95
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (mid 2011)
9.0
final rating

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Criteria Comments Rating
  • Speed and features This version of the Air makes the last edition Air and last year's MacBook Pros look like film props. This computer is insanely fast. great!
  • Design and form factor .68"-.11" - It doesn't get much better than that. great!
  • Battery life The battery life *could* have been better, I have a feeling Apple could have fit a bigger battery, but it works just well enough. good
  • Display The Vaio Z has a 1920x1080 option, this is only 1440x900. While definitely a bump from the 13" MBPs, Apple could do with a higher resolution display option. good
  • Durability The "aluminium" speaks for itself. great!
  • Expandability Apple has decided to solder the RAM to the motherboard, so no user replacement there, and very difficult to replace SSD. good
  • Noise Practically noiseless. Fan only turns on when encoding an HD movie I've found. great!
  • Portability (size / weight) 2.96 pounds, thinner than a deck of cards - this thing has portability written all over it. great!
Detailed review
I didn't really know whether it was worth getting this computer over my current MacBook Pro 13" from 2010. I didn't think the upgrade would justify the cost. Boy was I wrong. I thought my MBP with a 128 SSD was pretty quick - the new MBA is even quicker. It outperforms even the i7 models of the 2010 MBPs on benchmarks and is quick as can be.

The screen resolution is a nice bump to 1440x900 (I'd still like to see a 1080p option at some point) from the 1360x768 on the 2010 MBP 13".

This computer just totally replaced my current laptop, and is actually shaping up to replace my iPad 2 - something I never thought possible (all due in part to Lion).
review history
2012-03-18
Updated detailed review