I love my MacBook Air. In fact, it has replaced my desktop computer. Apple laptops are at the point where they are powerful enough to serve my purposes (I don’t do heavy animation and graphics editing like I used to, but I still run Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, and, of course, IDEs). And I love, absolutely love, being able to unhook it and take it with me, knowing that all my software is with me and my server is just a wi-fi heartbeat away.
I switched to an Air during the summer of 2011 and then swapped it out for a new one in 2012 as there was a significant speed jump (along with me underestimating my SSD needs the year before).
I was really excited to see the 2013 offering but I’ve got to tell you, I’m really disappointed. Sure, the battery life is longer but that means nothing to me. I wanted to see some ramped up processing specs. Nope. There is a bit more efficiency in the architecture and subsequently a bit faster, and the processor is improved but basically the same. When it comes down to the numbers, the MacBook Air (Summer 2013) is a pretty dismal release with nothing to write home about.
Oh well, there is always next year. Besides, I need to be saving money so perhaps this was a good thing. In that case, thank you Apple.