Apple’s best-selling laptop received significant improvements.
Apple MacBook Air has undergone multiple transformations and improvements over the years, yet the most recent upgrades are the most noticeable. From the Apple-designed powerful M1 processor to the much-anticipated scissor-switch keyboard, Apple MacBook Air 2020 delivered more than expected. Read our rundown of the latest features and specifications below. If you’re torn between the latest 2020 MacBook Air vs Macbook Pro with M1 Chip, read our comparison.
Design & Configurations
Apple MacBook Air 2020 features the same all-metal high-quality design and comes in three color options: Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. It weighs only 2.8 pounds, making it one of the lightest and thinnest laptops on the market.
The latest MacBook Air is available in two configurations
- An option with 8‑Core CPU, 7‑Core GPU, and 256GB storage costs $999
- A more advanced model, with 8-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU, and 512GB storage is priced at $1,249.
Both options come with the Magic keyboard, Retina display with True Tone, and two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports.
The Keyboard
By far, the most prominent feature of the new Apple MacBook Air 2020 is the Magic keyboard. The tech giant finally decided to address users’ concerns and switched from the previous butterfly mechanism to the much more convenient scissor-switch mechanism. With the revamped keyboard, you can forget about sticky keys, sensitivity to dust, and excessive clicking noise.
The design also features an oversized, extremely responsive, and highly convenient touchpad that gives you enough space to navigate without the mouse. A very useful Touch ID button helps you breeze through many tasks and online activities.
Power and Battery Life
Apple MacBook Air 2020 has an impressive battery life that can last up to 18 hours without charge, according to Apple. Of course, certain tasks may drain the battery faster, but the M1 chip has certainly added to the overall efficiency.
M1 processor delivers an impressive performance and has the fastest CPU ever made by Apple. Thanks to M1, MacBook Air speeds through everything, from photo editing to video viewing and conferencing to games and more.
Also, since M1 is so power-efficient, Apple MacBook Air 2020 doesn’t feature a fan, meaning the laptop will be silent regardless of what users are doing. Bonus: the chip will also allow you to run iPhone and iPad apps on your computer, available through the Mac App Store. M1 chip won’t natively run applications made for Intel processors, but you can use Rosetta 2 (Apple’s tool for translating applications) to make your apps work without interruptions.
Display
Apple MacBook Air 2020 comes with the brilliant and sharp 2,560 x 1600-pixel Retina display that delivers a great level of detail. The display also features Apple’s True Tone technology. It automatically adjusts display’s white point to the color temperature of the environment for a more pleasant experience. To top it off, there is a wider palette of colors on display, with 25% more colors than sRGB.
Additional Features
The sleek design of the MacBook Air means you don’t get that many ports: only two USB Type-C ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right. Both USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 3, charging, and video out.
The device features solid audio capabilities and the same 720p webcam as before. Even though there’s no higher resolution camera on this MacBook Air model, the M1 chip does offer some improvement due to its image signal processor. Still, hopefully Apple will introduce cameras with higher resolution in the next generations of Mac.
The machine also supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax.) which brings faster speeds and expanded network capacity. MacBook Air 2020 comes with macOS Big Sur, the newly redesigned operating system that has a lot of useful features.
Conclusion
Apple MacBook Air 2020 with M1 chip is a powerful machine designed to easily handle any task at hand and its lightweight design is a great bonus. MacBook Air is a good choice if you’re looking for a reliable and efficient computer that looks and feels nice.
And if you’re ready to MacBook trade in for value before buying the latest model, Gadget Salvation is here to help.
