MacBook Air Receives Update To Ivy Bridge. (image via Apple)

Some time ago, Apple was asking Intel to make some special processors optimized for a thin and light ultra-portable laptop. When Intel saw the first MacBook Air, the company thought that not only Apple can produce such a laptop. Thus, the concept of ultrabook emerged, promoted by Intel among manufacturers of portable devices. The very first ultrabooks ran on the Sandy Bridge processor architecture. The next-generation Intel processors, Ivy Bridge, recently launched and now many major laptop makers used the new processor.

Ivy Bridge processors for ultrabooks are a little late, but here it managed to come in the new MacBook Air models from Apple. The 11.6″ device receives a Core i5 dual-core CPU at 1.7 GHz with 3MB L3 cache, which reaches 2.6GHz in Turbo Boost. RAM is now at 4GB, which can increase up to double the amount if needed. At the price of $1,000, it also has a 64GB SSD. Those who want more storage memory have to go with the 128GB model worth $1,099. Consumers can opt for an upgrade with an Intel Core i7 CPU at 2.0GHz, 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB SSD, as opposed to the 128GB offered in the standard version. Under this specification, the 11.6” MacBook Air may end up costing $2,149.

Many were expecting Apple to provide Retina Display screen on the MacBook Air, but the Cupertino giant kept it only for the MacBook Pro. Looking at the competition, other companies are offering several ultrabooks that offer a higher resolution screen with the same diagonal.

The 13” version of MacBook Air keeps the screen at 1440×900 pixels and has a standard configuration composed of a Core i5 processor at 1.8GHz, 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. This version costs $ 1,199, which is $100 less than the model announced last year.

About Laurentiu Stan

Laurentiu is a young writer, who seeks to become a big name in the news field. He discovers his passion for writing in primary school and starts with short essays in his mother tongue. In college he begins writing essays in English as a freelancer, being attracted by news reporting. Now he’s the one who brings you the latest news as soon as they happen! He’s a soccer fan, music enthusiast and loves to travel.