According to Intel's Power Gadget, the maximum power consumption of the processor is about 22 Watt. Apple's MacBook Air from 2014 performs significantly worse with 239 points. The Toshiba KIRA (289 points) and the Dell XPS 13 (287 points) are about on par. In the multi-core test, the MacBook Air accomplished 296 points (Win) and 305 points (Mac OS).
The biggest difference occurred in the single-core test, where the Air achieved 112 points under Windows and 128 points under Mac OS.
Whether under Mac OS or Windows, the ratings are about equal. We use the Cinebench R15 benchmark to test the performance. So, the Intel Core i7-5500U could perform better during demanding load. The actual performance gain compared to our previously reviewed MacBook Air models is of great interest and so is the performance difference to the Intel Core i7-5500U used in the competitors, since it features a higher base clock of 2400 MHz, but a slightly lower Turbo clock of 3000 MHz.
Intel's Broadwell series supports important standards like DirectX 11.2 API, Open CL 1.3/2.0 and OpenGL 4.3. We will check whether it actually does so below. The CPU with two cores can handle up to four simultaneous threads and calculates with a maximum TDP of 15 Watt according to Intel. Probably the most important difference to previous years' MacBook Air models is the new Intel Core i7-5650U with a base clock of 2.2 GHz and a Turbo clock of up to 3.2 GHz. In addition, there is no PWM flickering when playing 60 fps videos. However, we could not detect screen bleeding despite the high brightness difference between the upper and the lower parts of the display. The previous MacBook Air models also perform better. The brightness distribution of 82% is 10% lower than the Toshiba's and on par with the Dell XPS 13's. In mains operation, the Toshiba KIRA is on par with our MacBook, but the KIRA's brightness is 40 cd/m² lower on battery, while our test model's brightness does not fall on battery. Please note: Other reviewed models of the Dell XPS 13 are not that dark. For example, it is significantly higher than the 231 cd/m² of the Dell XPS and even 30 - 40 cd/m² higher than previous Air models from the last two years. The average brightness of almost 310 cd/m² is acceptable. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not offer other display options. Although Apple incorporated quite a high-end TN panel, the competition shines with IPS displays.
The meager resolution might be annoying for technophiles as well as users used to Full HD, since the display looks grainy at a closer look. The Toshiba KIRA comes with an FHD display at least. Competitors like the Dell XPS 13 not only feature a significantly better QHD+ resolution but also a touch panel. Apple uses a TN panel with a maximum resolution of 1440x900 pixels. The two competitors also use Intel's Broadwell architecture and an Intel Core i7-5500U.Īt the first glance, the display appears to have remained the same in terms of used technology and other specifications. In our test, we compare the test model to the already reviewed MacBook series and to other well-made 13-inch competitors like the equally expensive Toshiba Kira 10D or the XPS 13 ultrabook from Dell. In order to avoid redundancies, we will refer to the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch 2014 review for information about unchanged aspects. Further details are available in our special article. In comparison: The price is about $1450 in the USA. The test model of the Apple MacBook Air 13 costs 1590 Euros (~$1791).
Because of the weak Euro, Apple significantly increased the price of all their products. The pricing is a severe step backwards for prospective buyers. In addition, the device comes with 8 GB dual-channel RAM and a 256 GB hard drive. According to the manufacturer, the graphics performance should be 20 to 25% better and the processing performance of the CPU should be 5 to 20% higher. It is the Intel HD Graphics 6000 instead of the previously used Intel HD Graphics 5000. The internal graphics unit depends on the processor. Our test model houses the more powerful i7 CPU. Instead of an Intel Core i7-4650U or i5-4260U, the new products feature an Intel Core i7-5650U or i5-5250U.
The most important change is probably that Intel's Haswell architecture has been replaced by Intel's Broadwell architecture. In this article, we will especially cover the 13-inch MacBook Air. In the latest Apple keynote, the company mainly focused on the new 12-inch MacBooks and the Apple Watch. Apple rather quietly upgraded their MacBook Air series with more powerful and newer hardware components in March 2015.