Who has what battery life on a MacBook? How to increase battery life of MacBook Pro, MacBook Air. Glowing apple, dimensions, and connectors
I must say right away that for more than five years my main laptop has been an Apple machine, two years ago the two-year-old Air was replaced by a 13-inch Pro and I have never regretted it. A very reliable device that has already passed various tests with me.
In my opinion, the MacBook Pro 2014/15 is the best laptop in terms of price/quality ratio and life cycle, which easily reaches 4-5 years, without replacing the original battery. For example, my computer has already had 537 charge/discharge cycles, and the effective battery capacity has dropped by only 9%; other manufacturers cannot boast of similar results. In them, the battery “dies” within a year and a half, two years, although it all depends on the usage scenario and the number of cycles. In my scenario, the laptop is used daily and for at least 5-6 hours. And so 365 days a year, without any exceptions.
Each person has their own scenarios for using a computer; there are universal ones, but it is impossible to squeeze everyone into them. Therefore, it is impossible to say that the name Pro suits all professionals without exception. For example, games are always the weak point of the MacBook, so the Pro models are no exception, they have very weak graphics. On the other hand, a huge number do not play games on laptops, and for them, battery life, keyboard comfort, and other parameters are important. A professional can be a graphic designer, a doctor, a landscaper or a journalist, so there are a lot of scenarios and they are very different from each other. In my case, the following parameters are important to me from a laptop:
- high-quality screen, since I spend a lot of time at the computer;
- good and comfortable keyboard, with the ability to touch-type;
- operating time so that one charge is enough for 6-7 hours of work on a flight or trip;
- reliability of the case, resistance to compression (a backpack can be filled with a lot of things), the ability to withstand accidental falls or objects hitting the case when closed;
- speed of work in office applications, graphic editors, video conversion speed;
I listed exactly the parameters for which I chose the MacBook Pro, since in 2014 it turned out to be the optimal one in terms of price/quality ratio. For some, such a computer may be insufficient in terms of graphics, memory, processor speed, or something else.
Like many, I was looking forward to the presentation of the 2016 MacBook Pro with great impatience; rumors said that this was a fundamental update of previous models. I crossed my fingers and thought that they would show me the laptop that would be my next one. But bewilderment only grew during the presentation, and after I tried the new MacBooks in real life, it became even greater. After a week of full-time work with the 2016 MacBook Pro with the new touchpad, I came to a disappointing conclusion - my two-year-old computer is better or not inferior to the new product in a number of ways. In addition, the company charges an additional 300-350 dollars for this touch panel, which is out of the question. I'm afraid that if Apple continues to follow this convoluted path, then I will have to sit on the current model while it works, and then carefully look at what models are on the market besides the MacBook. From talking with other MacBook Pro users, I got the feeling that many people had mixed reactions to the new product. And if a year ago the appearance of a minor update to the MacBook Pro did not raise any doubts that you were buying one of the best laptops that exist on the market, now this feeling is completely absent.
Sergey Kuzmin was the first in the editorial office to get acquainted with the MacBook Pro 2016; his material was very enthusiastic, but did not answer at all the main questions that worried me - how convenient it is to live with all the changes that were made to the design. Moreover, he had a 15-inch machine, while a 13-inch diagonal is more convenient for me.
You should not expect that my impressions will claim to be complete and consider various scenarios, but I am sure that my observations will cause a keen response from many, since they are dictated by life and the actual use of a laptop in everyday situations. Go.
Glowing apple, dimensions, and connectors
Until last year's MacBook, all Apple laptops had a glowing apple on the back to differentiate them from most devices on the market. Having a glowing apple made me neither hot nor cold. This logo had no function, it was an image feature and nothing more. Therefore, I endured the disappearance of the glowing logo without regrets.
The explanation for the abandonment of such a logo is that now the laptop body has become thinner (by an average of 17%), the length and height have decreased slightly (by 3%). I don’t give centimeters and millimeters, since they won’t tell you anything, you need to pick up the MacBook Pro and compare. The laptop has also become noticeably lighter, which can be considered a big plus for those who move actively and carry their computer in a bag or backpack. But the gain is not so noticeable (it was 1.58 kilograms now 1.37 kilograms for the 13-inch model), and the difference cannot be considered cardinal. But by reducing the thickness, they couldn’t help but sacrifice the keyboard, which we’ll talk about a little later.
Now about the connectors. I don’t understand why Apple abandoned the proprietary MagSafe. And there is no need to explain this by standardization, this is the last thing the company paid attention to.
Let me remind you that the MagSafe connector has a magnet and can be connected from either side, but most importantly it has a small LED. You always see that your laptop is charging or already charged. A couple of times there were situations when the extension cord was unplugged and without this indicator, charging would not have happened, and during the flight I would have been sitting with a completely discharged laptop. The situation is rare, but this happens to me a couple of times a year.
What we are offered now are four Thunderbolt 3 connectors (essentially USB Type C), you can insert a charger or any cable into any of them, they are interchangeable. There is simply no separate connector for power. To some extent this is pleasant, but there is no magic, the magnet has been removed, the LED is missing. In the instructions, Apple recommends using only original chargers, as others may negatively affect the battery. And it is true! If earlier, with your MacBook Pro, you could use any chargers from the MacBook, which differed slightly in power, but now you can easily charge from any power supply with a USB Type C interface. And I’m afraid that this can “kill” your laptop’s battery much more effectively, than before. On the other hand, most will still use the original chargers. Or not? The example of the iPhone shows that a huge number of people charge their devices with “left” charges, and then wonder why their battery quickly dies. And it doesn't hold a charge at all. As soon as freedom appears for the user, they use it willingly or unwillingly. As a result, the device suffers. Why did they do this? As for me, because of my small mind, no one simply thought about it.
One more thing. Chargers can be plugged into all four connectors at the same time. But the MacBook will choose one thing for charging that it considers optimal. Unexpectedly, I found out that the optimal one all the time was not the original charging, but from another device, with a slightly higher current. Why? Unclear.
The transition to USB Type C is a necessity in the near future, but it was possible to combine connectors, the space allows it. Two old USBs, two new ones. But they cut it off like they cut it off. Now, in order to connect “old” devices, you need to carry an adapter with you, for example, like this one. I'm not saying that it's expensive; buyers of such equipment are able to find money for an accessory. But this is stupidly inconvenient, since you have to constantly check before the trip whether you have forgotten these adapters.
And now the cherry on Apple's logic. You buy a brand new iPhone/iPad and cannot connect it to a MacBook Pro without a separate adapter or additional cable. Cool? Not that word. This is just beyond insanity. The headphones included with the iPhone also cannot be connected to the MacBook Pro; they have a Lightning connector. This is insanity squared.
And now the most important thing. The MacBook Pro has had an SD card slot since time immemorial; photographers needed it to transfer files. This is often easier to transfer heavy photos and RAW files than copying over WiFi or wired. And now this connector has been removed. Why? The answer lies in the fact that some people bought the minimum configuration of the MacBook Pro and “forever” inserted a memory card into the slot, expanding the memory of their laptop. Cheap and cheerful. Apple apparently got so upset about this that they simply removed the slot. It is clear that it is really needed three or four times a year. But when you need it, its presence is simply invaluable. Now this is gone and hello again to adapters and external card readers. This is all frustrating and makes the machine very, very strange. For at least a couple of years until we acquire a bunch of peripherals for USB Type C, this solution will be far from optimal. But I doubt that the iPhone will suddenly replace Lightning with USB Type C. Why would they do this? This means that separate wires are needed again. It reminds me of a cool car that had wipers installed from Zaporozhets, that’s exactly the impression I get.
Keyboard and Touchpad - Physical Keys vs. Touch Keys, TouchPad
I have two news, good and bad. The good news is that it turns out that I don’t need the function keys under the screen very often, a couple of times a day at most. The bad news is that when you need them, they aren't readily available. The touchpad is made contextual, it is very small and responds to presses, which is quite expected. By default, the ESC key is on the left, it has not disappeared. And now up the logic - if you want to see the entire panel as before, you need to expand it to the right. And then the ESC disappears! Logics? She's gone. You can come up with an explanation that the line of keys was shortened to save energy.
On the right there is a fingerprint sensor, a very convenient thing. Touch and the computer is unlocked. There is no need to enter a password the old fashioned way; you can also pay for purchases online using Apple Pay, which is also a good idea that will save time in the future. But you can easily live without this, these are not the kind of chips that I am ready to buy with my eyes closed and claim that they are vital.
Physically, the keyboard is approximately the same in size, the keys are similar in area, but the pursuit of a thin body (1.49 centimeters versus 1.8 before) made it necessary to cut the buttons in height. The MacBook's gorgeous keyboard hasn't turned into a pumpkin at all, it's just gotten worse on 2016 models with touch displays. The keys have less travel, and ergonomics have clearly suffered. For me this is a very significant factor. Of course, I got used to the new keyboard within a week, but the typing pleasure that was on my MacBook Pro is nowhere near there. This is a design degradation that was unnecessary. At all.
The touchpad supports Force Touch, but most people don't use it. I could not find a use for this function in everyday life. You may be able to do it better. The increased touchpad area is absolutely unnecessary; the old one was smaller and almost perfect. Why was it increased? Apparently in order to show some “improvements”. But again, this does not provide any new user experience.
Display and sound
The resolution is the same, but the screen brightness has increased significantly, which makes it necessary to either use adaptive backlighting or turn the brightness down by 50-70%, depending on your idea of beauty. On my MacBook, the brightness when powered from the network is 90%, for me this is a comfortable level for watching movies, and when working it is 40%, so my eyes get less tired. It's good that the screen now has a wider brightness range, which is always a plus. But I'm using exactly the same levels as before. Maximum brightness burns the eyes in the room and is not very pleasant.
The different arrangement of the speakers is noticeable; the sound is louder and better audible. Moreover, this applies to both the situation when the laptop is on the table, on a hard surface, and on the blanket in the bed. Again, the change is pleasant, evolutionary, but everything is fine in the current model, there is no need to complain. They did it better and that's okay.
Working hours
Apple claims exactly the same operating time as for older models; there should be no differences. The first MacBook Pros of 2016 have some kind of floating problem (fingers crossed that it is software), laptops sometimes start to discharge quickly and last for 3-3.5 hours at most. This happened to me once in a week; Activity Monitor did not detect any programs or processors that were consuming processor time and battery. Mysticism or floating bug. I think that this will be cleared out over time, just another birth sore.
Another widely cited problem, both for the 13 and 15-inch models, was screen freezing, when the picture breaks up into stripes of color, this is a problem with the video card. Since the graphics in the 13 and 15 inch models are different, the glitch is not in the video card itself, but in something else. Once I caught this problem, rebooted the computer and everything worked.
In general, we can say that the operating time plus/minus remains the same (remember that my screen brightness is turned up to half, and sometimes less!). Charging times are also comparable.
Cost and final conclusions
The performance of the 2013/2014 MacBook Pro with an i5 processor is almost no different from that of the 13-inch 2016 model in most common tasks, such as working in MS Office or Pages. You will need to look for the difference with a stopwatch and look closely, with passion.
My laptop in the summer of 2014 was not in the standard configuration (512 GB SSD) and cost just under $2,000. Approximately the same machine from 2016 with a similar processor and memory capacity will cost $500-600 more, depending on the market. This is what I call a hidden price increase, you are overpaying for the Touch Bar, although its ergonomics are much inferior to regular buttons and its usefulness is questionable. I caught myself thinking that throughout the entire text, discussing certain possibilities, I constantly used the word “doubtful.” That's exactly how I feel about the 2016 MacBook Pro. Moreover, regardless of whether it is a 13 or 15-inch model.
Russian prices for MacBook Pro differ from the cost in the US by about 18%, that is, exactly according to VAT (if we take into account the 8% sales tax in New York). Look at the price screenshots below.
The cost of the MacBook Pro has increased noticeably, plus there is a need to buy additional adapters. And here it’s not even a question of price, but the problem is that you have to remember the need to carry all these wiring and adapters with you. Inconvenient.
It is impossible to forgive the refusal of a luxurious keyboard; it has become noticeably simpler and worse. For those who constantly write texts, like I do, this is a big loss. I will not repeat and list all of the above, but I will note that the evolutionary improvements are not very significant, but the rejection of many options is sensitive.
Oddly enough, I see no point in replacing my 2014 laptop with a 2016 model. This makes no sense unless you are used to spending money and change your devices every year. But why do this?
I am very upset by the direction in which they began to “improve” the MacBook; the thickness of the case can be reduced even more, which will make the keys even thinner. Or even replace them with touchscreen ones, which will turn the laptop into an image machine in the future. But it won’t return the convenience of regular keys with good travel. In theory, the Pro prefix should mean that Apple is thinking about those who work on previous generations of devices, are used to them and value them for their balance, ergonomics and convenience. But here no one took our opinion into account, and the changes are too noticeable to be calmly ignored. It’s one thing when journalists and bloggers get brand new MacBooks for free and start praising them, they don’t pay their hard-earned money for these devices, which means they are initially biased. It’s a completely different matter when you shell out a considerable amount for a laptop and are faced with “rough edges”.
Fingers crossed that these experiments with the MacBook Pro end and don't ruin a good product. Otherwise, in 2018 I will have to choose a laptop from many options. The updated Microsoft clearly senses market trends, unlike Apple. And in recent days, you've probably heard that Microsoft is claiming that many people are switching from MacBook Pro to MS Surface. This is a half-truth, since on the scale of MS Surface even a hundred people are already playing the weather, and PR without numbers is sacred for Microsoft. But the company’s PR people caught the trend correctly; they felt that the MacBook Pro could be criticized, since for the first time there was something for it. It’s a pity, but the 2016 MacBook Pro is a very strange model, and also with many strange childhood diseases. I advise you to think seven times before buying these devices. So far they are not worth the money they are asking for.
P.S. I re-read the favorable reviews of the MacBook Pro on the RuNet, they are very similar to the one that Sergey Kuzmin wrote for us. Delights and little relevant information on minor and serious shortcomings. If you, like me, don’t like the direction the MacBook Pro is going, then comment in the comments so that the company can evaluate what kind of product they made and why people have this reaction. At the same time, I will be able to understand how alone I am in my thoughts or whether I will have like-minded people. I admit honestly that I have a selfish interest - I want a good MacBook Pro on the market in a couple of years, and not something understandable.
In June of this year, new generation 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air laptops (mid-2013 models) with Haswell processors, which continued this legendary family, went on sale. These models traditionally received an unofficial addition to the name Mid 2013, which makes them easy to distinguish from previous models.
Many experts rightly believe that the first MacBook Air, launched in January 2008, is the progenitor of all modern Ultrabooks and that the design of this laptop formed the basis of the specification for Ultrabooks. And although formally MacBook Air laptops do not belong to the category of ultrabooks (and why do they need this formality), they embody the entire ideology of ultrabooks. Uncompromisingly stylish, super-thin, lightweight, high-quality, productive and with long battery life - this is how you can characterize the MacBook Air line of laptops.
In general, laptops, tablets, smartphones and Apple computers are their own special world. These devices are full of fans who simply do not recognize anything other than Apple and do not buy these devices because they have some kind of super performance or super functionality. In terms of performance, Apple laptops are difficult to compete with Windows laptops, and in terms of functionality and cost, they are simply inferior to them. However, Apple laptops are extremely popular and people buy them simply because they are Apple. At the same time, everything else is secondary. It’s just that Apple is a lifestyle, it’s an image, it’s a whole infrastructure of devices compatible with each other.
However, enough hymns of praise for Apple. Today we have a very specific laptop on our agenda.
Model range and configuration
So, in June 2013, Apple introduced updated models of the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air laptops with the Mac OS X 10.8.4 operating system. Actually, the difference between the MacBook Air laptops of last year and this year lies precisely in their hardware configuration.
The MacBook Air Mid 2013 is powered by a 22nm fourth-generation Intel Core processor (codenamed Haswell). The laptop is equipped with a dual-core processor with a nominal clock frequency of 1.3 GHz, which can be increased to 2.6 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. The L3 cache size is 3MB and the TDP of this processor is 15W. In addition, the new MacBook Air laptops can be equipped with a more powerful dual-core processor with a clock frequency of 1.7 GHz (Turbo Boost frequency up to 3.3 GHz) and 4 MB L3 cache.
| Characteristics | Intel Core i5-4250U | Intel Core i7-4650U |
| Number of Cores | 2 | 2 |
| Number of threads | 4 | 4 |
| Nominal processor frequency, GHz | 1,3 | 1,7 |
| Frequency in Turbo Boost mode when loading one core, GHz | 2,6 | 3,3 |
| Frequency in Turbo Boost mode when loading two cores, GHz | 2,3 | 2,9 |
| L3 cache, MB | 3 | 4 |
| TDP, W | 15 | 15 |
| Graphics core | Intel HD Graphics 5000 | Intel HD Graphics 5000 |
| Graphics core frequency, MHz | 200 | 200 |
| Graphics core frequency in Turbo Boost mode, MHz | 1000 | 1100 |
The fourth generation Intel Core processors integrate the Intel HD Graphics 5000 graphics core, which is used as a video card in the laptop.
The MacBook Air has 4 GB of DDR3L-1600 RAM. Moreover, the memory is soldered on the board (that is, it cannot be replaced), but, nevertheless, it operates in dual-channel mode, which is important when using a graphics core integrated into the processor. We also note that MacBook Air laptops can optionally be equipped with 8 GB of memory.
The new MacBook Air also uses new, more powerful SSD drives. Laptops can be equipped with either 128 GB drives or 256 GB and 512 GB drives. Moreover, instead of the traditional SATA interface, the PCI Express x2 interface is used to connect drives (the connection interface uses two PCI Express 2.0 lines), which allows for a throughput of up to 1000 MB/s. Naturally, the SSD drives in the MacBook Air are non-standard and can only be replaced with similar ones.
Using high-speed flash memory as a storage device allowed developers to achieve amazingly fast wake-up times for the laptop and minimize boot time.
Note that the standard configuration of the 13-inch model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB drive is called MD760, and the configuration with a 256 GB drive is called MD761. Similarly, the 11-inch configuration with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB drive is called MD711, and the configuration with a 256 GB drive is called MD712.
Another innovation in MacBook Air laptops is a new dual-band (2.4 and 5 MHz) wireless communication module based on the Broadcom BCM4360 chip, supporting 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac standards. Let us recall that the 802.11ac standard provides for the possibility of using from 2 to 8 spatial communication channels with a width of 20, 40, 80 or 160 MHz. And the maximum theoretical speed per one 160-MHz channel is 866 Mbit/s.
The Broadcom BCM4360 chip can only use three 80 MHz spatial channels, resulting in a maximum throughput of 1.3 Gbps.
However, the MacBook Air has only two antennas, which allows the formation of two spatial communication channels and, accordingly, the maximum speed is no more than 866 Mbit/s, which, nevertheless, is still a very high speed.
In addition to the WiFi module, the MacBook Air laptop also has a Bluetooth 4.0 module.
We also add that there is a webcam (720p), located centrally above the screen, and built-in stereo speakers.
| Characteristics | 13-inch MacBook Air Mid 2013 | 11-inch MacBook Air Mid 2013 |
| operating system | Mac OS X 10.8.4 | Mac OS X 10.8.4 |
| Screen | 13.3 inches (1440x900) | 11.6 inches (1366x768) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4250U Intel Core i7-4650U | Intel Core i5-4250U Intel Core i7-4650U |
| Graphics core | Intel HD Graphics 5000 | Intel HD Graphics 5000 |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR3L-1600 8 GB DDR3L-1600 | 4 GB DDR3L-1600 8 GB DDR3L-1600 |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Flash storage capacity, GB | 128 256 512 | 128 256 512 |
| Connectors | 2xUSB 3.0 1 x Thunderbolt SDXC memory card slot | 2xUSB 3.0 1 x Thunderbolt headset combo jack (3.5mm) |
| Wireless module | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Webcam | 720p | 720p |
| dimensions | 325×227×17–3 mm | 300×192×17–3 mm |
| Weight, kg | 1,35 | 1,08 |
Equipment
The 13-inch MacBook Air laptop has standard equipment for Apple laptops. It comes in a massive box without a handle. The overall dimensions of the box are 360 x 265 x 70 mm, and its weight is 2.2 kg.
Inside the packaging box, in addition to the laptop itself, there is a MagSafe 2 charger (45 W), an extension cord for the charger, and two booklets with operating instructions and, of course, Apple stickers. That is, the package includes only everything you need, but without additional bonuses.
Appearance
The design of MacBook Air laptops has remained unchanged for many years (there are only minor changes that are invisible to the eye). The body of the 2013 models is indistinguishable from the body of the 2012 models, and they, in turn, are no different from previous models. In general, the design of MacBook Air laptops is their calling card. Everyone has already become accustomed to this design, and if you change it, it will no longer be a MacBook Air. And there is no point in changing something that is done well and enjoys deserved popularity.
However, despite the fact that the design of the MacBook Air remains unchanged, paying tribute to tradition, we will try to describe it. So, the MacBook Air body is all-metal (aluminum) and has a noble silver color. On the lid of the laptop there is a traditional Apple logo, which is highlighted when the laptop is turned on.
And of course, the main distinguishing feature of MacBook Air laptops is their unprecedentedly thin body. In the 11- and 13-inch models of 2013, it ranges from 0.3 to 1.7 cm. Note that the thickness of the case has not changed compared to the 2012 models. The body width of the 13-inch model is 32.5 cm and the depth is 22.7 cm. The laptop weighs only 1.35 kg.
Well, such characteristics in terms of thickness and weight can be taken as a standard. The interior design of the MacBook Air laptop is made to match the exterior. The screen frame, like the entire body, is made of aluminum. Likewise, the surface framing the keyboard and touchpad is also metal.
Keyboard and trackpad
It is probably no exaggeration to say that MacBook Air laptops (as well as other Apple laptops) use one of the best keyboards and one of the best touchpads available today.
Island-type keyboard with increased distance between keys. The surface under the keyboard is uniform with the rest of the surface, but slightly recessed. That is, holes are simply cut into the surface of the case for each button on the keyboard.
The keyboard keys have adjustable backlighting, which is convenient when typing in the dark.
The top row of keys traditionally has two functions: either traditional F1-F12, or laptop control functions (brightness, sound, key backlight level, etc.), one set works directly, the second - in combination with the Fn function key. The rightmost button in this row is responsible for turning on/off the laptop.
Well, traditionally, Apple laptops use the typewriter keyboard layout, which takes some getting used to (especially if you are used to touch typing).
In general, typing on this keyboard is very convenient. It doesn’t flex at all, the keys don’t make an unpleasant clicking sound when typing, the key travel is slightly spring-loaded and has an easy press response.
The trackpad in the MacBook Air laptop supports the multi-touch function and has a size of 10.5 x 7.5 cm, which is quite enough for comfortable work. The sensitivity of the trackpad is not only satisfactory, but can also serve as an example to follow. Well, in passing, we note that the trackpads in the new MacBook Air laptops are exactly the same as in the 2012 models.
Connectors
As for the connectors in the new MacBook Air models, they have not changed compared to the 2012 models. There are two USB 3.0 ports (one on the left and one on the right), Apple's traditional Thunderbolt port, a combined Apple microphone/headphone/headset port, and an SDXC memory card reader.
As before, there is no RJ-45 network port (only a wireless interface). But if a network port is absolutely necessary, then you can use the appropriate adapter for a USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt port, which is purchased separately.
Screen
The 13-inch MacBook Air laptop has an LED-backlit LCD screen with a resolution of 1440x900 pixels. The exact screen size is 287x180mm (diagonal size 13.3 inches). Actually, the screen itself has not changed compared to the previous model. It has a glossy finish and is not touch sensitive.
A detailed test of the screen of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air (MD760) laptop was carried out by the editor of the “Projectors and TV” section, Alexey Kudryavtsev. We present his expertise.
The front surface of the screen is covered, apparently, with a plastic, but relatively scratch-resistant plate with a mirror-smooth surface, which has some oleophobic (grease-repellent) properties. There is an anti-glare filter, and it is so effective that even direct reflection of bright light sources practically does not interfere with work. We did not detect any doubling of objects reflected on the screen. Note that all hardware tests were conducted on the native operating system and with color management disabled.
When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 350 cd/m2, with half the brightness adjustment - 65 cd/m2, with the minimum value, the backlight turns off completely, and in the first step of adjustment from the minimum position, the brightness is 5.4 cd/m2 . As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight (taking into account what was said above about the anti-glare filter), the screen remains readable, and in complete darkness the screen brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). In complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 18 cd/m2 (it is dark, but the text can be read), in an artificially lit office, the brightness is set to 350 cd/m2 (this is the maximum), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight) - for some reason the brightness drops to 340 cd/m2, and when moving back to office conditions, the brightness drops to 325 cd/m2. That is, automatic brightness adjustment does not quite adequately respond to external conditions - in the dark it is too dim, and in a not very bright environment the brightness immediately increases to the maximum value. At lower brightness, there is virtually no backlight modulation (up to 100 kHz), so no flicker is visible.
This MacBook Air model uses a TN-type matrix, but despite this, the screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without a large color shift when the gaze is deviated horizontally, but when the gaze is deviated downwards, dark shades are inverted, and when deviated upwards, light shades are inverted. When viewed from a perpendicular perspective, black field uniformity is very good - there are only faint hints of black field brightening in a few places close to the edge of the screen. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 19 ms (15 ms on + 4 ms off). The transition between halftones 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 47 ms. The matrix clearly cannot boast of high speed. The contrast is good - about 900:1. A gamma curve constructed using 32 points revealed a slight dip in the shadows (the shade 8, 8, 8 is still indistinguishable in brightness from black), but the shades are clearly distinguishable in the highlights. The power function fit exponent is 2.46, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, so overall images on this screen will appear darker. In this case, the real gamma curve coincides well with the power-law dependence:
The color gamut is noticeably narrower than sRGB:
Apparently, the matrix’s light filters mix the components with each other. The spectra confirm this:
This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for the backlight, but the colors lose their saturation (remember that most digital images - illustrations, photographs, videos and films - are optimized for display on screens with sRGB coverage or very close to it) . The color temperature balance is good - shades of gray have a color temperature close to 6500 K, which varies little over the entire relevant part of the gray scale. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) does not exceed 7 units, which can be considered an acceptable value for a consumer device. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
The matrix type is TN, with all the ensuing consequences, the color gamut is narrow, as a result, it is difficult to recommend using this laptop for professional work with color, but the screen is bright, glossy and with a very good anti-glare filter, so working with the MacBook Air in various conditions is much more pleasant and more comfortable than the vast majority of laptops.
Battery and runtime
The nominal capacity of the battery is 7548 mAh. Of course, battery capacity itself is not an indicator. And only the combination of battery capacity with average power consumption allows us to estimate the battery life of a laptop. And in terms of battery life, the 13-inch MacBook Air Mid 2013 has a lot to be proud of. According to the manufacturer, the 13-inch MacBook Air Mid 2013 with an Intel Core i5-4250U processor allows for up to 12 hours of battery life in wireless Internet connection mode and up to 10 hours in video playback mode via iTunes. Well, in Standby mode the laptop will last up to 30 days. Today, such indicators are unprecedentedly high.
We conducted our own testing of the battery life of the MacBook Air Mid 2013 laptop. It turned out that at maximum screen brightness, a Full HD movie downloaded from the App Store can be viewed through iTunes for 9 hours 6 minutes when the laptop is running on battery power. Actually, this result fully corresponds to what the manufacturer claims.
Testing
Compared to Windows systems, there are a very limited number of benchmarks for Mac OS based systems. However, we fundamentally did not install the Windows operating system on the MacBook Air for testing, because we believe that using Apple laptops with the Windows operating system is not correct.
We will check the performance of the processor, RAM and storage of the 13-inch MacBook Air Mid 2013 laptop using the popular benchmarks Geekbench 2, and.
In Geekbench 2, which measures CPU and RAM performance, the laptop scored 6783 points. This is an average result, due to the fact that the processor here is a dual-core Intel Core i5 with a low clock frequency. For example, we note that in the same test, a 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina laptop based on a dual-core Intel Core i5-3210M processor (clock frequency 2.5 GHz, maximum frequency in TurboBoost mode 3.1 GHz) with 8 GB of DDR3-1600 memory scores 7440 points (operating system version Mac OS X 10.8.2). Still, in terms of performance, the new Haswell processors have a rather modest advantage over Ivy Bridge, which can only be revealed at the same processor frequencies. Well, there are no tests yet that could use the new instruction set of Haswell processors.
| Geekbench 2 test | MacBook Air | MacBook Pro Retina |
| Score | 6783 | 7440 |
| Integer | 5086 | 5750 |
| Floating Point | 8751 | 9896 |
| Memory | 6238 | 6199 |
| Stream | 6927 | 7247 |
In the comprehensive benchmark Novabench, the picture was generally repeated. The MacBook Air scored 587 points in this test.
And the result of the MacBook Pro Retina laptop was 713 points
| NovaNench test | MacBook Air | MacBook Pro Retina |
| NovaBench Score | 587 | 713 |
| System RAM | 130 | 174 |
| CPU Test | 357 | 446 |
| Graphics Test | 44 | 34 |
| Hardware Test | 56 | 59 |
A comparison of the results shows that the only test in which the MacBook Air beats the MacBook Pro Retina is the Graphic test. Actually, there is nothing surprising in this. The Intel HD Graphics 5000 graphics core in the Intel Core i5-4250U processor is superior in performance to the Intel HD Graphics 4000 core integrated into the Intel Core i5-3210M core.
The next benchmark is the synthetic rendering test Cinebench 11.5 from MAXON. Rendering can be done using either the CPU or GPU (OpenGL). It is clear that when rendering is done using the CPU, the MacBook Pro Retina laptop with a more powerful processor outperforms the MacBook Air laptop (2.82 pts versus 2.42 pts). But in rendering using the graphics core, the advantage is on the side of the MacBook Air laptop (21.82 fps versus 16.89 fps).
| Test CINEBENCH 11.5 | MacBook Air | MacBook Pro Retina |
| OpenGL | 21.81 fps | 16.89 fps |
| CPU | 2.42 pts | 2.82 pts |
Well, the last test is the popular Blackmagic Disk Speed Test benchmark, which measures the performance of the drive.
The results of this test are truly impressive. No modern SATA 6 Gb/s SSD is capable of providing read speeds of 730 MB/s. And the write speed of almost 320 MB/s is very high by today's standards.
In a word, the performance of the flash drive in the MacBook Air Mid 2013 laptop is currently record high and noticeably ahead of all other solutions.
conclusions
MacBook Air is not the only line of Apple laptops. There is also the well-known 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro series and the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina series. And if MacBook Pro Retina laptops are not affordable for everyone, then MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops are more mass-produced solutions.
The updated models of MacBook Air laptops compare favorably in configuration with previous models. High-speed flash storage, a modern processor, support for the 802.11ac wireless standard, unprecedentedly long battery life, stylish design and light weight make these laptop models an indispensable assistant for users who are used to having laptops always at hand.
The 13-inch Apple MacBook Air Mid 2013 certainly deserves our editorial Original Design award.
Apple MacBook Air Mid 2013 laptop provided for testing by online store
Apple laptops have good battery life, but MacBook batteries, unfortunately, don't last forever. After a certain number of charging cycles, they lose their capacity and subsequently require replacement. The macOS operating system continuously monitors the health of the battery, so Mac users can always determine how worn the battery is and when it needs to be replaced.
Why check your Mac's battery health
The more you use your MacBook's battery, the faster it wears out. It is very important to be aware of its condition and technical serviceability, otherwise the user risks losing a working laptop at the most inopportune moment.
The check will be especially relevant in cases where the battery life of the device has been reduced or the charging process does not start when the cable is connected.
How to Check Your Mac's Battery Health
To open the battery information menu, press the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard and click the battery indicator icon in the OS X menu bar.
As you can see, the system displays the current state. The “normal” status means that the battery is functioning without any abnormalities. If your computer is far from new, then you can only rejoice at this state of the battery. Most likely, you use your laptop carefully and there is nothing to worry about.
The battery may have one of the following states:
Normal. The battery is functioning normally.
Expiration date. This means that the battery is already worn out. It is likely that in this state it operates on a single charge for less time than initially. If you see this warning, you don't have to worry because the battery is working properly. However, the battery will have to be replaced in the near future.
Replacement required. The battery functions normally, but retains its charge significantly less well than a new battery. Before replacement, such a battery can be used without harm to the computer.
Service required. It is better to replace the battery in this condition immediately. It may be damaged and subject to overheating. A faulty battery can harm other components of your MacBook.
What about battery charge cycles?
Mac laptop battery usage is quantified by the number of charge cycles. One recharge cycle corresponds to the full use of the battery's charge, but this does not mean that the battery was charged exactly once. For example, a laptop might be used for one hour or more during the day before being depleted of half its charge, and then be fully recharged. If you did the same thing the next day, it counts as one charge cycle, not two. It may take several days to complete one cycle.
The Mac tracks the number of recharge cycles. The batteries of most modern MacBooks, MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros support about 1000 cycles, but depending on the specific device and its operating conditions, this number can be reduced to 300, after which the battery needs to be replaced. You can find out how to find out the number of recharge cycles for a MacBook battery.
Now you know how to check the battery status of your MacBook. Check the condition of your battery regularly to protect yourself from unexpected and unpleasant breakdowns.
Many owners of Apple laptops eventually complain after several years of using it. This is not surprising: over time, the battery life is depleted, so after two years your MacBook Pro will no longer last 8 hours as after purchase. How can you determine when the battery (or the laptop itself) is time to change?
To find out the number of recharge cycles (this is how the “health” of the battery is determined), you need to go to the Apple menu - “About This Mac” - “System Report” - “Power Options”. Here you will find all the information you need, including battery information. 
How to calculate one recharge cycle? For example, if your MacBook is fully charged and you use up 50% of the charge, then charge again to 100% and use up 50% again, that would be one cycle. This system allows Mac computers to last for many years - many do not reach more than 300 cycles during their entire use. Let's talk about what cycle value can be considered optimal.
The maximum number of recharge cycles for your computer can be found in the table below. If for a new one this value is, for example, 1000, then the 2009 MacBook can only boast 300.
By checking periodically, you can set up the optimal use of your MacBook and maybe work with a power connection more often.
Has your Mac, which has served faithfully on trips for many years, suddenly begun to let you down - running out of charge earlier than it should? Most likely, the problem is in the battery - it has already outlived its usefulness and needs to be replaced. How to check it and replace it in time in the future?
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What is a "recharge cycle"?
This is when you discharged the battery to zero and then charged it to 100 percent. In real life, this “ideal” option does not always work. Example: you work part of the time at home and part of the time in the library (where, of course, the outlets are a problem, so you have to work on battery power). You discharge the battery to 50%, and then come home and charge the battery again to 100%. This means that you have completed only 0.5 recharge cycles; you will only be able to complete it completely - in the same scenario of using the MacBook - only the next day. For some, the battery works at 25% per day (i.e. it will take 4 days), for others at 10% (10 days), and so on.
Each recharge cycle slightly reduces the battery capacity. Apple notes that the capacity will drop to 80% of the original after 1,000 full charge cycles, and then worse.
How to find out how many recharge cycles have already passed
1
. Click on the Apple menu (“” in the upper left corner of the screen).
2
. Select an item About this Mac.
3
. In the window that appears, click on the button System report... .
4
. In chapter Hardware select Power supply.
5
. Look at the number to the right of the inscription Number of recharge cycles.
As you may have guessed, everything less than 1,000 is good, everything more is bad. I have a 2013 13-inch MacBook Pro at work, and in 1.5 years I've only completed 103 full charge cycles. Enough for me and the next owner of the “proshka”.
A necessary addition: old Apple laptops were equipped with not so “hardy” batteries. The first Macs could withstand only 300 reloads without loss of quality! You can check your MacBook using a special Apple table:
If everything is fine with the number of recharge cycles, but the MacBook battery still discharges quickly, it is quite possible that it is defective. If the warranty is still valid, contact the selling company for a free replacement.
