Apple MacBook Air (2020) first look: Buy it for the keyboard

Hello from the new MacBook Air. Allow me to answer your first question up front: Yes, the new keyboard is excellent.

Apple MacBook Air (2020) Review: The Best Mac For Most People

That brings us to now: the 2020 MacBook Air comes with the new scissor-switch keyboard Apple introduced in the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the processors have been upgraded to Intel’s new 10th-generation parts. Apple also lowered the price by $100: the MacBook Air now starts at $999.

It’s been a long road back, but this new MacBook Air is right where it needs to be: squarely in the mix of being the best laptop for most people.

USB-C is still some sort of elaborate logic puzzle. The Retina Display is commendably sharp, but it doesn’t have the P3 wide color gamut of the MacBook Pro, and it’s weird that Apple calls it 2560 x 1600 when it runs at an effective 1440 x 900 by default. (You can set it to the equivalent of 1680 x 1050, and you should do that.) The gold model is slightly pinkish, which is very striking. It doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6 because Apple’s using a different Wi-Fi module than the one that’s normally packaged with these Intel chips, but no one has Wi-Fi 6 yet so whatever. It’s nice that it uses a 30-watt charger, which means any number of third-party USB PD devices will charge it just fine. We’re at the point where macOS Catalina comes out of the box with almost every Apple app preloaded in the Dock, including Podcasts and Apple TV, help.

But really, the most important thing is that, for the first time in several years, I feel confident saying that most people in the market for a Mac laptop can just buy a MacBook Air and expect it to competently and reliably do most things for a long time to come. That’s a big win and a solid return to form.