MacBook Air Turns 15 Today: 'The World's Thinnest Notebook'
Today marks the 15th anniversary of Steve Jobs pulling the MacBook Air out of a manila envelope at the 2008 Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Apple advertised the MacBook Air as being "the world's thinnest notebook" at the time.
"We've built the world's thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display," said Jobs, in a January 2008 press release announcing the MacBook Air. "When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is."
The original 13-inch MacBook Air featured a flip-down tray on the right side of the machine that provided access to a single USB port, a headphone jack, and a Micro-DVI port for connecting an external display. It was Apple's first notebook with a multi-touch trackpad, no CD/DVD drive, and an SSD upgrade option. Pricing started at $1,799 in the U.S. with a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive.
Apple released a completely redesigned MacBook Air with the M2 chip last July and continues to sell an older version with the M1 chip. Given the power efficiency of Apple silicon chips, the MacBook Air is no longer equipped with a fan. While the original MacBook Air measured 0.16-inches at its thinnest point and 0.76-inches at its thickest, the latest MacBook Air has a flatter design with a uniform thickness of 0.44 inches.
Rumors suggest a larger 15-inch MacBook Air will launch this year, and the notebook is expected to be updated with an OLED display next year.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
Apple today announced refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, now featuring the M4 chip, an upgraded camera, and a new "Sky Blue" color option.
"Sky Blue" is an all-new blue finish that joins Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. Apple describes it as a "beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface." Space Gray is no longer available. ...
Apple today announced the 11th-generation iPad, now featuring the A16 chip and more storage.
The announcement came alongside the debut of the new iPad Air, which now features the M3 chip. From Apple's press release:
The A16 chip provides a jump in performance for everyday tasks and experiences in iPadOS, while still providing all-day battery life. Compared to the previous generation, the...
Apple today introduced new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models with the M3 chip, along with an updated Magic Keyboard for the device.
With the M3 chip, the new iPad Air should offer up to 20% faster performance compared to the previous-generation model with the M2 chip, which was released in May 2024. In addition, the M3 chip brings hardware-accelerated ray tracing to the iPad Air for the...
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes two smaller but meaningful improvements for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay.
First, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a 14-inch...
The new MacBook Air has a useful upgrade: it natively supports up to two external displays, in addition to the laptop's built-in display.
In other words, the latest MacBook Air can be used with a pair of external displays without needing to keep the laptop's lid closed.
Apple's tech specs for the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air:Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the...
Apple today announced that it has updated the Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options, Thunderbolt 5 ports, and more.
The M4 Max chip was already released last year in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. It can be configured with up to a 16-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified RAM. Geekbench 6 benchmark results indicate that the M4 Max is up to 75% faster than...
Apple today updated the MacBook Air with the M4 chip, and the laptop is also available in an all-new Sky Blue finish alongside Silver, Starlight, and Midnight.
YouTuber Andru Edwards has showed off the Sky Blue color in a few real-world photos.
Keep in mind that the Sky Blue finish is not very saturated. However, the color's appearance will vary based on lighting conditions.
View ...
Apple today announced a completely redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory for the iPad Air.
The new keyboard features a larger built-in trackpad, a 14-key function row, and a new aluminum hinge. From Apple's press release:
The all-new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air expands what users can do at an even lower price. The larger built-in trackpad brings greater precision for detail-oriented...
