MacBook Air Gets New Keyboard, Ice Lake, Starts at $999

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A sub-$1,000 MacBook with the keyboard you want.

Apple today updated the MacBook Air with the new keyboard found on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as new processors and a starting price of $999. It's also now starting at 256GB of storage, a double jump from the previous 128GB.

MacBook Air (2020) Specs

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CPUUp to 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
GraphicsIntel Iris Plus
Display13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600
StorageUp to 2TB SSD
RAMUp to 16GB LPDDR4X
KeyboardMagic Keyboard with TouchID
Webcam720p
Wireless802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0
Battery49.9 Whr

Apple hasn't formally listed the names of the new processors, other than that they're  10th Gen Intel. But support for LPDDR4X RAM and Iris Plus graphics on board suggest they're using Intel's Ice Lake chips.

The Magic Keyboard continues Apple's move away from the butterfly switches that were often maligned by critics and towards the scissor switches that were welcomed back in the 16-inch MacBook Pro. This laptop also has Touch ID to log in with your fingerprint.

(Image credit: Apple)

The $999 starting price nets you a 1.1-GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 (configurable to an i5) and 256GB of storage, while for $1,299 you can move up to a 1.1-GHz, quad-core Core i5 chip (configurable to an i7) and 512GB of storage.

Otherwise, not too much has changed. It still comes in gold, space gray and silver in a thin-and-light chassis. It doesn't look like we're getting the amazing speakers from the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but the keyboard along may be enough to convince some who were waiting for a change.

Additionally, Apple today quietly announced it is doubling the storage on its Mac Mini configurations.

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Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • NightHawkRMX
    A perfect. $1000 for a thermal throttling Dual-core i3
    Reply
  • daglesj
    Wow...maybe buy a proper computer instead? I think most Chromebooks now have more power than that.
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    https://www.amazon.com/HP-Touchscreen-Chromebook-Computer-Quad-Core/dp/B084C25KZD/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=Chromebook&qid=1584538005&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin:7817224011&rnid=2257851011&s=electronics&sr=1-12
    In fact, yes.

    Here is a $545 Chromebook that has a 4c/8t i5 and the same 8gb ram. It has a smaller SSD but included a hdd for more total storage.

    This is half the cost, performs better, and has a touchscreen, something i feel a $1000 Macbook should have.
    Reply
  • cyrusfox
    This appears to be a big win for Intel on Ice lake. Surprised really to see it as it seems all the premium designs are sticking with comet lake on mobile and pushing high clock speeds.
    Maybe 10nm is finally going to make a proper debut. Can't wait to see the teardowns on the new air, Guess ram is still going to be soldered in place, but wonder on the SSD, whether that can be swapped out or if it has some encryption locking chip that forces Only Apple storage(Latest mac pro seems to suggest apple is locking more and more of the hardware down).
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    cyrusfox said:
    This appears to be a big win for Intel on Ice lake. Surprised really to see it as it seems all the premium designs are sticking with comet lake on mobile and pushing high clock speeds.
    Maybe 10nm is finally going to make a proper debut. Can't wait to see the teardowns on the new air, Guess ram is still going to be soldered in place, but wonder on the SSD, whether that can be swapped out or if it has some encryption locking chip that forces Only Apple storage(Latest mac pro seems to suggest apple is locking more and more of the hardware down).
    Previous airs had soldered SSD and t2
    Reply
  • cyrusfox
    NightHawkRMX said:
    Previous airs had soldered SSD and t2
    Lame, last air I was looking at I believe 2013, didn't have NVME but a similiar standard (early PCIE ssd AHCI weirdness) and was upgradeable with a few hoops to jump through. I shouldn't be surprised, these are just permanent configs and the masses are fine with that so I should stop caring.
    Reply