Ondrej Holzman It's been a long time coming for the launch of OS X Lion, until we finally got it yesterday. However, that was far from all that he had in store for his Apple fans. New hardware was also introduced – we have a new MacBook Air, a new Mac Mini and a new Thunderbolt Display. Let's break down what these machines bring new…
MacBook Air
O the new MacBook Air much was written and many speculations eventually proved to be true. As expected, the updated series of the thinnest Apple notebook brings the implemented new Thunderbolt interface and new Sandy Bridge processors from Intel in the form of Core i5 or i7. The new OS X Lion will of course be pre-installed in all models, and a very interesting novelty is the backlit keyboard, which was missing from the MacBook Air, and which users have been clamoring for.
The basic model of the MacBook Air again has an 11,6″ display, a dual-core 1,6 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory. All this for a pleasant $999. The more expensive model costs $200 more, but has 4GB of RAM and double the flash memory.
The 1299-inch MacBook Air also has two variants. The cheaper one costs $1,7 and carries a dual-core 5 GHz Intel Core i4 processor, 128 GB of RAM and 256 GB of flash memory. The more expensive model is practically identical, it only contains twice as much flash memory, i.e. 3000 GB. All models have the same graphics card, it is Intel HD Graphics XNUMX.
Optionally, you can of course order an even stronger and more expensive model, at most your new MacBook Air can carry a dual-core 1,8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 4 GB of RAM and 256 GB of flash memory.
Mac Mini
Innovation also came on the side of the smallest Macs, Mac Mini. As with the MacBook Air, their system was replaced with the latest OS X Lion. Performance has also increased, Apple is talking about doubling the speed. And the optical drive was also removed.
Apple offers two variants of the standard model and one server model. The base model includes a dual-core 2,3GHz i5 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Such a Mac Mini with an Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card, which is shared with the main memory, costs $599.
The version with a 200 GHz processor and twice the RAM costs $2,5 more, while the hard drive remains the same. You can order a 750 GB hard disk (7200 rpm) or a 256 GB SSD disk or even a combination of them. The graphics card is a dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6630M with 256 MB of its own operating memory.
The updated server version costs $999, has a quad-core 2,0 GHz i7 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive (7200 rpm). The graphics card is from Intel.
All versions received 4 USB ports, FireWire 800, an SDXC card reader, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet connection and also a new standard in the form of a Thunderbolt port.
Thunderbolt Display
In the shadow of the MacBook Air and Mac Mini, the monitor that Apple traditionally offers has also been quietly updated. The 27-inch LED Cinema Display is now becoming Thunderbolt Display, so it is already clear from the name what is new. Even the Apple monitor has not missed the new Thunderbolt technology, through which it will now be very easy to connect a Mac Mini, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, which has had Thunderbolt since the beginning of the year.
Furthermore, Thunderbolt Display offers a built-in FaceTime HD camera, speakers and a second Thunderbolt port for connecting an additional monitor. Since there is also FireWire 800 and a gigabit Ethernet port and three USB ports, most cables traditionally aimed at laptops can be connected to the Thunderbolt Display.
Unlike the above mentioned computers, however, it is not immediately available. It will be available for purchase sometime in the next 999 days for $60.
Jan Pražák collaborated on the article.
Is it just me or is Apple discounting? :-)
do you think it will be cheaper? I do not think so….
It doesn't seem. Mini by about 2500 CZK, prices for MacBook Air are not yet known in the Czech Republic.
One of the officers. of the sellers told me that the prices here should correspond to the prices in the German Apple Store, i.e. just recalculate the price rate at store.apple.com/de.
We'll see. The DTP store already has prices, but higher by several tens of euros.
I would be interested in the performance difference of a 13″ MBA with an i5 1,7GHz processor vs an i7 1,8GHz processor. Although it is an additional payment in the US store of only 100 dollars, the question is whether it is worth it at all. If you come across any test pls link here.. thanks..
Unfortunately, they cut off the ability to switch to better graphics in Aira, but that would be perfect...
Does anyone know if devices that do not yet have thunderbold can be connected to the new monitor? For example, an older macbook or perhaps a PC? Of course, just a cool image.
I wouldn't worry, at least there will be some reduction
And one more important thing, is it possible to connect a monitor other than thunderbold cinema to the new air via a reduction?
In the Apple Store, several adapters from Mini DisplayPort are optionally available for it, so there shouldn't be a problem - I see adapters for DVI and VGA there.
It's just a shame that the new model doesn't have Wi-Fi. With a year-old MacBook Pro, I can connect at home just fine, with the new Air, not even a second. Although the IP addresses are assigned from DHCP, the network diagnostics show the connection as OK, but I cannot access the website via the web browser. However skype works. Same with the new iPhone 4 at home. It only does it on some routers, at work it works correctly 8 out of 10. Hopefully it will be solved by a patch, I'm not very used to such kicks from Apple.