Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010)

Apple · MacBook Air

MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010)

Released October 2010

An 11-inch Intel MacBook Air with Core 2 Duo processors, flash storage and a compact aluminium body.

Size
11.6″
Display
TN LCD
Processor
Intel Core 2
Memory
2 GB – 4 GB
Weight
1.06 kg
Battery
5 h

What reviewers say

Reviewers praised the compact aluminium body, keyboard, trackpad and responsive flash storage. It handled everyday portable work well, but demanding CPU tasks exposed its limits. The glossy screen, small storage capacities, restricted upgrades, limited connections and lack of keyboard backlighting were drawbacks.

From macworld.com and notebookcheck.net

Display

Screen size
11.6″
Resolution
1366 × 768
Panel
TN LCD
Touchscreen
No
Display type
Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact-model review. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.

Performance

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 or Intel Core 2 Duo SU9600
CPU cores
2
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce 320M
Memory
2 GB or 4 GB
Storage
64 GB to 128 GB
CPU
Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 at 1.4 GHz or optional SU9600 at 1.6 GHz, with 3 MB shared L2 cache and 800 MHz frontside bus. Exact identities confirmed by Notebookcheck and EveryMac; the faster processor is offered only on the higher storage base, as documented by Macworld.
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
Memory type
2 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 onboard memory, configurable to 4 GB
Storage type
64 GB flash storage with SU9400; 128 GB base supports SU9400 or SU9600. Configurations preserve the base-specific upgrade restrictions; memory cannot be upgraded after purchase.

Battery and size

Battery life (maker's claim)
Up to 5 hours
Battery capacity
35 Wh
Weight
1.06 kg
Thickness
17 mm
Width × depth
299.5 × 192 mm
Battery life detail
Built-in 35 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5 hours wireless productivity or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
45 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm
Colours
Silver

Connections

Ports
2 × USB-A, MagSafe, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
2.1 + EDR
Webcam
FaceTime camera
Operating system
macOS
Port detail
Two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Mini DisplayPort output, MagSafe and headphone jack supporting the Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone; no card reader. DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI require separate adapters.
External displays
Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
Keyboard
Full-size keyboard without backlighting
Trackpad
Multi-Touch trackpad
Speakers
Stereo speakers
Microphones
Omnidirectional microphone
In the box
MacBook Air, power adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife ’11, Software Reinstall Drive and documentation

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorageGraphics
Intel Core 2 Duo SU94002 GB64 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M
Intel Core 2 Duo SU94004 GB64 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M
Intel Core 2 Duo SU94002 GB128 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M
Intel Core 2 Duo SU94004 GB128 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M
Intel Core 2 Duo SU96002 GB128 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M
Intel Core 2 Duo SU96004 GB128 GBNVIDIA GeForce 320M

Pros and cons

Pros

  • 1.06 kg aluminium enclosure
  • Full-size keyboard and Multi-Touch trackpad
  • Two USB-A ports and MagSafe charging

Cons

  • 1366 × 768 display
  • No built-in card reader
  • Memory cannot be upgraded after purchase

Closest rivals

Model
SizeDisplayProcessorMemoryWeightBatteryReleased
11.6″TN LCDIntel Core i5 or i74 GB – 8 GB1.08 kg9 hApr 2014
11.6″TN LCDIntel Core i5 or i74 GB – 8 GB1.08 kg9 hMar 2015
11.6″TN LCDIntel Core i5 or i72 GB – 4 GB1.08 kg5 hJul 2011

Newer model: MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011).

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/112580
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2010/10/20Apple-Reinvents-Notebooks-With-New-MacBook-Air
  3. macworld.com/article/208601/macbook-air.html
  4. notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Air-11-Inch-2010-Subnotebook.41497.0.html
  5. everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/specs/macbook-air-core-2-duo-1.6-11-late…

Photo: cdsassets.apple.com

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