
Of course, you can also use the DisplayPort for connecting displays.Ī USB 2.0 port also sits on the right side, while the left side houses the magnetic power connector, a second USB 2.0 port, and the headphone jack. We haven't seen many Thunderbolt-compatible peripherals yet, but Apple promises external storage drives for superfast backups, video capture devices, and other adapters through multiple partners. Both Muse's "Resistance" and the Foo Fighter's "Everlong" got nice and loud on this ultraportable when we streamed those tracks on Slacker, and only the former started to sound harsh on the max setting.Ī new addition to the 11-inch MacBook Air is Thunderbolt, which offers 20 times the transfer speed of USB 2.0 through the DisplayPort on the back right side. The stereo speakers projected a fair amount of sound through the top of the keyboard. We continue to be impressed with the 11-inch Air's audio quality. Still, despite having a higher resolution than the now-discontinued MacBook (1366 x 768 as opposed to 1280 x 800), some will find the 11-inch size too small for a primary computer. We also appreciated the level of detail when watching an episode of The Daily Show on Hulu, from the streaks of gray in Jon Stewart's hair to the reflections on his desk. When you bump up the brightness to 100 percent, you almost forget that you're looking at an 11.6-inch screen. While running the battery test on the 11-inch Air, we couldn't help but notice that we could make out specific websites on the notebook's display-at a 45-degree angle-from about 15 feet away. Making selections on the 11-inch Air's trackpad is as easy as clicking down on the trackpad, though you can activate tap-to-select under the settings. So you drag down to drag up content if this doesn't feel natural to you, you can just disable this setting. And there's a new way to scroll Apple has added a natural scroll option under settings that lets you scroll as you would on the iPad or iPhone. We could easily double-tap with two fingers to zoom in on a specific area of a website, and we used a three-finger swipe up to launch Mission Control (where you can see everything running on your Mac).Īs expected, two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom both worked flawlessly. And you can do more with it now, thanks to the Lion OS. The huge 4.1 x 2.5-inch glass trackpad on the 11-inch Air is by far the best in its class.
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Plus, all the function keys are tied to a direct action, whether it's adjusting the brightness or activating the Launchpad (a new feature in Lion).Īt this point, Apple should probably just put on a clinic for Windows laptop makers on how to make a great touchpad. The keys offer plenty of travel and springy feedback. For such a thin design, the layout on the 11-inch Air offers a very comfortable typing experience. An ambient light sensor adjusts the strength of the backlight automatically, but you can also change it manually using shortcut keys on the keyboard. Apple has managed to add a backlit keyboard, which makes it easier to use the laptop in dim conditions. So much for one of the few complaints we had about the original 11-inch MacBook Air.

The only time the 11-inch MacBook Air's fan got loud was when we ran the demanding Cinebench benchmark, and even then the laptop was quieter than the VAIO Z.

The only area that really warmed up was the bottom-left side by the hinge, which reached 97 degrees. Even the underside stayed a relatively frosty 86 degrees. We consider anything higher than 95 degrees uncomfortable.
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After playing a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the 11-inch MacBook Air registered 88 degrees Fahrenheit between the G and H keys and only 78 degrees on the touchpad.
