Enough with the rumors, Apple has finally confirmed at WWDC that the new MacBook Air has a battery life that can last all day.
The new MacBook Air comes in two sizes: 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch screens. Well, everything is pretty much the same but Apple did a great job on upgrading its software and used Intel’s latest processor Haswell to greatly prolong its battery life and enhance integrated graphics performance.
Starting today, people can order these new MacBooks starting at $999 for the 11-inch variant and $1,099 for the 13-inch variant. The fourth-generation Intel processor allows users to maximize the usage of the MacBook as the 13-inch variant can last up to 12 hours while the smaller unit can do nine hours. This is an improvement from the seven and five hours it used to give respectively. It also offers an additional speed of up to 40 percent graphics performance compared to its previous version. Even Wi-Fi is three times faster now. These are all major improvements brought by Intel’s Haswell processor developed by its Oregon team.
Despite all improvements done on the MacBook Air, Apple decided to sell it at a lower price which sounds like a better deal and a heartbreaking news to those who purchased the first versions. The 13-inch variant used to start at $2,000.
One rumor failed though. The new MacBook Air does not have an improved screen resolution and still uses the same old screen. It is not yet touchscreen and therefore no Windows 8 optimization.
To sum up, most of the things about the MacBook Air remains the same but it is the battery life that gives it an edge among other laptops and notebooks. Critics are now out to test the performance of the improved MacBook Air so we should expect reviews to come out within this week. For now, we will have to live up with Apple’s promises: up to 12-hour battery life, 40 percent better graphics and three times faster Wi-Fi.
