Editor's note, Nov. 16 : Originally published Nov. 6, this review has been updated with final benchmark and battery life scores, as well as a review rating. Apple's MacBook Air has gotten a much-needed reboot, keeping the name, but changing just about everything else, both outside and in.

The MacBook is now smaller and lighter, with a better display, faster processors and a bigger touchpad; The MacOS experience and all-day battery are still big selling points

The starting price has shot up significantly, despite sticking with dual-core CPUs; The shallow butterfly keyboard and limited ports may feel like a step back from the previous Air

Apple is finally bringing a much-needed overhaul to its MacBook Air, its most affordable MacBook. Sure, there have been internal upgrades - such as the 2017 MacBook Air which saw a miniscule processor update - but it didn't stop the MacBook Air from looking like a laptop from, well, 2015.

Great build quality; nice design; Touch ID is useful; Retina screen looks sharp

Expensive; No longer the most portable MacBook

Apple has repeatedly described the MacBook Air as the most popular Mac in its lineup, with years of neglect leaving some intimidatingly large shoes for the new 2018 upgrade to fill.

Current Hardware; MacBook Air; Mac; Review; reviews

The fan is blowing on this brand-new MacBook Air with Retina Display. It's a familiar sound: a computer trying to cool down a processor that's being overtaxed by one of the eight or so apps I have running. (In this case, it's TweetDeck going rogue.

Retina Display; Touch ID; Great new trackpad; Superb build quality

Display doesn't get super bright; Not a huge speed upgrade; USB-C ecosystem still a hassle; For $100 more; you can get a more powerful 13-inch MacBook Pro or smaller 12-inch MacBook

Ultimately, if you must have a macOS machine for casual use, the MacBook Air will not let you down. More capable than the 12-inch MacBook, with its single I/O port, and less expensive than the MacBook Pro, this laptop offers a thoroughly excellent experience for performing casual computing tasks and...

Retina Display offers vivid colors; Very comfortable Force Touch trackpad; Secure boot capability; Two Thunderbolt 3 ports; Excellent battery life

No CPU configuration options; Y-series, not U-series, CPU; No touch screen; No USB Type-A ports or dedicated video output; Shallow key travel; Expensive as configured; Occasional fan noise

After our time with the new MacBook Air, we are still struggling with the verdict. Besides the device itself, you also have to consider Apple's other laptops, especially the two 13-inch MacBook Pro models. But let's start with the new Air first.

high quality case; good screen; 2x USB-C w/ Thunderbolt 3; long battery runtime; great touchpad; Touch-ID fingerprint scanner; often silent operation; very good speakers; decent everyday performance

comparatively low CPU performance; display is not as good as on the MacBook Pros; only USB-C and stereo jack; fan is way too loud for this level of performance; long charging time; old Wi-Fi module without Bluetooth 5.0; no SD reader; very high prices for storage upgrades

I bought this last week, and haven't had a great deal of time to use it. But because I am so confident on Apple's guarantees, I have no worry about quality. I hadn't had a laptop for a while as I have the I pad Pro, so it has been refreshing to be able to type on a quality light touch keyboard...

These two laptops offer plenty of features and aesthetics that make them desirable. If you’re a Windows fan then buy the Surface, otherwise the new MacBook Air is a solid workhorse.

It may be long overdue, but the 2018 edition of the MacBook Air pulls off a good balancing act. Rather than a ground-up revamp, this new model concentrates on refining the elegant, lightweight design that made the MacBook Air so popular in the first place, while also bringing it up to date with...

Slimmer, lighter design, High-resolution Retina display, 10hr battery, 2x Thunderbolt/USB-C ports

Expensive, Only mid-range performance, No build-to-order processor upgrade, No user-upgrades or repairs

It's over a decade since the very first MacBook Air went to market, heralding in the era of the ultra-thin notebook. Indeed, it was the thinnest available at the time. But oh how times move fast and the MacBook Air had been becoming something of a relic; a laptop surrounded by Windows-based...

High-res ‘Retina' display with smaller bezel than previous Air models; Large trackpad with Force Touch control; Touch ID login via fingerprint is great; Smaller and lighter footprint adds to appeal

Loud and sometimes unresponsive keyboard; Only Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and no SD card slot; Confuses the MacBook/Air/Pro lineup; No Face ID; Strong Windows 10 competition now