The MacBook Air arguably started the ultrabook party, and it's still there even as a younger, thinner, and better-equipped crowd has arrived. But it has yet to overstay its welcome. For macOS fans—especially note-taking, paper-writing college students—who just need a capable computer to tote around all day without plugging in, the Air will not disappoint. It's also a good choice if you have a mix of older peripherals and can take advantage of its relatively generous complement of ports.
Power through your whole day.Up to 12 hours of battery life.
Thanks to compact SSD storage in MacBook Air, there’s plenty of room for a big battery. Working together with the power-efficient fifth-generation Intel Core architecture, this battery can post some impressive numbers. MacBook Air gets up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. That gives you all-day power for surfing the web or watching iTunes films. Put MacBook Air to sleep for more than 3 hours, and it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days.
Performance, meet endurance.Fifth-generation Intel Core processors.
MacBook Air is powered by fifth-generation Intel Core processors. This ultra-efficient architecture was designed to use less power and still deliver high performance. Which means not only can you do whatever you want — you can keep doing it for longer than before. In addition, the Intel HD Graphics 6000 processor offers advanced performance you’ll particularly notice with games and other graphics-intensive tasks.
The definition of fast.802.11ac Wi-Fi.
MacBook Air supports ultra-fast 802.11ac Wi‑Fi. When connected to an 802.11ac base station — including AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule — wireless performance is up to three times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi.2 And your Wi-Fi range improves as well. With Bluetooth technology, you can connect MacBook Air to Bluetooth-enabled devices like speakers and headphones. Even without all the wires, you’re totally connected.
Ready. Set. Done.Fast SSD storage.
Part of what makes MacBook Air so responsive is that it’s designed entirely around SSD storage. Not only does this make MacBook Air much lighter and more portable than traditional notebooks, it also provides faster access to data. Available in capacities up to 512GB,3 this PCIe-based SSD storage is up to 17 times faster than a traditional 5400-rpm notebook hard drive.4 So when you flip open MacBook Air, it’s ready to go straight away. Even after a month in standby mode, the screen springs to life.
Make some powerful connections.Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.
Connect your MacBook Air to your devices and displays with a Thunderbolt 2 port that’s twice as fast as the previous generation. But that’s not the whole story. MacBook Air also comes equipped with two USB 3 ports, so you can connect the latest USB 3 devices and all your USB 2 devices as well. With just a few connections, MacBook Air transforms from an ultra-portable notebook into a complete workstation.
Millions of pixels. Millimetres thin.LED-backlit display.
MacBook Air gives you 1440x900-pixel resolution on a display that’s just a mere 4.86 millimetres thin. And LED backlighting makes colours bright and vibrant from edge to edge. So whether you’re editing photos, perfecting a presentation or watching a movie, you’re going to love what you see.
It goes hand in hand with macOS.Multi-Touch trackpad.
The Multi-Touch gestures in macOS make everything you do on MacBook Air more intuitive, direct and fun. And the spacious Multi-Touch trackpad is perfectly designed for them, whether it’s a three-finger swipe to activate Mission Control or a four-finger pinch to see all your apps in Launchpad. Gesture responses are smooth and realistic. So when you’re scrolling up and down a web page or swiping from one full-screen app to another, it’s almost like you’re touching what you’re seeing.
What you see is what you type.Backlit keyboard.
As incredibly compact as MacBook Air is, it still manages to fit a full-sized keyboard that makes typing as natural as it is comfortable. And the keyboard is backlit, so you can type with ease in even the dimmest light. A built-in ambient light sensor detects changes in lighting conditions and adjusts the display and keyboard brightness automatically. From a seat in a sunny café to a seat on an overnight flight, you’ll always have the perfect lighting for any environment.
The MacBook Air arguably started the ultrabook party, and it's still there even as a younger, thinner, and better-equipped crowd has arrived. But it has yet to overstay its welcome. For macOS fans—especially note-taking, paper-writing college students—who just need a capable computer to tote around all day without plugging in, the Air will not disappoint. It's also a good choice if you have a mix of older peripherals and can take advantage of its relatively generous complement of ports.Power through your whole day.Up to 12 hours of battery life.Thanks to compact SSD storage in MacBook Air, there’s plenty of room for a big battery. Working together with the power-efficient fifth-generation Intel Core architecture, this battery can post some impressive numbers. MacBook Air gets up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. That gives you all-day power for surfing the web or watching iTunes films. Put MacBook Air to sleep for more than 3 hours, and it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days.Performance, meet endurance.Fifth-generation Intel Core processors.MacBook Air is powered by fifth-generation Intel Core processors. This ultra-efficient architecture was designed to use less power and still deliver high performance. Which means not only can you do whatever you want — you can keep doing it for longer than before. In addition, the Intel HD Graphics 6000 processor offers advanced performance you’ll particularly notice with games and other graphics-intensive tasks.The definition of fast.802.11ac Wi-Fi.MacBook Air supports ultra-fast 802.11ac Wi‑Fi. When connected to an 802.11ac base station — including AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule — wireless performance is up to three times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi.2 And your Wi-Fi range improves as well. With Bluetooth technology, you can connect MacBook Air to Bluetooth-enabled devices like speakers and headphones. Even without all the wires, you’re totally connected.Ready. Set. Done.Fast SSD storage.Part of what makes MacBook Air so responsive is that it’s designed entirely around SSD storage. Not only does this make MacBook Air much lighter and more portable than traditional notebooks, it also provides faster access to data. Available in capacities up to 512GB,3 this PCIe-based SSD storage is up to 17 times faster than a traditional 5400-rpm notebook hard drive.4 So when you flip open MacBook Air, it’s ready to go straight away. Even after a month in standby mode, the screen springs to life.Make some powerful connections.Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.Connect your MacBook Air to your devices and displays with a Thunderbolt 2 port that’s twice as fast as the previous generation. But that’s not the whole story. MacBook Air also comes equipped with two USB 3 ports, so you can connect the latest USB 3 devices and all your USB 2 devices as well. With just a few connections, MacBook Air transforms from an ultra-portable notebook into a complete workstation.Millions of pixels. Millimetres thin.LED-backlit display. MacBook Air gives you 1440x900-pixel resolution on a display that’s just a mere 4.86 millimetres thin. And LED backlighting makes colours bright and vibrant from edge to edge. So whether you’re editing photos, perfecting a presentation or watching a movie, you’re going to love what you see.It goes hand in hand with macOS.Multi-Touch trackpad.The Multi-Touch gestures in macOS make everything you do on MacBook Air more intuitive, direct and fun. And the spacious Multi-Touch trackpad is perfectly designed for them, whether it’s a three-finger swipe to activate Mission Control or a four-finger pinch to see all your apps in Launchpad. Gesture responses are smooth and realistic. So when you’re scrolling up and down a web page or swiping from one full-screen app to another, it’s almost like you’re touching what you’re seeing.What you see is what you type.Backlit keyboard.As incredibly compact as MacBook Air is, it still manages to fit a full-sized keyboard that makes typing as natural as it is comfortable. And the keyboard is backlit, so you can type with ease in even the dimmest light. A built-in ambient light sensor detects changes in lighting conditions and adjusts the display and keyboard brightness automatically. From a seat in a sunny café to a seat on an overnight flight, you’ll always have the perfect lighting for any environment.