Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (2013) - Better with Age

Now with "Haswell"

Apple refreshes its notebooks every time Intel introduces new processors, and it is no different this time. Just about a month ago, Intel officially released its newest fourth generation Core processors. Codenamed "Haswell", these new processors are significant to notebooks for two reasons: Intel claims up to 50% longer battery life and much improved graphics performance from the new integrated GPUs. And because of this new class of processors, Apple now claims that its 13-inch MacBook Air is capable of delivering 12 hours of battery life.

On the outside, not much as changed with Apple’s newest MacBook Air. The ultra slim notebook is still offered in two display sizes - 11 and 13-inch models - and shares the same chassis dimensions and design as its predecessor. This means it is still just 17mm thick at its thickest point and retains its weight of 1.34kg. The only noticeable change on the outside is that the MacBook Air now gets two microphones instead of one. Apple says that the additional mic will help improve the notebook’s noise-canceling performance.

However, there are significant changes under the hood. First and foremost, both the new 11 and 13-inch MacBook Air models will now be using the same processor across the board. Powering them will be the new Core i5-4250U processor which runs at 1.3GHz, has a 3MB L3 cache and a very low TDP of just 15W.

For those who have been conscientiously following the MacBook Air, you will notice that this new processor has a significantly lower clock speed as opposed to the previous generation MacBook Air. Those had a Core i5-3317U processor that ran at 1.7GHz, but had comparable 3MB L3 cache and a higher 17W TDP.

Turbo clock speeds, however, are similar at a maximum of 2.6GHz, so performance should not be adversely affected. However, the lower base clock speed of the Core i5-4250U should help with prolonging battery life when running standard run-of-the-mill tasks that don't demand much out of the processor. What’s also important to note is that while quoted TDP figures might look comparable, the new Core i5-4250U actually uses Intel’s new 1-chip BGA solution which integrates the PCH (Platform Controller Hub) onto a single die. The quoted 15W TDP of the Core i5-4250U takes into account the integrated PCH, whereas the 17W TDP figure of the Core i5-3317U does not since its PCH is off die. This means that actual difference in overall TDP is likely to be even greater.

Power users can also opt to upgrade their MacBook Air to a 1.7GHz Core i7-4650U processor. This has the same 15W TDP as the Core i5-4250U but a higher base clock speed of 1.7GHz and a larger 4MB L3 cache. Turbo clock speeds are higher as well - up to 3.3GHz on a single core.

Processor aside, the new 2013 MacBook Air models are also the first Apple notebooks to use PCIe-based SSDs. Both 11 and 13-inch models will be offered with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, but users can upgrade (at extra cost) to 512GB too. The new MacBook Air will also support the latest and fastest 802.11ac wireless standard. It also has a slightly larger battery that holds 8% more charge.

Design & Features

The MacBook Air’s design has not changed much since its release in 2008 and it is starting to look like it needs a bit of a refresh. Nevertheless, it remains to be one of the thinnest and lightest 13-inch notebooks around and Apple’s build quality cannot be faulted. The aluminum unibody chassis feels as solid as ever and the MacBook Air exudes an air of quality that is hard to match at any price point.

The keyboard is also well-sized and pleasant to type on and does not exhibit any flex like it does on poorer built notebooks. It is backlit as well, a feature usually reserved for more upmarket notebooks. The multi-touch trackpad is spacious and was responsive and accurate.

So far so good, but some might be disappointed at the exclusion of a Retina display. Apple still uses the same TN panels with a native resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels for the 13-inch models and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels for the 11-inch ones. The colors are brilliant and the viewing angles are good, but a Retina display or an upgrade to IPS ones would have been very welcomed.

Apart from the new processors, a significant update to the MacBook Air is the inclusion of PCIe-based SSDs. And Apple claims that this new storage configuration is up to 45% faster the previous generation MacBook Air. This is due to the greater bandwidth of the PCIe interface. According to reports, the new MacBook Air’s PCIe-based SSD uses two PCIe 2.0 lanes for a total of 2GB/s of bandwidth. Comparatively, a SATA 6Gbps interface supports a maximum bandwidth of just 750MB/s. These are theoretical figures, so the actual numbers are likely to be lower. But even so, a PCIe implementation is certain to be significantly faster. In terms of actual usage, we felt that the new 2013 MacBook Air booted and recovered from sleep-mode appreciably quicker.

Performance Benchmarking (I)

To evaluate the MacBook Air, we will be running tests in OS X and comparing it with a handful of Mac systems that we have tested in the past. Additionally, we will be running our usual Windows benchmark on it via boot camp.

The full list of benchmarks used are as follows:

• Geekbench 2
• PCMark 7
• PCMark 8
• 3DMark 11
• 3DMark 2013
• Far Cry 2
• Battlefield Bad Company 2

Here is how the new 13-inch MacBook Air stacks up against comparable Windows-based notebooks.

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Geekbench 2

We begin by comparing looking at the new MacBook Air’s scores on Geekbench 2. Geekbench is a popular Mac benchmarking software that measures a Mac system’s performance by running a variety of tests that taxes individual components of a system such as the processor and memory and then gives an overall score of the system’s performance.

The new MacBook Air recorded a score of 6761, which represents a 12% improvement over a Mid 2011 MacBook Air. However, when compared to the newer MacBook Pro Retina and iMac from last year, we can see that there is a significant gulf in performance.

PCMark 7

Comparing the new MacBook Air against some of the latest Ultrabooks and hybrids that are powered by comparable processors, we can see that the new MacBook Air is competitive. Its overall score of 4460, puts it right smack in the middle pack. It was bested only by the Sony Vaio Duo 11 and ASUS Taichi 21, which have beefier Core i7-3517U processors. The Sony Vaio Duo 11 also has double the amount of memory. 

PCMark 8

PCMark 8 is the latest benchmarking utility from Futuremark and was designed to measure the performance of Windows 8 systems. We will be testing the system using four different scenarios, Home, Creative, Work and Storage, which simulates different workloads that a user might subject the system to.

Since PCMark 8 is still new and we could not recall the rest of the notebooks for re-evaluation, we will only be looking at the results of the new MacBook Air along with the recently reviewed MSI GE40 and Lenovo Y500. However, rest assured we will be populating this list moving forwards in future reviews.

To be sure, this not an entirely fair comparison given the gulf in specifications, but as we can see, for mainstream workloads, the MacBook Air is actually pretty decent. In the Home and Work scenarios, the new MacBook Air was actually very competitive. Obviously, considering it has an integrated GPU, it was not able to compete effectively on the Creative scenario which involves lots of video editing and manipulation. It’s Storage scores were the best thanks to its PCIe-based SSD. 

Performance Benchmarking (II)

3DMark 2013

3DMark 2013 is the latest graphics benchmarking utility from FutureMark and we will be gauging the systems’ performance using the Cloud Gate benchmark, which was designed to measure the performance of integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs, as well as mobile GPUs. Just for fun, we have also included results from the intensive Fire Strike benchmark.

Clearly, the new Intel HD Graphics 5000 integrated GPU is a completely different animal when compared to its predecessor - the Intel HD Graphics 4000. The new MacBook Air scored 4644 on the Cloud Gate benchmark which was comfortably double that of both the AMD reference Kabini notebook and the ASUS VIvobook X202 - the latter has an Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated GPU. While the Intel HD Graphics 5000 is much improved over its predecessor, it was no match for the MSI GE40’s discrete NVIDIA GTX 760M graphics engine.

3DMark 11

Next, we took a step back to run 3DMark 11 where we've more comparable results from other Windows Ultrabooks. Here, we can see that new MacBook Air and its more powerful Intel HD Graphics 5000 integrated GPU has the upper-hand against last generation’s models - all of which were using Intel HD Graphics 4000 core. Its score of 2041 was almost double that of all the other contenders.

Far Cry 2 & Battlefield Bad Company 2

Moving to real-world gaming benchmarks, the new MacBook Air was the undisputed leader in Far Cry 2, racking up nearly double the frame rates when compared to last generation’s Ultrabooks and hybrids.

On Battlefield Bad Company 2, the MacBook Air retained its lead over the other systems with the Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated GPU and managed to attain just above 30 fps. However, it was bested by the AMD reference Trinity notebook, which was running an A10-4600M APU which has a Radeon HD 7660G integrated GPU. Having said that, a notebook based on a high-speed Trinity APU cannot match the slim build of the MacBook Air.

Overall, the performance of the new MacBook Air is finally reaching levels where entry-level gaming is fluid with headroom to activate higher quality settings. It is definitely the biggest appreciable gain we've seen to-date on any major processing platform revamp.

Battery Life and Power Consumption

Apple claims that its new 13-inch MacBook Air can last up to 12 hours on batteries. To be specific, the 12 hours is calculated when doing lightweight tasks such as word processing, web browsing and presentations. If you were to watch movies on iTunes, Apple says that 10 hours is possible.

Using Powermark (in the the Windows environment), we managed 4 hours and 8 minutes, which is respectable but not fantastic. In terms of power consumption, it achieved just slightly over 13W and this puts it at around the same mark as the Sony Vaio Duo 11. This is pretty decent considering the Sony Vaio Duo 11, as well as the other hybrids, have smaller 11.6-inch displays.

However, if we were to revert to our older testing methodology which was to loop a 720p video, we managed 7 hours and 16 minutes, which was comparable to the recently reviewed MSI GE40. It seems that the fourth generation Core processors are even more efficient in tackling multimedia needs like running videos, hence the large difference in battery life when running Powermark as opposed to looping videos. Speaking of which, if we looped this same video in its native OS X environment, we recorded an impressive 8 hours. Clearly, the MacBook Air is better optimized for OS X.

Does this mean that the MacBook Air’s battery life is not as good as Apple says it is? The short answer is no. The video kept both cores of the MacBook Air at an almost constant load of around 15% to 20%. If you were to use it for word processing, web browsing and preparing presentations, the processor wouldn't be taxed nearly as much and it is entirely possible to get 12 hours or more.

To provide an anecdotal example, we recently took the MacBook Air on an overseas press trip and seated next to us was another journalist which had a last generation MacBook Air. We were taking notes, checking our emails during the presentation and 30 minutes later, the new MacBook Air’s battery status indicator still showed 100% battery left whereas the last generation MacBook Air was down to 92%. That's how much more frugal the new fourth generation Core processor is. It also helps that the new MacBook Air has a slightly larger battery that holds 8% more charge.

Portability Index

Our Portability Index factors in battery life, weight and volume so you can see which notebook is the most worthwhile to carry around. The MacBook Air’s portability score is one of the best in its class thanks to its impressive battery life and also its compact dimensions and light weight. Whichever workload you compare, it bests all of the last generation Ultrabooks of the same form factor.

Better than Ever

The MacBook Air started out as a premium ultra-portable notebook for Apple, but has since become more affordable over time. When it was launched in 2008, the 13-inch MacBook Air commanded a US$1799 launch price; today, the base 13-inch model costs just US$1099. Now that the standard MacBook has been discontinued, the MacBook Air has become Apple’s entry level notebook. (This also indirectly signals the fact that Ultrabooks are going mainstream, more so with the new processing platform and it will ultimately replace all other conventional sized notebooks in due time.)

Although the new MacBook Air has not changed radically, Apple has provided it with substantial upgrades under the hood. Thanks to the new Core i5-4250U processor and marginally larger battery, the MacBook Air now has even longer battery life. Even though its showing on Powermark was slightly underwhelming, considering Apple’s lofty claims, we found that it was entirely possible to achieve and exceed 12 hours if you used the MacBook Air as Apple has intended.

As for performance, the new Core i5-4250U processor was certainly competitive, and the new Intel HD Graphics 5000 integrated GPU allowed it to completely outclass previous generation Ultrabooks and hybrids that were powered by last generation’s Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated GPU. The new PCIe-based SSD also made the MacBook Air feel ultra responsive and snappy.

Locally, the basic 13-inch model is retailing for S$1488, which is actually S$100 less than last generation’s entry-level 13-inch model. That aside, the new basic 13-inch MacBook Air comes with 128GB of storage, double that of last generation’s, which makes this new 13-inch MacBook Air more value for money. If that sounds too good to be true, you can also head to the local online Apple Store to check it out. 

However, do note that new MacBook Air does not have any user-upgradeable or serviceable components. This means you have to decide and think very carefully about specifications when placing an order. As always, upgrading with Apple will cost a pretty penny. An upgrade to 8GB RAM is an additional S$140, whereas a 512GB SSD will set you back S$420.

Its base price of S$1488 makes it considerably more affordable than its Windows-based competitors. The MSI Slidebook S20 costs a tad more at S$1599, but other competitors such as the Sony Vaio Duo 11 and Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro cost around the S$2000 mark, whereas the ASUS Taichi 21 has an eye-popping S$2698 price tag. Granted these more expensive notebooks are performing dual functions of both a tablet and a notebook, the point we're driving at is that you can obtain a top-build notebook like the Apple MacBook Air at an affordable price point that has great portability and more than decent performance. So while the MacBook Air doesn't go head-on with the new breed of convertible and hybrid Ultrabooks, the vast price differential will certainly make many think twice if the added capabilities are worth the premium.

For the more budget conscious, Apple also offers an 11-inch variant of the MacBook Air and prices for those begin at S$1348 for the base model, which has the exact same specifications (Core i5-4250U processor and 128GB SSD) as the model we reviewed in this article.

All things considered, Apple has made the MacBook Air better with subtle but crucial improvements. The longer battery life makes the MacBook Air and even more compelling tool for those who are always on the go; while the new "Haswell" processor and PCIe-based SSD makes the MacBook Air and even more capable system; lastly, build quality is nearly faultless.

In short, Apple has made one of the best ultraportable notebooks in the market even better. To check out other optional accessories to consider when purchasing the MacBook Air, drop by the online Apple Store.

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