Short Review of Apple MacBook Air (2019)

When we talk about a MacBook, we often think of a costly computer. MacBook Air has been one such laptop until recently. The 2019 update of MacBook Air doesn’t offer much of a difference from the perspective of performance and other features but what is does offer is a price difference. The starting price of the last year’s MacBook Air was $1,299 while the 2019 MacBook Air is available at the price of $1,099.

The iconic wedge

MacBook Air is known for its wedge shape. This shape was introduced more than a decade ago when the MacBook Air was introduced in the market. Apple has retained the shape of this laptop in its latest version.

This laptop has a thickness of 0.61 inch at the thickest point of the laptop. And the slimmest point of the laptop is at the front side. At this point, the thickness is 0.16 inch.

The laptop is more portable with 2.75-pound weight, 12-inch width, and 8.4-inch depth. A quite similar Windows-based laptop is Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 which comes with the dimensions of 0.57 by 12.1 by 8.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.8 pounds. Another laptop to talk about just for the sake of comparison is Razer Blade Stealth which comes with the dimensions of 0.58 by 12 by 8.3 inches and weighs the same as the Microsoft machine.

Retina display

With the thinnest part on the front, you will have to use your fingers carefully in order to open the display lid. By doing so, you will see a 13.3-inch LED backlit retina display which has a screen resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels. The aspect ratio of this screen is 16:10.

The colors on the display screen are controlled by a feature called True Tone. The colors get warmer or cooler to complement the balance of the room’s ambient lighting arrangement. However, the MacBook Air’s screen is still slightly inferior to that of MacBook Pro.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The standard keyboard used in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is known as ‘Butterfly’ keyboard. It has been a controversial keyboard due to its tendency to allow debris to get under the keys and cause disruption in typing. The new MacBook Air uses third generation of the butterfly keyboard which is claimed to have improved protection against debris. The shallow keys on the laptop make typing much like tapping. However, there are many people who enjoy the tapping sensation. The keys are quieter and typing experience is smoother. But since there is a majority of people who do not like this keyboard type, the butterfly keyboard can be classified as a controversial keyboard.

An excellent feature on MacBook Air is its glass touchpad which is bigger and more accurate in terms of performance.

CPU

The features like CPU, memory, storage and graphics in 2019 MacBook Air are similar to those present in the 2018 MacBook Air. The base model of this laptop is equipped with Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB PCI Express SSD. You can get a computer with upgraded storage of 256GB by paying $200 extra.

The Core i5 processor is the only CPU option available with this computer. The exact model of this processor is Core i5-8210Y. While it is a low performing chip as compared to U-series, it provides the benefits such as little fan noise and a longer battery life. But the huge benefit is that in most of the cases you are not going to see a hint of sluggishness which tends to happen when you run the similar tasks on a Windows-based computer with the same performance specs.

Best Hidden Features Of iPhone and iPad That Use iOS 13.2

There has been a lot of buzz around the launch of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. Just over a month after the launch of this operating system, there were several updates released. The latest update is iOS 13.2. While core features in this update remain the same as the ones present in basic iOS 13, there are some new features which are as good as the most talked about features of the iOS 13.

In this article, we are going to discuss the best hidden features of iOS 13.

Optimized battery charging

Charging your battery to full and keeping it connecting with the charging cable for prolonged period of time can cause damage to your battery. There is an option in the iOS 13 that can be helpful in prolonging the battery life by learning your phone charging habits. This way, the battery doesn’t immediately charge to 100%.

If you connect your phone to charging cable at night before going to sleep, you can activate and optimize the feature of Optimized Battery Charging. Your phone’s battery is going to stay at 80% for most of your night. The last 20% will be completed right before your phone’s alarm. You use this feature by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and turn it on.

New scroll bar

The default browser in the iPhone is Safari. An added feature in this browser is the new scroll bar which helps you scroll your webpage in an efficient and more effective way. You will find it on the top right side of the page.

Scanning documents in the Files app

The Files app in the iOS 13.2 is revamped and it now lets you scan your documents easily. You can open the Files app and select the Browse tab. Then you will need to tap the three-dot icon which is going to bring up the option of Scan Documents. You will have to hold the phone over the document you want to scan. The image will be captured automatically and the document will be scanned.

iMessage search

There had been the option to search available in the iMessage app but it didn’t actually work in the past. This option now works pretty well after your phone get iOS 13.2. You can now search for a single word or phrase. And the results are displayed instantly.

Searching with your voice

Apple’s own apps which use search bar to allow users to search through those apps now also have a microphone icon on the far-right side of the search field. It means that you can use voice commands to search through those apps.

Sharing photos with or without location information

When you take photos, the photos get geo-tagged. However, you get the option to share those photos with or without location information over social media.

New volume indicator

Another great feature in the iOS 13 is the new volume indicator. The new volume indicator doesn’t take much of the mobile screen. When you set the volume up or down, it is show in a slim bar that appears on a side of the screen.