![]() ![]() But one of the USB ports must be used to charge the laptop, which leaves you with only a single free port for connecting all of your peripherals, from external displays to the charging cable for your phone. Both of the USB ports support Thunderbolt 3, which makes for lightning-fast data transfer speeds and is frequently absent on comparably priced Windows 10 laptops. There are only three: two USB Type-C ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Potentially a bigger problem for some users is the MacBook Air's lack of ports. The Touch Bar isn't available on the MacBook Air, and for most users, it's no great loss. ![]() ![]() Apple steadfastly refuses to mimic the excellent touch support of iOS on the Mac, except for the MacBook Pro's idiosyncratic Touch Bar that is useful mainly for certain highly specialized tasks like scrubbing through video timelines. The major downside to the Retina Display is the lack of touch support. If you don't like the modest changes True Tone makes, though, you can turn it off in the System Preferences app. To me, it just feels more classy than a non-adjusted screen does as I move from space to space, like I'm watching an arthouse film even when I'm really just typing into Microsoft Word. True Tone, also available on many other Apple devices, has a subtle but noticeable effect. The MacBook Air lacks OLED technology or support for high dynamic range (HDR), but it partially makes up for those missing features with True Tone, which automatically adjusts the white balance of the display to match the ambient light in the room. The sensor doubles as a power button, though you mostly won't need that feature, since the MacBook Air fires up automatically as soon as you open the lid. And the Touch ID sensor in the upper right corner of the keyboard lets you log into your macOS account without typing a password. The oversized Force Touch trackpad has virtual haptic feedback instead of a physical switch, so clicks feel uniformly satisfying no matter where your finger happens to be located on the pad. The sleek, aluminum chassis is available in Space Gray, Rose Gold, or Silver. On the other hand, if you're eager to replace an aging laptop with the new MacBook Air and are unfamiliar with the modern features you've been missing, you're in for a treat. If you just bought a 2019 MacBook Air and you're satisfied with the keyboard and core computing components, you can stop reading here and save the cost of an upgrade. Other than the new keyboard layout, the rest of the MacBook Air's physical features are virtually identical to those of its predecessor's. It's only worth mentioning as proof that the old butterfly keyboard can't claim meaningful space savings as a benefit. Still, it's almost nothing: The 2020 MacBook Air is 0.63 by 11.97 by 8.46 inches (HWD) and 2.8 pounds, versus 0.61 by 12 by 8.4 inches and 2.75 pounds for the previous model. The only possible downside to the new keyboard is that it requires a smidge more vertical space, which means the new MacBook Air is ever-so-slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor. But some are no happier than they were in the typewriter era. Today, many of those same people who used to write novels at desks or dictate notes to their secretaries are sitting at coffee shops hacking away at an Apple laptop keyboard instead. Why Keyboards MatterĮveryone from novelists to secretaries once typed on typewriters, an arduous process that involves striking metal levers with a great deal of force. Even so, if you're a macOS fan who uses a laptop mainly for tasks like writing emails and browsing the web, the 2020 edition of the MacBook Air is easy to recommend for general use. The redesign also brings higher storage capacities and Intel's latest 10th Generation Core processors to the MacBook Air, though raw computing performance isn't the new Air's strong suit. Now, in an apparent admission that people just don't like the extremely shallow key travel of those butterfly switches, Apple has once again updated the MacBook Air (starts at $999 $1,299 as tested) with a new, more comfortable keyboard. In 2018, the Apple MacBook Air was the last Mac laptop to be updated with Apple's controversial butterfly-style keyboard, following its introduction several years earlier on the now-discontinued 12-inch MacBook. ![]()
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