MacBook Air Unveiled As Faster and Cheaper At WWDC 2013 [PHOTOS]

Apple announced today at WWDC 2013 a major upgrade to its MacBook Air line. No hardware changes have been made to the computer, the focus of the refresh is in the core of the MacBook.

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The new model is the thinnest, lightest and now more powerful and long lasting addition to the MacBook Air family. The newly updated 11-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,000 for 128GB of storage, and the 13-inch starts at $1,100 for 128GB of storage. Both start shipping today from the Apple store.

The new Air totes all-day battery life. The new Air will have an Intel Haswell ULT processor inside that improves the battery life from five hours on the 11-inch and seven hours on the 13-inch, to nine hours for the 11-inch and a full 12 hours on the 13-inch.

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Another feature of the Haswell chip is the Iris Graphics technology. A major upgrade from the previous HD Graphics 4000, it delivers twice the 3-D performance at a 45 percent faster rate, according to Apple.

Also added in the new MacBook Air is a 802.11AC gigabit Wi-Fi chip giving it three times more speed. Apple announced two new base stations, AirPort Extreme and AirPort time Capsule. Both sport new features like beam-forming which sends more energy straight to an 802.11 WiFi device.

There are a lot more technical features you can read about in the press release below or just check out the specs on apples website.

Apple Brings All Day Battery Life to MacBook Air

SAN FRANCISCO-June 10, 2013-Apple® today updated MacBook Air® with all day battery life, fourth generation Intel Core processors with faster graphics, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and flash storage that is up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation. The ultimate everyday notebook is now an even better value, with 11-inch models featuring double the storage and 13-inch models starting at a new lower price of $1,099. Apple today also introduced completely redesigned AirPort Extreme® and AirPort Time Capsule® base stations featuring 802.11ac Wi-Fi for up to three times faster performance.

"MacBook Air is the industry leader for thin and light notebooks, and now with longer battery life, we've set the bar even higher," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With faster flash, more powerful graphics and up to 12 hours of battery life, the new MacBook Air packs even more performance into the portable and durable design our customers love."

The new MacBook Air features power-efficient fourth generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors that give the 13-inch MacBook Air up to 12 hours of battery life and up to 10 hours of iTunes® movie playback. The 11-inch MacBook Air delivers up to 9 hours of battery life and up to 8 hours of iTunes movie playback.* MacBook Air now supports next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi for wireless performance that is up to three times faster when connected to an 802.11ac base station. New Intel HD Graphics 5000 gives MacBook Air up to 40 percent faster performance for gaming and graphics intensive apps, and new flash storage provides speeds up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation and nine times faster than traditional hard drives.**

The incredibly thin and light design features dual microphones, a FaceTime® HD camera, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and two USB 3.0 ports. MacBook Air also supports dual displays and video mirroring while simultaneously supporting full native resolution on the built-in display.

Continuing Apple's commitment to energy efficiency and the environment, the new MacBook Air meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves an EPEAT Gold rating.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Apple notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of highly recyclable materials.

MacBook Air ships with OS X® Mountain Lion, bringing Messages, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay® Mirroring, Dictation, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper to your Mac. With iCloud® built into the foundation of OS X, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across your Mac®, iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®.

Apple also introduced redesigned AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations that feature three-stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology with a maximum data rate of 1.3Gbps, almost three times faster than 802.11n. The new AirPort base stations include high-powered radios and a six-element beam-forming antenna array to maximize range and performance. With setup built right into OS X and iOS, users can create a high-speed Wi-Fi network in just a few clicks, and the intuitive AirPort Utility makes it easy to view and manage a network graphically. Featuring 2TB or 3TB hard drives, AirPort Time Capsule works in conjunction with Time Machine® in OS X and is the simplest way to wirelessly backup multiple Macs. Measuring just 3.85-inches by 3.85-inches and 6.6-inches tall, these new base stations can be placed almost anywhere in the home.

Pricing & Availability

MacBook Air is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.3 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $999 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,199 (US). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.3 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,099 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,299 (US). Configure-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-air.

The new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations are available today through the store.apple.com (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. AirPort Extreme is available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). AirPort Time Capsule comes in two models: 2TB of storage for $299 (US) and 3TB of storage for $399 (US). Additional technical specifications are available online at www.apple.com/airport-extreme and www.apple.com/airport-time-capsule.

*The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in June 2013 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.

**Testing conducted by Apple in June 2013 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.

***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of June 2013. EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.