In my quest to go light, I have used a variety of Mac laptops through the years. I started with a 13″ Macbook Air, then moved onto a 11″ Macbook Air, which I have been using for years. But as we all know, computers rapidly advance and I was overdue. So for my recent trip to Namibia, I decided to upgrade to a new 12″ MacBook. I only have one question: why did I wait so long?
How many significant features can I mention using this new computer. First, more power, and a larger 256 SSD drive. Photoshop, Lightroom, even some video editing…no problem. Then there is the beautiful 12″ retina display. This screen feels a lot larger than the 11″ MacBook Air, maybe because the resolution is so much better. Battery life is also much longer. I edited on my computer for hours in Namibia and didn’t worry about running out of juice. Performance-wise this computer was light-years ahead of my 11″ Macbook Air.
But here is the real kicker. Even though this computer has a larger screen than my 11″ Macbook Air, it is noticeably smaller, thinner and 1/2 pound lighter (it weights 2 pounds). I can easily slip this computer into my Flipside 400 backpack and not even know it is there. The slim design is in part due to the lack of USB ports. The new MacBook uses a single port to attach a USB dock so you can download images. The same port is used for charging.
The new MacBook is not cheap, around $1200. But Apple will take your old computer to recycle (around $200 for my 11″ Air), or you can always sell it to a friend. You won’t be disappointed in this new MacBook.