Apple Quietly Updates The Macbook Air And 13 Inch Macbook Pro With Touch Bar
In the year 2019, Apple has already upgraded a number of existing Mac computers which include the 15 inch MacBook notebook computer and the iMac desktop computer. On the 10th of July, the company silently refreshed the 13 inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air with an upgraded display and 8th Gen Intel CPUs. Also, the company has reduced the price of the device to rake in more customers and boost sales. Besides, the 12 inch MacBook which was first unveiled in 2015 has been discontinued.
2019 MacBook Air
In terms of design, the MacBook Air retains the thin and light design which has been a staple to this lineup of ultra-portable notebook computers. The laptop measures 304.1 x 212.4 x 4.1/15.6 mm and weighs only 1.25 kg. It sports a 13.3-inch Retina display which supports Apple’s proprietary True Tone technology that can automatically adjust the colour temperature for a comfortable viewing experience.
In addition, the 2019 MacBook Air gets a TouchID sensor for biometric verification. The compact notebook computer is kitted with an 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor which has a base frequency of 1.6 GHz and a turbo boost upto 3.6 GHz. The MacBook Air is offered with 8 GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 RAM which can be kitted with upto 128 GB of 256 GB of PCIe based SSD.
The 2019 MacBook Air features a 49.9 watt-hour lithium battery which can provide a battery backup of upto 13 hours dependent on the usage. It features a full-sized keyboard with 78 keys and a Force Touch Trackpad which features multi-touch gestures like pinch and zoom, two-finger scrolling.
MacBook Pro 13 With Touch Bar
Like the MacBook Air 2019, the MacBook Pro 13 features a 13.3-inch Retina display with a pixel density of 227 ppi. The laptop can be configured with two different Intel Core i5 chipsets. Both options have a quad-core CPU that features 128 MB of eDRAM. For further enhancing the security on the laptop, it features Apple’s in-house developed T2 security chip. The secondary chip is used for safely securing sensitive user data like passwords and fingerprint information. According to Apple, this chip combines an additional level of security which is virtually unable to be cracked via brute-forcing.
The highlighting feature of the 2019 MacBook Pro 13 is the addition of the Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID which was first seen on the 2015 MacBook Pro in 2016. The laptop is equipped with a large force touch trackpad which also supports multi-touch gestures.
As the name suggests, the Touch Bar is an elongated touchscreen display placed right above the keyboard keys. The feature is aimed towards replacing the conventional control buttons with a more interactive and modern approach. The Touch Bar can be used to regulate several functionalities like volume and brightness controls on the MacBook. In addition, it can also be used to toggle the most used or favourite apps with a simple tap.
The MacBook 2013 is offered with 8 GB of RAM which can be paired with either 128 GB or 256 GB of PCIe based SSD. The storage is non-user-replaceable, therefore, it cannot be replaced or upgraded at a later stage. Therefore, users must carefully select storage capacity at the time of purchasing the laptop.
Price And Availability
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Both, the MacBook Air Retina and the 13 inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar are available for purchase via both online and offline platforms. Price of both the laptops are as follows:
Price In US | Price In India | |
MacBook Air Retina | US $ 1099 | Rs 99,000 |
MacBook Pro 13 | US $ 1299 | Rs 1,19,000 |
Quick Specs
MacBook Air | MacBook Pro | |
Screen |
13.3-inch, LED-backlit 2560×1600 px 227 ppi |
13.3-inch, LED-backlit 2560×1600 px 227 ppi |
Camera | 720p | 720p |
Battery | 49.9 watt-hour | 58.2 watt-hour |
Processor |
intel i5, 8th Gen dual-core base 1.6 GHz, turbo boost 3.6 GHz |
intel i5, 8th Gen quad-core base 1.4 GHz, turbo boost 3.9 GHz intel i5, 8th Gen quad-core base 2.4 GHz, turbo boost 4.1 GHz |
Storage |
PCIe SSD 128 GB 256 GB |
PCIe SSD 128 GB 256 GB |
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 4.2 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
Bluetooth 4.2 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
Ports |
2x USB-C 3.1, Gen 2 (Charging + Data Transfer + DisplayPort) |
2x USB-C 3.1, Gen 2 (Charging + Data Transfer + DisplayPort) 3.5 mm audio jack |
Graphics | Intel UHD 617 | |
Colours |
Gold Space Grey Silver |
Space Grey Silver |
Weight |
1.25 kg |
1.37 kg |