6000
- 128GB, 256GB or 512GB SSD
- 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Two USB 3.0 ports, Thunderbolt 2 port, SD card slot and 3.5 mm headphone jack
The faster processor and twice the memory should result in slightly better performance than the 2015 version we reviewed, but everything else is the same.
