When the MacBook Air first launched, nobody could deny it was physically impressive. Well under an inch thick, it was a visual delight to anybody who saw it. Ironically, any disappointment was saved for the owners themselves: the payoff for those market-besting dimensions was underpowered components and the tendency to overheat. Now, Apple have freshly inflated the Air with new technology, in fact just about everything down to the memory is new. Second time around, have they created the ultimate ultraportable?
Where with the original Air it was the outside that was revolutionary, this time around it’s the inside where all the major changes have happened. Out goes the old 2GB of DDR2 667MHz memory, to be replaced with 2GB of DDR3 1,066MHz; storage gets a kick too, with the entry-level Air going from 80GB PATA to 120GB SATA, while the SSD version doubles to 128GB. Similarly, the integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics chipset of the original Air is junked in favor of the same NVIDIA GeForce 9400M chipset as found in the new unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro.
In fact similarities between the Air, the MacBook and the MacBook Pro are now all the more obvious. Casing design is one such area: Apple was generous with their credit to the Air during the recent unibody MacBook announcements, as paving the way in laser-cut aluminum design. Requiring a little closer examination is the switch from Mini DVI to Mini DisplayPort, again as found on its bigger siblings, supporting DVI, VGA and Dual-Link DVI via various adapters. Otherwise there’s still the same single USB 2.0 port and headphone socket, with wired Ethernet available only via an optional USB-to-RJ45 adapter.
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https://www.slashgear.com/macbook-air-review-its-a-different-beast-inside-out-2824523/
