Did you just buy a MacBook Air within the last couple of weeks? Well, then let's hope you saved your receipt. Apple just made a minor update to the MacBook Air's hardware, and a more significant update to its pricing.
There's only one hardware change to the new (early 2014) MacBook Air. It gets the latest version of Intel's Haswell processor, which should give it a slight speed bump. The processor in last year's model was clocked at 1.3 GHz, with a turbo boost to 2.6 GHz. The new version takes the default speed to 1.4 GHz, with turbo boost to 2.7 GHz. It's such a minor update, the processor change alone shouldn't be reason enough for you to upgrade.
The most interesting part of this piece of news is the MacBook Air's new price. It gets a US$100 price drop all around, which brings the 11-in model down to a $900 starting price (for 128 GB). Likewise the 13-in model now starts at $1,000.
Apart from some switcheroos a few years ago involving Thunderbolt ports and backlit keyboards, the MacBook Air's exterior has been identical since late 2010. Nothing has changed there this time either, so the early 2014 model should be a very familiar laptop. Though the rumor mill has been speculating about a MacBook Air with Retina Display for a couple of years now, recent leaks are pointing to a 12-in Retina model finally launching later this year. Maybe today's price drop is Apple's attempt to give the non-Retina model one last hurrah, as it does battle with a variety of Windows laptops and tablet hybrids with higher-resolution displays.
The updated MacBook Air is available today from Apple's online and retail stores. If you want a refresher on last year's (almost identical) model, you can read our full review of the 11-in version.
Product page: Apple