Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained.
And in this video we’re going to cover the history of the MacBook Air, from its initial
release in 2008 to the most recent update at Apple’s special event in New York City.
But I don’t just want to talk about the changes Apple has made to the MacBook Air
over its lifetime, I also want to discuss changes the Air has made to the notebook and
netbook industries.
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So if you were around to see Steve Jobs reveal the MacBook Air on stage back in 2008, then
you probably remember how shocking it was to see a notebook that thin.
And as usual, Jobs did an amazing job introducing it in the most theatrical way possible.
[clip] But if you didn’t get a chance to see that moment and you watch the introduction
today, it likely won’t have the same effect.
And that’s because the first MacBook Air looks a lot like notebooks we see today.
Which means Apple created a MacBook that effectively predicted where the entire notebook market
would head, and that’s why Apple asserted that the MacBook Air was the future of the
MacBook.
Now this may cause you to wonder what the Air was like compared to notebooks of its
time.
Because the notebook market in 2008 looked much different than today.
And there were many decisions Apple made with the MacBook Air that separated it from the
pack, but also drew a lot of criticism.
The biggest of which was the removal of the disk drive, which was considered a standard
feature of any serious notebook at the time.
And Apple tried to remedy its absence by introducing a software feature called Remote Disk, which
could wirelessly access a nearby disk drive on a Mac or PC to accomplish anything from
installing software to watching DVD movies.
And if that wasn’t enough, Apple also offered an external USB superdrive that could be connected
to the MacBook Air for an extra $80.
But this didn’t satisfy everyone.
Many people felt Apple was trying to squeeze more money out of them by forcing an $80 accessory
purchase due to the lack of capabilities of their $1,800 notebook.
But this was only one of several issues people had with the Air.
The others included limited I/O ports, a non-user replaceable battery, a small hard drive, an
underpowered processor, and a high price.
So for many users, making all those compromises for a thin and light notebook didn’t make
sense.
Although the MacBook Air did sell quite well to users who needed a full-size notebook with
as portable a design as possible.
Now I mentioned earlier in the video that I wanted to talk about how the MacBook Air
has changed the notebook and netbook industries.
And this is something that I haven’t heard discussed very much but it’s very important
to understand.
Because when the MacBook Air was introduced in 2008, the netbook industry had just taken
root in the US a year earlier, but the market wouldn’t explode in size until after the
MacBook Air was released.
Because although the Air wasn’t considered a netbook, it was an extremely portable notebook.
And many consumers wanted a notebook with that level of portability, especially in the
education market.
But the problem was cost, the MacBook Air started at $1,800 back in 2008.
That’s about $2,100 today.
And keep in mind that the base model was configured with an 80 GB hard drive.
If you wanted the speed benefits of a Solid State Drive, you could upgrade to a smaller
but faster 64GB SSD in addition to a faster processor for $3,100.
That’s a $1,300 difference just for an SSD and slightly faster processor.
So it’s easy to see why so many people felt the MacBook Air was out of reach.
And the education market definitely didn’t have the funds to purchase high-cost notebooks
in mass.
So many of these consumers who wanted a low-cost alternative turned to netbooks.
Which were smaller, lighter, and more compact than a traditional notebook.
But most importantly, they were much cheaper.
And those qualities alone made netbooks an appealing solution to many.
But in order to make these things small, light, and cheap, manufactures had to make significant
compromises.
For example, netbooks had tiny, low quality displays, cramped keyboards, small trackpads,
small hard drives, shorter battery life, and slower processors.
So while they could be used for light internet browsing and things like word processing,
netbooks really weren’t suited for any heavy productivity tasks.
But there was clearly a desire for portable computing devices since the netbook industry
grew almost 20x in 2008, the year of the MacBook Air.
And while Apple unintentionally helped grow the netbook market, they intentionally destroyed
it a few years later in 2011 with the iPad.
But that’s a story for another video.
So now let’s take a look at the market Apple was actually trying to disrupt with the Air,
and that was the notebook market.
So how did it do in that aspect?
Well, if you consider how competing notebooks responded to the release of the MacBook Air,
you’ll begin to recognize how successful and influential the product was.
Because in the next two years, more PC notebooks were released without disk drives than ever
before.
And more notebooks were offering solid state drives than ever before.
So industry-wide effects of the MacBook Air were observable within just 24 months of the
product being released.
And if you take a close look at the notebook market today, you’ll find that the MacBook
Air truly was the best indicator of where the market was headed.
Because cd drives are now a thing of the past, solid state drives have become standard, and
the majority of flagship notebooks feature non-user replaceable batteries.
And that isn’t even considering how both the MacBook and MacBook Pro took cues from
the Air when it came to their unibody construction and minimal I/O ports.
So when Jobs said the MacBook Air was the future of the MacBook, I think that was actually
an understatement.
Because the Air turned out to be the future of the entire notebook industry.
But the most important thing Apple understood was that as time passed, the MacBook Air’s
compromises would slowly become irrelevant.
Therefore addressing all of the concerns many consumers had with the original Air.
Because as the world became more digital, no one would need a disk drive anymore.
And the technology inside the Air would become more powerful and affordable.
So let’s take a look at the two major updates Apple made to the MacBook Air.
The first of which came near the end of 2010, and it featured changes that made the Air
more accessible to more users.
Mainly because of the newly introduced 11” model that started at just $999.
Making it the most affordable MacBook at the time.
And the 13” version enjoyed a price drop too, from $1,500 to $1,300.
And the price reductions were made more impressive since pricier sold state drives became standard
for all models.
But Apple didn’t stop there, they actually changed the Air’s design, giving it flat
sides that did away with the I/O door.
And they actually added an SD card slot on the updated models despite its design being
a little thinner and lighter than its predecessor.
Now in the coming years Apple would make both the 11” and 13” MacBook Air even more
affordable and even more powerful, with the 11” model eventually starting $899 and the
13” model starting at just $999.
Which is a huge improvement over the original $1,800 price back in 2008.
But the MacBook Air actually remained stagnant for quite some time.
Only receiving minor spec bumps since its first major upgrade in 2010.
And as the MacBook and MacBook Pro received fresh redesigns and new features, many wondered
where the MacBook Air fit into Apple’s notebook lineup.
Because the Air was no longer Apple’s thinnest and lightest notebook.
That title was given to the MacBook.
So the Air simply became the cheapest way to get a Mac notebook.
The problem was that cheaper price got you an outdated display, outdated keyboard, outdated
trackpad, and outdated design.
Which is pretty sad when considering the MacBook Air represented the most advanced technology
Apple offered back in 2008.
And this led to people thinking that perhaps Apple would discontinue the Air, since it
hadn’t received a major upgrade in such a long time.
But Apple shut down that assumption near the end of 2018 with the second major upgrade
to the MacBook Air in ten years.
And this time, Apple didn’t hold anything back.
Giving the Air almost every single advanced feature that the MacBook Pro had enjoyed.
Including a retina display, thinner bezels, a butterfly keyboard, touch ID, USB-C, a larger
Force Touch trackpad, and updated internals.
But there were a couple benefits exclusive to the Air, including it’s lighter weight
at 2.75 pounds, and longer 12 to 13 hour battery life.
And Apple fit all of these new features into a design that’s 10% thinner with a smaller
footprint.
But there was one drawback, and that was its price.
Apple increased the Air’s base price from $1,000 to $1,200.
And although this isn’t nearly as bad as it’s original $1,800 price in 2008, it’s
still a problem because Apple positioned the Air as the most affordable Mac notebook.
And although the older 11” MacBook Air is still being sold for $1,000, the higher price
of the 13” model is frustrating for people who want up to date technology for an affordable
price.
So the MacBook Air has proven to be an important notebook for Apple, and they’re keeping
it around as a sort’ve compromise notebook, it isn’t the thinnest and it isn’t the
most powerful, but it is more powerful than the MacBook and thinner than the MacBook Pro.
And considering it’s still cheaper than any other notebook Apple offers, I think the
Air remains a good value for its price.
So that is the history of the MacBook Air, and if you want to vote for the next video
topic, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.