Tag: MacBook Air

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MacBook Air M1 packaging (2020)

Traditionally, Mac purchases have included a cardboard envelope with basic instructions, other materials, and Apple logo stickers.

The 2020 M1 MacBook Air included a white cardboard envelope that measured 3.25 x 5 x 0.375 inches. The envelope used a fold-over tab at the top. The envelope was printed on the front with the words “Designed by Apple in California” and contained a trifold “manual” printed in color, a one-page notice that included safety information, and two Apple logo stickers.

The Apple logo stickers were printed in a metallic silver reminiscent of Space Gray, unlike the traditional white Apple logo stickers usually accompanying Apple devices.

The back of the envelope included the copyright date of 2020 and the part number 602-03390-A.

This particular version of this packaging was included with M1 MacBook Air laptops purchased in a five-pack bulk purchase in March 2021. These were the first version of MacBook Air laptops with Apple’s M1 chip.

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45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter (OEM packaging, 2019)

This Apple 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter was designed for the MacBook Air laptops including MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015–2017) and the MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015). It could be used with any Mac laptop with the MagSafe 2 adapter, but may not charge as optimally as power adapters with higher wattages.

Apple describes the power adapter:

“The 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter features a magnetic DC connector so if someone should trip over it, the cord disconnects harmlessly and your MacBook Air stays put safely. It also helps prevent fraying or weakening of the cables over time. In addition, the magnetic DC helps guide the plug into the system for a quick and secure connection.”

Further, “Designed to be the perfect traveling companion, the adapter has a clever design which allows the DC cable to be wound neatly around itself for easy cable storage.”

This particular 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter is an Apple OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) part. It ships in a cardboard box with black cardboard and clear plastic wraps instead of the white retail box.

Source: Apple

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MacBook Air Reinstall Drive (2011)

In 2011 Apple stopped including CD and/or DVD media with devices. Not coincidentally, this was also the same time when Apple stopped including optical drives in their devices. Instead of DVDs, Apple included a custom USB flash drive with Mac OS X and other software installers.

According to Apple’s website:

MacBook Air (Late 2010): Frequently Asked Questions about Software Reinstall Drive

“Your MacBook Air (Late 2010) comes with a USB Software Reinstall Drive that contains a copy of Mac OS X and iLife. If you selected to pre-install iWork at the time purchase, iWork is also included on the MacBook Air Software Reinstall Drive. Use this device instead of DVDs to reinstall your operating system and applications and to run essential applications and utilities. Note: The MacBook Air Software Reinstall Drive is read only. You cannot erase it, reformat it, or reuse it as a general purpose USB storage device. If you try to use the MacBook Air Software Reinstall Drive on a computer other than a MacBook Air (Late 2010), you will be offered two options: ‘Restore from a Time Machine backup’ or ‘Restart the computer’. All menu selections are disabled.”

Source: Apple

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MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter (2012)

According to Apple, the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter allowed you to “use the MagSafe connector on your LED Cinema Display, Thunderbolt Display, or MagSafe Power Adapter to charge your MagSafe 2-equipped Mac computer.”

Essentially, this adapter helped to bridge the gap to allow original MagSafe power-equipped devices (2006–2012) to be used after Apple changed to a new MagSafe 2 (2012–2019) standard in 2012.

MagSafe was an Apple technology that allowed power cords (primarily on laptops, but also used on some displays) to provide power using a magnetically attached cord. The technology was extremely effective in preventing damage because if a user would, for example, trip over a laptop power cord or forget their device was plugged in, the magnet would pull out of the socket without damaging the device.

Devices that used this adapter included: 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, Apple Thunderbolt Display, Apple 45W MagSafe Power Adapter, Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, MacBook Pro with Retina display, and MacBook Air with MagSafe 2 power port.

Source: Wikipedia, Apple

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USB SuperDrive (2014)

According to Apple, “The Apple USB SuperDrive is compatible with Mac models from 2008 and later that don’t have a built-in optical drive.” This includes MacBook, MacBook Air with Retina display, MacBook Pro with Retina display, MacBook Air, iMac (late 2012) and later, Mac mini (late 2009) and later, and Mac Pro (late 2013). 

The drive is compact at 0.67 inches by 5.47 inches by 5.47 inches, and weighs 0.74 pounds. The drive includes a USB-A port, making an adapter necessary to use it with newer Macs that only include USB-C ports; however, no separate power adapter is required.

Apple proclaims that this drive is “Everything you need in an optical drive. Whether you’re at the office or on the road, you can play and burn both CDs and DVDs with the Apple USB SuperDrive. It’s perfect when you want to watch a DVD movie, install software, create backup discs, and more.”

Sources: Apple (Store, Support)

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MacBook Air 11-inch (2014)

This MacBook Air 11-inch featured a 22-nm Haswell 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 processor. It included 4 GB or 8 GB of memory and 128 GB or 256 GB of flash storage. This was the smallest of Apple’s MacBook Air line of laptops measuring 0.11 to 0.68 inches and weighed 2.3 pounds. It included a 720p FaceTime HD webcam, a backlit full-size keyboard, and an 11.6-inch widescreen TFT LED backlit active-matrix glossy display (1366×768).

Wireless connectivity included 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, while ports included analog audio out, one Thunderbolt port, and two USB 3.0 ports.

A previous version of the MacBook Air 11-inch nearly identical except for a slower processor and less available RAM and flash storage.

In my role as Assistant Superintendent for Technology & Innovation, I led the teams that managed nearly 4,500 of these laptops over a five-year period (2014–19). At the time, all high school students in the school district were issued a MacBook Air 11-inch and students used the same model for their 4-year high school career. Apple stopped manufacturing this laptop in 2018 and the high school switched to the iPad Generation 6.

Source: EveryMac.com