The new MacBook Air.... A Question

Westyfield2 · 1 Nov 2010 at 19:09

This question really is for anyone that's seen one in store, whether they bought it or not!

I haven't made it to an Apple shop since the new MacBook Air was announced, so I haven't seen them in real life yet

. Yes I know I should be more committed, but meh I have a life too

!

One simple question; is the screen glossy or matte?

I notice that there is not an option to chose whether it's glossy or matte when configuring online

. My MacBook Pro is a 2007 C2D one (one of the last with the silver screen bezel) and I had them both side-by-side in the store and chose matte. I know that these days Apple call it "AntiGlare" and charge you for the privilege :rolleyes:

(and it's not just the screen that's glossy, the whole surround is black glass), but I'm definitely gonna pay the extra for it on my next MacBook Pro :cool:

.

But for the MacBook Air without having an option.... I've got a bad feeling that I'm gonna order it online and then when it comes find that it's got a stupid ****ing glossy screen and all I can see when using it outside is my ugly mug in the reflection and I'll be sending it back having wasted my time

.

So yeah, on a scale of AntiGlare MacBook Pro to Glossy MacBook Pro where would you put the new MacBook Air's screen?

Andy100 · 1 Nov 2010 at 20:38

Not sure if this will help but it's not as glossy as a MBP but not as matte as the anti glare screen.

Sitting at my desk at work with good lighting I can't see my reflection in the screen as I'm typing this.

Tute · 1 Nov 2010 at 20:54

I had a fiddle with one today. It's somewhere between matte and glossy. Better than my unibody MB, but still a pain on a bright day.

Domo · 1 Nov 2010 at 21:03

One of those slightly nerdy unboxing vids on YouTube showing the new Air (though he doesn't switch it on, it's still a nice little intro to the aesthetics of the device).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeYGbgxQ6IQ
I watched the unboxing of the MBP 15 - really want one but urging restraint at the mo.

Westyfield2 · 2 Nov 2010 at 20:01

Thanks chaps

.

I love the matte screen on my MacBook Pro :cool:

. And whilst the screen on my iPad is pretty, the glass is just absolutely useless outside! :rolleyes:

If the MacBook Air is inbetween the two then maybe I'll be ok..... I'll go and have a look in the store. Got a bad feeling though I'll come out with a top spec 13" and feeling considerably poorer for it!

cheef · 3 Nov 2010 at 13:57

I have an 11" Air.

The screen does not have the sheet of glass as the front layer of the screen like the recent MacBook Pro's, hence why you're getting the 'in-between' glare and non-glare answers.

Westyfield2 · 3 Nov 2010 at 16:59

Went to the Apple store after lectures today...

The screen I'd say is exactly like everyone said, a halfway-house between glossy and matte

.
I couldn't see any 'Anti-Glare' MacBook Pro's to compare it with, but I've had one for the last three and a bit years so know what they're like. The glossy MacBook Pros they had.... just urgh :rolleyes:

.

I'd obviously prefer proper matte, but the glossy MBA is usable

. [Remember that this is in the Apple store, tables ridiculously low, me standing up and halogen spotlamps in the ceiling] I found that below 50% brightness my ugly mug appeared, but at 50% and above it was fine. From what I've used of the stupid glass MBPs you have to have them at 100% brightness and be facing away from the lights to not see your face! Yeah, like who uses a laptop on battery at 100% brightness!
Colour wise, it was good probably better than my MBP. Resolution/size wise I could see that it was a higher DPI :cool:

[my MBP is from before you could chose 1680x1050 on the 15"] but it wasn't stupidly small like 1920x1080 on a friends 13" Vaio.

General comments on it:

Very light. I'd gone in expecting it to be feather weight, and it wasn't

. Then I went and picked up a 15" MBP just to remind myself what mine weighs... the MBA is massively lighter :cool:

.

The indentation for where the latch would conventionally be is far bigger & sharper than I was expecting

. My MBP is one of the last ones to use a traditional hooks latch, so I'm used to a completely flat front but temperamental locking latch! Maybe it was just me standing up, but I kept catching my hand on the sharp indentation.

The keyboard makes me sad

. My MBP has the silver keyboard where the keys are right next to each other. [Remember I'm 6ft and standing up at a low table in the Apple store] The keys on the MBA are like the current MBP, they have spaces between each other, urgh. Horrible to use

. I'm sure size wise it's the same as my MBP, but I was making soo many spelling errors.
Also regarding the keyboard, my MBP has the USA layout, but the MBA obviously had a UK layout. http://www.apple.com/uk/macbookair/ shows the layout of the USA keyboard and I much prefer the shape of enter/return compared with the UK. Wish there was an option to have the USA one here!

Regarding speed,

. The demo unit was 1.8GHz with 2GB RAM. Can't remember what SSD capacity it was, but that doesn't affect the speed anyways. My 3 nearly 4 year old MBP [2.4GHz C2D, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HDD] is noticeably faster. Obviously the whole point of me getting a MacBook Air is for "everyday out and about", whereas the 15" MBP (and then it's 2011 replacement) is powerhouse at home plugged into a screen or take on the road when I know I'm gonna need the extra grunt it offers.
I did open activity monitor and it was pretty much was maxing out the RAM.

I've decided that I am gonna get one. I went in thinking "I'll get the 13", 256GB, 2.13GHz, 4GB RAM model - but if using the base model feels as fast at my current MBP then I'll just stick with base". I'm definitely going to get the faster processor and extra RAM. Bloke in the Apple Store was very open about the fact nothing is upgradable even by an Apple Store in six months time, so get the one you want at the time you get it!
He also was sympathetic about the lack of a matte screen option, and pointed out that if you buy from an Apple Store you can use it for 14 days and then return it to any Apple Store for a full refund if I haven't liked the screen/keyboard/whatever :cool:

. I did not know this, so thumbs up to him for mentioning it. He said that with the Apple Website they also do a 14 day return policy, but that you have to post it back - you can't return it to a retail store

.

Soo... "Great, I'll get one. 13", 256GB, 2.13GHz, 4GB RAM. How much is it with the student discount?".... "Oh sorry sir, we only carry the standard configurations in store, the upgraded processor and memory are online only".... "Oh :/ I'd read on forums online that although the stores understandably didn't carry every possible combination they were having the maxed out 'ultimate' all options ticked ones."... "Nope, just the two hard drive capacities of each screen size is all we're getting"....

So I want to buy it in store incase I don't get on with it and want to return it.... but the stores only have the base model ones. Joy!

Speedy · 3 Nov 2010 at 17:16

Westyfield2 said:
13", 256GB, 2.13GHz, 4GB RAM.

I've ordered that model and received it today. The SSD is quite fast, but my Late 2008 MBP is slightly faster.