Apple debuts $999 MacBook Air with Magic Keyboard, twice the storage

Apple has updated the MacBook Air with faster performance, the Magic Keyboard that debuted with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999, and $899 for education. 

The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance and up to 80% faster graphics performance, letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games, Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, says. It now starts with 256GB of storage and retains such popular features as the 13-inch Retina display, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life .

Offering quad-core processors for the first time, MacBook Air now delivers even more speed across everyday activities, from organizing photos and creating presentations to editing videos, says Boger. Featuring the latest 10th-generation Intel Core processors up to 1.2GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.8GHz, MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster performance when compared to the previous generation.

With Intel Iris Plus Graphics, the MacBook Air now delivers up to 80 times faster graphics performance, so graphics-intensive activities like playing games and editing video are faster than ever, Boger says.

The MacBook Air now features the new Magic Keyboard, a redesigned scissor mechanism that delivers. The new inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys is designed to make them easier to find without looking down. 

The MacBook Air features an unibody wedge design made from 100% recycled aluminum and comes in three finishes — gold, silver and space gray. The 13-inch Retina display delivers over four million pixels and millions of colors.

The laptop sports 256GB of storage, double that of the previous generation. For those who need even more storage capacity, MacBook Air offers up to a 2TB SSD, double the previous maximum storage.

The MacBook Air comes with the Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple’s own custom-designed second-generation silicon, which checks that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with and provides on-the-fly data encryption for everything stored on the SSD. This allows MacBook Air and any Mac with the T2 chip to deliver the most secure boot process and storage of any notebook, says Boger.

The T2 also protects Touch ID information, so whether customers are unlocking their Mac, entering an online password or making online purchases, their information stays safe. Additional features include:

• A three-mic array for more clear voice capture for FaceTime calls with friends and family.

• The Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and multi-touch navigation.

• Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and video output in a single connector.

• Support for up to a 6K external display, a first for MacBook Air.

• Advanced stereo speakers for immersive, wide stereo sound for activities like watching Apple TV+ content or playing games in Apple Arcade.

• Starting at $999, and $899 for education, the new MacBook Air is available to order starting today on apple.com and in the Apple Store app. MacBook Air will be available in stores starting next week. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/mac.