MacBook Air Q&A

Update Published March 30, 2015

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Who designed the MacBook Air?

Apple's industrial design for many years has been performed entirely in-house by Apple's Industrial Design Group, led by Jonathan Ive.

What are the dimensions of the MacBook Air models? How much does each weigh?

The original, "Late 2008" and "Mid-2009" MacBook Air models are 0.16 inches (0.4 cm) at its thinnest point and 0.76 inches at its thickest point (1.94 cm), 12.8 inches wide (32.5 cm), and 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) deep. These models weigh 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg).

All subsequent MacBook Air models are 0.11 inches (0.3 cm) at the thinnest point and 0.68 inches (1.7 cm) at the thinnest point. The 11-Inch models are 11.8 inches wide (29.95 cm) and 7.56 inches deep (19.2 cm). The 13-Inch models are the same 12.8 inches wide (32.5 cm) and 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) deep as the earlier MacBook Air models.

The 11-Inch and 13-Inch "Late 2010" models weigh 2.3 pounds (1.06 kg) and 2.9 pounds (1.32 kg), respectively. The "Mid-2011" and subsequent models are slightly heavier -- 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg) and 2.96 pounds (1.35 kg), respectively.

Was the MacBook Air truly the "world's thinnest" notebook when it was first unveiled?

It depends largely on your definition of "world's thinnest". The company press release for the original MacBook Air states in its headline that the MacBook Air was the "world's thinnest notebook" and in the copy that "its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks".

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Original MacBook Air)

However, the Mitsubishi Pedion released in 1998 was 0.7244 inches thick (1.84 cm) and the Sharp Muramasas released in 2001 was a mere 0.54 inches thick (1.3716 cm), both smaller than the thickest point on the MacBook Air.

The Pedion and Muramasas were uniformly thick rather than tapered like the MacBook Air, however, so some might note that the average thickness of the MacBook Air is smaller or that these systems that were released many years prior were not "competing notebooks" so the point is moot regardless.

In any event, the original, "Late 2008" and "Mid-2009" MacBook Air models are quite thin (and use the same case design), but whether or not the MacBook Air truly was the "world's thinnest" notebook when unveiled largely is up to interpretation. All subsequent MacBook Air models are even thinner, a razor thin 0.11 of an inch at the thinnest point and 0.68 of an inch at the thickest point. The "Retina" MacBook, first introduced on March 9, 2015, is thinner still.

Where can I buy a pre-Retina MacBook Air?

The pre-Retina MacBook Air models all have been discontinued, but still are available readily on the used market.

In the US, site sponsors Other World Computing sells used and refurb MacBook Air models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well.

In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs sells used MacBook Air models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.