Should You Skip The Apple MacBook Air?
If you’ve been a regular reader of Tom’s Guide for the past three years, you might remember the very first Tom’s article I wrote: Why NOT To Buy A MacBook Pro. Well, you’ll be happy to know that my anti-Apple sentiment has not waned over the years, and now I’m back to tell you why NOT to buy a MacBook Air.
Apple’s grandiose marketing techniques may have you think that the MacBook Air is a one-of-a-kind platform, but it’s really just an “Ultrabook” – a term trademarked and defined by Intel. Essentially, an Ultrabook is an exceptionally portable laptop (generally very thin with remarkable battery life) that offers nearly the same performance of a full-size laptop.
Giving credit where credit is due, Apple’s MacBook Air is largely responsible for popularizing the Intel-inspired Ultrabook form factor, which, not without some sense of irony, is significantly helping Windows notebook sales fend off the tablet invasion. The growing Ultrabook popularity has also meant that more manufacturers are giving the form factor a shot, offering consumers something Apple doesn’t want them to have – a choice.
Apple’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t fit everyone, and that’s why it’s important to know what your other options are. We’ve put together a list of worthwhile Ultrabook offerings from Acer, Asus, Dell, Samsung, and Sony that each have their own little something extra to offer.
