Apple uses the same port for USB 2.0 and 3.0 to simplify things, while the standard in the PC world is separate ports for each protocol. USB 3.0 is over 10x as fast as USB 2.0 and has one-quarter the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, which is also included.

This model includes built-in USB 3.0 support. On the WiFi front, there’s 802.11ac wireless support, which is up to 3x as fast as 802.11n and also offers improved range.Īpple hasn’t forgotten performance – the PCIe-based SSDs are up to 40% faster than the SATA SSDs used in older MBAs and about 17x as fast as a typical 5400 rpm notebook hard drive. The standard CPU is a 1.6 GHz Core i5 with Turbo Boost to 2.7 GHz, and you can configure it with a 2.2 GHz Core i7 that has a 3.2 GHz Turbo Boost speed. The Early 2015 MacBook Air (MBA) gets another speed bump, gains Thunderbolt 2, and is rated at 12 hours in the field – and if you don’t use your MBA regularly, it has 30 days of standby power.īuilt around 5th-generation low-power Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, the Early 2015 MBA has Intel HD Graphics 6000.

Best mouse for macbook air 2015