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MacBook Air Q&A
Published May 7, 2014
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How fast are the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models compared to one another and to earlier MacBook Air models? How fast are these models compared to the 13-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro?
The "Early 2014" MacBook Air models have been discontinued. However, this Q&A is up-to-date and is useful for anyone considering one of these MacBook Air systems on the used market.
In the press release for the "Early 2014" MacBook Air -- the MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.4 11" (Early 2014), "Core i7" 1.7 11" (Early 2014), "Core i5" 1.4 13" (Early 2014), and MacBook Air "Core i7" 1.7 13" (Early 2014) -- Apple notes that these models have "faster processors" than their predecessors, but provides no specific details about the performance increase. This lack of specifics should be the first hint that the performance difference between lines is modest.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Left - 11" MacBook Air, Right - 13" MacBook Air)
Furthermore, even a cursory review of a comparison between the "Early 2014" MacBook Air and the "Mid-2013" MacBook Air models replaced shows that the two lines use identical architectures and dual core Core i5 processors of similar speed.
Specifically, the "Mid-2013" MacBook Air models have 1.3 GHz processors and the "Early 2014" models have 1.4 GHz processors. Consequently, it would be reasonable to expect that the "Early 2014" models are no more than 8% faster.
The custom configured models in both lines have the same dual core 1.7 GHz Core i7 processors and likewise offer identical speed.
General Performance Overview
For a solid overview of the performance difference between the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models and all other Macs, EveryMac.com's own Ultimate Mac Comparison makes it quick to compare side-by-side 32-bit-and 64-bit Geekbench benchmark averages with all other G3 and later Macs for thousands of possible performance comparisons.
The Geekbench benchmark shows that the standard 11-Inch and 13-Inch "Early 2014" models -- the MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.4 11" (Early 2014) and MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.4 13" (Early 2014) -- basically are the same speed, as would be expected given the identical processors.
Likewise, the models equipped with custom processors -- the MacBook Air "Core i7" 1.7 11" (Early 2014) and MacBook Air "Core i7" 1.7 13" (Early 2014) -- are roughly 15%-16% faster than the standard models.
To some users, 15%-16% more performance is money well spent regardless of price, but as this US$150 upgrade costs between 12% and 15% more than the standard configuration, it represents a reasonable value, as well.
Compared to the "Mid-2013" line, Geekbench shows that the standard "Early 2014" systems roughly are 6% faster than the model each replaced:
| Mid-2013 MacBook Air | Early 2014 MacBook Air | Percent Faster |
| "Core i5" 1.3 11-Inch | "Core i5" 1.4 11-Inch | 6.5% |
| "Core i7" 1.7 11-Inch | "Core i7" 1.7 11-Inch | Identical |
| "Core i5" 1.3 13-Inch | "Core i5" 1.4 13-Inch | 5.5% |
| "Core i7" 1.7 13-Inch | "Core i7" 1.7 13-Inch | Identical |
Compared to the previous "Mid-2012" MacBook Air models, the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models are between 9% to 17% faster.
However, compared to the "Late 2013" Retina Display MacBook Pro models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.4 13" (Late 2013), "Core i5" 2.6 13" (Late 2013), and "Core i7" 2.8 13" (Late 2013) -- the standard "Early 2014" MacBook Air models are in the neighborhood of 5% to 12% slower.
Nevertheless, it is also worth noting that the custom processor configured "Early 2014" MacBook Air models are 9% faster than the entry-level MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.4 13" (Late 2013) and hold their own with the higher-end standard configuration MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.6 13" (Late 2013), too.
Again, for a performance comparison of the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models to any other Mac, refer to EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison.
Other Benchmarks & Real-World Tests
Geekbench provides a helpful overview of overall performance, but other benchmarks and real-world tests can be useful, as well.
As the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models are a minor update, most of the blogosphere declined in-depth coverage, but the industry-standard Macworld tested both models and discovered:
The new [US]$899 11-inch MacBook Air with 128 GB of storage and the [US]$1199 13-inch MacBook Air with 256 GB of storage outperformed the previous systems in most tests, if only by a few seconds. The new 1.4 GHz models were between 2 and 5 percent faster in tests such as Photoshop, iTunes, Handbrake, Cinebench CPU test, Aperture and PCMark 8's Office application test running on a virtual machine in Parallels.
Storage performance tests, on the other hand, showed the flash storage in these new systems to be slower than last year's. Slow enough to drag down the overall Speedmark score [by 2%-8%], despite the faster processors found in this year's models.
However, disk performance can vary depending both on capacity and on which SSD company Apple selected for your specific MacBook Air.
In independent testing, site sponsor OWC found that the "Mid-2013" and "Early 2014" MacBook Air models both configured with SanDisk SSDs provide "nearly identical" disk performance and noted:
The performance of your machine will come down to whichever SSD -- Samsung, Toshiba or SanDisk -- is installed in the MacBook Air you receive. However, there is no way of knowing which SSD the MacBook Air features [prior to purchasing the notebook].
In recent history, MacBook Air models with pre-installed Samsung SSDs have been faster than those with SSDs from SanDisk or Toshiba, but this may vary.
It is entirely possible that Macworld's "Mid-2013" MacBook Air models were configured with faster Samsung SSDs whereas their "Early 2014" MacBook Air models were configured with SSDs from another manufacturer. This SSD difference would explain the discrepancy in the publication's test results.
Performance Summary
Ultimately, the "Early 2014" MacBook Air models are modestly faster than the "Mid-2013" MacBook Air models replaced, but slower than the standard "Late 2013" 13-Inch MacBook Pro models unless the MacBook Air is custom configured with the 1.7 GHz "Core i7" (4650U) processor upgrade option.
As typically has been the case with the MacBook Air series, drive performance can vary from system-to-system depending on which manufacturer's product is pre-installed in your particular notebook. However, SSD upgrades are quite feasible, so you should have the option of installing a faster and/or higher capacity SSD in the future, too.
In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new MacBook Air models with free shipping. Other World Computing and JemJem sell used and refurb MacBook Air models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well. On the other hand, if you need to sell a MacBook Air, A+ BBB-rated Cash for Your Mac and GoRoostr will buy your older notebook with an instant quote and prompt payment.
In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs sells used MacBook Air models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.
In Australia, site sponsor Mac City likewise has a variety of used MacBook Air models sold at low prices and available with a free warranty and fast shipping across Australia.
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