What are the differences between the original MacBook Air configuration options?

Please note that the original MacBook Air has been discontinued. It was replaced by the MacBook Air (NVIDIA/Late 2008) models on October 14, 2008. For more recent comparison Q&As, please refer to the main MacBook Air Q&A page.

By default, there was only one configuration of the original MacBook Air. However, Apple did offer two "standard" configurations via the company website, and there were a variety of configuration options available.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

In a nutshell, the original MacBook Air could either be configured with a 1.6 GHz "Core 2 Duo" processor and an 80 GB PATA (4200 RPM) hard drive -- the default configuration -- or one could opt for the "ultimate" configuration with a 1.8 GHz "Core 2 Duo" processor and a 64 GB solid-state drive. These two configurations are priced as such:

MacBook Air	Default	Ultimate
Processor Speed:	1.6 GHz	1.8 GHz
Drive Size:	80 GB	64 GB
Drive Type:	PATA	Solid-state
Intro Price:	US$1799	US$3098†

† On July 8, 2008, Apple dropped the price to US$2598 for the "ultimate" system.

When first released, the upgrade from a 1.6 GHz processor to a 1.8 GHz processor cost US$300 by itself, and the upgrade from the 80 GB hard drive to the 64 GB solid-state drive cost a massive US$999 premium. On July 8, 2008, Apple dropped the processor upgrade price to US$200 and the SSD upgrade price to US$599.

As the MacBook Air does not support an internal optical drive, many will find it convenient also to purchase the offered external MacBook Air SuperDrive for US$99.

Regardless of configuration, the MacBook Air features 2 GB of non-upgradable onboard 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, an Intel GMA X3100 integrated "graphics processor with 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory", an integrated iSight video camera, a new trackpad that supports "multi-touch gesturing" (two-finger scroll, pinch, rotate, swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag), a "flush against the bed MacBook-style" full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor, and a 13.3" widescreen TFT LED-backlit active-matrix "glossy" display (1280x800 native resolution) in a razor thin (0.16-0.76 inch), three pound, aluminum case.

Both configurations also include the same connectivity -- AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a single USB 2.0 port, analog audio out, and video out capabilities (micro-DVI) that support an external 24" display. It lacks Ethernet (an external adapter is available), Firewire, and optical audio in/out.

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Please refer to EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare any MacBook Air model to any other G3 or later Mac.