Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Alright, let's talk about the 2020 MacBook Air. So this was a relatively major refresh for Apple this year.
00:05There's three big changes. The first one is the keyboard. It's no longer running those terrible butterfly switches that were unreliable and
00:13not very tactile. These are just, it's a better keyboard. They're scissor switches.
00:17They call it the Magic Keyboard, seen keyboard as the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
00:21I believe in this keyboard. The second thing we've changed is the processor.
00:25So now the CPU and the GPU have been upgraded to the 10th gen Intel stuff. It's not like a massive difference.
00:31It's significant, but it's still a MacBook Air. And the third one, the one that's nearest and dearest to my heart is the value.
00:38So this has dropped down in price by a hundred bucks and at that base price, they've increased the storage to 256 gigs.
00:46So overall, it's a way better package this year than the MacBook Airs have been for the past couple of years.
00:51And as a tech reviewer, it's just an easy Apple laptop to recommend for someone specifically looking for a kind of basic Apple laptop.
00:59Now I've done some testing with the i5 version and the i3 version. Like this is the basic
01:04base model
01:06999 i3 version. This is the four core upgraded i5 version. In terms of benchmarks, this is faster.
01:13It's got two extra cores, multi-core benchmarks do better. But in terms of regular use, these feel identical.
01:19Like in Chrome and Safari, I can't really tell the difference between them. Even battery life is similar.
01:24I thought the i3 would last a little bit longer because it's got fewer cores,
01:27but I'm getting around nine and a half hours for both of these. Now a lot of people would recommend the i5
01:33over the i3, just because it's double the cores and it's only $100 more. And I think for most people who can afford it,
01:39I'd go with that recommendation as well. Like if you can swing that extra hundred bucks, go for the i5 for the peace of mind.
01:44But I think for a lot of people that aren't doing any kind of like
01:48processor intensive stuff, like if you're just using your laptop for work or school and you have no real intention for
01:54editing videos or photos or playing games or even app development, if you're just a light user,
01:59I think you're gonna be safe saving that hundred bucks if that's something you're trying to do. Now
02:03I think the more important question here, the more important conversation, is how does this 2020 MacBook Air stack up against
02:10other devices? Like the, I don't wanna use the word competition,
02:13but the other devices you might be considering if you're looking at the MacBook Air.
02:17So the first thing that might come into your mind is
02:20last year's model, the previous generation of MacBook Air, the 2019 or 2018 model. And these devices
02:26were still using the butterfly switches on their keyboards with their questionable reliability. And just for that reason alone, like
02:32forget about the CPU upgrades, forget about anything else. Just that reliable keyboard makes the 2020 model that much better.
02:38Now unless you can get this thing for like three or four hundred bucks off of the original price, like
02:43maybe I'd consider them because they still have the keyboard repair program. It still has a couple years on that.
02:47But I think for most people, try to go for the 2020 instead of the previous two years. Okay, next up, 13-inch MacBook Pro.
02:55This is a more complex discussion, but the simple version is this. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a more powerful laptop.
03:02It's got an older 9th gen CPU, but because the thermal system in here is better,
03:07it's just better equipped to remove heat. Like it's got bigger fans,
03:11it's got better fans, got bigger heat pipes.
03:13It is going to perform better when you're pushing these systems hard for an extended period of time.
03:18So if you're doing any kind of, I don't know, content creation or you're a developer that renders really frequently,
03:24then the MacBook Air probably isn't your best option. But the problem is this.
03:29Right now, if you're looking at a more powerful 13-inch device from Apple, this is the only option and it's got a
03:37butterfly keyboard, the older generation of keyboard.
03:40So if you're asking for my recommendation, it would just be to wait. Use whatever you're using right now.
03:44You've made it this far, just wait until Apple comes out with a replacement of the 13,
03:49might be a 14-inch, but a replacement of this with these new keyboards. Okay.
03:55Next device.
03:56Actually, there's three for this one. Now, these are Windows devices and I think for some people who are interested in a MacBook Air,
04:02these are not even part of the equation. Like, they would never consider these for a bunch of reasons.
04:07Like one, they may not like Windows laptops.
04:09Maybe they've had some bad ones in the past and they hate them. Valid reason.
04:13Two, you know, maybe they like the design of a MacBook. The design aesthetic of Apple devices is really nice.
04:18I get it. And three, and I think this is a big one, these don't run macOS and I get it.
04:23I get all three of those reasons. I subscribe to all three of those reasons. I genuinely do. But I'm gonna bring up a
04:30conversation I think not a lot of people are having.
04:33macOS is a wonderful operating system.
04:36I prefer macOS over Windows for a bunch of reasons, but I actually use a Windows laptop right now.
04:41There's a problem with macOS that not a lot of people talk about because it's not something that is,
04:47it's not something that comes out very easily. And to tell you this, I got to go into story time. So,
04:54four years ago, in like 2000 and
04:57no, it was more than four years ago, like six years ago, 2014, I had a friend.
05:02He asked me for a laptop recommendation and at the time I recommended to him a MacBook Air. A very easy
05:08recommendation because Apple's laptops were great then and Windows laptops at that point in time were pretty much trash.
05:14So he picked up the MacBook Air. He loved it. He got deep into the Apple ecosystem. He enjoyed it thoroughly and then four years later
05:20he's like, hey man, I'd like a, I'd like an upgrade. What's, what's the next
05:24Apple laptop that you would recommend for me? Should I get the new MacBook Air? Should I get the new MacBook Pros?
05:31And that's when I was like, well, they got butterfly switches right now and they got some overheating laptops.
05:37Can I interest you in a Windows laptop? Because they got some really good stuff nowadays. And he was like, no,
05:42absolutely not. Because macOS, it was for him.
05:46He had decided at that point that he was gonna stick with macOS because that's all he'd used for four years
05:51and that's all he was comfortable with. And I get it. I've been down that road.
05:55But you see the problem here? When you are enamored with Apple's operating system, particularly with their computers,
06:01you're at the mercy of Apple's hardware decisions, their design choices. Like if they decide to make something weird one year,
06:08you got to use it. If they decide to make something great like this year, like it's awesome. Everybody wins. They got some great stuff.
06:15Everyone's happy.
06:16But when they make butterfly switches and when they make trashcan Mac Pros that overheat,
06:20you also have to put up with that hardware. So when they do something weird, there's really no other option. And this year,
06:27it's great. But what if four years from now, you know, let's say you get into the Apple ecosystem today.
06:31You get the macOS and you're into it. You love it because this thing's awesome. Four years from now,
06:35what if they get rid of the keyboard? What if they're like, hey, let's use these new laser diode touch sensitive
06:42magic pads, whatever they call it.
06:45I'm just making that up. But the point being, if they get rid of something or they tweak something in their hardware
06:49that doesn't jive with you,
06:51you either don't upgrade your computer for years,
06:53you got to stick with the old stuff, or you force yourself to use it because there's nothing else.
06:58There's truly nothing else that runs the operating system that you are so in love with. So,
07:04I bring up this anecdotal story and I bring up these three
07:08Windows laptops because
07:10Windows gives you
07:11freedom. It gives you, I hate to use that word, like Apple's trapping you, but it gives you options.
07:16It gives you choices so that if you don't like a particular device one year because they decide to make something weird,
07:22you can go with a different company. So this is the XPS 13.
07:24This is the HP Envy 13 and the Surface Laptop 3 from Microsoft. All three of these are priced very similar
07:32to the 2020 MacBook Air. They're better in terms of hardware. They have
07:38faster processors. They have Wi-Fi 6. They have more ports. They have better ports,
07:43arguably, because they have USB-A. They have, I mean, there's a lot of stuff that's going great with these devices.
07:48They have replaceable storage.
07:50This does not.
07:53You get what I'm saying. I'm not saying that this is a bad device at all.
07:57In fact, this is the first Apple laptop in years that I would just be like,
08:02you're gonna love it. You're gonna love this device because it's so good.
08:06But just be aware that when you go down that road, if this is like, you know,
08:11oftentimes the laptop choice you make
08:13dictates what you end up doing with the other tech decisions, with Apple stuff in particular.
08:18So just be aware, be informed, be knowledgeable about what you are buying.
08:23Okay. Hope you guys enjoyed this video. Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it. I'll see you guys next time.
08:27I've done reviews for all three of these, I believe, on my channel. Okay.