MacLife - USA (2019-09)

Apple’s new

entry–level

laptops compared

MACBOOK AIR

(BASE MODEL)

MACBOOK PRO

(BASE MODEL)

Processor 1.6GHz dual–core

8th–gen Intel Core i

processor, Turbo

Boost up to 3.6GHz

1.4GHz quad–core

8th–gen Intel Core i

processor, Turbo

Boost up to 3.9GHz

Memory 8GB 2,133MHz

LPDDR3 memory

8GB 2,133MHz

LPDDR3 memory

Storage 128GB SSD storage 128GB SSD storage

Display 13.3–inch Retina

display (2,560x1,

pixels at 227ppi) with

True Tone

13.3–inch Retina

display (2,560x1,

pixels at 227ppi) with

True Tone

Graphics

processor

Intel UHD Graphics

617

Intel Iris Plus Graphics

645

Brightness,

color

400 nits brightness,

supports sRGB color

500 nits brightness,

supports Wide Color

(P3)

Touch input Force Touch trackpad Force Touch trackpad

Touch ID Touch Bar and Touch

ID

Touch Bar and Touch

ID

Thunderbolt Two Thunderbolt 3

ports

Two Thunderbolt 3

ports

Battery 49.9Wh battery; up to

12 hours continuous

web surfing or up to

13 hours iTunes movie

playback

58.2Wh battery; up to

10 hours of web or

iTunes usage

Base price $1,099 $1,

Build–to–

order

options

16GB memory

(+$200); SSD storage

256GB (+$200),

512GB (+$400), or

1TB (+$600)

1.7GHz Core i

processor (+$300);

16GB memory

(+$200); SSD storage

256GB (+$200),

512GB (+$400), 1TB

(+$600), or 2TB

(+$1,000)

capacity increased from 54.5Wh in the previous function
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how Apple can promise the same battery life despite the
added power consumption of the Touch Bar, Touch ID
sensor, and T2 chip. Where the previous model had two
built–in microphones, the new one has three, but the
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predecessor, raising doubts about sound output quality.
In terms of repairability, iFixit notes that the SSD is
now soldered in place, so “one of the last upgradeable
components on the MacBook Pro line is totally gone”.
On the other hand, the Thunderbolt breakout board,
soldered to the logic board in the last model, is now
modular, like the boards on the rest of the modern
Pro line. The headphone jack module — including
microphone and Touch ID connector — is now also
modular and can be easily replaced without having
to swap out the entire logic board.
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MacBook Pro models revised back in May. This, and the
new MacBook Air keyboard, are already covered in
Apple’s Keyboard Service Program, in the unlikely event
that Apple has not quite gotten all the bugs out yet.
The rest of the MacBook Pro range is unchanged,
including all the 15–inch models and the 13–inch models
with 2.4GHz quad–core processor.
The price of SSD build–to–order options has also been
cut across the board for all Macs, in some cases by as
much as half. For example, adding a 4TB SSD in the
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the base price; it’s now $1,400 more. SSD pricing is also
cut across iMac, Mac mini, and iMac Pro lines.

BACK–TO–SCHOOL PROMOTION
The updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are part of
Apple’s Back to School promotion, available to higher
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home–school teachers through the Apple Education
Store. The promotion includes a pair of qualifying
Beats headphones with the purchase of any eligible Mac
or iPad for college, as well as education discounts on
purchases of a qualifying Mac, iPad, AppleCare package,
and selected accessories and services. AppleCare+ is 20%
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apps such as Final Cut and Logic.
Apple says nearly 60% of US college notebook buyers
own a Mac, making macOS the top choice among higher
education students. The company clearly hopes to keep it
this way, but while the base-model specs are improved,
the fact remains that the price of admission has risen,
because the cheapest MacBook you can get now will cost
you more than the previous cheapest.

maclife.com SEP 2019 9