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Happy 10th Birthday, MacBook Air

10 years ago today I was at Macworld Expo, where I got out of bed at about 3 AM in order to get a place in the line for a “Stevenote” — a keynote presentation by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs. At the event, Jobs used his usual flair for showmanship by pulling the incredibly thin MacBook Air out of an interoffice envelope. Here’s a video of the reveal:

Today, the MacBook Air is the lowest-cost entry of Apple’s notebook line, starting at $999. They’re still popular, with even the 2010 models being able to run macOS High Sierra…and rather quickly, I might add. 

I was so excited by the reveal of the MacBook Air that I went back to my hotel room, plugged my trusty black MacBook into the Ethernet network, fired it up, and went to the Apple website to order one for myself. That MacBook Air served me well from 2007 to 2012, traveling all over the United States as my computer of choice as a trainer. 

The MacBook Air only comes in the 13-inch size these days, with the 11-inch model being supplanted by the 12-inch MacBook. Even the discontinued 11-inch MacBook Air bests the new Retina MacBook in terms of ports — it had two USB ports, a mini-DisplayPort and an audio out port, as well as MagSafe charger. 

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!