Apple MacBook Air Core i5 13.3-inch Laptop

Price ₹ 68,990

All new 2017 Apple MacBook Air

1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor

8GB LPDDR3 RAM, 128GB Solid State hard drive

13.3-inch screen, Intel HD Graphics 6000

MacOS Sierra operating system

1.35kg laptop

1440x900 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors, 720p FaceTime HD camera

1 year warranty from manufacturer from date of purchase

People Review :

1) Okay. So you have been seeing people display their Macbooks and you have always fancied owning one of those premium devices. Now, as Amazon offers this Macbook Air at a reduced price, you are getting tempted to buy this. STOP and consider what you get for the money you spend. Do not buy this if you think this adds some premiumness to your profile. It will not - because this device is next in line where support will be withdrawn by Apple. Resist temptation - because THAT is what Apple sells. The last reason to buy should be your feeling that it improves your profile. Apple users will smirk when they see you with an obsolete 'dinosaur' device as they display their latest toys.

If you are a windows user - better go to some friend's Macbook and try some activities. MAC OS is great till you try to change something as puny as your mouse cursor!! You realise that you are stuck in the little cozy jail of Apple once you try anything non-standard. Try transferring data by a USB stick from your other laptop to this one .... you will need training. USB partitioning has to be only ExFAT - and evn if you do this partitioning on a MAC, chances are that Windows will not recognise the USB stick. If you are not a power user - this can be a real pain. Of course, you can pretend (like so many thousands of Apple users) that these do not matter. But hey - they do. A premium DELL or HP may be the best option for you. (Yes, I will first discourage you from buying this and then explain why I purchased this for myself)

Know that you are giving up the option of buying RAM or SSD from the neighbouring shop to extend the device life. You wil depend on Apple and on Apple alone. Of course there are generic spares - but these too are more expensive than the DELL or HP spares. Once Apple pulls the plug of support, these spares may get even more expensive. In fact, hardware upgrade beyond increasing the SSD is very much a rare luxury. Thankfully, I have kept myself out of this snob-race that Apple peddles.

If you are still reading - here are the good sides (why I purchased this in spite of what I wrote above)

A Mac is a Mac is a Mac. So is this one. The hardware are perfectly matched and performance is always optimal. This laptop is for carrying along as a second laptop, alongside my official one, a DELL workhorse. MAcbook Air is lightweight and can run other operating systems. I use this to run Windows and Linux.

The MAC OS is a very stable Operating system. Chances are that you will never face a single crash in your lifetime of using this Macbook Air. Windows is fragile (too many bugs and updates) and Linux is difficult (you need a little training). That's where the Macbook Air comes in Handy. With Parallels desktop, you can load Linux and Windows on Virtual Machines on the Mac. You can seamlessly go from one OS to another without rebooting. However, note that with 'parallels desktop' you are operating Windows and Linux from your little cell in the Apple jail. And be prepared to shell out a good amount to "buy" this software. It is possible to load linux differently so that it works outside the Apple shell. Quite a saving grace. Using BootCamp (through a dual bootng feature), you can take advantage of the multi-tasking power of Windows without the risk of getting blue screens or hanged functions. So overall that looks great.

Now coming back to my rating... I run mostly Windows and Linux on this MAC. Happy with it because the hardware is great. I consider myself a power user - so I know that I can find alternatives for this if and when Apple pulls the plug of support (should be available for at least another year, and a certain period after that as Apple's support to "obsolete" devices). Hence a durability rating of 3 stars only !!

That (above) is the truth laid bare. Please decide and buy at your own risk.
~~ Buy this if you like the hardware (but know that DELL or HP would give a much better hardware at this price, and those will be upgradable and last much longer than this)
~~ Buy this because you understand that this hardware is very stable and Mac OS can protect your windows as it works in the MAC Shell. Buy this because you can run Linux once Mac makes this obsolete.
~~ Do not buy this if you feel it adds to your premium value. It will be a dinosaur soon and you will be left stranded. Think of the plight of iPhone 5, which was premium 24 months ago. People rushed and purchased their "cheap iPhone" around a year back. Today, they have no pride in showing off a device that is obsolete. Tomorrow, Apple will make it sluggish and they will be forced to upgrade.

Good News.
luxury product, niche technology, good battery life, reliable machine (other laptops crash and become defunct in 6-10 years), no anti-virus required, security of data and transactions much better. Terrific sense of possession & pride.

Bad News.
Problems will be there if you are switching from windows based system - very less space in hard disk, no CD drive, inability to transfer data from Mac to your existing external hard disc unless you format it, apps are mostly paid and re unreasonably expensive (no free apps which are available otherwise on google play store, even the angry bird costs Rs 400 !!), all printers are not compatible (e.g. the most economical MFD laser printer RICOH SP 111 can't be used), huge compatibility issues with Pages (MS Word) and Keynote (powerpoint) unless you master it by working on these (still mostly the document and slides either do not open in windows environment or have distortion issues). you need to spend extra for an external CD writer and tp buy a carry bag. Mac con not be connected to most of the projectors unless you buy some connectors, which are expensive and theres no clarity which one to buy and from where. you can't connect it to your TV, the ports are different and again theres no clarity - customer support, manuals or help section are silent ! Marketing strategy for Indian market, if at all has been planned, has been very bad. If these critical issues (and a few more not mentioned here) are handled properly, the Mac can sweep away other laptops in India. Presently, it doesn't seem to be happening.

Overall Verdict.
If compatibility issues mentioned above do not bother you, go for it. Else, think hard. If its an emotional issue to own a long cherished Mac, then its a different thing. Go ahead and gradually you would figure out most (but not all) of the above problems, like I did.

3) The sound quality was not good . My laptop started giving issues with power button from 4 months. The screen would flicker and it would shutdown automatically after sometime. Took the mac to service centre. They replaced the motherboard free of cost as it was in warranty. Now my mac is perfectly fine.

4) Got the Apple Macbook air on amazon discount sale.

1) The OS is smooth and is a breeze to work with. Ships with macOS sierra but update is available to macOS mojave
2) The design and build quality, as you can expect from an apple product is top notch.
3) Excellen sound quality, keyboard.

Cons:
1) 128GB may be low incase you want to have movies and media in your laptop.
You need to carry around a hard disk that kind of nullifies the advantage of having a light weight laptop.
2) Display resolution is not exactly upto the mark

5) The sheer fluidic response on this machine is simply awesome. Totally worth every penny.

Even though I use Windows in my office for programming but this machine is a beast when it comes to performance. Zero lag, super fast reboot. Got it at a good deal for 47k.