The Late 2010 MacBook Air was the first to move completely away from hard drives and exclusively to SSDs.

4 GB is the maximum, so you probably don’t want to run OS X 10.10 Yosemite on this one, as it is very demanding of resources. This was the last time Apple offered an MBA with just 2 GB of RAM, and then only on the least expensive 11″ model. OS X 10.7 Lion was the standard operating system. Both models had a 1.8 GHz Core i7 build-to-order option. The 11″ version came with a 1.6 GHz Core i5 on the low end, while the 13-incher usually shipped with a 1.7 GHz i5. The 13″ Mid 2012 MBA came stock with a 1.8 GHz Core i5 with 2.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 4 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD.Īpple added Thunderbolt to the MacBook Air with the Mid 2011 models, providing a huge throughput jump over USB 2.0. For $100 more, the 128 GB SSD was a no brainer. The base 11-incher has a 1.7 GHz Core i5 (2.6 GHz Turbo Boost), 4 GB RAM, and a paltry 64 GB SSD. These were also the first Airs with FaceTime HD webcams. The Mid 2012 MacBook Airs were the first with USB 3.0 support. Upgrade options include 8 GB RAM, a bigger SSD, and a 1.7 GHz i7 with 3.3 GHz Turbo Boost. They shipped with OS X 10.8.4 Mountain Lion.

The 11″ Mid 2013 MacBook Air and 13″ Mid 2013 have a 1.3 GHz Core i5 with 2.6 GHz Turbo Boost, 4 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD. Upgrades include a 1.7 GHz i7 with 3.3 GHz Turbo Boost, 8 GB RAM, and higher capacity SSDs. The 11″ Early 2014 MacBook Air and 13″ Early 2014 have a base configuration of a 1.4 GHz Core i5 (2.7 GHz Turbo Boost), 4 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD and runs OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks or newer. If you need a lot of space, there’s a $300 option to install a 512 GB SSD on the 256 GB model. The base model has a skimpy 128 GB SSD, so you may want to consider the 256 GB version for $200 more. We recommend you spend the extra $100 for the 8 GB version, keeping in mind that you cannot upgrade system memory after the fact. Standard memory is 4 GB, which is barely adequate for OS X 10.10 Yosemite. For those who demand more power, there’s a 2.2 GHz Core i7 with Turbo Boost to 3.2 GHz for $150 more.

Both models have the same 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU on the low end, a chip that can Turbo Boost to 2.7 GHz. Apple most recently updated the MacBook Air in March.

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