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PRESS RELEASE March 18, 2020

The Most Popular Mac Now Has Up to 2x Faster Performance, the New Magic Keyboard and Twice the Storage

Cupertino, California — Apple today updated MacBook Air, the world’s most loved notebook, with faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999, and $899 for education.1 The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance2 and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance,3 letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games. Now starting with 256GB of storage, MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. With its brilliant 13-inch Retina display for vivid images and sharp text, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life combined with the power of macOS Catalina, it’s the best MacBook Air ever made.
“From students and consumers buying their first computer to customers looking to upgrade, everyone loves the Mac, and they especially love MacBook Air. Today we’re giving it a huge update, with two times faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, double the storage, a new lower price of $999 and an even lower price of $899 for education,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing. “With its stunning, thin and light design, brilliant Retina display, all-day battery life and the power and ease-of-use of macOS, MacBook Air is the world’s best consumer notebook.”

Faster Everyday Performance

Built-in Security and Privacy

Additional Features

  • A three-mic array for more clear voice capture for FaceTime calls with friends and family.
  • The industry-best Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and multi-touch navigation.
  • Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and video output in a single connector.
  • Support for up to a 6K external display, a first for MacBook Air.
  • Advanced stereo speakers for immersive, wide stereo sound for activities like watching Apple TV+ content or playing games in Apple Arcade.

macOS Catalina

Every new MacBook Air comes with macOS Catalina, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system. macOS has always been at the core of the Mac experience, and with apps like Safari, Mail, Photos, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, customers have powerful tools to do amazing things. macOS also makes MacBook Air the perfect companion device to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with built-in Continuity features that allow users to make and receive phone calls without picking up their iPhone; automatically unlock their Mac with Apple Watch; copy and paste images, video and text straight from iPhone or iPad to a nearby Mac; and in macOS Catalina, extend the workspace of their Mac using an iPad and Sidecar. Security features keep users better protected and Voice Control lets users control their Mac entirely with their voice.

Images of MacBook Air

    1 Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff and homeschool teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit: apple.com/us-hed/shop.
    2 Testing conducted by Apple in February 2020 using preproduction 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based MacBook Air systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 16GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, as well as shipping 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-based MacBook Air systems with Intel UHD Graphics 617, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. Simulation of dynamical systems tested with MATLAB and Simulink R2019b Update 4 and Parallel Computing Toolbox using a vehicle dynamics model. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Air.
    3 Testing conducted by Apple in February 2020 using preproduction 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based MacBook Air systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD, as well as shipping 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-based MacBook Air systems with Intel UHD Graphics 617, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. 3D title render speed tested with Final Cut Pro X 10.4.8 using a 10-second project with Apple ProRes 422 video at 3840x2160 resolution and 30 frames per second. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Air.
    4 This special offer is available with the purchase of any Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or iPod touch and good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device.