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MacBook Air finally gets an upgrade, but it's minor

The company's entry-level computer hasn't seen so much as new chips since 2015, but now it's getting a megahertz boost.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
Dara Kerr
Shara Tibken
2 min read
Watch this: Hands-on with Apple's new MacBooks

Apple 's popular entry-level MacBook Air laptop is finally getting an update, albeit a small one. 

The company on Monday announced the 13-inch computer will get a "bump in megahertz." More specifically, it will get the 1.8 gigahertz version of the Broadwell Intel processor. 

This news comes as part of a major overall to Apple's entire Mac line, although the MacBook Air only warranted a passing mention (it didn't even show up on the slides). 

Apple's iMacs will now include a seventh-generation Intel core processor known as "Kaby Lake,"  which Apple says will be 43 percent brighter and capable of showing 1 billion colors. All of Apple's notebooks will be getting a refresh as well.

"It's a great performance bump across the board," said John Turnis, Apple's VP of hardware engineering.

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Apple made the announcement during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. WWDC is known as the event where Apple details the newest software that will hit its devices later in the year, but it makes hardware announcements too. 

With its minor MacBook Air update, Apple is getting back to its roots. Apple fans love the MacBook Air and have been clamoring for an update. Up until now, the company hasn't complied. The laptop, which starts at $999, £949 or AU$1,499, hasn't had so much as new chips since 2015. Users have repeatedly asked for the device to get a high-resolution Retina display, but it appears this isn't happening anytime soon. 

When Apple introduced its new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar last year, it also launched another 13-inch MacBook Pro that's thinner, smaller and retains the function keys. The company positioned it as a middle step and a sort of update to the MacBook Air -- but a more expensive one, with that device starting at $1,499, £1,249 or AU$1,899. 

WWDC 2017: All the news so far