I finally put my 2013 MacBook Pro to the side and upgraded it to the new MacBook Air 2020. It was actually a decision that I agonized over for a few weeks between the announcement to the moment I pulled the trigger.
I’ve only had about twenty-four hours with the machine, most of which I spent getting it set up, but here are my impressions of the new 2020 MacBook Air.
What I Ordered and Why
I ended up going with the basic i3 version in Space Gray with no upgrades. I just went with the base model.
When the Air was announced, that was the system that I wanted first. Quickly after that, I thought that I would upgrade my system to the quadcore i5. It felt like it would make more sense to future proof. So I canceled my i3 and reordered the MacBook Air with the i5.
A few days after that I canceled that order as well. I figure that most of my portable computing happens on my 2018 iPad Pro. I wasn’t sure that I even really needed to upgrade my 2013 MacBook Pro. It still worked relatively well. The MacBook Pro has left the house but once in the past year.
For any portable computing, I used my iPad. The iPad has been such a great travel device that I never really needed anything else. It fit in every bag I had and I hardly ever noticed the weight.
But working from home, I haven’t really used my iPad as much. I use my iMac for most of my work right now. When I try to change things up and work in the kitchen or something, I would try to use my iPad but I started to find the apps were lacking.
So I decided that I would upgrade my laptop (probably for the last time). I didn’t want to spend that much money either. The base configuration was already about twice as fast on benchmarks as my MacBook Pro.
Speed
So let’s get to it. Upgrading from a 2013 machine, there are times when this thing flies. I’m not sure if it is the processor, the updated graphic cards, but most likely a combination of both. There are times when the MacBook Air feels more fluid than the Pro has.
But there have been some slowdowns. I’m not sure if iPadOS and the iPad Pro have spoiled me, but there have been times when I have a couple of things working that this machine slows down to a crawl. However, that was the first day while things were still getting indexed and installed.
Of course, the benchmarks on my iPad Pro from 2018 show that it blows this Mac out of the water still.
But most everything from surfing the web to opening apps usually feels smoother than before.
I’m not planning on testing the limits of this computer. I doubt that I’d really do much video editing on here. I have a more powerful iMac for that at home, and the iPad Pro does such a great job of that on the road. For my daily needs like the internet, writing, and listening to music, the Air does much better than my older machine.
Heat and Noise
One of the biggest knocks on the new MacBook Air by other reviews has been that the systems really heat up and the fans are loud.
It’s true.
When setting up the MacBook the fans didn’t take long to spin up. Installing all of my apps seemed to tax the system. Things heated up and it felt like everything took longer than normal to install. And really, there wasn’t anything too taxing. I would say Microsoft Office was the hardest install because it took so long.
But now that everything has installed and most everything has indexed, I haven’t really heard the fans spin at all in use. I haven’t done much but surf the web, listen to music, and work in Scrivener. I haven’t heard the fans spin at all.
Battery Life
I’m kind of surprised by this so far as well, and not in a good way.
Updated my Mac of seven years, I thought the battery life on this new Mac would be much better. I haven’t run out of battery just yet, but I have gotten the battery down to the thirty percent range.
I’m expecting things to get better as I use it though. Indexing and set up can take a toll on a battery. I’ll report back in a couple of weeks.
The MacBook does get hours out of the battery, but I also could be comparing this to the iPad again.
The Keyboard
I managed to skip the entire Butterfly Keyboard fiasco kind of. I hear that the Smart Keyboard Folio of iPad uses the butterfly switches, but since it is protected there hasn’t been issues.
But the Magic Keyboard on this system feels great. I love the travel and I love how stable it feels when typing. I’ve had the magic keyboard on with my iMac for a year but this one feels better. The keys on the iMac feel a little looser.
Of course, only time will tell if these keyboards fix all the issues that the butterfly keyboard had.
Other things
TouchID
This is my first laptop with TouchID. I did try out the first-generation MacBook Air when it launched but I don’t remember really using TouchID much. I like having the ability to open apps like 1Password with just my fingerprint, but sometimes I feel like it is more clunky than it was before TouchID.
But I might not be using it right. I’m so used to seeing all my login info come up when I need to enter a password. When I see the login options I keep selecting the login and then pushing the TouchID button. I don’t think you need to select the login before you put your finger on the sensor, but that muscle memory is strong.
I also have my MacBook set up to unlock with my Apple Watch. This limits some of the use of the TouchID sensor. But still, it’s nice to have when switching between users.
Audio
The audio on the MacBook Air is great, but I do feel it in the keyboard sometimes. The speakers can get pretty loud, but when I’m listening to music at home, I usually use a HomePod or Headphones.
I did play music on my laptop and I could definitely feel the music on the keyboard. It wasn’t bad, but I could feel it for those of you that think it might bother you.
Portability
This computer is obviously much smaller than my previous MacBook Pro. I love the form factor. It is easier to type without the edges digging into my wrists.
I don’t think that the MacBook Air will replace my iPad as my go-to travel device, but won’t have any issues taking it out of the house when I need it. On those days when I feel like I might need it, I probably won’t hesitate to take it with the iPad either.
But this is not as light or ease to use as an iPad.
Photos
The Future
There have been rumors for a while that Apple will be switching its Mac line up from Intel processors to an Apple-developed ARM chip. Right now, Apple makes its own processors for the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, HomePod, and Apple Watch. So I think it will be sooner rather than later that Apple switches the Mac over.
Does that limit the future of these MacBook Airs? I would say for sure.
I think that combined with the iPad Pro continuing to progress as a system, the laptop days for me are numbered. I’m not sure that I will ever buy another laptop after this one. I think the future will be the tablet form-factor, I just need those apps to keep improving.
Wrap Up
The MacBook Air 2020 is a great update, one that many users had been waiting on. The price has finally gotten good enough to pull the trigger (it got down to $899 with an education discount) and it has enough storage for most people.
Would I recommend this laptop to others? In a heartbeat. If you need a laptop, I think the MacBook Air 2020 is the best Apple laptop you can buy.
Do I think that it is the future of computing? I think the iPad is really going to take off soon.
But for now, I’m really happy with my MacBook Air.
