The new MacBook Air is back at $999

The Evolution of Apple's Keyboard Technology: A New Era for MacBooks

Apple has a long history of innovation when it comes to its keyboards, and the latest development is no exception. The company has taken the keyboard design that was introduced with the 16-inch MacBook Pro and made it available on other models, including the new MacBook Air. This new keyboard, dubbed the "Magic Keyboard," is based on Apple's standalone Magic Keyboards that are sold separately for iMacs and other devices.

The Magic Keyboard offers several improvements over its predecessor, including a rubberized cap underneath to keep dust and grime out. This was a major problem with the Butterfly keyboards that were used in previous MacBooks, which made them prone to malfunctioning. The Magic Keyboard is designed to provide a better typing experience and improve durability. While it's not available on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which still uses the old keyboard design, this new technology will likely become more widespread as Apple continues to release updates.

The New MacBook Air: A Step in the Right Direction

Apple has recently released an updated version of its MacBook Air, and it features the Magic Keyboard. This is a significant upgrade for consumers who want the latest and greatest technology without breaking the bank. The new MacBook Air also offers several other improvements, including 10th-generation Intel quad-core processors, which are now available in dual-core configurations at a lower price point.

However, some may be disappointed to find that the base model still only comes with 8 gigs of RAM, which is a relatively small amount for a modern computer. However, consumers who want more power and performance can upgrade to the higher-end models, which come with 16 gigs of RAM. This upgrade adds $200 to the price tag, but it's worth it for those who need more memory for their work or creative projects.

The Storage Conundrum: Will Apple Finally Give You More Space?

One of the biggest challenges consumers face when buying a new MacBook is the limited storage space. The 128-gig limit on the base model has become outdated in recent years, as video and photo files can easily exceed this amount. Apple has been criticized for not providing more storage options, but with the release of the new MacBook Air, it seems that the company may be listening.

The base model still only comes with 256 GB of storage space, which is a welcome improvement over the old limit. However, those who want even more space will have to pay extra for the higher-end models, which offer up to 512 GB of storage space. While this is still not as much as some consumers would like, it's better than nothing.

Should You Upgrade to the New MacBook Air?

For everyday users who just need a laptop for basic tasks such as browsing, emailing, and word processing, the base model of the new MacBook Air may be sufficient. However, those who want more power and performance will likely want to upgrade to the higher-end models, which offer quad-core processors, 16 gigs of RAM, and more storage space.

The question is, is it worth the extra $100? For many consumers, the answer is yes. The new MacBook Air offers a significant upgrade over its predecessor, and with the Magic Keyboard and 10th-generation Intel processor, it's a laptop that will last for years to come. While it may not be necessary for everyone, those who want the best of the best should definitely consider upgrading to the higher-end model.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enApple's got a whole bunch of new Macbook Air and iPad Pro updates today of course I'm the most interested in the MacBook Air ones chiefly among them it brings the MacBook Air back down to that classic classic $9.99 price when MacBook Air was $9.99 years ago I always said it was the most universally useful laptop that you could buy especially if you were a college student or just starting out maybe you're starting your own company maybe you were a writer or screenwriter even for photographers and other Creative Design people as long as you weren't working in super high resolution 4K video things like that you could get by with the old classic MacBook Air but over time the MacBook Air well it started to get a little dated looking certainly originally for $9.99 it was a lot better than most of the Windows laptops you could get at around the same price maybe they would have similar CPUs but the MacBook Air was machined out of this one piece of solid aluminum it had a fantastic design it had a great screen for the time it had that awesome touchpad that really still nobody can touch however over the years they didn't really update it that much they wanted you to buy the MacBook Pro they wanted you to buy the 12-in MacBook things like that so eventually the air was feeling pretty old in 2018 they did finally get around to updating it they turned it into something that's a lot more like the 13-in MacBook Pro and and that's a good thing however they raised the price from that classic $9.99 up to I think $11.99 since then it's come back down to $10.99 and a lot of the stores still sell it for $9.99 but that was an important psychological barrier the fact that your MacBook Air was your go-to 999 laptop and we did not have that for a few years until now the new Macbook Air again starts at $9.99 which makes me think hey this is going to be the great default go laptop for just about everybody in addition to that they've made a couple of other changes well that I think are very welcome they have finally given up the ghost at least in part on that butterfly keyboard that super flat keyboard that nobody ever really liked I think a lot of the hate for that keyboard was overblown at the same time I'm not going to go around defending it at least not too much now they put that in that original 12in MacBook which is a system they don't make anymore back in I think maybe 20 2015 and it wasn't great there and then they insisted on bringing it to the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air and soon everybody had the butterfly keyboard nobody was happy even though they did a few revisions here and there well in the fall of 2019 Apple said hey 15-in MacBook Pro you are now a 16-in MacBook Pro that was extraordinary because it left us without a 15-in Apple laptop for the first time in basically forever since the beginning of the MacBook era uh but also they took that keyboard and they swapped it out for something that looked and felt a lot the same but was really much better under the hood they called it the magic keyboard because it was based on those Standalone magic keyboards that Apple sells the little ones that you can buy for your iMac or just buy and use with anything else uh so it's a better keyboard it's got a little rubber cap underneath it to keep all that dust and grime out and that's what was messing up a lot of the butterfly keyboards so now you have this better keyboard in the 16 in MacBook Pro but not in anything else well here comes the new Macbook Air it's now got that magic keyboard I have not had a chance to try it in person yet I just heard about it this morning uh but I feel like it's going to feel a lot like it did on the 16th which was uh pretty darn good that does leave us however with the 13-in MacBook Pro as the odd man out it's the only one that still has the old keyboard which frankly at this point no one's really going to want you're going to want the newer keyboard design now in order to make this even more competitive with the MacBook Pro you can now get 10th gen Intel quad core processors in the MacBook Air and I said oh that's very exciting I did look a little closer at the fine print and maybe it was not quite that exciting because for $9.99 you're not getting that you're getting a dual core chip which again I'm sure it's fine for everyday Computing use and streaming video and doing basic office stuff and basic school stuff it's also a core I3 fre now you can't always read all that much into the CPU designations on these different systems but you don't really want for $1,000 an Intel core I3 dual core system that's what you find in you know some Black Friday door busters although I'm sure again this is much better it's psychological in way so for a 100 bucks you can trade up and get the quad core Core i5 that takes you back up to$ 1099 although frankly if you really want to get a new Macbook Air that's what I would do also these guys all have across the board still 8 gigs of RAM for a Windows laptop unconscionable uh for a Macbook they're efficient enough in how the OS works that you can get away with it but you're probably still going to want 16 gigs of RAM and if you upgrade to that that's an extra $200 and that takes you up into the second base model which is $12.99 uh that one you have to again pay 200 bucks to get the 16 gigs of RAM over8 but it also doubles the storage space so you get 512 instead of 256 but even that good because the MacBook Air was one of those laptops that was just locked into only giving you 128 gigs of storage space that's like less than on your phone probably and once you have the OS overhead and if you're working on video and photos the higher resolutions new versions of those tend to eat up a lot of space if you dare to play some games on your Mac there are a few uh and you download big game files those could be 20 30 40 50 gigaby each so 128 is not really going to cut it any anymore which is why having even in the base model 256 GB of storage well that's great do I wish it also had 16 gigs of RAM you bet I do but again we're talking about a999 laptop not just a $999 laptop but one from Apple which is not known for giving you you know all the great features at the entry level price they want you to do that little trade-up calculation and go oh it's $100 here and $100 there so that said when I was going through all the configurations in my mind I said okay well I want more RAM and I guess I'll more storage too and I definitely want the quadcore CPU and all of a sudden I it was $1,500 in my head and here we are talking about that perfect $9.99 laptop so if you're if you're a everyday consumer who just wants an awesome MacBook to uh take to school uh use for your startup company write that great novel or screenplay on do a little bit of graphic design work on your work on your website or anything like that stick with the $9.99 basee model but take extra 100 bucks I hate to even get past $1,000 but take that 100 bucks get the quad core Core i5 your laptop will last that much longer it's probably the update that makes the most sense and you should do it I have spokenApple's got a whole bunch of new Macbook Air and iPad Pro updates today of course I'm the most interested in the MacBook Air ones chiefly among them it brings the MacBook Air back down to that classic classic $9.99 price when MacBook Air was $9.99 years ago I always said it was the most universally useful laptop that you could buy especially if you were a college student or just starting out maybe you're starting your own company maybe you were a writer or screenwriter even for photographers and other Creative Design people as long as you weren't working in super high resolution 4K video things like that you could get by with the old classic MacBook Air but over time the MacBook Air well it started to get a little dated looking certainly originally for $9.99 it was a lot better than most of the Windows laptops you could get at around the same price maybe they would have similar CPUs but the MacBook Air was machined out of this one piece of solid aluminum it had a fantastic design it had a great screen for the time it had that awesome touchpad that really still nobody can touch however over the years they didn't really update it that much they wanted you to buy the MacBook Pro they wanted you to buy the 12-in MacBook things like that so eventually the air was feeling pretty old in 2018 they did finally get around to updating it they turned it into something that's a lot more like the 13-in MacBook Pro and and that's a good thing however they raised the price from that classic $9.99 up to I think $11.99 since then it's come back down to $10.99 and a lot of the stores still sell it for $9.99 but that was an important psychological barrier the fact that your MacBook Air was your go-to 999 laptop and we did not have that for a few years until now the new Macbook Air again starts at $9.99 which makes me think hey this is going to be the great default go laptop for just about everybody in addition to that they've made a couple of other changes well that I think are very welcome they have finally given up the ghost at least in part on that butterfly keyboard that super flat keyboard that nobody ever really liked I think a lot of the hate for that keyboard was overblown at the same time I'm not going to go around defending it at least not too much now they put that in that original 12in MacBook which is a system they don't make anymore back in I think maybe 20 2015 and it wasn't great there and then they insisted on bringing it to the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air and soon everybody had the butterfly keyboard nobody was happy even though they did a few revisions here and there well in the fall of 2019 Apple said hey 15-in MacBook Pro you are now a 16-in MacBook Pro that was extraordinary because it left us without a 15-in Apple laptop for the first time in basically forever since the beginning of the MacBook era uh but also they took that keyboard and they swapped it out for something that looked and felt a lot the same but was really much better under the hood they called it the magic keyboard because it was based on those Standalone magic keyboards that Apple sells the little ones that you can buy for your iMac or just buy and use with anything else uh so it's a better keyboard it's got a little rubber cap underneath it to keep all that dust and grime out and that's what was messing up a lot of the butterfly keyboards so now you have this better keyboard in the 16 in MacBook Pro but not in anything else well here comes the new Macbook Air it's now got that magic keyboard I have not had a chance to try it in person yet I just heard about it this morning uh but I feel like it's going to feel a lot like it did on the 16th which was uh pretty darn good that does leave us however with the 13-in MacBook Pro as the odd man out it's the only one that still has the old keyboard which frankly at this point no one's really going to want you're going to want the newer keyboard design now in order to make this even more competitive with the MacBook Pro you can now get 10th gen Intel quad core processors in the MacBook Air and I said oh that's very exciting I did look a little closer at the fine print and maybe it was not quite that exciting because for $9.99 you're not getting that you're getting a dual core chip which again I'm sure it's fine for everyday Computing use and streaming video and doing basic office stuff and basic school stuff it's also a core I3 fre now you can't always read all that much into the CPU designations on these different systems but you don't really want for $1,000 an Intel core I3 dual core system that's what you find in you know some Black Friday door busters although I'm sure again this is much better it's psychological in way so for a 100 bucks you can trade up and get the quad core Core i5 that takes you back up to$ 1099 although frankly if you really want to get a new Macbook Air that's what I would do also these guys all have across the board still 8 gigs of RAM for a Windows laptop unconscionable uh for a Macbook they're efficient enough in how the OS works that you can get away with it but you're probably still going to want 16 gigs of RAM and if you upgrade to that that's an extra $200 and that takes you up into the second base model which is $12.99 uh that one you have to again pay 200 bucks to get the 16 gigs of RAM over8 but it also doubles the storage space so you get 512 instead of 256 but even that good because the MacBook Air was one of those laptops that was just locked into only giving you 128 gigs of storage space that's like less than on your phone probably and once you have the OS overhead and if you're working on video and photos the higher resolutions new versions of those tend to eat up a lot of space if you dare to play some games on your Mac there are a few uh and you download big game files those could be 20 30 40 50 gigaby each so 128 is not really going to cut it any anymore which is why having even in the base model 256 GB of storage well that's great do I wish it also had 16 gigs of RAM you bet I do but again we're talking about a999 laptop not just a $999 laptop but one from Apple which is not known for giving you you know all the great features at the entry level price they want you to do that little trade-up calculation and go oh it's $100 here and $100 there so that said when I was going through all the configurations in my mind I said okay well I want more RAM and I guess I'll more storage too and I definitely want the quadcore CPU and all of a sudden I it was $1,500 in my head and here we are talking about that perfect $9.99 laptop so if you're if you're a everyday consumer who just wants an awesome MacBook to uh take to school uh use for your startup company write that great novel or screenplay on do a little bit of graphic design work on your work on your website or anything like that stick with the $9.99 basee model but take extra 100 bucks I hate to even get past $1,000 but take that 100 bucks get the quad core Core i5 your laptop will last that much longer it's probably the update that makes the most sense and you should do it I have spoken\n"