MacBook Air

The MacBook Air was greeted with mixed reception when it was introduced. The portability of the MacBook Air was praised in reviews, however, the compromise in features was criticized.^[37][38][39] The full-sized keyboard, weight, thinness, and Multi-Touch trackpad were appreciated in reviews, while the limited configuration options, slow speed (in the non-SSD models), non-user replaceable battery, small hard drive, and price were criticized.^[37][38]

Dan Ackerman of CNET commented on the original models, "the design and engineering that went into MacBook Air is extraordinary, but it's certainly a much more specialized product than the standard 13-inch MacBook."^[39] Ackerman disliked the limited internet connectivity, slow speed, small hard drive, battery, and the price of SSD hard-drive option, however, appreciated the thinness, sturdiness, and the MultiTouch gestures. Macworld's Jason Snell praised the portability, however commented that "the decision about whether the MacBook Air is a product worth having can be answered by 1 question: How much are you willing to compromise?"

Screenshot from the first (left) and second (right) commercial. On the left is the introductory MacBook Air commercial; on the right is the late 2010 commercial.

MacBook Air's launch was accompanied by a television commercial emphasizing its slender design. In the commercial, a hand unthreads a manila envelope and slides out a MacBook Air, then opens it to wake it from sleep. The music playing is "New Soul" by Yael Naïm.^[40]

Thanks to a more mature manufacturing process, the CPUs in the second-generation MacBook Air, although from the same series as first-generation MacBook Airs since late-2008, perform better under load, as the first-generation chips ran hotter, requiring underclocking the processor to avoid overheating, further degrading performance.^[41]

Many commentators consider the 11-inch MacBook Air to have the essential attributes of a netbook, despite not being marketed as such, and its comparatively high price.^{[42][43][44][45][46]}