A couple of weeks ago my beloved 2015 retina MacBook Pro decided that it did not want to charge the battery anymore because it needed replacing. After having it for approaching 4 years, I decided that, although it was still a great machine, I wanted to take the opportunity to replace it. I considered a new MacBook Pro, but considering that a similarly specced machine to my old one was £750 more than I paid for the original and I wanted to upgrade the RAM and storage I decided to look into other options, and landed on getting a Certified Refurbished 2018 MacBook Air.
You can’t talk about modern MacBooks without talking about the butterfly keyboard, so I may as well start there. I admit that I was originally hesitant about the keyboard, but so far I am loving it. The key travel, although short, feels solid and doesn’t wobble, which I didn’t realise was a problem I had. Also the butterfly switches have a very slight tactile feel on activation, which I am personally a big fan of after spending plenty of time on Cherry MX blue switches. Obviously the biggest issue with the keyboard is the reliability, but since I have had it less than a week only time will tell.
The screen seems slightly improved on my old MacBook Pro, but it’s difficult to give an objective opinion on that since I had issues with the Anti-Reflective Coating peeling on it. Regardless, it is a gorgeous screen, and the screen housing is almost unbelievably solid considering how thin it is.
The addition of TouchID is fantastic, however I haven’t had a chance to use it a lot since I use my Apple Watch to unlock it, so the only real use it gets is unlocking 1Password, which is a great addition to my life.
The aluminium body is as solid as any Apple device I’ve ever used, but the MacBook Air is so thin and light that is feels fantastic. It feel comfortable to use in just about any position one might use a laptop, and with the big new trackpad with palm detection, no matter how you’re using it it will work well.
The only slight complaint I have about the build quality of this thing at this time is opening it. Since the laptop is so thin, even with the cutout on the bottom it can be a little difficult to open when it is flat on a desk without a little manoeuvring with both hands. Saying that, this really isn’t a big problem to have, so I feel safe saying that this is a phenomenal machine.