MacBook Air

AirBar gives your MacBook Air a touchscreen display

Cody Lee ∙ January 3, 2017

You'll soon be able to give your MacBook Air a touchscreen display, courtesy of AirBar. Neonode on Tuesday unveiled a Mac version of its laptop dongle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that will allow you to navigate macOS via touch.

The AirBar magnetically attaches to the bottom of your 13.3-inch MacBook Air display and connects via USB. It uses Neonode's patented zForce AIR technology to emit an invisible light field that can sense touches from fingers, gloves, and even a paintbrush.

Apple did not say a lot about the MacBook Air, but it spoke volumes

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Going into Apple’s “Hello Again” keynote on Thursday, speculation was rife with regard to how many new machines and product lines Apple would lift the veil on. The MacBook Pro seemed the safest bet, rightly so as it would turn out, but talk of a MacBook Air refresh or MacBook larger than 12-inch persisted until the very moment Tim Cook took the stage.

Fast forward the 80-minute short event and some of the MacBook Air hopeful watching, especially those on older machines clamouring for an overdue upgrade, will have found themselves slumped down in frustration on their sofa. Phil Schiller had just performed the precarious (and telling) balancing act of dismantling the MacBook Air’s right to exist live on stage, but bizarrely enough not without praising its virtues at the same time and throwing a lifeline to its large user base.

Irrespective of the kind words spoken and regardless of the promise to keep around the model Apple once used to proudly parade with the aid of an envelope, what really mattered was what Schiller didn’t directly say: the future of the MacBook Air looks bleak. Could there be a reason to buy one now anyway?

Apple discontinues 11-inch MacBook Air

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Alongside the introduction of its brand new MacBook Pro laptop on Thursday, Apple announced that it has decided to discontinue the 11-inch MacBook Air (except for in schools). It will continue to sell the 13-inch model with a starting price of $999, although it didn't get an update today and likely won't ever again.

Report: new MacBook Pros, USB-C MacBook Airs coming this month

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

New MacBook Pros are still on for October, reports the often accurate Japanese site Mac Otakara. Citing a reliable source within Apple's supply chain, the outlet says the long-awaited refresh of the premium notebook line is still on schedule for this month.

In addition to the MacBook pro update, the site also says that the MacBook Air line is also getting a refresh. It expects Apple to drop the 11-inch model, to focus on the larger 13-inch version, and it will include USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

New Surface ad wants you to think that your Mac “ain’t fast enough”

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 15, 2016

It's been only three days since Microsoft's advertising department unleashed a new ad salvo at Apple's direction in the form of a commercial for its Surface Pro 4 tablet/laptop hybrid and now it's posted yet another video to conveniently reiterate its message ahead of iPhone 7's launch tomorrow. Titled “Power of Touch”, the 30-second commercial doubles down on the ”the Mac lacks a touchscreen” theme.

Not only does Microsoft poke fun of the fact that Macs are long overdue for a refresh (yours supposedly “ain't fast enough” lately), but also disses the Mac for not shipping with a detachable keyboard or a stylus.

Bloomberg: new Macs and 5K monitor could debut as early as October

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Apple is working on several upgrades to its Mac product line, reports Bloomberg. Citing sources familiar with the company's plans, the outlet says the refreshed hardware includes new versions of the iMac, MacBook Air, and the oft-rumored MacBook Pro.

Also in the pipeline is a new 5K standalone monitor. Apple, of course, discontinued its Thunderbolt Display earlier this year, after years without an update. This time around, Bloomberg says the Cupertino firm is collaborating with LG to build its monitor.

Is Xiaomi’s first-ever Windows PC notebook a shameless MacBook Air ripoff?

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 27, 2016

Xiaomi (pronounced “sh-YEOW-mee”), a booming Chinese smartphone and consumer electronics maker, today took the wraps off its first-ever Windows PC notebook and it looks awfully familiar to the MacBook Air. The familiarity starts with the device's silly 'Mi Notebook Air' moniker and extends to its unibody industrial design that's thinner and lighter than Apple's notebook.

Offered in 12.5 and 13.3-inch varieties, the product matches and—in terms of graphics, lightness and thinness—one-ups the MacBook Air while costing half as much. Xiaomi's new notebooks run Windows 10 and will hit store shelves in China on August 2.

Twelve South’s BookArc is a lightweight and stylish Apple notebook stand

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 24, 2016

I like me a good notebook stand for the simple fact that it helps clear unwanted clutter from my desk when I need it for something other than a computer. Plus, it kind of organizes things and makes everything look neater.

Twelve South is probably one of the best brand names you can buy for this sort of thing, and in this review, we'll be showing you the Twelve South BookArc for all models of Apple's MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.

Chinese supplier claims MacBook Pro/Air refresh could happen this month

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2016

The new twelve-inch MacBook is the future of Apple's notebook lineup, but the MacBook Pro family being overdue for a refresh doesn't necessarily mean that the MacBook Air will be going away. According to the fairy reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara this morning, citing an unnamed Chinese supplier, Apple will be announcing some updated MacBook Airs and Pros later this month, possibly at WWDC.

OWC’s new driver adds Boot Camp support to all of its aftermarket SSD upgrades

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 19, 2016

In March, Other World Computing (OWC) launched the world's first SSD upgrade for 2013 and later MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display computers. The storage upgrades came in 480GB and 1TB flavors, and we recently showed you the install process of the 1TB OWC Aura SSD upgrade.

There was unfortunately a caveat that disallowed you to use Apple's Boot Camp feature with the drives, which meant you were limited to installing one operating system on it at a time, or using a virtual machine instead of partitioning the drive and dual-booting your Mac.

As of today, OWC has fixed this problem with a new universal driver that enables Boot Camp on all of OWC's SSD upgrades to date.

iQunix makes an affordable, high-quality stand for MacBook

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 16, 2016

If you're looking for a durable aluminum stand for your Apple notebook, then don't count out iQunix. Although the popular brand names look appealing and are tried and true, we had the chance to go hands-on with the iQunix Edin, which is also a very high-quality stand for all MacBook models, all this at a lower price.

In this review, we'll show you how the iQunix Edin looks and touch on its build quality and features. Don't be shy; we think you're gonna like it!

Upgrading your MacBook Air/Pro storage capacity with the OWC Aura Pro SSD

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 1, 2016

Other World Computing unveiled their Aura Pro PCI-e drop-in SSD upgrade kits last month for 2013 and later MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air model notebooks.

OWC's Aura Pro SSD storage upgrades start at $399.00 (introductory price) for a 480GB module and and go up in price from there.

Sure to be a popular seller for those that want to upgrade the on-board storage in their expensive Macs without buying an all-new Mac, we've decided to try it out and share with you exactly what we think about it.