When announcing the long overdue refresh to the MacBook Air, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the laptop as “the most beloved notebook”. Personally, it was my most beloved notebook. I held onto one for five years, long after my manager told me it was out of warranty and no longer supported, waiting for the laptop to receive an upgrade.
A few weeks ago the MacBook Air finally got the update every owner wanted; an improvement to the display. The 2018 Air has a crisp Retina panel, with a full sRGB colour gamut, not matching the P3 displays found in the MacBook but a fantastic screen nonetheless. The bezel has been reduced and darkened to make the display more dramatic, and if that’s the only improvement you’ve been waiting for the 2018 Air will make you very happy.
On either side of the screen are powerful speakers that cleverly listen to each other, to separate the sound and give the impression of a much wider throw. It makes the little notebook a powerful media device; perfect for those who use their laptop as their television.
The addition of a fingerprint reader, without the Touch Bar tax, is a welcome change, and I hope to see the option spread through Apple’s line up. It makes logging in to the laptop fast and secure, while improvements to Apple’s own iCloud password vault — and built in support for third party password managers like LastPass and 1Password — makes it easy to set up complex passwords for your favourite sites. Please do that.