Want to turn your MacBook Air into an ultrabook? You might be more pleased than if you’d bought the genuine Windows product, according to Joanna Stern of The Verge.
The MacBook Air is simply best in class when it comes to hardware. The build is outstanding, the touchpad works better with Microsoft’s operating system than any other laptop trackpad out there, and the display makes Windows look better than ever. All that combined with very snappy performance makes the Air more enjoyable to use than many of the other ultrabooks on the market, including the higher end $1,110 Asus Zenbook and the $1,200 Lenovo IdeaPad U300s.
However, she doesn’t end up endorsing the Air without reservation. For a start, battery life drops by 30 per cent compared with an Air on OS X and the non-Windows keyboard makes life difficult at times. Above all, the price, including a copy of Windows 7, makes it an uneconomic proposition.
What goes unsaid, though, is that if you buy the Air and stick with OS X, it is the best ultrabook there is.