Tag: Intel

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MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)

On October 18, 2018, Apple introduced an all-new MacBook Air model:

“Apple today introduced an all-new MacBook Air, bringing a stunning 13-inch Retina display, Touch ID, the latest processors and an even more portable design to the world’s most loved notebook. Delivering the all-day battery life it’s known for, the new MacBook Air is available in three gorgeous finishes — gold, space gray and silver. The most affordable Retina-display Mac ever also includes an Apple-designed keyboard, a spacious Force Touch trackpad, faster SSDs, wide stereo sound, the Apple T2 Security Chip and Thunderbolt 3, making the new MacBook Air the perfect notebook to take with you everywhere you go.”

The 13.3-inch Retina display was 2560 x 1600 (at 227ppi)—a 16:10 aspect ratio. It used a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, and offered many storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1.5TB SSD. RAM options included 8GB or 16GB.

Like all previous MacBook Air models, this version used a tapered body design. It measured 0.16 inch in front to 0.61 inch in back (0.41–1.56 cm) thick, and was 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) wide and 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) deep. It weighed 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg).

The front camera was a 720p FaceTime HD camera. This was the first MacBook Air to ship with 2 USB-C connections, and it also had a 3.5mm headphone jack. Further, this was the first MacBook Air to include an Integrated Touch ID sensor.

The 2018 MacBook Air was released at a time when its features were potentially confusing to customers when compared to other Apple laptop offerings at the time. A reviewer at The Verge noted:

“Is this new Air like a 12-inch MacBook, just blown up to a slightly bigger size? Is it more like a 13-inch MacBook Pro (sans Touch Bar), just with cheaper parts?”

When released, this this MacBook Air only was offered in a 13-inch option, dropping the 11-inch version available in the previous design. This was also the final MacBook Air with an Intel chip—future versions included Apple Silicon, such as the M1.

Source: Apple (Newsroom, Tech Specs), The Verge

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)

The 15-inch MacBook Pro (2019) model was the first to offer an 8-core processor in a MacBook. Apple’s press release announced:

“Apple updated MacBook Pro with faster 8th- and 9th-generation Intel Core processors, bringing eight cores to MacBook Pro for the first time. MacBook Pro now delivers two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever. These new processors, combined with powerful graphics, the brilliant and colorful Retina display, super-fast SSDs, the Apple T2 Security Chip, all-day battery life and macOS, make MacBook Pro the world’s best pro notebook.”

Both a 6-core and 8-core version of this MacBook Pro was available.

This MacBook Pro was available in both Silver and Space Gray. It had a Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor. Apple describes the Touch Bar:

“If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can use familiar gestures—like tap, swipe, or slide—directly on the Touch Bar to adjust settings, use Siri, access function keys, and do tasks in different apps.”

The 15.4-inch Retina display was 2880 x 1800 (at 220ppi). This MacBook Pro was offered with a 256GB or 512GB SSD as standards, but was configurable to up to 4TB SSD. All models had 16GB of RAM. The front camera was a 720p FaceTime HD camera.

Physical ports included 4 USB-C ports (all had Thunderbolt 3 capability) and a headphone jack. Wireless interfaces included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0.

This MacBook Pro was 0.61 inch (1.55 cm) thick, and measured 13.75 inches (34.93 cm) wide x 9.48 inches (24.07 cm) deep. It weighed 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg).

Its 10-hour battery charged with an 87W USB-C Power Adapter.

This MacBook Pro featured what Ars Technica referred to as the “new new new butterfly keyboard…which Apple believes will be more reliable than its problem-laden predecessors.” Later in the review, the author adds that “the touchpad is enormous” and describes it as “luxuriously large.”

Although Apple’s press focuses on the 8-core version of this laptop, this particular MacBook Pro (2019) is the 6-core version in Space Gray.

Sources: Apple (Newsroom, Tech Specs, Touch Bar), Ars Technica

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Mac mini (Late 2012)

Since the first Mac mini was released in 2005, all models have been compact, shipped without a display, keyboard, and mouse, and all have been relatively inexpensive.

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was described by EveryMac: “Compared to its predecessor, this model looks identical, but it has a faster internal architecture with a faster processor, faster graphics, faster RAM, and USB 3.0 ports.”

Its primarily aluminum case has a plastic bottom and measures 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) tall, 7.7 inches x 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) square, and weighs 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg).

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was offered with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. It shipped with a 500GB or 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive.

For a compact case, it had many physical plug options: Thunderbolt, FireWire 800 port, 4 USB 3 ports, HDMI, SDXC card slot, gigabit ethernet port, and audio in/out. Its 3 wireless interfaces included 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an IR receiver.

This Mac mini shipped with OS X Mountain Lion.

Sources: EveryMac, Wikipedia, Apple

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MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)

The 13-inch MacBook Air, Early-2015 model, used the 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 and was also available with a 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core i7. It shipped with 4GB or 8GB RAM. This model uses the Core i5 with 4GB of RAM and has 128GB of flash storage.

When it was released on March 9, 2015, Apple reported:

“The updated 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air now feature fifth generation Intel Core processors up to 2.2 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz, integrated Intel HD Graphics 6000, and Thunderbolt 2, delivering up to 20Gbps, twice the bandwidth of the previous generation. The 13-inch MacBook Air also features faster flash storage that is up to two times faster than the previous generation.”

This MacBook Air used a 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display at 1440 x 900.

Apple reported that this laptop had a 12-hour battery. Its physical ports included 2 USB 3 ports, a Thunderbolt 2 port, a MagSafe 2 power port, a SDXC card slot, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Wireless technologies included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. It also had a front-facing 720p FaceTime HD camera.

The full-size keyboard was backlit and with an ambient light sensor, and it used Apple’s Multi-Touch trackpad.

This MacBook Air used the tapered design of previous MAcBook Air models, measuring 0.11 to 0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm) thick, 12.8 inches (32.5 cm) wide, and 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) deep. It weighed 2.96 pounds (1.35 kg).

According to EveryMac:

“Compared to its predecessor, this model looks effectively identical, but has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics, twice as fast 4x PCIe storage, and Thunderbolt 2 support.”

Source: Apple (Tech Specs, Newsroom), EveryMac

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MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

At the time of its release, the MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display was a solid “Pro” choice, but an iterative update from its predecessor with no new design elements, major features, or new technologies. This MacBook Pro used Intel’s Core i7 “Haswell/Crystalwell” processor with four cores. This example is the 2.0GHz model, and a 2.3GHz was also available.

The 15.4-inch Retina Display was LED-backlit display with 2880 x 1800 resolution (220ppi). The laptop measured 0.71 inch (1.8 cm) thick, and 14.13 inches (35.89 cm) wide x 9.73 inches (24.71 cm) tall. It weighed 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg).

According to Apple, the physical ports included:

  • MagSafe 2 power port
  • 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
  • 2 USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot

Wireless technologies included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

The full-size keyboard was backlit and used an ambient light sensor. Apple advertised the battery life as 8 hours, and it charged using an 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

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Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.1 Retail Family Pack (2009)

This boxed retail version of Mac OS X is version 10.5.1, also known as “Leopard.” This particular box is the Retail Family Pack, licensed for “up to five computers in one household.”

Leopard (Mac OS X v10.5) was marketed to contain over 300 enhancements from its predecessor, Mac OS X v.10.4, Tiger. The Leopard Finder included a redesigned Desktop and Dock, a semi-transparent menu bar, and the addition of Cover Flow, a visual file navigation method borrowed from iTunes. This release also introduced Time Machine automated backups, Spotlight searches across multiple Macs, the Photo Booth app, and the Front Row system that served as a simple multimedia interface.

The design on the outside of the box is printed with a high-gloss finish and foil-metallic accents for the outer space design elements—a somewhat perplexing concept given the name of the OS was “Leopard.” The back of the box highlighted five operating system features: Cover Flow in the Finder, Time Machine automatic backups, iChat video chat effects, stationery in Mail, and Spaces window organization.

The box contained an install DVD and a color-printed manual. The exterior of the box lists the following contents:

DVD containing Mac OS X; printed and electronic documentation. Requirements Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512MB of physical RAM; DVD drive for installation. • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply. • Time Machine requires an additional hard drive, sold separately. • iChat requires a compatible camera. • Some features have additional requirements; see www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs. 826-8133-A

Sources: Apple (product box), Wikipedia, Ars Technica

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iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch (2009)

The iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch featured a 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two independent processors on a single chip), 4 GB of RAM, a 640 GB hard drive, a slot-loading DVD-R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 24-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD display at 1920×1200. Ports included four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and a Mini DisplayPort. Wireless connectivity included a built-in AirPort Extreme.

The iMac Core 2 Duo (Early 2009) models differ from a previous similar aluminum iMac design by adding a tapered foot.

I used this iMac extensively as my primary home iMac for graphics and GarageBand music projects.

Source: EveryMac.com

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MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid-2013)

The MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid-2013) featured a “Haswell” 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5 processor (with two processors a single chip), 4 or 8 GB of RAM, and 128 or 256 GB of flash storage. This laptop has 8 GB of RAM and a third-party upgrade to 512 GB of flash storage from OWC. Ports included analog audio out, a Thunderbolt port, two USB 3.0 ports, and one SD (SDXC) card slot. Wireless connectivity included 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

The MacBook Air is known for its thin case that tapers between 0.11 to 0.68 inches. It weighs 2.96 pounds. The screen is a 13.3 widescreen TFT glossy display at 1440×900.

Source: EveryMac.com

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iMac Core 2 Duo 20-inch (2007)

iMac Core 2 Duo 20-Inch featured a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two processors on a single chip), 1 GB of RAM, a 320 GB Serial ATA hard drive, a slot-loading DVD+R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 20-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD at 1680×1050. Ports included three USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 400 port, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and mini-DVI. It also included built-in AirPort Extreme.

The exterior aluminum case had a black plastic back. The iMac Core 2 Duo also shipped with a matching aluminum Apple Keyboard with a design similar to the keyboard on the MacBook at the time.

Source: EveryMac.com

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Mac mini (Late 2014)

The Mac mini Late 2014 included a Core i5 “Haswell” 2.6 GHz Intel processor (with two independent cores on a single chip), 8 GB of SDRAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. Ports included two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0, and an SDXC card slot.

This and all Mac mini systems ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. This model’s case is primarily aluminum with a black plastic back and base.

All Mac mini systems I have owned have served as my iTunes server allowing access to iTunes music/Apple Music, streaming video content, saved digital movies, and other media. This was the first Mac mini I owned with a direct HDMI connection to my primary home TV (others used VGA and DVI connections).

Source: EveryMac.com