Retina MacBook Air may be Apple’s most beautiful laptop ever

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MacBook Air
Apple's new Retina MacBook Air is a stunner.
Photo: Apple

Ten years after launching the game-changing MacBook Air, Apple took the wraps off the latest iteration of its ultra-thin, affordable laptop. And, boy, does it look great!

Boasting a considerably smaller bezel, a Retina display, a Touch ID sensor and an overall slimmer design, this is the MacBook many will have been waiting for.

Retina MacBook Air: Apple’s most beautiful laptop ever?

Apple Mac thin
Yep, take our money now!
Photo: Apple

The biggest noticeable upgrade for the MacBook Air, unveiled today at Apple’s “There’s More in the Making” event in New York, is its 13.3-inch Retina display.

This finally gives the MacBook Air the killer screen that Apple fans have been waiting for. In real terms, this brings 4x the resolution of previous models, with more than 4 million pixels shunted around the screen. It offers 48 percent more color, along with sharper text and images.

All of this is framed in a bezel that’s 50 percent narrower than its predecessor. It’s not quite the edge-to-edge display of the iPhone XS. However, this impressive upgrade gives you a lot more screen real estate for your money.

It’s not just the bezel that’s getting thinner, either. The Retina MacBook Air takes up an astonishing 17 percent less volume overall than its predecessor. It comes in a surprising 10 percent thinner than the last MacBook Air, measuring just 15.6mm thick. It weighs just 2.75 pounds (a quarter pound lighter than the previous MacBook Air).

Most spectacularly, Apple’s eco warriors crafted the Retina MacBook Air out of 100 percent recycled aluminum. This makes it Apple’s “greenest Mac ever.”

The backlit Butterfly keyboard, meanwhile, boasts 4x the stability of the previous MacBook Air keyboard, while the Force Touch trackpad boasts 20 percent more surface area. There’s also a Touch ID sensor for good measure!

Retina MacBook Air: Under the surface

T2 chip
Apple’s most secure laptop yet.
Photo: Apple

Inside, you get Apple’s T2 security chip and an SSD controller, giving you more security and on-the-fly data encryption than any rival laptop.

The speakers blast 25 percent louder than the previous-gen version, and a new three-microphone array should improve Siri’s voice recognition.

As for tech specs, you get 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports and an eighth-generation dual-core CPU with the latest Intel graphics. Battery life gets a big upgrade as well, giving you up to 13 hours on a single charge.

The Retina MacBook Air offers 8GB of memory, and 128GB of storage. Prices start at $1,199, making this the most affordable Retina Mac yet. It can be ordered starting today, with shipping beginning next week.

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