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The new MacBook Air is on sale for $900 at Amazon
The latest, base model MacBook Air is on sale for $900 at Amazon today.
Apple's new Air could be the MacBook for everyone
It's been about a year and a half since Apple redesigned the aging MacBook Air. In a lot of ways, that model was a big step forward over its predecessor, with an upgraded display chief among the improvements. But it also came with its fair share of compromises, including a tempermental "butterfly" keyboard and an asking price that put it a little too close to the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro. But with today's update, Apple seems to have addressed just about every issue with its flagship consumer laptop -- including the price. After a few years where Apple made multiple mis-steps with both hardware and pricing, it's encouraging to see the company make more customer-friendly decisions.
Apple's next MacBook upgrades could be coming soon
Last year's 16-inch MacBook Pro felt a bit like a return to form. While the latest iteration of Apple's flagship laptop didn't address the love-it-or-hate-it (but mostly hate-it) Touch Bar and an obnoxious lack of connectivity, it did have a much better keyboard compared to previous models. The new MacBook Pro replaced finicky butterfly switch keys with new mechanisms that make typing feel more natural and are more resilient to dust and debris. Naturally, one question on Mac users' minds was when Apple would bring the new scissor-switch-equipped keyboard to the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air lineup. According to 9to5Mac, a new filing with the Eurasian Economic Commission (the ECC) indicates that we could see the more ergonomic notebooks sooner rather than later.
iFixit examines the 16-inch MacBook Pro's 'throwback' keyboard design
From the time we spent with Apple's just-announced 16-inch MacBook Pro, it was obvious that the shallow, unreliable butterfly keyboard design was out and scissor switches were back in. (It didn't hurt that Apple has confirmed the changes on the new MacBook Pro's product page.) But naturally, the teardown team at iFixit was bound to get their hands on the 16-inch MacBook Pro and see exactly how its keyboard compares to ones that came before it. Well, they've just published their results -- and just as expected, the new keyboard is nearly identical to the one in the 2015 MacBook Pro as well as Apple's external Bluetooth Magic Keyboard. That's great news for anyone in the market for a new Apple laptop.
Apple's Sidecar feature only works on newer Macs
On Monday, Apple released macOS Catalina, the latest major update to its desktop operating system. Going into the update, a lot of Mac owners were excited for a feature called Sidecar. If you haven't following the development of Catalina, Sidecar allows you to use a newer iPad as a secondary display with your Mac. It's a feature that's been available on macOS through a variety of third-party apps for a couple of years now, but, as usual, Apple's ability to deeply integrate Sidecar into macOS made the feature all the more compelling. There's just one issue with Sidecar: you'll need a relatively new Mac and iPad.
Apple's rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro may ditch the flaky keyboard
Apple may ditch the butterfly mechanism keyboard on its laptops sooner than expected. The rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro -- predicted to ship this year -- may arrive with a scissor mechanism instead of the long-troubled butterfly design. According to MacRumors, historically accurate Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared his prediction for this change with investors today.
Apple offers next-day repairs for faulty MacBook keyboards
After years of user complaints, it looks like Apple is starting to prioritize repairs for busted MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards. According to a memo obtained by Mac Rumors, Apple has started to stock its retail locations with necessary parts so Genius Bar technicians can fix keyboard issues in store rather than shipping devices to an off-site service center. Employees were also instructed to aim for next-day turnarounds when performing keyboard repairs. Engadget has reached out to Apple to confirm this change and will update this story if we hear back.
Apple acknowledges keyboard problems with recent MacBooks
It's public knowledge that Apple added silicone membranes to its third-generation MacBook keyboards to prevent debris from getting in, but how well does that work, really? Not necessarily as much as Apple would like. In response to a Wall Street Journal piece highlighting ongoing reports of problems, an Apple spokesman said the company was aware of a "small number of users" whose butterfly keyboards were having issues, and that it was "sorry" for the problems. It didn't say this was a systemic flaw, however -- it contended that the "vast majority" of MacBook Air and Pro users were just fine, and that customers should contact support if there's trouble.
