This is an overview of Apple’s recently unveiled mid-2012 MacBook Air 13.3″ ultraportable laptops. The company also offers a more compact 11.6″ variant but this post is focused on the two Air 13 models, the lower-end MD231LL/A and better specced MD232LL/A.
When compared to their precursors from 2011, the MacBook Air MD231LL/A and MD232LL/A offer several improvements in terms of computing performance, but the design remained the same. The most notable difference is use of Intel’s 3rd Generation Intel “Ivy Bridge” processors, designed to deliver a better performance-per-watt ratio than the previous “Sandy Bridge” chips. “Ivy” also brings the new Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, which is much faster than the older HD 3000, according to various benchmarks. When it comes to raw computing power of dual CPU cores on the used 3rd Gen i5 and i7 chips, the first GeekBench benchmarks show the new processors are remarkably faster than the ones used in the previous MacBook Air systems.
Here’s a breakdown of the test:
- 13″ Mid-2011 i5-2557M: 5,260;
- 13″ Mid-2012 i5-3427U: 6,915;
- 13″ Mid-2012 i7-3667U: 7,007;
- 11″ Mid-2012 i5-3317U: 5,770 points
| MacBook Air 13.3″ 2012 SKU Specifications | MD231LL/A | MD232LL/A |
| Screen | 13.3-inch (1440 by 900) LED-backlit glossy | |
| CPU (Sandy Bridge) | 1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, up to 2.8GHz TurboBoost (i5-3427U “Ivy Bridge” ULV) | 1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, up to 2.8GHz TurboBoost (i5-3427U “Ivy Bridge” ULV) optional 2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 , up to 3.2GHz TurboBoost, (i7-3667U “Ivy Bridge” ULV), + $100 |
| RAM (1,600MHz DDR3, onboard) | 4GB (optional 8GB, + $100) | |
| SSD Storage | 128GB | 256GB (optional 512GB, + $500) |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics | |
| USB (3.0) | x 2 | |
| Thunderbolt I/O | Yes | |
| SD slot | Yes | |
| Wireless & Networking | 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 | |
| Speakers | Stereo | |
| Webcam and Mic | FaceTime 720p camera & omni-directional microphone | |
| OS | Mac OS X Lion 10.7, free upgrade to Mountain Lion 10.8 | |
| Battery (Lithium-Polymer) | 50-watt-hour lithium-polymer, up to 7 hours of wireless web use | |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 0.11-0.68 x 12.8 x 8.94 inches | |
| Weight | 2.96 pounds | |
| Warranty | One-Year Limited | |
| Price | $1,199.00 | $1,499.00 |
The other new important stuff is transition from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0, so the new Airs also deliver faster I/O data transfer from and to external devices if they support 3.0.
Apple’s battery life estimation of 7 hours remained the same, despite the transition to the newer more power efficient 22-nanometer chips. But, keep in mind that the 2012 Airs provide more computing and graphics power.