Apple MacBook Air 2018 (i5, 256 GB) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

Apple pretty much ignored its MacBook Air for a couple of years and there were many speculations about the end of the series. Now, we get completely redesigned the model including a modern display. Is it an alternative to the more expensive MacBook Pro 13 for many users, or is it somewhat redundant?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-2018-i5-256-GB-Laptop-Review.357481.0.html

[Kimcha]

Thank you! As usual, a fantastic review. Can't wait for the final part.

[marko]

This is by far the most useful review of this computer so far.

Actually measuring consumption and clocks in benchmarks just takes this review to a whole new level over the other guys - thank you. Looks like it might just be ok for short burst performance and a complete pig for longer duration multiple core tasks.

Any negatives when running windos on this thing? Does the touch-id work?

[Toruss]

$800 with the latest i3 and the Air would still be overpriced. Y-series is unreasonable at any price point given there is i3 ULV which is an upgrade every aspect including power efficiency.

[Martin_fos]

Really nice review, many thanks !
Can't wait to see the battery results ;)

[william blake]

oh s*** another "lake" from intel.

[Martin_fos]

Do you plan to perform the "Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p" battery test so that we have a second battery test to compare with the MacBook Pro 2017/2018 ? Many thanks !

[jds]

This review is more evidence that notebookcheck is the only serious review site in existence.  All other reviews are silly subjective impressions mixed with company-issued PR.  You instead take an empirical, experimental approach.  Well done.

[Browny]

No chance this can run 7hrs+ in everyday multitasking. Even with good software optimization the numbers just do not add up with a 13" QHD screen and Y series chip powered by a relatively small 50Wh battery. Full screen local 1080p video playback going 9hrs may be feasible as MacOS has proven before. However a power starved 7W dual-core CPU is often times more inefficient than 15W quad-core when stressed ever so slightly, resulting in higher power consumption. Stuck between U series and Pentium / Snapdragon, this and Intel's "core m3" indeed utterly missed the mark at both performance and battery life at a budget price.

And the MBA is redundant since Apple already sells the 12" MacBook, which is lighter than the said "Air". No wonder even Apple isn't excited at launch, considering everything.

[Martin_fos]

@Browny however the Air has to be compared with the Pro, which runs a CPU with TDP of 28 Watts (not 15 Watts).

[Toruss]

I take back my previous point.

Huawei's Matebook D 14" is a direct competitor to the MBA, just as its popular brother Matebook X Pro goes against the 2018 MBP 13.

Ryzen 5, Vega 8 SKU of the Matebook D is only $600 MSRP, $450 with discount in the US. Most similar Windows laptop hardware to the MBA apart from its touchscreen.

Order goes - Ryzen 2500U > i5-8250U > i3-8130U > Core Y > m3

Hence "i5"Y / 8GB / 256GB MBA is egregiously overpriced even at $500, even with the mandatory AppleTax.

Still believe Apple should have gone with at the very least i3-8145U "Whiskey Lake" in this revision.

[Andregomes]

Does this MBA presents the same wi-fi connectivity problems of the 2016 and 2017 MBP without TB when connecting external peripherals through USB-C ?

[JayC1979]

Hello,

I am debating between MBA 2018 Retina and Macbook Pro 2017 no TB.

Will you eventually update this review and give final verdicts and a percentile score like you did with the MacBook Pro 2017's review? That would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Tipoo]

Could you test the update to the MBA that raises the existing screen to 400 nits? It was an odd update to Apples product page but I haven't seen it tested.