Apple Announces New MacBook Airs with Haswell Processors and 'All-Day' Battery Life

by

At today's WWDC keynote in San Francisco, California, Apple announced new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs, which have been designed with battery life in mind. As expected, the new Airs use Haswell processors that offer enhanced performance and significantly improved battery life, but feature no cosmetic changes.

With the new Haswell processors, The 11" MacBook Air will now have nine hours of battery life while the 13" MacBook Air will have a stunning 12 hours of battery life.

macbookairs
In addition to Haswell processors, the new MacBooks feature 802.11ac compatibility, with support for the "Gigabit WiFi" 802.11ac specification. Gigabit WiFi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks.

The 11" MacBook Air starts at $999 with a 128GB hard drive and the 13" MacBook Air with a 128GB hard drive starts at $1099. Apple's MacBook Airs are available today from Apple's Online Store and at retail locations.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: 13" MacBook Air (Caution)
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
Read Full Article • 465 comments
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Read Full Article • 20 comments
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Read Full Article • 3 comments
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
Read Full Article • 59 comments
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
Read Full Article • 200 comments
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
Read Full Article • 157 comments
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
Read Full Article • 114 comments
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Read Full Article
Apple Sports App Preview Feature

Apple Sports App on iPhone Now Available in More European Countries

Monday November 17, 2025 6:27 am PST by
The free Apple Sports app on the iPhone was released in additional European countries today, including Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine, and others. The app was already available in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Austria, France, Germany,...
Read Full Article • 22 comments

Top Rated Comments

KylePowers Avatar
KylePowers
162 months ago
Very disappointed with such minor updates! :-(
Almost twice the battery life, almost twice the graphics power, and 802.11ac? I wouldn't call that necessarily minor. What were you expecting? Built-in coffee maker?

EDIT: For some reason I considered almost 50% being twice the graphics power; but nonetheless, quite the improvement! Especially compared to my Sandy Bridge GPU.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DisplacedMic Avatar
DisplacedMic
162 months ago
Very disappointed with such minor updates! :-(

are you serious? this is one of the largest jumps in battery life i've ever seen.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saturn1217 Avatar
Saturn1217
162 months ago
So intel wasn't joking about the battery-life

Seriously this is one of the largest single generation jumps in battery-life we've ever seen and on Apple's ultraportable line where you need all the battery-life you can get. I was expecting 10hrs for the 13-inch and that was my optimistic guess. I'm a little disappointed that it appears 8gb is still only a BTO option but considering a redesign was not expected I think this update is fantastic.

Now I'm wondering if I should sell my current MBA while I can still get a good price or just stick with it since I just bought it 6-months ago...hmmm...

Also for all the retina whiners. The fact that apple just dropped the price (again) for the MBAs basically killed any hope of retina coming to this machine as it is currently branded. They will continue to make the rMBPs thinner and lighter and if you want retina buy those machines.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chub Avatar
Chub
162 months ago
Almost twice the battery life, almost twice the graphics power, and 802.11ac? I wouldn't call that necessarily minor. What were you expecting? Built-in coffee maker?

Twice the graphics power I don't think so and who is going to be using that 1GBps wireless connection anytime soon? I was truly looking forward to this and let's be honest it was a let down.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DisplacedMic Avatar
DisplacedMic
162 months ago
What an anti climax.

We knew Haswell would be in, but that is it, better battery life.

tut

that's all many of us wanted. look at the battery size differences between the classic and retina macbooks... it's an ultralight. if you want high-res get the 13" retina.

i don't understand the complaint - seems like a no brainer to me
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
extradryny Avatar
extradryny
162 months ago
do you think there will be a BTO to upgrade the display to 1080p. This is very sad if it is still the old display resolutions. That is like so ancient by today's terms.

I'll take the battery life over the retina display any day. Great design decision.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments